I checked out Annie Laurie McDowell and Lynnie, both are Kim's creations. They are almost thornless, tolerate shade, and hardy to zone 6b. Annie has strong musk fragrance and can be used as cut flower. I'll try out Annie next to the house for the spring.

My experience does not at all mimic yours. I am in even a drier climate than Kim, being more inland. The climate here is mediterranean, zone 8b. I have a Cl. Crimson Glory that has been growing happily and flowering heavily in partial shade for way more than 2 decades (it was covered in flowers in December). Gertrude Jekyll is also in partial shade. No problems with vigor--it wants to be Jack and the Beanstalk--and I've seen no loss in flowering compared to the other GJ I had in full sun. Check the ratings on HMF as others have given it a good rating for shade tolerance.

What works for roses in your climate may not apply to everyone else everywhere else for the same varieties. Many quite hardy roses do not demand full sun here. Not surprising as the sun in Southern California can be very intense. Alba roses in particular can be hardy in some really cold climates (a couple zones or so colder than yours) yet multiple of them are known for shade tolerance (I have 3 albas--all in part shade). Rugosas likewise. Check HMF and note rugosas hardy down to zone 2, yet you may also find multiple of them that are described as shade tolerant. Check to see how many of these are listed thru zone 10, zone 9, or even only up to zone 8. The cold tolerance does not necessarily translate to heat tolerance or the demand for full sun. My rugosa magnifica I've had for about 8 years. It has been in pretty dense shade and was still able to grow and flower. I cut back some of the underbrush and shade canopy around it last year so that it gets perhaps 3 hours of sun per day. It has more than doubled in size and blooms more. RM is listed as being hardy to zone 3 on HMF.

Location, location, location!

Melissa

Thank you, Melissa, for the info. that I hope to hear, since I have lots of partial shade, and less space for full sun. What you wrote makes it easier for me with the limited sun I have. The info. about Gertrude Jekyll and Crimson Glory I gathered from posters in rainy climate.

Many thanks. I wish I had posted this earlier - I'll drive the nurseries nuts with my changes.

I have Golden Celebration on the west side of the house but not against it. It's in a raised bed in the front lawn. It has wintered beautifully there for at least 20 or more years. It is at least 12 feet tall and most years it is green to the tips in spring.

While spring freeze and thaws can be a real killer for roses because it saps the stored energy a rose needs to come back in the spring I do very much agree with Mr. Moody's thoughts about dehydration being the main cause of rose loss over winter. It's not the cold itself but the lack of moisture that causes them to die. I water my roses until it's too snowy or too cold to run the hose in the fall and early winter and I start again as soon as I can turn the faucets back on in the spring. And the potted roses outside in the little greenhouse, the winter storage bed and the tree rose in the shed get watered by hand once a month ALL winter. I carry out gallon milk jugs of water to do it. It's a big job and I'm sure my neighbors wonder about me running back and forth with gallons of water in January and February but I haven't lost a rose to winter since I began doing this. I keep saying they're asleep not dead and they get thirsty!