Thank you Judi, for starting this valuable post. I can see me spending hours going over everyone's roses entered here, discovering if they could work in my garden.

Folks that know me know that Quietness is my favorite rose and quickly became so shortly after I got 3 bushes from Chamblees, not long after it was introduced by Roses Unlimited in 2003.

Quietness grows so beautifully as a stand alone bush, it doesn't need rose buddies grown around it to conceal any aberrant growth habits. I consider Quietness to be a grandiflora, not just a shrub because of its classic grandiflora growth habits, requiring pruning like a hybrid tea for maximum bloom size and number. Its growth is tall, reaching 6+ feet by fall on a mature bush, and is an upright, but not columnar grower, nicely bushy....hence is its ability to be a stand alone, centerpiece rose bush.

The blooms are large, 4", and full petaled, rarely showing stamens, even at the full blown stage. Having height of bloom it never gets flat. Fragrance to me is not strong as reported, but medium+.

On a very vigorous young basal cane I can routinely count over 30+ blooms at its apex, well spaced, and strong necked, facing upward, NOT NODDING!

Quietness' black spot resistance is excellent. Spots appearing on the lowest, oldest leaves only, and only in September and on, no earlier, is the pattern I have observed, year after year. Quietness is a true no spray, for black spot, rose. Quietness will get powdery mildew, though, but not every year....periodically, when cool nights and sunny, warm days with no rain for an extended period occur, and bingo!, powdery mildew appears. Then it needs spraying, but powdery mildew here is an occasional event, almost rare, and of short duration....nothing like the onslaught of black spot come the end of May, continuing all the way to October/November! Every year is the same with black spot pressure here, it's intense.

Nothing is faultless, and Quietness is no exception. Quietness' blooms are relatively short lived, 4 days during summer's heat here. In spring and again in fall, they will last a week and longer. This is on the bush. I am rarely cutting blooms to enjoy indoors for myself....I can enjoy them on the bushes in my garden! Cut, gifted Quietness given to others to enjoy...... I cannot report reliable longevity accounts of Quietness blooms in the vase in these cases.

Quietness is also quick to establish itself, maturing pretty fast, obeying the sleep, creep, leap rule. I have grown eight Quietness bushes over the last 15 years. Every one performed exactly the same...on target, ready and quick to please. I presently have 5 bushes: two 15 year old bushes (going strong), two 3 year olds, and one 2 year old.

I also love the name Quietness. How this magnificent rose, Dr. Buck's crowning achievement, IMHO, got its name, is the subject of a different post.

Moses.

I have to go with Olivia Rose Austin. Easy to grow, classic English shrub rose shape, super healthy, lots of thick canes, high petal count with a beautiful range of color from white on the outside, blush, turning to a light pink. I remember reading somewhere that David Austin said Olivia was the best or most perfect rose he ever created or something to that degree. There's a whole thread on Austins but I think bang for your buck in terms of every consideration, this rose hits the bullseye. Only flaw if you can call it that is the very light fragrance.

My most perfect rose is not my favorite. My favorites are all Austins but they get disease here. My most perfect rose is Flamenco Rosita. It is blooming 2 fulls weeks ahead of the rest and doesnt stop until it super freezes here.

This is them TODAY when my main flush on orher roses is around Mother’s day. ( we are definitely ahead of schedule this year i think)

I have 3 and they all look like this all seaaon long. Olivia here in front with some rare blooms and already showing some blackspot. Flamenco is spotless until late fall when some of the lower leaves may get ratty but very minimal.

Its main flaws would be it gets very large and may not fit in every garden and its fragrance is very mild.

Another vote for Olivia Rose Austin . She's an absolute Head Girl, Class President, you name it, even if she does not repeat well for me, probably because of the tree foliage coming in after the Spring flush. But during Spring she is perfection.

Huge full blooms, subtle color, blooms a lot with many buds opening at one time for good coverage, nice round bushy habit. If only I could get her to bloom properly again.

Otherwise, just gorgeous, I could not be without her.

Picture of her below against Climbing Pinkie.

