Pink Pet stays clean and is used in a few commercial areas around town (Cornelia, GA.). It is also one of the easiest roses to propagate.

Jacques Cartier, aka Marchesa Boccella, a Portland rose (really just about a hybrid perpetual in its constant flower production). It grows about 3-4' tall, very vertical and columnar. The width is narrow, only about 2'. The foliage, although not as black spot proof as a Knock Out, but for a rose from the era where black spot reigned supreme, Marchesa Boccella is one, head and shoulders rose, above the others in fighting black spot.

The bloom is captivating. A button eye of neat presentation on a 3" light pink bloom of powerful fragrance will come 3-4 to a cluster with only one open at a time. The neck is incredibly short, and the stems are soldier straight strong, holding the bloom up perfectly vertically. I cannot stress enough how well formed the button is on this rose's blooms. This, coupled with its powerful fragrance and black spot resistance....if I was still growing OGRs, I would have multiple Marchesa Boccellas.

The only thing about Marchesa Boccella is that it has to be grown on a good rootstock, not own root, where as an own root, it just fizzles along never amounting to much.

Moses.

I would also suggest JC and pink Pet, adding LaMarne and the once-blooming blush Hip. Katarina Zeimet, Mme Norbert LaVavasseur, Anthony Waterer, The Chestnut Rose (once-blooming), Clotilde Soupert, Darlow's Enigma, Marie Pavie, Marjorie Fair, and lastly Skyrocket.

Dianela, you seem to be a thoughtful, studious, and thorough gardener so I suspect you want someone's personal experiences with roses and not just to be directed to the Earthkind list or the advanced search function on HMF. My experience may not be useful to you even though we live in a similar USDA zone (7B now for us) because of our differences in things like rainfall, soil, temperature, etc. but maybe it will narrow the limits of roses worth trying. FYI, I grow no spray. If it can't overcome insect and disease pressure here, it can't stay.

In general, there are two kinds of blackspot resistance. Some roses are almost never likely to be found with blackspot. Others may have it occasionally, at the season's end for example, but seem entirely unaffected by it. I mention both kinds and will try to remember to say which type a rose is but to me its a distinction without a difference.

Also, a problem I have that you may not, is the loss of a rose after an extreme temperature plunge. We may have a late freeze after several weeks in the 80's or a sudden hard freeze after a mild fall. A couple of winters ago we had the temperature drop from the 50's down to 0 degrees in a few hours after a mild fall. I've lost my share of roses after these incidents. If you have this problem too, it might be a consideration. This is unfortunately true of a number of teas which, as a class, are some of the most blackspot resistant for me here.

Found roses

Winecup- I think this one was found in Texas. This little semi-double wine-colored rose is almost indestructible for me here. I've had it for a decade, at least. It was the first to begin blooming this spring and will bloom well into the fall when others are done. It's a frequent bloomer and I don't think I've ever deadheaded it. It can take poor soil, drought and haphazard care. It requires little pruning and makes a neat and tidy little shrub on its own. I can't remember seeing blackspot on it. I can't understand why it isn't more popular.

Bermuda Spice- Another long-time resident of my garden. If Winecup was the first to bloom, Spice was on its heels. If you like blush roses, this one will blush sweetly in spring and fall but become pure white in the heat of summer. The roses are full and it is a generous bloomer. It has a sort of peppery (to me) fragrance. Hence the name, I suppose. It is supposedly a China/tea cross but I wonder if it could have noisette heritage. Blackspot is a rarity. It died to the ground a couple years ago when the temp fell nearly 50 degrees in a few hours right before Christmas but came back the following spring. It's a twiggy rose that grows to over 3-4 ft. here.

China roses

Ducher- A sweet little white rose that so far has stayed small for me. The roses are very double and the size of a larger polyantha. It is also a generous bloomer. I haven't seen blackspot on it. It is a newish rose here, starting its third summer but only second one in the ground. So far, so good.

Mutabilis- I love this rose. It seems to love me back right up until we have a hard freeze. Then it's gone. I've lost it twice. No blackspot, though. Maybe third time's a charm?

