Belinda's Dream for sure! The old garden roses are wonderful - too many to name. I am in Texas, so can grow some you cant [chinas, teas] and you should be able to grow the damasks, gallicas, albas - roses we cant grow down here. Check out the Earthkind roses. There are lots of options!

Thank you for your quick reply. I will be sure to check out your recomendations. I did know about the hybrid teas, that was what led to my giving up the last time. Again thank you.

Take a look at Palatine Roses website. They're in Canada and it will give you a good idea what's available in cold hardy roses. Don't be tempted to push the boundaries and try zone 6 roses, they will fail you in the long run. As a beginner, I started with floribundas because they're available in so many colors, I liked that they rebloom and most are attractive garden shrubs. They were easy and rewarding.

Be careful about putting too much weight on ratings and awards and other measures of popularity; most of the country isn't so cold. Look for Hardy, Vigorous, Disease Resistant.

I was surprised that even though my choices had been advertised as disease resistant, most still suffered blackspot! Not sure what plagues your region, but once you decide you like a rose, ask on this forum, or research on Help Me Find Roses, (or a local rose society, local garden center, etc.) how it does in your region.

Happy Gardening!
Di

What you particularly need are local recommendations, as a rose that's bulletproof in a different area could be a disaster where you live. It might be helpful to spend some time in local public gardens that have good rose collections and see what thrives there. My own belief is that there are foolproof roses for pretty much every climate; you just need to identify the ones for your area.
And of course you need to dig good holes and not place your roses in a swamp or in black shade. But if you've kept your Knockouts alive you already know that.
Good luck!

Thank you. I had gathered from my reading here that floribunda's could be a good choice. I will do more research into them and hopefully come up with a few choices that will be appropriate for my climate and needs.I think the old roses are beautiful, but I would like some rebloom, and it seems that from my reading most are once-blooming in spring, and require more care than my abilities are at this time.

Look for some of the Griffith Buck shrub roses. They're pretty easy care and are winter hardy without protection. Both Quietness and Winter Sunset are wonderful ones for me. Another suggestion would be Julia Child. She's easy to care for and blooms her head off. Palatine is a good place to look as mentioned above because they do grow hardy roses.

David Austin says his newer rose Lady of Shalott (apricot/golden blend) is a good choice for a beginner. It is floriferous and very disease-resistant. Check on the hardiness--I believe it is hardy in Zone 5. It might be a bit larger than you want, however. You'll have to decide on that.

The David Austin rose Queen of Sweden (light pink) is a bit smaller and very disease-resistant.

A somewhat smaller rose that is good for beginners is Earth Song (bright pink)--good disease-resistance.

I have also had good luck with the floribunda Our Lady of Guadalupe (light pink)--almost no disease at all--but there have been a few other posters who claimed to have some disease problems with her. Probably regional differences.

A big healthy vigorous rose is Elina--lovely creamy/pale yellow blend.

Hope that gets you started. But keep in mind that "disease-resistant" is not the same as "disease-free." You have to decide whether you can put up with occasional or light cases of blackspot -- or not. If not, then you will need to start using a fungicide spray, at least on occasion.

Kate

Hello, neighbor! Where are you in NEO?

You should pick up Peter Schneider's book "Right Rose, Right Place." He grows hundreds of roses near Mantua in Portage County, so his recommendations should be right on for you. (He also holds Open Garden Days in early June when you can tour his gardens, a wonderful way to spend an afternoon; watch this page for 2013 dates: http://www.combinedroselist.com/whatsnew.html )

In my west Akron garden, I've had good luck with David Austins, especially Mary Rose and Tamora; floribundas Our Lady of Guadalupe, Julia Child, Daybreaker, Lavaglut; HTs Double Delight, Electron, Gemini, Mr. Lincoln, McCartney Rose, Fragrant Cloud; climbers Dublin Bay, Awakening, Autumn Sunset; also (shrubs or grandifloras) Belinda's Dream, Tuscan Sun, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Hawkeye Belle (Buck), Rainbow Sorbet.

Most need an occasional spray for blackspot.

I am East of Warren, town called Hartford. Thank you for your recomendations, and the book reference, will check it out. I actually have considered some of the Austin roses, Lady of Shallot being a favorite, but haven't tried any (thus tihs post),and have seen pictures of many of the others you mention. thank you for the starting point.

