I have Fantin-Latour. So far, no sign of disease and it bloomed well. Good fragrance.

if you can only get one, i would get fantin latour, unless you don't need another pink rose or something. fountain or vase shaped. fragrant. paul ricault grows like mip to me more of a climber? the centifolias get something that a lot people call damask crud, it looks like a ripe banana peel to me, with the black marks and bruises. that's part of their charm i suppose.
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i forgot to mention that if you want smaller roses what about the mini's like the burgundian rose and rose de meux?
burgundian is darker pink and de meux is light pink. they complement each other very well.

Geo, I am only trying Laguna this year, don't know about resistance at all, just hope for it.
Paul Ricult is not resistant for me as well as Fantin-Latour. Fantin-Latour is more resistant then Paul, but still will defoliate more then 50%.
Gallica The Bishop sometimes is classified as centifolia and it is `quite resistant.
Châpeau de Napoléon`(crested moss) which is centifolia moss has decent resistance.
Just try what you like and figure out for yourself. This is where the fun is.
Olga

I grow only one Centifolia, and it is Crested Moss (Chapeau de Napoleon) which I love. I wrap it around a tall tripod. It is the most fragrant rose in my garden and the blooms open for a month or more. Here in Sacramento, there's little problem with the foliage.
Anita

I have Cabbage rose. I got it out of Canada which was the only place I could find it. So I asked if I could get it ungrafted but never got an answer. What came looked like a sucker, though. I have been three years babysitting the little thing and this year it looks like it is going to pop. All of those I planted that year are throwing up shoots everywhere. I have yet to see it bloom, but this year that line of roses ought to be nice big roses by fall. The others are Celestial, Chloris, Alba Maxima, Leda, and Quatre Saison Damask. QSD has had a lot of cane loss, but the others only tip damage.
Alba maxima so far is tougher that alba semi-plena, which is interesting.
I was surprised at how tough Madame Plantier is turning out to be. I wasn't holding my breath there.

I believe that Paul Ricault and Fantin-Latour are not true Centifolias. From what I understand the true centifolias are mostly sports off one another. But, if you want to get only one, get Typ Kassel. It repeats in the fall pretty reliably (at least here it does), even on small plants. It is a true centifolia, and looks exactly like the regular Rosa centifolia in every particular, it just has the capacity to repeat. Another one I find wonderful is Blanchfleur, and it's hard to beat Centifolia variegata, and as Olga mentioned, Chapeau de Napoleon is terrific (but eventually a large plant in my experience).

--Ron

I forgot to mention that it may be difficult to get Typ Kassel, I got mine from Vintage (they don't list it on their website, however), so you might need to call them. Anyway, there's a picture of it I took on their website under Lippoldsburg (in the Centifolia section).

--Ron

I like Fantin a lot but it fries here almost as soon as it's opened if it's a hot humid June. Paul Ricault does better and Gros Choux de Holland seems to also do well.

Thanks, all, for the ideas. Seems there is much to consider (which is part of the fun), and since there's still a few months to go I sure will.

Fantin seems pretty popular, and it looks nice, but is it very fragrant? And I like the Bishop from what I've seen so far, but the blooms (at least the ones I have, so far) are not extremely large. Very nice rose, though.

I hadn't thought about ordering it from Vintage (was leaning toward Pickering); need to check for Typ Kassel (Lippoldsburg?) there.

Does grafted matter (except on hardiness?) over own root on this - from this website, it would appear that graftes to multiflora may have more initial vigor?

Hadn't thought about Crested Moss - since it would be growing near another moss (Captain John Ingram) that might work; need to check into that. Might even be leaning that way, now.

But then - hmm, Gros Choux maybe??

Thanks again, all, very much, for the invaluable insights!

Gros Choux d'Hollande does get rather spotty and defoliated for me..no spray, but it is lovely.

I recommend Shailer's Provence...if you need a smaller rose.

Robert

Robert, does Shailer's color fade?

Thanks,
Carla

Since you're not in a super cold zone, I'd say you'll get a longer-lived plant own-root (since the true centifolias tend to sucker, but not wildly, with the exception of Laura in my old Fresno place, it hasn't done so here). Gros Choux is also not a true centifolia, being similar to Fantin-Latour and others in having smooth leaves and no suckering at all that I can see, though it's a fantastic and fragrant rose.

