Gallicas like their bit of cold. But try it. At worst, you'll be out a few dollars and maybe some frustration. But it could bring you tons of happiness, too. If you always follow the rules, you'll only go where the rules go.

Gallicas: no chill hours = no bloom. Some of the hybrids with China and Noisette in their breeding might be a bit more forgiving, but plants like 'Charles de Mills' are unlikely to bloom in your climate. You may want to try 'Cardinal de Richelieu' which is known to require little chill to bloom. Be prepared to spray it though, to keep foliage healthy.

Paul

Avalon, know anyone with a meat locker?
:o))

Sherry

Meat Locker HaHa! That's what it would take, I'm afraid.

It really is blisteringly hot for a long time down here - "summer" (80+F) actually starts in May lasts until early November, and we NEVER freeze. It may get into the high 30's F, for VERY brief periods (hours), but it's not enough to set northern bulbs, damage phalanopsis orchids, or injure any but the truley tropical (as opposed to sub-tropical) plants that we have.

I would like to try Gallicas, but really think that for right now I'll stick with roses recommended for this area. As a rose newbie, I need to learn some basic stuff before I experiment too much - I feel guilty when plants die.

In Lakeland, which gets far more chilling than you would get, we grew a number of Gallicas for about 4 years. As others here have said, they grow, but they never bloom. Camaieux -- a rose I just "had" to have -- 2 flowers in one cluster, in year 4! Not even an attempt otherwise. Then it died.

For the old European look, try Marchesa Boccella, Comte de Chambord, and/or Salet. All grow and flower well in the Fort Lauderdale area. You will have to spray them regularly, since they are black spot and mildew magnets, but they will bloom. Oh, also, Stanwell Perpetual. Most of the other old European roses simply can't deal with the warmish winters.

Rose de Rescht also reblooms well (needs LOTS of spraying!).

Maggie (likely a Bourbon), 'Souv. de la Malmaison' and it's sports (Bourbons) do really well, and have an old European look to them, although not particularly like Gallicas. Really, there's nothing much else that looks like the Gallicas. Of all the Hybrid Chinas we've grown (Gallica blood in them), we've had no success at all, blooming them, ever. I should say, though, that we've not tried many.

Despite my choice of screenname I'm in a steamy climate as well, so I know your pain.

I'd like to suggest a couple more alternatives for you. Take a look at the Bourbon 'Madame Isaac Perierre' and the China/Bourbon 'Eugene de Beauharnais.' (EdB is usually sold as a China, but at least one nursery sells it as the Bourbon 'Le Grand Capitaine.') Either of those may be a good substitute for 'Charles de Mills.'

Also, explore the Bourbon and Hybrid Perpetual classes. Those are the result of the crossing of Asian and European roses. Many of them retain the OGR look, but their Asian genes would make it more likely you'd have some success with them--though you may have blackspot issues as Malcolm suggests.

Malcolm and Bellegallica, thanks for your posts, both of which I "clipped". I will be trying your suggestions as soon as I am allowed more "rose money". I just put in an order at Vintage and will be on restriction because of it! Included in my order was SDLM - I guess that I'm learning to choose properly.

I really don't have room for non-blooming roses, so I will take your "Gallica substitute" lists seriously.

thanks again,
Avalon

In Central Alabama, my experience with Gallicas has been somewhat like that of peonies and lilac, hit or miss, maybe if we got hard freezes, and even so, the sun was so hot by bloom time, that the blooms wilted first day.

OK, so the heat/UV would be a real problem also - I've seen new blooms fry here even before summer started.
Well, there are lotsa other roses we can have...
Sorry to hear about your peonies - I saw peonies for the first time in Michigan when I was decades younger, and I was just stunned by them. There are "lilac substitutes" like crepe myrtles, but nothing like peonies for Florida. Have you tried crepe myrtles? They really like HEAT!
Avalon

From what I've seen so far on mine, Rosa sancta has a growth habit that is like a gallica in spready and shortish. Being from Abyssinia I'd expect a fairly high heat tolerance.
?Malcolm...have you tried this one?

Madame Issac has been languishing here for over five years. I have had ONE bloom and that was her first year. After the very cold winter we had here in rural central Florida I am hoping to smell her again.

However, this is her last year.

When I came to this forum about 18 months ago, I learned two invaluable things. They are:
1. Chinas, Teas and Noisettes for hot areas.
2. First they sleep, then they creep, then they leap.

Veronica
(Who has many roses leaping this spring!)

Veronica, that puts my Duchesse de Brabant in line to leap this year. I noticed today she's got 4 new basal canes! Maybe I'll finally fall in love with her!