Comtesse du Cayla- This is a spreader for me and rather scraggly but an unusual color and a heavy bloomer. People notice this rose. Its roses last only a day or two in hot weather but it always has more to take their place. Also, blackspot is rare. It had died to the ground after a hard freeze a couple years ago and has struggled to come back but seems to be doing much better.

Teas

In general, teas are never truly happy till summer and the "double 90's" hit- 90+ degrees and 90+% humidity. The air you can wear. They are also slow to get the memo that its time to quit growing and go dormant and they suffer most when cold weather is sudden. That's when I lose them.

Lady Hillingdon- This is awfully tough for a tea rose. It wouldn't surprise me if it had something else in its pedigree as well. It isn't as heavy a bloomer as those I've already mentioned but its lovely apricot blooms make up for it. It blooms in flushes. It seems to laugh at drought and can come back from adversity. It's smaller than many teas and is an upright bloomer. Blackspot is a rarity.

Mrs. Dudley Cross- A very nice soft yellow rose for along a drive or sidewalk where people can admire it close up. Also very polite, with few thorns and a nice fragrance. It is especially pretty when the edges blush a soft pink. I took minimal care of mine for years and it did well till I lost it after a hard winter.

Noisettes

Reve D'or- Truth is I'm not sure whether it blackspots or not since it gets to be the size of a small whale. If so, it isn't much. It is very healthy. If you need to cover something ugly, this rose is happy to give it a shot. It is pretty and a heavy bloomer and fragrant. It's worth noting that this and Crepuscule which I also recommend, died to the ground after the aforementioned sudden freeze.

Dianela,

Vapor gave you a list of outstandingly good OGRs, many of which I have grown and can verify their no spray care. I grew Marie Pavie, Darlow's Enigma, White Pet, Pink Pet, Clotilde Soupert, Katharina Zeimet, and lastly give Henry Hudson and Snow Pavement (Schneekoppe), a try. The last two are hybrid rugosas, and although not technically antique roses, they have the antique look, are rock solid black spot proof, and have beautifully formed flowers with fragrance galore. Beautifully formed flowers are lacking among the hybrid rugosas, but not these two.

Moses.

My hot and often very humid (thanks to summer rains) climate has high BS pressures and after a warm and wet March has already started here. All teas and tea noisettes I have/have tried get BS and blooms can ball and rot. Roses such as Lady Hillingon, Mme. Antoine Mari, Blush Noisette, Alister Stella Gray are/were unhappy here for those reasons, but Mme. Alfred Carriére and Darlow‘s Enigma are pretty clean.

Very BS resistant for me are Yolande d’Aragón, Rose de Rescht, Mme. de Sévigné and Marie Pavié. RdR occasionally gets a little damask crud mid season but I pick the affected leaves off and it doesn’t return.

I have a new Jacques Cartier so am happy to read Moses’ report. My bare root received in February is romping away and has gorgeous foliage:

Probably the worst offender of my OGRs on all fronts is Mme. Isaac Pereire - BS, balling in rain and frying in hot sun. It’s a complete dog compared to the extremely similar Mme de Sévigné.

Nollie, the wisteria on your wall steals the show! What a beautiful picture it makes.

Just a small tip- Is multiflora rose a horrible invasive in your area? It is here. Roses that go back to multiflora in their pedigree somewhere will also have an edge in your garden. That includes many polyanthas and hybrid musks, I know these aren't classed as antiques but they blend well with antiques and do really well here. Most of the suggestions made by others have done well for me, too, with the exception of Marie Pavie, that does blackspot here, but not to the point where it affects the roses' general health. Roses that have polyanthas in their background such as Valentine (floribunda by Swim) also do well.

Another suggestion- Although Bourbon roses have their problems here, an exception is those in the SDLM family. I think it is due to the heavy tea influence in their pedigree. They can blackspot here, although not as badly as other Bourbons and can also be a little more tender than the others. SdSA's is on the Earthkind list. Since these are all sports of SDLM, if one does well for you, it might be worth it to try another. They all do very well here if sited in a spot where a tea rose might do well.

