Surprisingly for something which looks so exotic Aucubas were much planted in Victorian town gardens in the UK because of their toughness in areas with high coal smoke pollution. They were commonly, and innaccurately, known as 'spotted laurels'. The sexes are separate and some varieties are all one sex. If you have a female you might get red berries. But yours looks a bit like 'Crotonifolia' in which case I'm afraid it's a chap.

Most of the older HTs will never fit your requirements. Maybe some future ones will as breeders are working on things like better health and hardiness but those weren't necessarily requirements in the past. Bloom form, size and color were more important. Even fragrance got left by the wayside back when. I have a lot of HTs because I do exhibit some. Some years they're hardy and some years they're not. Depends a lot on the severity of the winter but for the most part they need to be pruned deeply every spring because they are not cane hardy. And NONE of them would I call disease resistant. If you want real hardiness and disease resistance then you'll need to look at other classes. Julia Child is one I highly recommend for both categories. It's also a beautiful yellow with a good fragrance that blooms all the time. A few others I like for both health and hardiness are: Quietness Love Song Brilliant Pink Iceberg Home Run Those are the ones that come back faithfully every spring, bloom all the time and drop the fewest leaves in my garden.

Actually, the above diagram is incorrect :-) The root flare - that area where the trunk widens into the root system - should be at the existing soil surface level or slightly higher. Not buried several inchs below the soil surface, as the diagram illustrates. There are some other issues that should be considered as well so digging and replanting correctly is highly encouraged. Read this info sheet carefully on how to plant trees and shrubs.......it pretty much nails the correct methods and should explain clearly what was not right with the current planting. How to plant trees and shrubs.

Magpie, I don't remember that well how many feet the canes looked bare...I think it was at least 3'. Yes, there are trade offs for being in a dry climate. I think an own root Alchymist might not be as huge . Mine was an ungainly grower...sent out very long stiff canes. I still liked it. A climber I bought this spring is John Cabot. I think Frances in NJ's plant is gorgeous. Another couple of climbers I like but which are not very big plants: Penny Lane...seems to be a tough plant Courageous Love Polka... mine has been in a lot of shade but still is healthy and blooms and grows. I put another one in more sun to replace dwindling MAdame Alfred.