--Ron

I grow quite a few of the centifolias and think they are all worth having, but there are only a few which for me are disease resistant without some spraying. My healthiest by far are Centifolia Variegata and Reine des Centfeuilles.
I always joke that no blackspot or mildew dare come within 50 feet of Variegata because she is so well-armed with vicious thorns. If you can overlook that she is a very healthy and gorgeous rose.
My Fantin-Latour and Paul Ricault are reasonably disease-free no-spray, with the occasional blackspotted leaf but never defoliate. Gros Choux d' Hollande on the other hand loves to blackspot although the blooms are drop-dead gorgeous. The smaller centifolias, Petite de Hollande and Petite Lisette stay healthy for me, in case you are looking for a more compact centifolia.

Celeste

Centifolia Variegata
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Prolifera de Redoute
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Gros Choux de Hollande

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Petite de Hollande
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Fantin-Latour
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Reine des Centfeuilles
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Crested Moss (is actually a centifolia)
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Petite Lisette

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Carla,

It's hard to say whether Shailer's Provence fades. It's got a very unique (to me) translucent quality and has a variety of shades of purplish, pink, rose...very difficult to describe. It has a really long bloom period. It's one of the first roses I have blooming and it's still going. So, to try to answer your question, I would say that it does NOT fade...instead it has a lot of ethereal qualities.

Robert

Celeste, you must have an amazing garden.
Robert, thank you.

Carla

Ah Celeste, your enabling work continues. You helped me pick Centifolia Variegata as my "one" centifolia....now I'm thinking I must add Petite de Hollande.

Eric

Eric, that's definitely one of the most beautiful striped roses. Don't be surprised to find you're finding spaces for "just one more centifolia." Hard to go wrong with any of them. Just don't do like I did in Fresno with Gros Choux de Hollande (not a true centifolia) and plant it where you plan on a 4'x4' bush, because it's more like 8'x8' or larger, but fantastic. I was constantly taking huge branches reaching to the street and tying them back to the fence. Thorny job, that.

--Ron

Eric, Ron is right....make sure to give Variegata LOTS of elbow room. She grows to great proportions, in an arching form....and as I said, beware her thorns!

I found a bush picture of Petite de Hollande to show you how it stays rather short and compact. The flowers are small too, very cute. This one and Petite Lisette are good for folks who don't have a lot of space.

Celeste

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omiGOSH that photo of celstial's Crested Moss is unbelieveable!!!!

As soon as I have my new bed dug I will be putting in that rose, even though my self-imposed rule is "no once-bloomers." That rose is something special!!!

(Though I DO like that Fantin, too! ;o) )

P.S.....
I found another good shot of Variegata and it shows why
I put up with those thorns!

Celeste

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Very pretty Celeste, makes me think of candy. Me an my wife visited friends in Columbus today. They took us to the Columbus Rose Garden where there is an OGR section, I got to see Petite de Hollande and Salet in person...great!

BTW, I think I'm enabled into the bourbon Variegata di Bologna after today's visit.

Thanks Ron, My little Village Maid is only 6 inches tall now, but I'll now what to expect :)

greenhaven,

I think you might want to reconsider your self-imposed, no once blooming rose rule. I'm relatively new to roses, but my once bloomers are definitely worth every bit of space they take. Consider all the other plants we grow that are once bloomers: forsythia, old azaleas, dogwood, tulips, daffodils, etc etc etc... once blooming roses are excellent.

robert

robert, okayokayokay! lol So, tell me...is Fantin-Latour cane-hardy in zone 5 (occasionally zone4)?

Sorry for the thread-jacking, geo...to make it up to you I strongly vote for Chapeau de Napoleon aka Crested Moss; if I had my bed ready I would be installing it right now!

I never have a problem there, greenhaven; some of the most invaluable tips come that way.

Although...Taylor's guide indicates Crested Moss as moderately fragrant, I don't know what to believe in that regard (Botanica has as strongly fragrant). Guess its the old YMMV.

It (Crested Moss) is strongly fragrant, how on earth they could say moderately fragrant I don't know!

--Ron