I grew both for years, the climber purchased from Vintage, and the bush from ARE. The climber was very easy to grow and put out a lot of flowers within 2-3 yrs, the flowers had little fragrance. The blooms were deep, true dark red, but not blackish, with velvety petals, quite full, tending toward mildew in my coastal garden. The bush was a beautiful dense shrub, wider than tall, with slightly different flowers: more cherry red, not in the least bit velvety, mild sweet fragrance, flowers prone to color change with the weather, consistent good bloomer but a bit prone to mildew.SInce it differed from the climber, I suspected the bush was actually Louis Phillipe. A couple yrs later, I ordered Louis Phillipe from either Vintage or ARE (can't remember) to compare. This second bush grew less dense & more angular, and it turned out flowers that were much more cherry-pink with a stronger sweeter fragrance, plus it didn't grow as well in my climate. So , my Cramoisi S. quest ended up with 3 similar, yet definitely different roses. It's been a lot cooler & foggier here the past 4-5 yrs, and I haven't had much luck with these roses -- I liked all of them, tho, and will try again. Gardeners, always optimistic!

My LP is now 9 or 10 feet. I think I got it from Chamblees, own root and plonked in the ground about 5 years ago. In it's second year it produced 15! flushes. Wonderful cherry red, wonderful fragrance! Nearly thornless and nearly disease free in central Florida. Not for cutting though. Shatters in about 4 minutes though a shallow bowl full will last through a dinner party. A great one for near the doorway. It has not sent up long canes. It does send out a new long arm from the lower canes and then a new long arm from those second tier canes and so on.

I grow CRAMOISI SUPERIEUR (China, 1832, Coquerel; own root from Countryside Roses) in my mother's coastal Virginia USDA Zone 7b garden. It is a beautiful, virtually carefree rose. The cherry candy-like fragrance is especially lovely. In my mom's hot/humid garden the blooms have never balled. I think it would be fit into your chosen spot beautifully. The airy growth habit allows plenty of room for companion plants, which is a positive plus if you are trying for a cottage garden look. Once the rose is mature you could plant some fragrant tobacco (Nicotiana alata), perhaps with some Heliotrope or blue petunias for a stunning, and fragrant, red-white-blue display. NUR MAHAL (Hybrid Musk, 1923, Pemberton) should also do well. The Hybrid Musks are known for their shade tolerance and this particular cultivar gets consistently high marks from rosarians in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern states. It is fragrant and has an arching growth habit typical of Rev. Pemberton's roses. The canes are also said to be nearly thornless. Another option is DOUBLE KNOCKOUT (Shrub, 2004, Radler). It has the same disease resistance as the famous Knockout but to my eye the red color is more saturated. The cupped flower form reminds me of Cramoisi Superieur, but is not as tight so there should be no balling problem. The light fragrance is nothing to rave about but is at least detectable under most atmospheric conditions. The shrub is definitely more densely foliated - so if your looking for more of a specimen plant then this modern rose might be a better choice. Here is a link that might be useful: What is your favorite red Old Garden Rose?

I’m in the same area as Sultry, so fewer nematodes, and heavily amended soil. I add a lot of OM, as my only real defense of the nematode attacks. More OM means more predatory organisms to reduce the number of root knot nematodes. I don’t think the own-root roses can “fight off“ the nematodes. My understanding is that some varieties have more mass to their root systems, and can afford a little nematode nibble here and there. Others don’t have as many roots, so nematode attacks hit them harder. It also builds over years, so some will start off ok, but over time, without intervention, the nematode infestation will overcome the plant, and it dies. The benefit of Fort, is the root mass. It makes so many roots, that it can handle a bit of loss to the nematodes. My own-root Lady of Shalot is doing very well, as is my Abe. I also have an Abe on Fort, and don’t see much difference at this point, except that the Fort needs more water. Both of these are young plants, only 2-4 years old, so we‘ll just have to see how they do long term. I do recall a post some time ago about the breeding of Austins being a factor; some have better background to do well here than others. If he calls it a musk or tea, I’m more inclined to think it will do well here. Gallica or damask, not so much. It‘s all one big experiment, really! I’m amazed at what will actually grow in my little microclimate...I’ve not shared any of these lists with any of my plants, and have no intention of doing so. :-)