Recommendations are by class and will vary by regions of the country. Hybrid Tea: Lafter Frederic Mistral Uncle Joe (Toro) Grandiflora: Tournament of Roses Shreveport Arizona Floribunda: Livin Easy Payboy Gruss an Aachen Hybrid Musk: Buff Beauty Penelope Cornelia Polyanthas: Marie Daly The Fairy Cecile Brunner Shrub Roses: Belindas Dream Knock Out Carefree Beauty (Katy Rd. Pink) English Roses: Mary Rose Abraham Darby Tamora Romanticas: Guy de Maupassant Johann Strauss Yves Piaget Climbers: New Dawn Dortmund Aloha Bourbons: Souvenir de la Malmaison Maggie Zephirine Drouhin Hybrid Perpetuals: Barrone Prevost La Reine Marchesa Bocella Ramblers and Species: Yellow Lady Banks Cherokee Rose Chesnut Rose *Chinas: Archduke Charles Mutabilis Old Blush *Noisettes: Blush Noisette Allister Stella Gray Madame Alfred Carriere *Teas Duchesse de Brabant Moniseur Tillier Sombreuil **Hybrid Rugosa: All varities * May not be hardy north of Zone 7 ** Zones 7 and north

Hi Ingrid, PAK does have a slightly odd color which I like, but am not sure it's a lilac tinge. It's in the center of the bloom--is there a slight bit of yellow? I'll post another pic because the color has puzzled me from the start. The rebloom is very good, even in high heat. The Children's Rose is another name for Frederic Mistral which does have a close resemblance to Belinda's Dream. Fred's scent is truly outstanding. Here's another look at PAK. Maybe there is some violet. Diane

It has been quite the summer this year; long, hot, humid and droughty, highs in the 90's starting in May/June. While we never broke a high temp record on any day, we did break an obscure record that seemed to have an affect on my garden- number of consecutive days with low temps that never got below 70 F. In general, vegetative growth was OK since I watered regularly but flowering/fruiting was greatly reduced. I am also no-spray. My roses fell into 3 groups. Group one was roses that promptly defoliated and stayed that way till about the last week when our night temps have begun to drop (days still in mid 90's). Group two roses continued to grow but the flowering was reduced/nonexistent. Group three bloomed regularly, some frequently, some with time between flushes.. I'm not looking to write a book, so I'll cut to the group 3's: 1. Comtesse du Cayla- This is its second summer but first summer in the ground. Blooms are not as full during the heat of the summer but flushes are regular and there seem to be plenty of them. It may eventually grow too big for a narrow bed where it is now. 2.Del Rio- a found rose from ARE, believed to be a tea, also second summer but first in ground. It's twiggy, rangy, gangly and odd-looking as a shrub right now and you'd wonder how it managed to hold up a flower without falling down. Sometimes it did. Yet flower it did. The flushes weren't as frequent but I couldn't believe how pretty the blooms were and how full, in spite of the high temps. Also, the flowers lasted several days in humid heat and seemed to darken instead of fade. I think (hope) that this rose will be a star in the future during hot humid weather. 3. Tip-top- I got this polyantha from Vintage during its final days. This rose survived the polar vortex winter in a pot. This is the second summer in the ground but I moved it last fall to give it more room. This rose is a pretty little thing that has rarely been out of bloom the whole summer. It is a heavy bloomer for its size, seeming to put more energy into flowers and less into growth. Can you believe that I want to move it again? This time to a sunnier and more visible spot, so everyone can enjoy it. 4. Arethusa- new this year from Rose Petals Nursery, supposed to have been Madame Joseph Schwartz. Also a China that will probably have to be moved. It has had frequent flushes, the more remarkable since it had its top 2" eaten off by deer before it bloomed the first time. Probably too big for your use and maybe too big for mine. It's still worth mentioning because of its ability to bloom and do it early and under adverse conditions. 5. Bolero- Meilland floribunda, new this year, a bare-root own-root from, of all places, Jung seed catalog. This was an experiment that succeeded, more than I ever believed. It is either blooming, coming into bloom or going out of bloom. It took only a slight rest when the deer ate off the buds before its last flush. The blooms are magnificent, white with blush centers, full and fragrant and plenty of them. It seems to put most of its energy into blooming, though, and less into growth. 6. Clothilde Soupert- another old polyantha, second summer, first in the ground. A good grower, if I can keep the deer off her. Flushes aren't as frequent as Bolero's, but still frequent enough, also full, fragrant and numerous, if a bit smaller. Unlike Bolero, it uses some of that energy to grow. This rose may be moved to a new spot as well, since I think that it will outgrow the current spot eventually. 7. Cinco de Mayo- Floribunda from Chamblee's, I think. Second summer, first in the ground. Not the rose for all people/places, maybe, but for me it has been happy, healthy and generous with blooms. For me they move from a brick red in cool weather to the color of tropical fruit punch in hot weather. BTW, the only rose that I had on your list was Molineux and while I had high hopes for it, it died back during heat/humidity till it died altogether in August. I had even dug it up this spring and put it into a pot, hoping to get it going and send it to Ohio or Indiana where I thought it would be happier. For awhile it helped but it eventually quit growing and died. I didn't want to write a book but here it is. Hope it helps someone.

Thank you everyone! All of you have been an inspiration. Marlorena, you are so kind. I have a particular fondness for English gardens, not just roses, but the gardens in general, such beauty! Vaporvac, I do have many fragrant roses, unfortunately my sense of smell isn’t very strong, so I can rarely detect the fragrances in the air, I have to be close to them to enjoy the fragrance, but I definitely would rather they be fragrant. When I bring bouquets in the house occasionally I will pick up the fragrances, but not always. I love climbers, you must have a beautiful yard. altorama, I sure enjoyed the pictures you posted on the Climbing Roses thread, you have some beauties! I am very excited to see what Lavender Lassie does, I’ve certainly admired the pictures. flowersandmusic, thank you, I imagine your roses are beautiful! I’ve always enjoyed having lots of color in my beds, even though a lot of times pink dominates, but I do have varying shades of it. My biggest problem at times is planting a rose in the front row, when it should have been in the back, HMF isn’t always the best source for determining how tall a rose will get, I get it wrong occasionally. There are so many people in this area who don’t think they could grow roses, but all I know is there are some varieties and classes that work, and some that don’t, just like anywhere else. Every year is different, some better than others, but always worth the effort, I wouldn’t want to be without my roses!