BTW I live southwest of Knoxville, TN. It used to be attached to my ID but houzz removed it.

If you grow Marchesa Boccella in decent soil, it will do well own root. Once establish, it will build on itself. My two bush's are own root.

Wow, Nollie - I'm amazed that Yolande d'Aragon doesn't blackspot for you in your humid climate. Mine didn't blackspot exactly but it was the poster child for the most spectacular Damask crud I've ever seen (even though it's a Portland). We don't have nearly the BS pressure in Nebraska that the US East coast does, so I was surprised how regularly and completely it got Damask crud. It would get these huge nasty greyish purple spreading splotches all summer and looked downright scary. Between that and the aggressive suckering, it's not getting replaced in my garden. The toe-curling lovely scent in spring (rare rebloom) wasn't enough for the rest.

Just shows how different roses can be in different climates.

In my climate, I'd endorse roses like Darlow's Enigma (if it's actually antique), Guirlande d'Amour, Sidonie, Veilchenblau, and Grandmother's Hat. Most of the hybrid musks are pretty clean for me assuming they survive my winters (the Pemberton hmusk roses are borderline).

Cynthia

I don't think I've run into a polyantha yet that I'd recommend as a blackspot fighter. They are growable here, but that's about it. The same is true of hybrid musks, or at least the old ones. I've got a couple of Lens ones that are quite good.

Some things that haven't been talked about in years - Barbier ramblers. I grew Alexandre Girault for several years, until I got fed up with the winterkill. Once bloomers that die back to the ground almost every year are no fun. But it was a rose that didn't seem to believe in blackspot.

Nollie,

How beautifully your Marchesa Boccella is growing. When it blooms you will be captivated by its small, 3", but powerful bloom, both appearance wise and incredible scent wise.

A word about its foliage....it looks at times that it is heat/moisture stressed, but the drooping is a trait of Marchesa Boccella and the leaves are perfectly normal. Also, as your bush matures it will definitely produce increasingly short, but strong necks. This is normal. The foliage is a bit large in disproportion to the flower. You're not over feeding with nitrogen...this trait is normal.

At a large, 3,000 bush, local public rose garden, not Longwood, that I used to frequent, there was a planting of 6 Marchesa Boccellas. I was there at their planting in about 1991. They came with 2' long roots, from old Pickering Nursery, closed many years now, near Ontario, Canada. All Pickering's roses were grafted upon multiflora root stocks. They brought in Dutch grafters at great expense, during grafting season, who meticulously grafted the bud scions onto the young multifloras, at about soil level, back breaking and tedious work, on what looked like seedling multiflora roses. The finished rose bushes when harvested looked all the world like own root roses. The root stock section was an inch, 25mm, or less in length, so professionally executed they were.

I watched these roses grow year by year, into magnificent specimens. Their mature height was 3-4'X 2', very narrowly columnar. The trunks, I kid you not, that they developed were almost 4" across. The made no basal breaks but regenerated about 6-8" above soil level, from their massive trunks, almost tree like in growth habit.

The Rosarians at the garden there gave their roses exceptional care. No expense was spared iin their maintenance. They were grown in full, all day long sunlight. The garden was/is a conventional spray garden, mostly of modern hybrid teas, especially a massive bed of Elinas, the head rosarian's favorite rose. Therefore Marchesa Boccella got sprayed for insects and disease (black spot and Japanesd beetle pressure was intense), religiously...although I really believe Marchesa Boccella could have fared excellently without any spraying. Japanese beetles do mostly cosmetic damage to blooms here when blooms are at their summer lull, anyway. Black spot will kill a bush here.

Marchesa Boccella is a profuse bloomer for an OGR.

In about 2007, after a 15 year residence in the garden, the magnificent Marchesa Boccellas were yanked out and tossed into the dumpster, they were replaced with hybrid teas of current, to the day, breeding. These days people can be more beast than divinely created beings! I'll say no more.

Moses.

