If you want good information abt. growing roses in Fla., you can't beat going on-line to the Bradenton-Sarasota Rose Society site... also the Central Fla. Rose Society site.... also the Tampa Rose Society site..... also the Central Fla. Heritage Rose Society, in Lakeland, to which I belong and drive over an hour on I-4 to attend the meetings, wouldn't miss it...... you need to play around with Google and see all the info. that comes up.... Fla. roses need to be grafted on Fortuniana, and I get mine from K & M Roses in Ala. I also have some OGRs on own-root , mostly China's and Bermuda's.... there are lots of roses do very well in Fla. If you live near Sarasota, go to the Mabel Ringling Rose Garden at the Ringling home, and see what grows here.... good luck, sally

You know I am of the opinion that all roses get some blackspot from time to time. Some get very little and some get tons of it, but there is no perfectly immune rose. These get the least amount to disease for me: Belinda's Dream, Louis Phillipe, Souvenir de la Malmaison, and Natchitoches Noisette. These get some blackspot but are vigorous and bounce back: Don Juan, Lady of Guadalupe, St. Patrick, Chihuly, Hot Cocoa, Scentimental and Neptune.

Thanks for all the info! I am looking into the recommendations and will report back when I decide which to purchase.

If you're a newbie, don't be in a hurry, you Florida folks have some unique problems (esp. nematodes (hence the Fortuniana recommendation for grafted stock)).

Another resource until she speaks up, is to use the search function for posts by sherryocala, especially, check out the recent thread "Slide show of the garden". There are others too, but Sherry posts fairly often and has a lot of 'new' experience. As I recall she has both grafted and own-root roses and will be (if I may volunteer her) a wealth of information. Hi, Sherry!!!

Hi, SFL, I don't know how similar Zone 9a and Zone 10b are. I imagine you get NO chill time, and I'm wondering how is your soil? 300 miles is a long way, putting us pretty much in different worlds even in the same state. But I'll give it a shot. The main similarity is heat & humidity!!

There's a good small book called 'The Southern Queen: Growing Beautiful Roses in the Tropics' by Latimer C. Farr about growing roses in South Florida. I got mine in a local rose society drawing, and I can't find any for sale online.

As to the nematodes, if you're going for HTs and other moderns, they definitely should be on Fortuniana. I grow Tiffany on Fort and two Chrysler Imperials probably on Dr Huey so they're in big pots. Both are on Farr's HT list. I have a very early HT (pre-1895) called Madame Abel Chatenay (own root) which I love, she's healthy but loses her leaves in Jan & Feb. Farr has a pretty long list of moderns that do well down there. Probably your local rose society would be the best source for a list. I don't grow David Austins. Belinda's Dream is a good modern one. She gets very big here. Hmmm, don't they all?

Old Garden Roses, especially Chinas, have some resistance to nematodes so they can be grown on their own roots. (I have 100+ roses, mostly own root.) And it has been found that nematodes don't like organic matter and heavy mulch including concrete slabs & foundations, so organics is the route I take for nematode deterrence with OGRs like Teas, Noisettes and polyanthas that aren't 100% China. I incorporate a lot of composted horse manure and pine fines (close to 50%) into the bed before planting and topdress every spring with composted horse manure on top of the old mulch and add new mulch. (I didn't know that clay could be obtained and added to the soil when I did my beds, but if I were starting over, I would try to get some for water and nutrient retention. I don't know what type of clay is preferred.) This year I've started watering daily with a micro system for 30 minutes in the early morning. When I watered every other day, my bushes stayed almost leafless all summer even with thick mulch.

So! Which roses? Louis Philippe is the best, a beautiful red/pink flower with cherry candy scent. Easy care, virtually no BS. Another China that I love is Le Vesuve along with Jean Bach Sisley & Old Blush. Teas are great. They love the heat and come in a variety of colors and bloom forms. Some favorites are Maman Cochet, General Schablikine, Mrs B R Cant, Anna Olivier, Duchesse de Brabant, Madame Antoine Mari, and many more. The Bermuda Roses work well. I like Carnation. Noisettes and Tea-Noisettes are generally climbers that like heat and tolerate our humidity. They get fairly huge here. Cile Brunner Spray, LeMarne & Perle d'Or do very well in Florida. I have had less success with Hybrid Musks probably because of my soil pH and they tend not to like heat & afternoon sun. For climbers Don Juan does well enough here but does get BS. Mine is on Fortuniana. I have own root Sally Holmes & Pink Perpetue, both are recommended by Latimer Farr along with New Dawn, Sombreuil & Clair Matin. The short Bourbons in the Souv de la Malmaison clan do well albeit with some BS but have beautiful flowers and extended blooming, and Farr says Maggie does well, too. I found that Maggie got more BS than I could handle so she's gone, but you have to establish a tolerance level for that.

Hope this is helpful. I hear the soil in South Florida can be really shallow on top of limestone. What's your situation?

Hi, lagomorphmom!

Sherry

Hi sherryocala,
Thanks for all the wonderful info! Regarding your question about our soil...it's sandy and you will find limestone without digging to deep. When we first moved into our home (it was a new development), we had a landscaping company come and remove about 12" of mostly sand and rock, and replace it with good soil. So our garden is doing pretty good. We mostly have tropicals, and some roses I recently purchased locally ( tropicana and cinco de mayo). They are not doing very well. It's a costant battle with BS and rainy season is not here, although we've had a very cold and wet winter.
I will try some of your suggestions. Do you think it would be better to plant them in the ground or in pots?
Thanks also to everyone else for their input.
SFLGardener

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SFL, I've tried them (full-sized roses) in pots, and they really do better in the ground. If you've got 12" of good soil, I'd put them in the ground, still amending the soil around the plant with compost, alfalfa pellets, Milorganite, Rosetone or some other organic balanced food, and a dose of epsom salts. Top it off with more of them all and compost & mulch the bed. Raised beds are a possibility, too, for more depth. You've got the best shot at being happy with your roses in Florida if you go with OGRs. I mean really this is like a home away from home for Teas, Chinas and Noisettes. They are heat-loving deep south roses. Occasionally, they'll be less than beautiful, but that's the way they cycle - leaf out, bloom, partially defoliate (old leaves being pushed off by new leaves) and leaf out again about every 6 - 8 weeks. With the organics I mentioned you can't burn the plants, and with our heavy rains they need heavier feeding every month or two until the soil becomes more self-sufficient (a few years). A soil test is always recommended in case you're out of wack somehow.

For photos, descriptions and nurseries that sell these roses go to the link below. For a Florida own-root nursery Rose Petals Nursery near Gainesville is great. Cool Roses in West Palm Beach is good for Fortuniana budded roses (www.coolroses.com/). They say calling works better than email with Cool Roses.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: HelpMeFind Roses website