My conditions aren't such as to favor red roses, which tend to be more demanding than the once-blooming old roses I mostly grow. Still, I have a few favorites and fantasies. I still want to try 'Oklahoma' here, having happy memories of its color, form, and fragrance; and if I could improve the soil here sufficiently, I think it might like our conditions. 'Cl. Etoile de Hollande' is once-flowering, and from what I hear and going by my own experience with it, hard to grow well on its own roots; but a grafted plant is very good-humored and robust, and the color and scent can't be beat. It's less full than many well-known reds; the blooms can be enormous, and it lasts well when cut. A most lovable rose.

I'd like to have back 'Barcelona'/'Francis Dubreuil', which held out for years in starvation conditions, very red and fragrant; and hope to nurse back to a prosperous state 'Louis XIV'/'Nigrette', which has been laid low by deer, mowers, etc. This last is a small plant, with deep red, fragrant blooms, and the interesting thing about it is that it's actually much tougher than it looks. It roots easily from cuttings.

Melissa, I just realized I have Louis XIV on my wish list. I think Greenmantle might be the only place to get it here in the States. I didn’t realize it would survive such harsh conditions. We are also dry and hot. How is the thorn level? Francis Dubreuil is too thorny for me, which is why I got Darcey Bussell instead even though she is rarely fragrant. Also my Maggie had a dark pink almost red bloom this week after medium pink blooms all summer.....the cooler weather maybe?
Maggie today

Stephanie, we don't get temperatures as high as yours, I believe, but 'Louis XIV'/'Nigrette' survived full sun, high temperatures, heavy clay soil, and prolonged drought when other roses succumbed. I would still treat it kindly, though, and keep up with pruning (not a problem in my case). Currently I have it growing with a number of other small roses, so I can keep up with them and so they don't get buried by grass and weeds and larger plants. At the moment they're all individually protected against the (cursed) deer, but I'l like to put one fence around the whole line, making for easier management of the whole.

Stephanie - your Maggie is utterly gorgeous!! I've never heard of this rose...what a beauty!!

Thanks, Ro, for the compliment about my Red Pierre pic. I went and took photos because of this thread and then picked a bunch.

I’m having trouble trying to work out how to post pics. It’s been years since I’ve been on a forum. I used to use photobucket but now they want $. For some reason inserting houzz pics worked once on my Desdemona post but never again since. Trying again.

Red Pierre · More Info

Red Pierre · More Info

Thank you ro. I didn't know you could do that. I hate that feature and I'm so sorry they introduced it. When I am on my old iPad it does not let me open it so if someone has many pictures and it is featured I cannot read a single thing beyond the first sentence. Very frustrating. It also doesn't appear later where it was originally posted.

Vapor, I thought it also appeared where it was originally posted, as well as at the top. At least that's what it seemed like to me. I didn't know the featured comment could be changed--I'm so dumb about stuff like that. What I don't like is that you can't like the OP comment and photos.

Miss Nomer, your Red Pierre is one of the most exquisite red roses I've seen. The petals have no burns or bug bites. And the form is wonderful. I've never heard of this one, so I'll be checking HMF. Are your rose photos on HMF? Diane

Thank you Diane. Some of my pics are on helpmefind, yes. Red Pierre is probably Red Eden. Mine is in a shaded corner but it does burn in the worst heat as its against a metal fence and shed. It’s not tied up properly. I’ve been nagging husband to help put up some wires. The most common fences are metal here 😖 am jealous of wooden fences it would be easier to tie everything to them.

! Thank you ro! I've been missing some great pictures recently. Diane, this only happens on my old iPad which I can I upgrade since it was first generation. Since my laptop went kaput I'm relying on it too read only. I have to use my phone to comment but it hurts my eyes but constantly look at the little phone. I like to see roses big!I on my laptop I could read it in both places and on my phone I can't expand it so it's just a crazy bunch platforms! :-)

I also miss the like button on the o p's post.

Miss Nomer - Your Red Eden is really pretty! I love that red!

Yeah, I don't like that feature either...because it doesn't make any sense where it is if it's related to someone else's comments.

Diane - I agree! I would love to "like" the OP's first comment!

Ro, you and Miss Nomer are right, it's Red Eden here in the US. But I've never paid attention to it. I did see the beautiful photos on HMF tonight. But it gets up to 10 feet tall, and no more climbers for me. It has 130 favorite votes, so it must be a special rose--which it sure looks like. Diane

Another red rose I really love is Mister Lincoln. The blooms are giant and the buds look absolutely edible!

In the summer the red is much lighter but still huge blooms!

At my work we have two large beds of Mr. Lincoln. The flower is very beautiful and fragrant, but the overall look is not as appealing. They have lots of bare naked legs that would look better surrounded by companion plants to cover them up

Ro, yes its definitely a climber here..so yes nakey legs lol. I started growing it because it was one of my grandmother's favorites. She grew roses until she was 100!