My roses have never had black spot but I so enjoyed reading this thread just to see the names again of roses I've grown and loved, which are gone now, and to know that I have at least one of them, Spice, which I'm so happy to grow again. Moses, your last post above mine for some reason was poignant to me, perhaps because of practices that now would never be undertaken, with endless numbers of new roses being churned out as cheaply as possible. I'm glad you were there at that public rose garden to witness, and share with us, something that may probably never be done again, in that certain way.

I've really enjoyed reading this! I'm so glad so many people have shared their experience. Now I'm curious about Barbier ramblers. I'll have to go look them up.

BTW Ingrid, I wanted to let you know that I grow Aunt Margie's Rose because of the photos you shared. It's one of my healthiest roses. Dianela, if you aren't aware of it, Aunt Margie's rose is a found rose, a crazy bloomer that is healthy and blackspot free.

A word about Jacques Cartier

For many years, there was serious controversy as to whether or not Jacques Cartier was the same rose as Marchesa Boccella. They are very, very similar roses, except there does seem to be differences in growth habit. I grew a Canadian own-root Jacques Cartier that was a beast. Keeping it under six feet was a chore. Unfortunately, I lost it to RRD, which is a real shame since I don't know where that particular clone came from.

Marchesa Boccella is much smaller, and less vigorous. There was a theory that it was a virused version of the other, but it seems to be a more continuous bloomer. They share the Portland tendency to leaves directly under the flowers, and odd, bitten looking flower buds. Marchesa Boccella was supposedly introduced about half a century before Jacques Cartier. This was long before the French believed in honesty in rose introductions. So who knows what the truth is?

@mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY), thank you for the information! I purchased my rose under the name Jacques Cartier from Heirloom roses and I was just out n the garden today trying to reconfigure supports for it because it grows more like a climber than a shrub and is not self supporting. I sometimes wonder if it is something else altogether!

dianela, I don't spray and I haven't noticed BS on any rugosa I've grown. I've also grown a number of Teas and where they may have a bit, they certainly haven't suffered to any noticeable degree. Mostly they flowered 10 months of the year here. Also they're not deciduous here. The Teas I've grown successfully are Marie van Houtte, Ms Tillier, General Schablikine, Mrs Dudley Cross, Anna Olivier, Duchess de Brabant, Jean Ducher, Rosette Delizy, Mme Lombard, Mme Berkley, Lorraine Lee and Octavus Weld/Angel's Camp Tea. I haven't done well with Lady Hillingdon, but this must have been my fault as it used to be commonly seen in Sydney, and for some unknown reason, the normally rampant Mrs BR Cant. A warning about Ms Tillier - it grew 9' high by 15' wide in 3 years! I had a climbing Souvenir de Malmaison at a previous house. It was on the eastern side of the house and clambered up through a Prunus Blireana and did surprisingly well. Trish

Roses can grow so awkwardly when young, Markay. Just give it time. Time always sorts things out. The 'MATURE,' Marchesa Boccella/Jacques Cartier that I am familiar with is almost rigidly columnar, densely vertically branched with tons of repeating blooms. At maturity the bush stays at 3-4' tall by just about 2' wide, give it an inch or two more. The 3" bloom is rosette in form with plenty of narrow petals. The color is light, relatively even pink. No rose could easily beat MB/JC's production of well formed button eyed blooms. Charming beyond measure. The intense perfume scent cannot be equalled.

There has been confusion over the years as to why the same rose has two different names. It really gets complicated and I really cannot sort it out. I'll let wiser minds than mine do that.

I have read that the name Jacques Cartier was selected for Marchesa Boccella as an alternate by the Duchess of Portland when she discovered it in an Italian nursery while touring Europe. She must have been impressed with all of Marchesa Boccella's fine attributes, but perhaps it needed a new name if it was to be accepted in British rose circles/society back home. Thus the French Canadian explorer's name, Jacques Cartier, was chosen. True story or not, this is the story I have remembered, and accept until shown that I'm incorrect.

Moses.

Thank you Judi, the air is wonderfully scented with the wisteria, shame the show is so fleeting but I like the green swathe of foliage that follows too.

