My personal preference is peat moss.

I'd be more worried about the source of the tree and why it's being cut down. Info from the Royal Horticultural Society: Can mulches made from diseased wood cause infection in healthy plants? Studies indicate that wood and bark chip mulch made from diseased trees is unlikely to transmit pathogens to the roots of healthy trees, growing under good soil conditions. It is important that such mulches are not worked into the soil, as this will increase the risk. The RHS do, however, recommend that basal parts of trees infected with honey fungus, Phytophthora root rot, or parts of trees infected with stem diseases such as verticillium wilt or coral spot, are not used, to reduce the risk to plants.

You'll read all kinds of kooky stuff out there from "experts". Boy, ain't that the truth!! And you'll also find no small measure of "kooky" stuff here on GW :-) If you include the manure in your compost as an ingredient, a lot of the harmful salts will be broken down by the composting process, as will the potential of the stuff to 'burn', which is the result of high levels of ammoniacal nitrogen (horse pee). Since roses are not an edible crop, there are far less concerns about the need to compost manures before applying as a mulch or topdressing - most of those derive from the potential to spread pathogens to edibles from uncomposted manures. But aging the manure IS a good idea, as this will also allow for the dissipation of the salts and the ammoniacal nitrogen. If you are mulching now for winter, even fresh manures are unlikely to cause much harm, as the plants are dormant, or in your case, resting for the season and by the time the soils rewarm and growth starts again on the roses, any manures will have aged inplace and the potential for 'burning' eliminated. If one has the choice, I would opt for rabbit manure for roses over and above any other manure type. It doesn't contain high levels of salts or ammoniacal nitrogen and can be used directly on the garden, edible or otherwise, without aging or composting. Plus, it is heavily alfalfa based (barely digested alfalfa) and contain a natural growth hormone, triacontanol, which roses react to with extremely positive results. Lacking rabbit manure, I would use whatever organic mulching material was readily at hand - nutrient offerings on all are pretty low - but supplement with a springtime application of alfalfa meal as well.

I have pink and coral drift roses and I love them! Mine have only been in the ground since the summer and they did not stop blooming! What I like about them is that the flowers are very full yet they manage to keep blooming. My pink drift grew next to a peony that battled disease after disease last year (mildew and botrytis) and it didn't get any of it despite growing in the same conditions. No blackspot on mine either and we always have blackspot. I will definitely be picking up other varieties in the spring. Not the best photo but I only took one for my garden mapping - This post was edited by Karolina11 on Thu, Dec 27, 12 at 13:15