Ro, my favorite under planting are the ‘fancy’ new ‘grasses’ on the market here in California. You are probably familiar since Lomondra is native to Australia. There are a few nice dwarf ones and they only sell the male plants in the local nurseries. They stay in such nice tidy neat clumps and never need to be cut back! I love the look of grasses but most of them need to be completely cut down to the ground every January or they start to look raggedy and it’s so much work!

Sultry - the lusciousness of that Mr. Lincoln bloom make it look like a tube of lipstick held up to the light!! Incredible!!!

Ro - now, that's a wonderful looking DD!!! It hated me, when I grew it...yours is gorgeous!

Sultry, holy moly, what a fabulous shot of Mr Lincoln !

Stephanie, my job today is to cut my grasses to the ground

They get so big and right now flopping on the ground.

I wish that I had gotten the newer varieties and saved myself some work. Overall I do like the look.

I bet yours will be really cool

The only real grass I grow anymore is Sesleria ‘Greenlee’ (John Greenlee’s Moor Grass). It stays tidy and I cut it back in January right before the daffodils and hyacinths come up, which are planted throughout it.

Sultry, that is the most beautiful picture of mr. Lincoln's bud I've ever seen! Ro, I think we all wish for something we can have because I actually bought dark desire based on pictures that look just like yours! I really wanted that two tone look. It's still beautiful with the deep red and the black at the base. It also has beautiful buds. I'll see if I can find a pic although it will not compare to the mister Lincoln!

There are many gorgeous reds here!

For fragrance I love FIREFIGHTER

My LIEBESZAUBER is so dependable.

FORGOTTEN DREAMS is the one I’ve had the longest. Never know from one year to the next how it’s going to do. Very fragrant blooms.

But my newest and real favorite!

DARK DESIRE

Aww Merlena, I must have Lebezauber . What a fabulous red

Your Dark Desire is pretty phenomenal. Mine was a complete disappointment. Maybe some day I will try it again.

I know what you mean Ro. All the stars must align from me to get a good picture and they never compare with most of what I see here. But anyway. Please don't erase your posts and pictures! :-)

Sarah Ann, I have adored your Liebeszauber and as I mentioned in another post, I finally got to see this beauty in person and fell in love. I think this is a rose that should be more widely grown. It has surprisingly healthy foliage and a gorgeous scent. I do not know how it will do over the winter but it must have some die back here as it is not nearly as large as others have mentioned. Those I saw were no taller than four feet and probably more like 3 ft. I now actually have three of them own root. It is a very vigorous grower and I'm looking forward to seeing some flowers next year. The color is so beautiful and not orange at all but a deep dark red. I also love the huge leaves whose deep green contrasts so well with the red blooms.

Thank you Ro, Kristine and Vaporvac! The first couple of years, my DD seemed like a good rose, but I was wondering if the blooms were really dark red, the third year, in 2019 they finally got with the program.

Liebeszauber really is a good rose. When one of mine was still fairly young, it got some very long canes on it, but it seems to have acclimated to its growing conditions and it doesn’t put out those long canes any longer. I don’t think there’s anytime during the season it is without blooms. I agree about the foliage Vaporvac, and the buds are always so plump too. I also agree that more people should give this one a chance. It’s also known as Love’s Magic. Maybe not everyone realizes they’re the same rose. I usually call my roses whatever name I ordered them under. Mine came from Palatine.

Merlena, your Dark Desire is an exquisite color! Is Firefighter truly thornless as advertised? It is truly a perfect fire engine red.

sara-ann, the veining and painting on your first pic of DD makes my heart flutter. I love those things so very much in roses.

Thank you Stephanie and susan! I don’t recall Firefighter being thornless, but very low thorn. I like Firefighter blooms a lot, just wish mine was more vigorous. Beverly and Memorial Day are two other Hybrid Teas that aren‘t thornless, but don’t have too many.

OKLAHOMA is another one that has a wonderful fragrance that I love

KRISTINE, here is the only picture I could find of CHRYSLER IMPERIAL. I would love to have more success with this fragrant beauty.

Thanks Merlena. What a fabulous color

Ro - that DD you posted is my favorite of the ones you posted on another thread. What a stunning picture!!

Merlena - Your last DD .... oh my!!!! Fabulous!! And I love your Liebzauber!!! They're all wonderful. :) :) I have never before called a rose "fierce." LOL But your Oklahoma is fiercely beautiful!!! :) :) And your CI is softly beautiful. :)

What happened to the title of this thread?

Vapor, I'm glad someone asked. I thought I was the only one who didn't know a string of k's was shorthand for red roses.

