William Shakespeare 2000--David Austin shrub. It's gorgeous, very bloomiferous, good disease-resistance. I think it is also fragrant, but I can't remember from last summer. It may grow 4x4--although mine didn't get that big its first year (last summer) and at least one poster here claims his got 6 feet wide--never seen anyone else say that, however. I love this rose--wouldn't be without it.

Kate

Try Lava Glow (aka Lava Glut). Floribunda, 3 ft. tall, maybe 4 at the most; 3 ft. wide. Tolerates heat well. Makes one-stem bouquets. Spring flush stems often have 15-20 buds. Might have black spot or mildew if you have warm, wet spring as my zone is having now, but not enough to create a big problem. I don't spray and it is healthy. Has a fairly rapid rebloom.

Carol

Ingrid Bergman is pretty much a blooming machine. Tolerates heat very well and the blooms last at least 5 days, even in our heat. Healthy and disease resistant, too.

Denise

Are you looking for a hardy shrub, or would a vigorous dieback plant do? There's a new dark red landscape rose, Home Run, that's supposed to have great disease resistance and strong repeat. It's a true dark red. For hardy shrubs, you would probably have to look at the Canadian Explorer and Parkland series.

Veterans'Honor, Liebeszauber, and Ingrid Bergman are the three HT's I would recommend.
You wouldn't go wrong with them at all.
John

I have a "Black Cherry" floribunda that I have had no problems with. Great deep red blooms and very fragrant. It is right next to "angel face"(loaded with BS) and doesn't seem to have the same problem.

Champlain does well here in the "continuous bloom" and deep red catagories and it's one of the Canadian roses for colder climates. It doesn't wait forty days between bloom cycles.
I'd be interested to read if anyone has experience with the new low growing red called 'Hope for Humanity'....also a Canadian intro.

Ingrid Bergman thrives with even a bit of neglect.

For zone 4b, it would be hard to beat Grootendorst Supreme, Robusta, Champlain, George Vancouver and Nicolas for continuous blooming reds that are very cane hardy and disease resistant.

The lowest maintenance of the bunch is Grootendorst Supreme, but be aware that it can become a rather large arching monster of a plant. All of the above are rarely without bloom in a full sun position and given good cultivation (adequate water and feeding).

Ann,

Hope for Humanity blooms pretty good, but to me at least, is a flush bloomer, albeit a heavy one. Not like the ones i lsited which pretty much always have blooms on them. HFH is also somewhat prone to BS, but is at least as cane hardy as Champlain and George Vancouver.

I've been meaning to ask you...how did you enjoy your trip to Canada a few months back and what did you discover in terms of the spread of RRD?

I didn't have much luck with Ingrid Bergman, I had two and they were shovel pruned (one last year, one this year). They hardly bloomed at all (I gave them to friend, who put them in a container, they seem to like that a lot)

Last year, I planted a HT called Beloved. It did pretty well, and this year (the second year), it has a nice crop of blooms on it. However, it has a bit of blackspot this year, nothing too worrying, but I am watching closely.

This year, I just planted Lavaglut. I had read that they keep blooming through the heat. I got them from Chamblees, they are tiny plants, but have blooms on them already. I am hopeful about this one.

I also planted Crimson Bouquet (from S&W nursery). It came as a big healthy bush...I'll keep you posted if it works out.

Lavaglut has some of the darkest red blooms I've ever seen and has the added bonus of blooms that live long, really long on the plants.
Mordenman, I've sent you an email with some info and thanks for the comments about HFH.

I am impressed with Black Cherry, FL...
Home Run is a nice single, with beautiful color

Olya

Deep Secret.

No one loves red roses any more than I. Without a doubt
the best I have, and I have more than any other rose,
is Black Magic. (I love Veterans Honor too.) Black
Cherry works for me too if, you prefer flora.

John

Ann, Hope for Humanity is not a low growing plant. It gets four to five feet, some years more, here in MN zone 4a. The plant is often quoted as growing 2.5 feet, but 2.5 Meters is possible in a good location. It is a wonderful rose for the North. Most winters there is no die back at all. It has very dark red flowers in the Lavaglut/Europeana class. No smell to speak of and a loose double form. Very minor trouble with Fall spots and rust, seems to be immune to the usual variety of PM found here.

I grow or have grown all the HT's mentioned so far and in the hardiness and vigor points they all fall behind Olympiad and Beloved in my MN garden. That is not to say that I don't love Ingrid, but she is a bit on the tender side:>)

However, for a hardy easy care shrub rose that gives lots of big purplish red very double flowers that smell good and repeat often, you won't beat William Shakespeare 2000. He was a dog the first year and almost met Mr. shovel, but has been outstanding from the second year on.

Regards,

Charles

Lavaglut

Check out Senegal.
Descended from Guinée, this black-red climber outdoes all the others in the velvety depth of coloring of its blooms. The flowers are loosely double to quite double, but more expanded and Bourbon-like than those of Guinée, and the color more nearly dead-black.

Planted last year. Mine just bloomed and it is heartbreakingly beautiful.

These recommendations are all for fine roses but my vote for the best for the least is one more for Lavaglut. It's in a different class of ease plus productivity.

Colleen

Nova novice:

How did your Crimson Bouquet do this summer? Thinking about a red for next year and I was curious how things have gone since May with this rose.

Thanks.

Kate

How about Beloved......mine is a healthy rose with deep red nicely formed blooms........

HFH has been a good performer here all summer, only taking a small rest from blooming.

These were the first blooms on the new shrub, the flowers have been nearly that dark through summer and the blooms last quite well & are present in good number.

Please note the foliage in this photo looks a bit tatty due to a hard frost in the second week of June.

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At this point in late summer, the bush has grown a bit larger and sent up two fat new canes that are probably ~30" tall. If it wants to be big here, great! The flowers are SO pretty! I am tempted to rip out Hot Cocoa, which has not been happy with the weather extremes, and replace it with another HFH.

Cheers,
Michelle

I would say that living in zone 4b your choices are limited. Amazing how you got so many replies from rose growers in sunny climes. I would listen to Morden Man. As for me being somewhat warmer I am reluctant to recommend as that bit of difference in climate might be the demise of what I suggest.

Hey Steel Rose, I think your climate is quite a bit like mine, & my LavaGlut won't open it's blooms. Perhaps you get more heat then we have gotten here this summer. I've been disappointed in it, however, I think most areas have summers warm enough to make it happy. It likes heat.

I've found Fisherman's Friend to be a fairly hardy Austin rose with great dark red flowers, lots of them and heavy perfume. Suspect it would be a big bush in a milder climate - it got a bit of winter protection last year but since it was a mild winter, didn't really need it. It will get more cedar mulch this fall since I haven'tyet gotten the word on how cold the coming winter is going to be.

in the HT category Royal William is reported to be hardy and it is quite healthy and an excellent bloomer giving great cut flowers.

I also vote for Lavaglut.