Cynthia, no never seen a hint damask crud in my YdA, but it’s only two years old. This year promises to be BS heaven here so will be a tough test. I never really knows how a particular rose will fare until I try it in my own garden and I’m sure that’s true for most of us - apart from those lucky souls with perfect, disease-free climates!

Moses/mad_gallica thank you for the wonderful background on Jacques Cartier, I had read some on the potential JC/MB confusion so I shall watch the growth habit of mine with interest. If it does turn out to be very tall and columnar in growth I may need to rethink it’s final planting location. Even with vigorous, grafted roses I like to pot them first and assess growth habit, health, bloom colour, heat and rain resistance before awarding them precious space in the ground.

I have lost my attempts to respond to this so many times!

First, my own experiences… I grow the following older/antique varieties. Perle d’Or (excellent), Albertine (some black spot following bloom, but recovers well), Belle de Crecy (excellent), Clotilde Soupert (some loss of foliage, but overall excellent), Cornelia (very good, but periodic blackspot), Jacques Cartier (so far, so good)

This spring I SPed Capitaine John Ingram. It had beautiful blooms and no blackspot, but a tendency toward other leaf crud. Taking up garden space for a once bloomer that looked bad for the better part of the summer. He was a gorgeous rose though.

Here is a pic of my Clotilde Soupert from last August. We were under drought conditions and most of the roses were suffering but not Clotilde Soupert!

Given my early success with Hermosa, I tried other chinas, but they all seem to get bad blackspot and defoliate after each bloom cycle. I got rid of all but Hermosa since she is in a spot where I only really notice her while she is blooming.

I think most perennials go through a less than lovely phase after blooming and we tolerate that and maybe roses should be given the same grace.

@Moses, Pitt PA, cold W & hot-humid S, z6, this will be the 3rd growing season for my Jacques Cartier. It is easily 6ft tall, but does still need to mature.

Now, as a separate post, I’ll share some observations from the National Botanic Garden in hot abd very humid DC. The garden does not spray for black spot so I pay a lot of attention to the good, the bad, and the ugly.

According to the garden, these are their top roses.

Lady Banks is always clean and she is a site to behold when she blooms.

There are several Noisette’s in the garden and they are all resistant from what I gave I have observed.

Mrs Dudley’s Cross being on this list surprised me some. The blooms are beautiful, but for much if the summer she looks like this.

Mutablis is gorgeous…

but also looks like this come late July…

Not awful, but definitely some defoliation.

I am a big fan of Mrs. Anthony Waterer at any time.

I wanted to add that Monsieur Tillier, Mrs BR Cant and Duchesse de Brabant were added to the Botanical Garden in 2023 so they still have some growing up to do but Monsieur Tillier is definitely eye catching!

My favorite Tea rose there is the very healthy William R Smith named after the gardens first superintendent.

OK, this is a really, really old picture.

The light pink rose on the right side is Jacques Cartier.

@mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY), that looks like what mine is tryjng to grow into! Last summer I stuck a tomato tower next to it for support and wound the long canes around it.

Beautiful pic!

Interesting that Therese Bugnet is on the DC garden list Markay. I grew it for many years and it was an absolutely huge tree of a rose cascading from at least 8' of height, rock solid hardy, first to bloom, and absolutely no rebloom whatsoever. The bloom cycle was barely a week or two with just enough of the short-lived pink blooms to keep me from digging it out. I thought that maybe my soil wasn't acid enough for a good rebloom since most rugosas don't do well for me.

However, I absolutely agree with Mrs. Anthony Waterer as a hardy and excellent rebloomer that handles tough conditions with ease. My other rugosa that I love isn't technically an antique since Ralph Moore bred it, but Linda Campbell is a huge healthy and robust bloomer that is also tip hardy.

Guess I can grow some rugosas, but for the most part they don't like me.

Cynthia

Wow thank you all for such great responses to my question. It really is great to hear from you all who have such experience in growing roses. Sorry it has taken me a while to reply, but it has been a busy week at work and this site won’t let me post directly.