I only have a small handful of red roses, and I love them all, especially Rouge Royale, but Florentina Arborose is by far my favorite. A stellar short climber, deep green foliage, perfectly shaped blooms, short rest between flushes, and the blooms in each cluster bloom at the same time, so no dead ones mixed in with the new ones. The perfume isn't strong, but it's nice and stronger in the house.

My only complaint about Rouge Royale, a close second to Florentina, is that she is a hybrid tea, and I prefer a shrubby shape. The one I had years ago had a shrub shape, but my current one is tall and narrow with blooms only at the top. RR's blooms are spectacular and her fragrance is the best. I plan to add Ascot, another hybrid tea, with thanks to Diane, the great enabler. I hope she's bushier than RR.

If I ever develop a real love for red roses, I'll go crazy with all the suggestions in this thread. So many gorgeous choices.

I can see why you love your Florentina!! Wow!!!

, flowers, that Florentina is fabulous! Fabulous! I recently moved mine to a spot that hopefully will be sunnier next year. It's by my front wall so it should be pretty there. It really grew quite lanky which was surprising I think because it didn't get enough Sun. How tall is yours? Now I need to show it pictures of yours so it knows what it should do in the spring. :-) you really captured the color well.

I agree with Vapor, Flowers. Florentina is luscious, and your pic is the best I've seen of this rose. Do you get up on a stepladder to prune her? I assume she's pretty tall. She looks like a climbing Ascot only better. I'm glad to see you posting. Diane

I forgot to add, I was surprised your Rouge Royale is not bushier. I think mine is pretty shrublike. Ascot should be pretty shrubby, but its canes are much bigger and heavier than, say, a big Austin rose. Diane

Diane, you are absolutely right and I didn't even think about it! I'm a genius and didn't even know it. I planted Florentina within eyesight of ascot! OMG! This could work out really great and I didn't even plan it but I'll pretend that I did. Thank you for that comment I wouldn't have even thought about it it's not for it. I always love the idea of a bush plant at the base of a climber which is why I have Hermosa at the base of setina and hope to do the same with Crimson Glory. thank thank you fellow Night Owl!. :-)

Thanks, Vap and Diane. No stepladder required for Florentina. She's growing along the top of a picket fence, so she's more spread out than upright. She's easy to train. Yes, funny about my RR. The one the voles got was a very short bushy shrub, but this one is about 5', sparse and narrow with blooms at the top. I pruned her pretty hard last year, but I'll take her down a little farther next spring.

flowersaremusic - if you are looking for a short red HT please take a look at Ingrid Bergman. Flowers are a velvety red and she stays short. Fragrant also. The woman at the nursery recommended her after I turned down Munstead Wood (those thorns would eat my grandkids up). I have her tucked in front of a bird bath and she is just perfect there.

Flowers, good to see you post.

That is the most glorious Florentina.

Flowers, your Florentina is gorgeous! So inspiring!!

I am setting up a pair of Florentinas on a black gothic arch this spring.

Flowers, were your Rouge Royales grafted onto different rootstocks? That could have made the difference in growth habit. I've had that happen to a few of my roses. It can make a difference in the blooms' looks, too. Diane

Sultry, that will be gorgeous! I hope there's a lot of space as she's very thorny. 😋

Thank you, Kristine. I can't take any credit for Florentina. She's easy. I've been busy with birthdays. We have a whole slew of them from November through Christmas.

Sultry, that sounds gorgeous. Florentina will grow taller in your climate and that arch will be stunning. I wouldn't say the blooms are pendulous, but they are well suited to being viewed up close and also from below.

Diane, I didn't think of that. My first RR was definitely own root, and my current one could possibly be on Huey. The canes are thick and stiff, where the old one was much more flexible, with thinner canes.

My RR is grafted on Dr Huey, and is, as I mentioned fairly shrublike, at least 5 feet tall and almost as wide. The canes are fairly stiff and moderately thick--nothing like Ascot's though. Diane

Diane, I love your Rouge Royal!
Flowers, your Florentina is so lovely!
Here is that bed of Mr. Lincoln taken this morning as I was walking to my building.

What a beautiful building and grounds, Stephanie. It certainly sets off the color of the rose bed. I'd like to walk past all that on a daily basis. and those are great close ups of Mr Lincoln. Thanks for your comment. I especially like Rouge R's gorgeous scent. Diane

My goodness!!! Those Mr. Lincolns are WELL taken care of!!! I bet people snip off blooms as they go by...or at least stop and have a whiff of the wonderful damask fragrance!!!

I can't get over that you walk past that every day! That is so beautiful!

They have quite a few beds of roses around campus but this is the only one I really like. I think because they don’t have underplanting one color looks better. All the rest are a mix of various colors and heights. I live right by Descanso Gardens and my work is a couple miles from Huntington Gardens. We always get an annual membership to both so I see a lot of both their roses throughout the year too.