Sherry

Hi Malcolm,
Your post has been clipped!
I didn't know that SDLM was classified as a Bourbon - the one I ordered from Vintage will be on its own roots.
Have you ever grown SDLM own-root? I buy roses on Fort rootstock whenever necessary, but I would prefer to have them own-root if they can handle it here.

Thonotorose - Yes, I am beginning to understand the repetition of "China -Tea-Noisette for hot climate" that I am hearing from everyone. I'm a little dense, I guess. It's taking me too much time to get it. It's just that when I see these gorgeous rose pictures from peoples' actual gardens, my rational mind goes blank and the the emotional side says "gimme gimme!"
I'm also glad to hear that the plants take off in about 3 years.

thanks again,
Avalon

Avalon, I had SDLM own root in a pot but I lost it last summer. It was alive when I left for 2 months (my hubby and I go back up to Wisconsin for 2 months in the summer) but it was a goner when I got back. My other own root potted teas and chinas were fine so I'm not sure what happened. :-( SDLM is a nice size for a container and it did well for 2 years before it bit the dust.

Tenor Peggy-
Was your SDLM own root, Fortuniana or some other rootstock?

I don't remember ever growing SDLM on its own roots, so really don't know how it would perform. We graft virtually everything, excepting some Chinas.

Malcolm

My SDLM was own root (as are all of my roses in containers to keep them smaller). I think I got it from Chamblee's but I can't remember for sure...

Peggy, was that the one you grew before or since you moved to Florida? SDLM has a difficult time here for me, and I eventually bought it on fortuniana from James Mills and it has done fantastic. In fact, the ones growing on fortuniana will remain in my garden but the own-roots will go (gulp, have gone).

Avalon,

Having grown roses in South Florida for several years, I can completely agree with Malcom Manners recommendations. The only thing I would like to add is that the only choice that I would not recommend are the albas. In my experience, I was always naively starry-eyed with hope that I could get a once-bloomer to bloom in a subtropical climate. I grew a cabbage rose sucker that a former GW friend from Illinois sent me, and it grew but would never bloom.

I have even read quite a few rose descriptions in books and on web sites where they said that certain once-bloomers would grow in zone 10. Possibly in a very cool or even truly mediterranean zone 10, but not a tropical one, I learned. (I say mediterranean z10 because I know a GW member by the user name of Eduarda who grows R. gallica officinalis in Z10, Portugal).

I hope this doesn't discourage you. I am just trying to save wasted time, $, and effort. Looking back, there were many good roses and plants I could have enjoyed in Miami, but I was always trapped with "zone envy".

Oh and BTW, I saw what you said about peonies. One thing you might want to try is buying a pack of peony poppy seeds and growing them during your cool season. That should give you the effect you want! Another plus -- they should bloom for longer than an actual peony plant (if you deadhead them).

Enjoy!

Floweryearth-Thanks for the peony substitute suggestion. I will absolutely take all these good suggestions to heart. My next rose order,(when I'm allowed to again!) will be 100% tea roses - I'm already picking them out and forming that wish list.

As I'm sure you know, zone envy isn't unique to S. Floridians. I stopped reading the posts in the "Tropicals Forum" on Gardenweb, because I just can't bare to read about people in Nebraska who are trying to grow Royal Poinciana trees (from Madagascar, Africa)in trays on their windowsills... :)
thanks again,
Avalon

OMG are you serious?!?! I didn't realize that Northerners (from my perspective) could want something that I took so for granted! I think I now know how they must feel about us Deep Southerners who want lilacs and peonies so badly. :)

BTW, if you every want something tropical to mimic a flowering cherry tree, then grow a pink tabebuia. If you want daffodils, then maybe try growing paperwhites in the ground -- (I'm pretty sure they're hardy there), instead of clematis, grow different varieties of passion flowers. Instead of Wisteria, grow petrea, (Queens Wreath)... I could go on, but I'll leave it at that.

I guess I'm just trying to say that there are many good alternatives to temperate flowers. If you want, I can give more suggestions. I just reflect now and realize that I could have had the best "tropical cottage garden" in Miami. As its said... "could have, would have, should have".

Experiment! :)

Floweryearth -You are so right about the petrea. We planted a petrea up a trellis on our old house. By the time we moved, it was truly outstanding. Planted another one here, of course!

We also planted white, yellow and orange Geiger trees, a gold poinciana ( a real one, not a copperpod), yellow trumpet, Hong Kong orchid, pink tab, jacaranda, rainbow cassia, pink silk floss, flame tree, plumerias and pink impe. Northern flowering trees are wonderful, but so are the sub-tropical ones. I can hardly wait until they are all mature enough to bloom all in the same year.

Wow Avalon your yard will be an ever-changing rainbow!!! Sounds lovely.