Wow, that's a pretty one! And an Austin I wasn't familiar with. Not all, but most Austins are fairly hardy. It may need some extra protection on the canes though if you want those to winter for you. Otherwise you'll probably be starting with a short shrub most springs and it will not get as tall as they say for you.

Thanks for your reply, Seil. Maybe I'll be the 1st to try it in zone 4. I hope it's one of the hardier ones. Any guesses how much shorter it would be for my zone?
Kitty

celestialrose grows it in zone 4a according to helpmefind.com
With so many petals, wouldn't it ball?

Here is a link that might be useful: Spirit of Freedom photos at helpmefind

Hi Predfern,
I guess I won't be the 1st to try it in zone 4. It may ball, but isn't it pretty? Maybe I could force them open if they ball.
Kitty

I just happened by here today and noticed your post....I guess I am considered Zone 4 by the USDA map, and yes, I grow it here. Usually it is quite hardy, with a little protection (10" soil mound) but last fall I skipped this and SoF still made it through, although it was a little slow to get going this spring. Here's a photo to tempt you:

{{gwi:220141}}

I have it in partial shade (no choice - neighbour's trees are taking over) and after the first flush I get a smattering of blooms here and there. No disease that I can remember, but it does grow long octopus canes (up to 8 feet!) but that could be the poor thing reaching desperately for more sun:0)

Judith

Yes, a high petal count rose can tend to ball but it would be caused more by high humidity than cold weather. It also makes a difference on the substance of the petals. The very thin ones will ball more easily than the heavier ones no matter the petal count. If you don't get a lot of humidity it should open fine.

That it a temptress, Judith!

Like Judith, I grow my Spirit of Freedom here in zone 5 in a partial sun area, but it's close to the vegetable bed and stretches into a pretty good patch of sun for most of the day. It tends to be rather upright and narrow like Queen of Sweden, and hasn't balled for me. It's not a terrific rebloomer (not as good as The Alnwick Rose in the same bed), but again that could be the sun issue. I also have had good overwintering for this bush, with minor tip pruning in the spring even for the parts above the winter protection I provide all my roses.

Cynthia

Judith, Thank you for the pic. I am definitely tempted. I'm actually surprised that the blooms are so upright and not nodding with all those petals. What do you do with the octopus canes? Are all the canes 8' or just some?

Seil,
I thought the balling was caused by a lot of rain. I figured when the Spring rains died down and summer started I'd be o.k., but we definitely have on, and off again humid, hot weather. Maybe that would be a problem.

Cynthia,
It is encouraging to know a few people grow this rose successfully in the cold. Do you have much humidity in the summer? Is the Alnwick rose the same color, and does it have as many petals as SOF? Are they both equally winter hardy? Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks for the help,
Kitty

Hi Kitty

We do have humidity in the summer, but I find that roses only ball in the rainy spring weather around here, so it's not the kind of humidity they get in the Deep South or Pacific Northwest where you'd have to worry about the number of petals. You're prairie land in MN too, so the Austins should open for you most of the summer unless it's unusually wet with rain.

As for color, The Alnwick Rose and SOF are both a "medium pink" in my eyes. Alnwick might be just a touch darker with SOF on the blush side, but they're pretty similar to me. Both are pretty upright for me, but Alnwick bushes out a little more and reblooms a little better for me. Neither one is a "wow" rebloomer for me, though. Among the Austins, I'd say Heritage and William Shakespeare 2000 rebloom the best around here, but most of the rest that I have (like these two) rebloom every 6 weeks or so like the average rose in my yard.

Hope that helps - I think either would work for you in your zone.

Cynthia

Cynthia,

You've been extremely helpful. That answers several questions.

Thank you,
Kitty

Kitty, only a few canes grow to be 8' tall, and only after the first flush. This year I will probably try and train them horizontally to see if I'll get more blooms.
The blooms ARE really full and heavy, but remain upright as long as it stays dry. As soon as it rains, well, they nod with the best of them!
Here's a photo (blurry, sorry!) of one of those octopus canes, with a bunch of blooms right at the top, definitely out of smelling range for me!

{{gwi:272211}}

Judith

Have grown it in PEI for the last 3 years. Might have a dud plant, but it has really never done much. A few canes about 4-5 ft. in length and a smattering of blooms during the season.

It does seem decently cane hardy and disease resistant, but if it doesn't show more promise in it's 4th year, then our it will come.

All in all, Awakening would be a better cold zone choice for the full bloom form and pretty much everything else.

Judith,
I appreciate the pic.s. It's pretty even when a bit blurry. I would love to know how it goes when you train it horizontally.

morden man,
I looked up Awakening. It's very pretty, but someone on HMF said they should take the canes down and cover them for winter in zone 5. Do you grow it as a shrub or climber? It sounds like Awakening is hardier for you than SOF. Is that correct?
Thanks,
Kitty

Yes, New Dawn/Awakening is cane hardier than Spirit of Freedom. In zone 5, it will be nearly tip hardy in milder winters, lose some cane in average ones and can suffer more dieback in severe winters. Not sure how it would do in Minnesota, but I suspect it would suffer more dieback than I typically have. Here and in PEI, it is grown as a very large climber. Particularly in PEI.

BTW-New Dawn and Awakening are basically the same rose. The latter is just a more double sport of New Dawn. Otherwise, they are identical.