My experience in my climate is what you suggest may result in a shorter, thorny bush with few flowers. It will likely also not be nearly as healthy as it should/could be in your climate due to your reducing its food producing capacity through removal of foliage as well as stored food through unnecessary removal of the wood it's stored in. You really are better off either finding a rose which will remain close to what you desire, select another type of plant which will remain that height or change your demands for the rose. You CAN keep it hacked back, but it will probably not be as healthy or happy as it should be and you probably won't have much color from it. Kim

Roses here tend to grow tall. If the description says four feet, I get six or seven. I typically prune 3 times each season and have seen no ill effects. However, I prune them back to about four feet, making sure plenty of new cane and foliage remains.

I don't know for sure but it just seems to me that a plant that wants to be 4 ft. isn't going to be happy if you keep cutting it back to 2 ft. And then there's the other thing about pruning roses...it makes them grow! So every time you prune it down you are going to be stimulating new growth. It's going to be a constant battle and you're setting your self up for a lot of work to keep them that small and in the end they aren't going to be healthy and happy.

I think in the long run you'd be much happier with something that wants to be that small. Look at minis, minifloras and polyanthas. A lot of them are naturally small plants. I'll even suggest a couple I have. Softee is a pale yellow rose that is a very prolific bloomer and has stayed below 3 ft. for 3 years now. I also have Rise n Shine which is a brighter yellow and blooms well too and is only about 2 ft. tall.

I agree with seil - find roses that want to be 2 ft high in your climate. I have an entire bed of polyantha roses, and even in our warm climate here (where everything usually gets 2-3 times higher than it says in the books), they all stay about 2 ft. high. Look at "Little White Pet" - one of the most wonderful roses ever.

Since it really depends on how roses act in your actual climate, I would consult with your local rose society - they may know of Patio roses, etc. that are more modern that would still stay very short.

Jackie

Thanks everyone. I kinda figured it would be a no go. I was getting desperate becasue there are only a few roses that would meet my needs that would thrive in our heat and humidity. I was trying to avoid groundcover roses just because I need something more upright and compact since I already have ground covers in the area. I was going for yellow but red would work equally as well if changing the color would provide me with some more suitable options.
So any suggestions for red roses around the 2-2.5ft mark that are disease resistant and would look good in the landscape without a whole lot of fuss? Maybe something with larger blooms than typically found on miniatures?

There is an early short red floribunda called "Plain Talk" (Swim, 1964). HMF says it is continuous blooming, and Vintage Gardens has it virus indexed.

Jackie

Thanks Jackie. I've looked on HMF and various other places and can't find a picture of it anywhere nor specific height info. Do you by chance have one in your garden? It sounds like a beautiful rose.

redecoratingmom, I notice you live in Georgia. Do you spray your roses with fungicides, or are you willing to? You have to remember that Plain Talk is nearly fifty years old (1964). It was bred from Spartan and Garnette, a rose bred and released at the height of chemical use in our gardens. Spartan was created by crossing Geranium Red and Fashion, two of the rustiest roses of the forties. From experience in my climate, neither is very black spot resistant, either. Garnette was a polyantha (early floribunda) of greenhouse florist production. It is highly susceptible to mildew, even in arid climates.

I know you're not that hip on ground cover roses, but perhaps you might be better served by something like Crimson Meilland? You can see it and read more about it at the link below. It's supposed to be black spot resistant and supposedly two feet tall by four feet wide. It says it's a perfect companion for Knock Out Roses.

I honestly believe something like this is going to server you significantly better than an older variety like Plain Talk. If has been bred and selected for landscape performance without chemical intervention. It genetically wants to be the size you desire and you can FIND it. Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: Crimson Meilland

You're awesome Kim! That insight in to "plain Talk" was abundantly helpful. I definitely want a no spray rose and with GA humidity disease resistance is the utmost importance. I've been looking at the Meidilands and the Flower carpets thinking I just need to bite the bullet and go for the groundcover roses. I've also have been looking at Europeana. Anyway your advice has be very helpful.

Can you change the area at all to make taller roses an option? Planting beds installed by home builders are always too narrow. Or maybe you need a different genus altogether and put the roses elsewhere. Think outside the box. :)

Nooo Hoovb I want to stay in the box :)jk. The reason I want low growing roses is because the bed is lining a walkway and for security reason I don't want something growing so tall that it obstructs the view. I've always wanted some roses and since I've renovated that bed, I finally have a place for them. I don't want to give up on the dream just yet :)

White Meidiland is a ground cover rose with gorgeous white flowers. I'd give it a try.

White Meilland is a gorgeous rose in these parts. I love the suggestion in the old Star wholesale catalog about using it as a "lawn replacement" by planting them close together. I've seen it planted that way in a parking meridian along someone's street curb and it was beautiful. Like a ground cover version of Sombreuil-not. The only down side is, it isn't red. Kim