Karen you are correct when you said I was definitely looking for some more personal experiences of specific varieties in individual gardens. I have lived an hour from Knoxville before and our climate is very similar in North Alabama including the late spring freezes. Last year I had buds on all my roses when we had 2 days in the low 20s that burned them all off.

I have been growing roses no spray for around 4 years since after becoming a mom my gardening time has been reduced. I am always looking for roses that do well no spray in our humid conditions. I am writing every single rose down that is being recommended here to try in the future. The few teas I have tried do not seem to do well here (Mrs. Dudley Cross, Adam and Franziska Kruger). Definitely would like to try Mutabilis and Reve D’or. Bermuda spice will be at the top of my list to try since blush roses that turn white are my absolute favorite. We have a lot of multiflora here after trying to remove it for the past 4 years I think I am giving up because we can’t keep up.

Vapor thank you so much for the recommendations. I have Darlow’s enigma and agree that it is bulletproof here. I unfortunately let a Chestnut rose die in a pot a couple of years ago so I’ll have to try again in the new garden. I will write all of these down to try. Sunny in Mississippi recently mentioned Clotilde is doing great in her garden so definitely at the top of the list also.

Moses thank you for your post. I am glad you mentioned the hybrid rugosas, because I have a new Therese Bugnet and Snow pavement this year. I got a Blanc double de Courbet last year and it did really well so I am totally willing to try some rugosas with that look.

Millie your roses look fantastic and that wisteria on the wall looks amazing. Actually your stone wall is to die for . I have a MAC and it does decently well with blackspot here and definitely Darlow’s enigma is the only hybrid musk I have that is really clean all season long.

my spring flush hasnt happened yet

here are limoncello and Roald Dhal

Pictures today

will continue bellow

It isn’t antique per say, but the Botanical Garden has a large beautiful Eutin/Hoosier’s Glory. It is an older Kordes rose with polyantha genetics and it stays really clean. If I had space for it, I would grow it.

Trish thank you for your post. I am definitely starting to appreciate how healthy the rugosas are turning out to be here in my humid environment so I will try some more. The teas seem to struggle here since we go down close to zero degrees or (-17 Celsius) for at least a week every year which wipes them out. I would love to try Mrs. B.R Can’t which my parents grow in their zone 10b beautifully and I love her blooms. Mosieur Tillier sounds amazing, I love those giant roses and would love to have some. I will be gardening in a large property soon and giant roses will be very welcome in hopes they can cope with deer damage.

Markday thank you so much for persevering in responding to the thread. This site can be so frustrating, I have to type on a note and then copy and paste here or it won’t let me type at all.

It seems several of you are repeating names like Clotilde Superb so that tells me those varieties seem to perform well in several areas and definitely worth trying here. I definitely can handle the roses not looking their best during the height of the summer or toward the end of the season specially because I get Japanese beetles anyway. My biggest issue is trying to avoid those like the ones I shared on my pictures above that are already black spotting by mid April and before my spring flush. Mrs. Antony Waterer seems to be a winner and I had never seen it before so it is going on my list. Mrs. Dudley cross died here to the ground every year and never got over a foot tall until I shoveled pruned it but I am going to try those on the top 10 list from the botanical garden (already got a Therese Bugnet this year so that’s awesome)

dianela, that is certainly early for such bad BS. How disappointing. I have been contemplating trying Roald Dahl but won't now. We had 6 or 7 months of high humidity this year. It used to be only bad during February and March. I think we're verging on Tropical these days. I'm surprised to see Mutabilis on the list as it blackspots here - not too badly, but worse than any Tea I've grown. It's a pity you can't grow those. The rugosas I've grown and really liked are Belle Poitivine, Rugspin, Scabrosa and Blanc Double de Coubert. I've regretted never growing Roserie de l'Hay. Of the moderns I have, Bliss, Berry Delightful, Threads and Crafts, Chippendale, Lioness and Harmonize are barely touched by BS, even now at the end of a very humid and latterly rainy, season. Trish

@Markay MD-Zone 7B, thank you for mentioning Eutin. It is gorgeous at a regional rose garden and I've tried to root it. It grows large here as can Anthony Waterer. I love comparing notes with everyone. I haven't really included climbers, but can add some if anyone would like.

