Eric, I had the same problem with the search. I really like Traviata. It lasts forever on the bush (even in our heat) and in the vase. Nice clear red, not pink like so many reds in the heat.
Nancy

I have 2 Peter Mayles, big flower, big plant, big fragrance. Bolero was new for me 2007, short grower, good production, wonderful fragrance, although you have to get down on your knees to sniff, because it is a short grower (so far).

Rouge Royale can have trouble with balling and vegetative centers, but when it is good it is fabulous. I think you will need a regular spray program with the latter 2 at least, they are not that resistant.

Don't have Michaelangelo.

Peter Mayle is 7 ft tall here with huge blooms and is wonderfully fragrant. Rouge Royale is shorter and wider than PM and has plentiful blooms that are so gorgeous and so fragrant that I forgive it's lack of disease resistance. Bolero is shorter than the above but I grow mine in a pot so I don't have to get down on my knees to sniff it.:-). I do love the fragrance and beauty of all of these and none of them would do well here no spray.

Carol

Thanks for the replies!

Nancy, glad I'm not the only one. I put that note in there so I wouldn't get yelled at for not searching first :) I remember the recent post where someone posted a full shot of Traviatia, beautiful. I'm trying to add more reds.

Carol, how tall is Bolero in zone 7? It didn't even occur to me it could be short :)

Hoov, how bad is the vegetative centers problem on Rouge Royale?...say out of 10 blooms, how many would have it? Is it dependent on something in the environment? I've had a little problem with Abe Darby balling here, hoping Rouge wouldn't be too bad.

Eric

Eric, I am not sure what the ultimate size will be. Mine is an ownroot and I have had it for two years. I can tell you that it has been a slow but steady grower and after two years is approx. 2 feet tall. Beautiful, fragrant blooms. I like it so much I ordered another and there are very few duplicates in my garden. It has been a great rose for a pot on my deck.

Carol

I sp'd Rouge Royale after keeping it quite a few years. It didn't do good in the heat here. I would have a good flush once in a while and if I picked them early in the bloom cycle, they were amazing. But I have too long a growing season for such a poor performer. You are in a very different zone, so my experience isn't relevant, I guess.
I have seen Peter at a local rose garden, in the heat, and was really impressed.
Kathy

You must keep Peter Mayle on the list. It's everything I can ask for in a rose - vigorous bush, relatively disease resistant, huge blooms, exceptional fragrance, good repeat. If it rains a lot in your area, forget about Rouge Royale and Michaelangelo - both ball terribly. If you have space for a VERY large romantica, with exceptional fragrance, try Frederic Mistral.

Bolero is really short in thie area. not more than 3' tall I am told.

Thanks again everyone for the input. I'm thinking it may just be Peter Mayle from this vendor. Rouge is sounding a little problematic...I've got WS 2000 on order and I've got Charles de Mills already...so maybe it's for the better :)

I'm 6'3", so Bolero sounds a little short :)

Thanks again my GW rose family.

Eric

Bolero is beautiful and fragrant taller here than it would be for you I guess. I grew to hate Rouge Royal. The plant looked like Godzilla here with thick ugly canes and huge leaves. The blooms were very stingy. They balled in cool weather and burned in hot and I disliked their thick cabbage like petals. I'm mostly very tolerant of roses faults but this one I couldn't stand. I have Michaelangelo. The blooms are a pretty yellow and fragrant. It is a bit of an awkward grower.

I love my Bolero. I have one that is 2 years old. Right now it is about 3 feet tall. The blooms are gorgeous, full and smell great. My Bolero blooms a lot. The times between the bloom cycles are short. Even in the heat, I get flowers on this plant. About the only disease that I get here is powdery mildew but this plant has never even had that.
I have another Bolero on hold at my not-so-local nursery.
My 1 year old Michalangelo has been eaten back by rabbits twice in the past year. So I don't have much info to share on that one yet.
I have 2 Rouge Royale plants. They are 2 and 4 years old. I haven't had any problem with vegetative centers. In my Phoenix area garden they are worth growing. They don't flower as much as some roses but when they do, the blooms are spectacular.
My Peter Mayle is 4 years old. It is 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It's just an ok rose for me. The scent is light and the flowers are often times flawed or don't seem to open fully. Maybe I have a bad plant or something else going on.

Get Bolero, you will love it! Bolero's foliage is quite clean, it is low growing (mine too was a small ownroot) and has a wonderful perfume. But Rouge Royale is also a 'must' in case you are willing to spray.
I am a great Romantica fan and I have most of them except Peter Mayle. Traviata is very clean but has no fragrance whatsoever. My favorites are Colette and Frederic Mistral besides Bolero and Rouge Royale.

Okay....twist my arm, I'll get Bolero too :)

Al, thanks for the zone 5 perspective, good to know Bolero gets that size, so I should hope for at least that in zone 6. While I certainly plan on cutting many of my roses for inside, I grow them to beautify my yard...so another strike against Rouge Royal...it just sounds too variable.

For Peter Mayle, it's good that it's tall and narrow...my poor dogs are slowly losing their yard. :)

Thanks again everyone!

Eric

Ditto on what Al said about Rouge Royale. Always in bloom around here, but the blooms do not last on the bush. I haven't had any disease issues with mine even when I miss weeks of spraying in the fall. I like everything about this rose; its vigor, stout canes (good in our windy city), large blooms and fragrance, are all quite good. I can't imagine being without it even if only as a cutting rose.