Check out Golden Buddha at Rogue Valley Roses. Mine has been in a pot for about 3 years now and is very happy. It is shade tolerant and disease resistant so far and I do not spray.

Here is a link that might be useful: Golden Buddha

How large a container are you contemplating?

For a full-sized rose, a container of 24 ins. diameter is the bare minimum for long-term success in Southern Calif.

In that situation, I might suggest a Poly-Tea such as 'Perle d'Or,' which is disease free in SoCal, and a continuous bloomer. (Fragrant, too!)
If that's too large for your space, I would definitely consider a Miniature Rose.

Jeri

If you do go for a miniature rose you may consider 'Texas'. Purchased at our area nursery last summer I have it planted in a half barrel and it did great. Exceeded my expectations. The only thing I don't know about for you is how it does as a cut rose since I prefer to enjoy mine in the garden and I don't detect much scent. Otherwise it is a winner.

Hope this helps.

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: Rose 'Texas'

I found this information while looking for a couple roses that grow well in partial shade and it may apply:

"The repeat blooming roses I grow that perform best in partial shade are: 'Ballerina'(hy.musk, Bentall, 1937), 'Knockout'(shrub, Radler, 1999), 'Darlow's Enigm'a (shrub of unknown origin), 'Cornelia'(hy. musk, Pemberton, 1925), 'Gartendirecktor Otto Linne' (hy. musk x polyantha, Lambert, 1934), 'Ghislaine de Feligonde'( hy. multiflora, Turbat, 1916)z'"

Here is a link that might be useful: Good Growing Information

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone -- I'll check them all out! Keep 'em coming if you can. (Jeri, I'm wanting a full-size rose, and have a nice big pot waiting for it!)

Judy

WATCH THE SIZE!

The roses Desertdance suggests are magnificent roses, but probably too large for good PERMANENT container culture in Southern California -- in a pot of any size.

I urge you from personal experience, to stick to a rose of more modest size, which will be more manageable in a pot.

Most modern Floribundas will work well in such a situation. So will many Polyantha Roses.

Jeri

Ducher? Paquerette? Ducher would be more fragrant.
Both happen to be white, but might brighten up the shady site.

Oops, almost forgot sunshine, a very fragrant polyantha and one of my favorites, it is a yellow or gold. Etienne has a beautiful picture of it in the antique gallery.

YES! Len those sound like great ideas! Any or all!

Jeri

I've been looking some more. Not nearly ready to make my choice yet. I wonder what anyone thinks of these roses as possibilities? Or alternatives you'd suggest? All are floribundas: English Miss; Sheila's Perfume; Judy Garland; Shocking Blue? I'm also wishing I could find a source for a McGredy rose I saw in a NoCal rose garden a few years ago -- it was called Macfirwal (aka Tango, Stretch Johnson); it didn't seem to comply with my usual preferences because I didn't detect much scent and I'm not always thrilled with bold orange blooms, but man, it was unforgettable ...

'Ducher' is a good suggestion. I would look for something with as shrubby a growth habit as possible. It will look better in a pot than a rose with an upright growth habit.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ducher @ helpmefind

I would like to note that "miniature" refers to the size of the bloom, not necessarily the size of the plant. Many minis can be taller than 4' here. When you say "full sized", how wide/tall do you mean?

Diane --

By "full size," I mean a standard (non-mini) size bloom, and a plant that is somewhere around 2'-3' wide x 3'=4' tall. And yes, a shrubby growth habit is important, so that it won't look awkward in the container.

I don't think I've seen a Ducher rose, and I'm not real familiar with china roses in general (know what they are, but haven't ever grown any that I know of!). I've been looking it up online, but can't get a good idea of it's growth habit. I see pictures where the plant itself isn't very visible, and descriptions of it as both "twiggy" and "upright." By "twiggy," I wonder if the foliage is rather sparse or light/airy? How big are the blooms?