@dianela7analabama I have Roald Dahl on multiflora. I think the multiflora rootstock helps, but it hasn’t gone through 3 summers here yet so I’m still watching to see what it does.

Markday I hope your Roald Dahl does better than mine. I always find interesting Austin says it is a healthy variety, this is my 4th plant in two different properties and they have always been very BS prone which is a shame because I love it. My healthiest Austin’s are Bathsheba, Claire Austin and the newer Eustacia and Silas Marner.

FWIW Eutin blackspotted regularly and substantially for me for about 6 years till I removed it. It was in my top 20% of blackspotting roses I would say. It wasn't in ideal situation - part sun, cold spot of my yard, minimal water - but we have a dryish climate and it shouldn't be that susceptible if it's resistant to our strains of BS.

The key is "our strains of BS". As we are discovering from this discussion, what is clean in another climate isn't necessarily clean in ours.

Cynthia

That's disappointing to hear. It looked so vigorous, but i'm not sure howdiligently they spray. I'm sure they spray sometimes. Oh well. I generally only comment on those I've grown so maybe i'll remember that as a caveat!:))

Black spot is ever mutating, it must do so to survive, like viruses. New strains popping up go with the territory, too. So whether you have a new strain from elsewhere, or a resident black spot strain that has mutated, would take an expert to determine. In the long run, whatever the circumstances, black spot country, hot and humid summer locales with ample rainfall are always going to present often insurmountable obstacles in growing many choice, beloved rose varieties without regular conventional fungicide applications.

Moses

My only rose suffering from black spot right now is Lady of Shallot. I just cut her back to start over. I've not been happy with her growth habit, blooms, or disease resistance so far.

I really want to replace her with Abe, Golden Celebration, or Young Lycidas, but don't want to risk dealing with another black spot sufferer. Yet, like folks are saying, it's hard to predict what will happen since we all have different BS strains. It's frustrating to forego my dream roses for a rose that is "healthy" and then watch her suffer anyhow, so it makes me want to go ahead and try one of the more risky BS roses.

Caroline my Lady of Shallot gets some black spot but it doesn’t affect overall health. Golden Celebration got so badly covered with it that it enfeebled the bush and I had to get rid of it. I have yet to find a healthy yellow/apricot DA, perhaps some of the latest releases like Dannahue might be better.

My worst offender at present is Cramoisi Superieur.

Nollie if Bathsheba is in the color range you are looking for i would highly recomend her. I am growing ir as a self standing 6 feet tall bush and she is doing great no spray.

Caroline I totally understand your frustration. I love all those Austin oldies but they all blackspot here to the point of having no leave before May is over unless properly sprayed. The newer varieties do seem to do a bit better and I am growing several no spray (they do get some but recover). The ones you mentioned as some of your favorites are some of the worse offenders tho. You can always pick a few favorites and spray those. After several year of growing only for health I ordered Lady of Shalott, Lichfield angel, Benjamin Britten and Boscobel because I miss them and I will spray them since a small number is manageable.

Nollie -- good to know the drastic difference between LoS and GC in terms of BS resistance. Sad but I needed to hear this!

Dianela -- I meant to say thanks for making this thread because I had the same question after reading the other thread about antiques. Every time I try to garden for health it seems to backfire on me. My older austins are all carefree so far, but when I shop the "health" section on the DA website they seem to be the ones that suffer the most(LoS, Princess Anne, Roald Dahl at the end of the season). But it's a fun experiment!

@dianela7analabama I saw that Heirloom had Bathsheba back in stock and I am pretty tempted!

Thought I would also share a pic of my unruly Jacques Cartier. It is taller than the 6ft fence now and really acts like a climber -more so than some climbers I’ve grown.

The blooms are beautiful and so fragrant! I definitely recommend it for health too.

Thank you Markday I always love to hear what does well for others with high bs pressure

One of my Bathshebas this spring. It gets some BS on the bottom part but really good for an Austin.

.