Kate, thank you , size is not a problem, I have approx 5 and 1/2 acres, that I am trying to landscape, so any recomendations are appreciated. My main concern, at this time is zone hardiness.

jaco--I think all the roses I recommended are zone 5 hardy, but do double check at helpmefind.com--though don't pay attention to them if they put down Zone 6 as their "default" zone. That just means that when they don't know how hardy a rose is, they list it no lower than Zone 6--kind of a happy medium.

Have fun exploring the world of roses.

I just thought of another hardy and disease-resistant David Austin--Mortimer Sackler. It wants to be a climber--if you are needing one--but if you trim it back a few times as I did, it will grow as a tall (6-7 ft) shrub--not too wide, maybe 3-4 ft maximum. It is light pink.

Kate

jaco - I would not try Belinda's dream in zone 5. I had it, and it winterkilled. (although disease free and lovely) So I am thinking you may be discouraged if you did try it.
I have own root David Austin roses with alkaline soil here in zone 5 Chicagoland. They overwinter well, some varieties more disease resistant than others. I like that they bloom well into fall here. but do tend to shut down a bit when it is over 90.
I would recommend the Kordes "fairytale" roses and Kordes also have a hybrid tea/grandiflora: "Eliza" all of which you can get from Palatine (since Pickering is closed for the rest of this season it looks like). Healthy and hardy.
Also, I notice that Chamblees has those easy elegance roses, which I have yet to try, but people are raving about. Don't know about hardiness though.

Chamblee's has a good collection of Buck and Earthkind roses, both of which have been recommended here. Look over their offerings, choose roses that appeal to you, and if you have questions, Chamblee's is very helpful. I just ordered three roses for a friend in another state. I was certain about the first two I was certain, but for the third I had several choices. Chamblee's went over the pros and cons of each one with me.

The native North American species, such as R. pisocarpa, N. nutkana, N. gymnocarpa and N. woodsii; all four of these are among my favorites, and are virtually indestructible. Oh, and I would add N. arkansana to the list as well. If you get a carefully chosen cultivar of arkansana, you will enjoy three or four flushes of bloom through the growing season!

'Stanwell Perpetual.'

Here is a link that might be useful: Stanwell Perpetual at HMF

This post was edited by AquaEyes on Wed, Jan 16, 13 at 12:10

First let me say thank you to all of you have that have responded. I have looked at some of the choices given, and have found several I would like to try. I do, however have one more question, should I be looking foe own root or grafted roses in my climate, and if grafted, should I plant them deep enough to cover the graft a few inches?, Thank You

Can't advise on own root vs graft (I go with either and don't worry about it), but I can definitely say that if it is grafted, bury that graft at least several inches--maybe even 4-5 inches--though with global warming, that advice may change over time. But even here in Zone 6, I bury grafts a couple inches.

Kate

Thank you Kate, that's what I thought, but, I thought I should double check to make sure.

Jack

Jaco-- going to repeat a few more of other's suggestions: Mister Lincoln, Fragrant Cloud (its ridiculously fantastic), Elle, Double Delight, Miss All American Beauty, and Scentimental. As a newbie myself, I'd suggest staying away from climbers because they seem tricky to train but that's just me.

Grafted vs own root.. I have both. They each have their pluses and minuses. Upside of grafted is that you start out with a bigger container whereas own root, you have to be patient and wait a couple seasons before it gets to the grafted size. Downside of grafted (in NE Ohio) is that in the winter, you need to baby (cover up/protect) it so when spring arrives your red rose isn't now appearing yellow or pink. Own root roses are better longer term (sturdier).

Considering all of the roses I have seen in Cleveland, you will be just fine. There are also a few well established rose gardens in Cleveland, I would suggest you check those out for other varietals. Good luck and happy blooming!

Pay particular attention to trospero's advice. He's the UBERexpert around here: particularly regarding colder zones.

Personally, I'd first recommend 'Dr. W. Van Fleet'. This is the parent from which sported the most important rose of all time (and the first plant ever patented), the ever-blooming 'New Dawn'. From New Dawn came Rosa Wichuraiana's desirable traits into modern roses.

I've Grown both Van Fleet and New Dawn, and can say that the parent, while blooming only once, is otherwise superior in every way: bigger blooms, longer canes, fantastic disease resistance, far bigger show in spring (unforgettable, really). Essentially, you'll have a twenty foot stretch of big, pink, fragrant tea-shaped roses, on stems long enough for cutting.

