I think that's a reasonable way to do things, as long as there is no spray. As you can probably guess, Carefree Beauty will be a standout. I have grown it for years without any spray- great performance with little input from me.

Barbara, I am in north Alabama.

Winter Sunset is an apricot in my yard. It has had almost no bs problems in the two summers I've had it and has been a good bloomer. It is a favorite of mine.

Prairie Harvest is only one year old for me and has been a little less robust but I think it's not had enough sun. I moved it and am curious as to how it will do this year. The blooms are beautiful.

Belinda's Dream is healthy, full of blooms in numerous flushes throughout its two years. It has never defoliated for me. It seems to need more careful pruning as the blooms are heavy. I've gotten some good advice on it over on the Antique side.

Quietness also is one year old and did not defoliate at all. It has beautiful blooms but not many of them. But it too was in a less than ideal spot and I'm curious as to what will this yeaar in its new location. This is one from Chamblees that when I moved it, I found that there were three separate rose plants - so now I have three!

I don't have any of the others on your list but am interested in getting floral fairy tale and lion's rose as well. I want to see some ADR's in my yard to see how they do.

I sprayed only once with tebu last year and am going to try going no spray this year. I'm just curious as to what will grow and thrive with just organics.

Good luck and keep us posted as the trials progress. Do you all have a website?

Thanks for the report Duchesse-- there is a general website on the arboretum but it doesn't include a calendar or "what's new" section. That's coming, however! The next step for this bed will be to find sponsors; the city will provide whatever fertilizer we choose as long as we go to their local suppliers, so I asked them to put the feed store on the list! Next to find a sponsor for the plants. I like fall planting here so hope to get started later this season. Sometimes it's harder to get a small grant than it is a large one, but sometimes we can get an "angel" who'll underwrite an entire planting. Cross fingers!

I have grown or have friends who have grown, in hot/humid Alabama, all of the above save Dublin Bay, Polonaise, Champlain, of which I cannot make comment since I am not familiar with them. But, all the others are winners from my vantage point. I do grow Quietness, Carefree Beauty (a/k/a Katy Road Pink), and several of the other Buck roses. I mention Carefree Beauty and Quietness since these are two of my favorite roses in the whole world. Gourmet Popcorn has done well for some of my friends who spray but for those who do not spray, it has had blackspot more so than the others.

I know that is not much help but I will say it again, "If I had to start all over again, I would only grow Bucks and a couple Noisettes."

Patricia, thanks for your comments. If not Gourmet Popcorn, what would you suggest for a garden/landscape type white? I don't think the average gardener could cope with the octopus habit of Sea Foam! I don't know if any of the reds will succeed but I'd like to come up with something as an alternative to Knock-Out, something with more petals, maybe some fragrance, that's pretty up close! (My usual rude comment about KnockOut is that it "a good 45 mph rose"...!)

My biggest complaint with the Earthkind roses is that you may not water. In Tulsa, OK, they will not live, and if they do, they will be like a weed- they will look dead.

My next complaint is they should be fertilized in some way. It isn't very natural to have a rose in your garden in the same soil year after year, and not amend the soil.

I will be very interested in what you are doing.

I intend to watch my roses carefully this year, and try to make my way towards a no spray garden.

Sammy

My Earth song is very new I got it from Chamblee's two months ago. It arrived spotless and now it has a lot of blackspotted leaves. I hope it will improve.

I have to check the rest of the new arrivals.
Folksinger passed the exam last year with a flying A+.

Barbara, we use Starry Night as the white in the no spray garden in Eatontown. It isn't spotless, but it doesn't defoliate. I had to spray Gourmet Popcorn.

Sammy, I'm with you. I have no intention of subjecting newly planted roses to no water and no food. We are doing this to educate the local public and we are definitely going to feed and water the roses so they will look pretty. We're a public garden, after all. Because of this we will not be able to share our results with the university. We feel that testing the roses in our environment is important because our average humidity can be twice that of south Texas.

Diane, if memory serves me Starry Night is planted at the display garden in Wilson, NC and it's a wonderful garden rose-- I knew there was something out there. Years ago it was a floribunda named Class Act that was fussed over but I've heard nothing of it since. If you like white, take a look at two ADR roses from Kordes-- the stunning single Escimo and the old-fashioned floribunda/shrub Petticoat. Really neat.

There are several whites that have done well for me in Raleigh, NC. The Buck rose Paloma Blanca. Green Ice is a wonderful low growing shrubby mini, also consider Marie Pavie.

I grow all the ones on your list and only one has a blackspot problem for me and that is Champlian. The others are all no spray here.
Donny

Barbara, other thoughts for whites are Ducher and Spice. Ducher is a great white in my garden, but is only going into its 2nd year - but it's been clean and the blossoms are lovely. Spice is clean for me too, but it's pinky white.

I'll be interested to hear how the trial goes.
I've only grown two on your list ... Belinda's Dream & Carefree Beauty. They both performed near flawlessly here in my garden. Tough, top notch roses, both of them.

Randy