Second most "perfect" must be Double Pink Knock Out. Incredible work horse, gets second place only because it has that generic, common appearance. Otherwise, the bloom power is amazing.

This is from a baby KO planted last fall (I planted three). They went through the most terrible frost without any protection and didn't think they would make it.

Right now, it is as vigorous and crazy-blooming as it gets - small to the ground as it is.

What a beauty, Ingrid!
Moses, I have often thought of getting Quietness because of the high marks you give this rose, but so far I still haven’t acquired it. Maybe it will find its way into my garden yet. Dianela, I have Flamenco Rosita as well. It could easily be my second choice because of the reasons you mentioned: tough as nails and just keeps pumping blooms out all summer long with no disease or trouble. It wants to get huge in my climate, but I moved it this past winter and I can tell it’s not quite back up to full steam.

@dianela7analabama

How long have you had Rosita? I almost got it last year but then I realized the designated space may have been too small for her.

It looks gorgeous in your flower bed in the back. Lovely!

@Ingrid_vc zone 9b, San Diego Co. inland

That is such a soft, dreamy color on Frances. A beauty, indeed.

Artist,

You're absolutely right Double Pink Knock Out is one: tough, dependable, glorious beauty... a joy to have. Effortless care needed. Its stigma is that it's a Knock Out...snobbery in the rose world. If it was a Meilland or Harkness, or 'Shut Your Mouth!'...an Austin (how dare we), it would be praised from 'Sea to Shiny Sea!'

Moses.

@Moses Moses

Yes, you get that sense, innit. Snobbery is an interesting thing. It can't distinguish between popular for real/right reasons (in which case no one should care everyone else has it) and popular due to epidemics and nothing else.

When it came to the mailbox and first part of the driveway where sturdiness and drought resistance are must, there was no debate. I had to have the KO-s with that bright landscape flower power. One at the mailbox and three smaller ones along the driveway - and I absolutely love them! When taken care of just like all other roses, they bloom way more than any other.

Maybe the form is not too sophisticated or maybe we have all become jaded, but when all is said and done, I just love seeing them sparkle in the landscape everywhere. No Austin can do that.

My only concern is RRD. It is in the larger area, I had it last year but snatched them out at the first sign...so I am keeping my fingers crossed none of my roses will get it this season. So far so good.

A rose that ticks a lot of boxes for me, though certainly not a favourite bloom, is an Australian rose called The Opportunity Rose. It has grown to what is supposedly its full size (almost 4' high and 3' wide) since being planted as a bare root in August. It has had around 6 generous flushes since then and has tolerated whatever weather has been thrown at it. It has hardly a skerrick of disease either, after a very humid and latterly rainy 8 months, in a rampant BS area.

Trish

Trish, that is a champion of a rose in terms of performance, but in truth it's also very attractive. It has very pretty color gradations and I for one am a sucker for pinky/apricot roses. Six flushes of bloom and not even a year in the ground - I wish more roses performed like that.

Artist I have had Flamenco for probably 4 years now. She definitely wants to get big and I keep it at 6 feet tall by 8 feet wide by pruning it down to 3 feet twice a year. It wants to be at least an 8x8 rose bush, but it doesn’t mind being cut down as needed. If you look in my First picture the ones by my kitchen window has some buds less than a foot under my eves already and I cut it down to 3 1/2 feet tall in February. It just comes back super fast and blooms even more. I can’t wait to place some in a place where I can let it go wild and do its thing to see.

Trish, your Opportunity Rose is such a happy looking rose, so unpretentious. And that backdrop of stone adds to the scene…. Is it part of your house? I see steps going up to somewhere and it looks mysterious, like some place to explore.