Have you considered a fragrant miniature rose like Scentsation? If you wanted immediate gratification, buy 3, put them in the same pot and watch them make a big show. You can see photos on Helpmefind or go to Nor'East Miniature roses. They have some Mini Flora roses that are bigger than miniatures that would do well in a pot. Oh, and another really pretty one with small blooms, but that blooms alot and IS fragrant is "Sweet Chariot" - they can be ordered from Chamblees. This is a great rose, can also be used for hanging baskets. I have 2 in a pot, they do great, blooms lots and smell good. It is a mauve/fuschia color, very pretty.
Judith

Thank you, Judith. Good suggestion. I'll put it in the hopper ...

Meanwhile, I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about "English Miss?" It looks promising for my purposes. But I'm a bit confused -- at HelpMeFind, the description for its bloom says that it has "60 petals" AND that it has "17-25" petals. Which is it? Any other comments about this rose (or about Angel Face, another one I'm considering)?? Thanks again for everyone's help.

Judy

The rose LEADING LADY would be perfect for your container. It is a mini-flora that has large blooms on good upright stems perfect for cutting. It is the great planter rose.

Definitely go with harlane1's idea of leading lady

Here is a link that might be useful: My Site

Just one more suggestion:

Cliff Orent's EURO-DESERT ROSES has imported a few wonderful Polyanthas that haven't been seen in the U.S. in many decades. Some -- never.

Check out the link below for a look at 'Petite Francois.'
It's a Gravereaux (France) Polyantha from 1915.

If those blooms don't knock your socks off . . .

Jeri

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Petite Francois' -- Euro-Desert Roses

Jeri --

I followed your link to Petite Francoise at EuroDesert Roses, and the picture shown there looks incredible. But there's no information about the rose there. I googled it and searched at GardenWeb and HelpMeFind but didn't come up with anything useful either. Would you mind telling me what you know about it that makes you recommend it for my situation? I'd love to learn about this rose!

Thanks so much!

Judy

I know nothing of it, beyond the fact that Cliff Orent is offering it --
And when I say that, it means that Cliff imported it, in large part, for himself.
He's a remarkably good judge of the quality of a rose.

To be frank, I was originally going to suggest another Orent import --
'Baptiste La Faye.'
I saw that on his site, and had the same sort of breathless reaction to it
that was inspired by Petite Francoise.

I immediately ordered 'Baptiste La Faye,' and it's every bit as good as
I thought it would be. A remarkable rose, really:

{{gwi:214689}}

Hence my suggestion of Petite Francoise -- which I will be ordering myself, later in the year.
:-)

Jeri

I think you want to go with english miss or angel face.
First of all, I think angel face is the worst name ever for a rose, imo,lol!
I found what i was reading about english miss, from the ultimate rose book by stirling macoboy, bought at chamblees, ...shaped like small camellias and softly fragrant. repeat flowering.strong and compact with dark glossy foliage...
If it was me, i would go for english miss, i planted one of it's parents last fall, dearest.

Thanks to you both, Len and Jeri !!

Jeri, does Baptiste Lafaye have much of a fragrance? I'm in email contact with Cliff Orent about that one, as well as Petite Francoise and Princesse Josephine-Charlotte, but I'm not yet clear about fragrance for any of those very beautiful roses.

And Len, I agree about that name -- Angel Face! I almost didn't read up about it because the name was a bit too cutesy for my taste. Truth be told, I had a lesser-but-similar reaction to the "English Miss" name. But recognizing that that's a very silly reason not to learn about something, I checked into both roses, and they do seem like very nice roses, at least from what I've been able to learn about them, and both of them are noted as being "very," "intensely," or "exceptionally" fragrant. Sounds like your reading of The Ultimate Rose Book described EM as being "softly" fragrant, though, rather than something more potent ??

I wonder which one would have the better growth habit in a container, and quality as a cut rose. Any ideas on that front?

Again -- thank you!

Judy

I was taken with Petite Francoise also. Found out it's a polyantha, by Gravereaux 1915.

Judy -- I'm entirely the wrong person to ask about fragrance.
There are many rose fragrances I simply cannot detect.
I'd say, ask Cliff -- I think he has a better "nose for a rose" than I do.

The things I can smell, I can REALLY smell, but some things I just don't catch. :-)

Jeri