For roses that laugh at Ohio's cold, pretty much the entire Rugosa/Hybrid-Rugosa class are superlative choices. The Canadian Explorer Roses are the largest group of these hybrids. They tend to have little-to-no Blackspot, and some are heat-tolerant, even down to sweltering Shreveport, where they grow in the ARS Headquarters Gardens. Outside the Explorer Series, Therese Bugnet is a well-loved choice across North America. Hardy to Zone 3...rhymes with 'worry-free'.

Another hardier-than-average class are Hybrid Multifloras. Seven Sisters is the classic anyone can grow. It's seven shades of pink. Gruss an Zabern is a gorgeous white. Both bloom only once.

If you grow grafted roses, be sure you mulch extra-deep over winter. Rake most of that depth away from the roses, once chances of late freezes are gone. Own-root roses, of course, can be killed down to the ground, and will still come back 'as themselves'.

I learned from an aunt in Northwest Arkansas (where there are freezes bad enough to kill hollies) who gets her help to mow leaves until they're practically pureed, then mulches with those ground-up leaves. She even keeps Datura alive that way, and her roses leap forward every spring. I use semi-decomposed compost, now that I'm up in Oregon.

With Rugosas, I don't think you'll need to mulch after the first couple of winters.

If you want to experiment with newer roses, my experience has been that Griffith Buck roses enjoy bitter cold. No surprise, since Buck's breeding program included the species Trospero mentioned, plus a rose from SIBERIA. Buck roses practically have their own cult following. Most were rescued from obscurity and near-oblivion, following Griffith Buck's demise (his breeding program was undervalued by the University where he taught). Buck Roses don't have the prettiest growth habits, IMHO, but they're hardy and tough, with beautiful blooms in fantastic colors. The ten Buck roses I planted in '05, in Mississippi where they don't get enough cold, are all still healthy, despite minimal care from the busy young surgeons who bought the house. The attached photo is of Buck's 'Serendipity'.

And since Paul Barden is too ethical to plug his own magical creations here, shameless hussy that I am, I'll do it for him. Many of his babies were bred using Rugosa, Nutkana, Arkansana... Rogue Valley Roses carries the cultivars which so-far have been introduced into commerce. They're unique (Mosses! Deep purples! Pumpkin Orange!) Most of them are hardy to Zone 5.

I love the rugosas roses too, however I have had some die due to alkaline soil here in IL (foliage turns lime/lt. green) and I have had grafts go bad thus kiling the rose too (only on the rugosas - weird). AND there are many varieties that would not bloom more than once a year for me. Although I do have several still that are bulletproof. But I just have to put up with the sporadic blooms. However I do LOVE them and they would work in Ohio.

The Austins are hardy and easy to grow; I love them and find that they do very well in a cold zone.

They get blackspot and drop their leaves in my no-spray garden setting, however, they grow well and bloom well.

I don't cover them or mound them during winter.

I plant grafted roses with the bud union about two or three inches below the soil line.

Once again, I must thank all of you for your responses. You have all given excellent points for me to start, and advice that can't be found in any book.

Thanks again,
Jack

Without knowing the layout of your place, or the number of years you have been there, this may be old information, but how is winter wind there? The first place I grew roses was in a new development in that general part of the world. The western wind during the winter was bad enough to make the west side of the house a considerably colder microclimate than the east side. Basically, as far as roses were concerned, the east side was a decent zone 6, the west zone 4. That zone 6 was a much, much easier place to grow HTs than here.

Sounds like you have the wonderful luxury of a lot of space and a chance to experiment with roses that do well in your zone. I second the suggestion of the book "Right Rose, Right Place", which is great for all cold zone roses and particularly good for your part of Ohio. In addition to the suggestions already made, you ought to make sure to check out the class of Shrubs, since whenever I think of my most trouble-free roses that bloom the longest they seem to come from that class. Some good ones would be Lady Elsie May, Pink Emely (or any of the Kordes shrubs), Smiling Jean. They may not be the flashiest individual blooms, but for a visual impact on the bush they're - well, a Knockout. You also can't go wrong with most Buck and Barden creations, and we should also mention the long blooming ease of Rupert creations like Lauren and Annie Laurie McDowell.

Have fun with your new space, and we'd love to see before and after pictures!
Cynthia

Nippstress, I have lived here for 22 years and have done a lot of landscaping. I tried roses once(hybrid teas) and failed miserably. Now , having kept a few knockout roses alive for a while, I have decided to give it another try, with the real thing.. I am so surprised and amazed with the responses, I have gotten to my question, and have actually picked out a couple that might fit into my beginner rose garden. again thank you all for all of your help, aand advice.hopefully someday I will have something to contribute when another new rose gardener has the same question.