Ingrid, the first flushes had a coppery overtone which I loved - and yes, what a performer. I am getting another rose by the same breeder (Bruce Bundrett) called My Yellow, and I'm keen to see how it performs. I can see myself redoing the garden with all of his roses if it matches up!

judi, that stone is all in the garden. Someone with your and your husband's abilities laid it 80 years ago. I'll take a wider shot later to show you.

judi, here's a wider shot. The bed on the left is where a number of the new roses are going. It will be orange/yellow mainly. The raised bed on the right will also be home to a number of new roses, mainly pink but will also have to accommodate Plum Perfect and Dolly's Rose (red). I have Dee-Lish there at the moment. It is not doing at all well, although it was fine in Spring, so I suspect the surrounding soil. I must prompt my son again to look for his soil tester.

Belinda's Dream is the perfect rose for me , although not my favorite color .

It is a huge 6x6 bush , almost always blooming , never gets any disease , thrips/spider mites don't like it for some reason . In fact I mostly ignore it . deadheading it is a headache !

Hot cocoa, marc chagall,

stainless steel, and star of the republic are my perfect roses. These roses hold up to the heat extremely well, never have disease, have pretty foliage, and bloom even through the heat. Sorry, couldn’t narrow down to just one.

Stainless steel

marc chagall

star of the republic

@Pink Rose(9b, FL )

Do you mean Belinda's Dream?

I love it too but I grow it in a pot (originally a band, own root) so it doesn't get too big.

The blooms sometimes ball with a bit of rain.

It's not my favorite and yet, I can't let her go when I see those big silvery flat-pink blooms once she opens up altogether. Something about her...

Trish your home looks so beautiful and romantic. I love it as a backdrop for roses

Trish, thanks for sharing that photo of your beautiful stonework. The wall with the balustrade on top is so beautiful! I’ve seen bits and pieces from other photos but seeing a broader shot of the garden is delightful.
Cgurt, your roses are exceptionally floriferous! Your Marc Chagall is my favorite. I agree with you on Star of the Republic! That one makes the list for near perfect in my garden too. The foliage on that one is a clean, apple green and is so resilient in the heat. Some years I have had terrible thrip issues with that one, but I’m hoping for better this year. Here are blooms from last year as it’s not in bloom yet this spring in my garden.

My most perfect rose is Brindabella Purple Prince because it is healthy, fragrant, generous and has good vigor while also remaining a compact, nicely shaped shrub. Her blooms hold up well too.

@dianela7analabama, your Flamenco Rositas are amazing. I got mine as a tiny start from Long Ago Roses and it has taken awhile to build up, but I think this is gonna be the year it hits its stride. I am anxiously waiting for the first bloom to open! None if my roses are blooming yet, but she is very close!!

Churt, I agree on both Hot Cocoa and Marc Chigal, both are so trouble free with the prettiest foliage. I dont have Star of the Republic but it is really beautiful!

Trish, you have great backdrops to work with Wow! I would think that everything would be set off by that gorgeous wall.

@judijunebugarizonazn8 your star is beautiful! The thrips don’t seem to bother mine yet and I hope they don’t. They seem to hunt other roses in my garden for now.

@Kristine LeGault 8a pnw Yes, they are great roses! To be honest I bought them both on whims and then had buyers regret before I even saw them bloom. I saw pictures online and didn’t think I would like them. I tried to kill them so I could make room for roses on my wishlist and my husband stopped me. I’m glad he did because now I love them both.

judi, I was just looking again at your photos of Rosemantic Fuchsia. That foliage is amazing, and as you say, it is such a nicely shaped shrub. Unfortunately, it's not available here.

Artist, I value any rose that's easy care and performs like your Pink DKO. I just discovered that a nursery here stocks it. I'm now wishing I'd ordered it after seeing your photo.

Markay, your Brindabella Purple Prince is lovely. Here, they are only sold by Brindabella Roses, so I tend to forget about them when ordering. I've never seen a Brindabella rose at a nursery either.

Kristine, I had a huge water tank removed from in front of that wall a few months ago. I hope to do it justice!

Too bad RF isn’t available to you there, Trish. It really is a beautiful, bulletproof rose for me and I feel like it should be my favorite rose, but it isn’t. I jokingly call it my plastic rose sometimes, because it is pretty much flawless.

Cgurt, the thrips are being held at bay this spring so far because I started spraying Spinosad early to try to beat them at the game.