Diane,
What a great description. I would love to see pictures.

But more questions, how old is your garden? and can you describe your soil?

Gean

I am also coastal -- but unlike Gean and Diane I have no winter chill, here on the Ventura Co. (SoCal) coast.

We DO, however, have dank fog, along with diminishing winter rainfall.

Crepuscule has never grown for us. I tried 3-4 own-root plants. Now, I have an 18-in-tall budded plant, which might maybe make 2-feet, one day -- if I'm lucky.

Most Hybrid Perpetuals mildew or rust (or both).
Bourbons are hopeless.

Tea Roses love it here, and bloom their hearts out -- tho some will mildew for their first few years.
Red Chinas are bulletproof here. Pink Chinas mildew.

Duchesse d'Auerstadt, budded,made 3-ft., and stopped cold. It blooms, but mostly balls. Gotta go.

Old Town Novato succeeds here better than any HP or Bourbon-ish rose we've ever grown. Benny Lopez is looking just as good.

Probably our best rose, hands-down, is Grandmother's Hat.

Singles and semi-doubles are wonderful in our spring fog. Bishop Darlington is a trooper (and huge) with great repeat. Secret Garden Musk Climber is a trooper.

JEri

the most classic 'beach' rose (apart from rugosas) is the little pimpinellifolia ' Dunwich Rose' - this has become naturalised in the sand dunes facing the north sea in East Anglia - a lovely pale yellow wildling, absolutely complementary to the early asian yellows such as primula and ecae, Grows well with sea buckthorn (hippophae rhamnoides), crambe maritima and tree mallow (lavatera olbiae) and various eryngoes, but especially the biennial E.giganteum, Miss Wilmot's Ghost.
Re-reading this list, it is probably NOT OK for a heat-loving southerner, but for more northerly climes, the spins are good coastal roses.
.

Diane,
Many of the roses you grow, I grow as well, with some of the same results. Most of my roses are own roots, but I do have a few on multiflora, mostly gallicas or albas.

I live in an 8a/b climate, generally mild winters but they can be unpredictable; mild summers that usually go into the high 80's or into the 90's for a brief period in summer. Summer/clear weather can extend into early October. We had 70 inches of rain last year, a lot even for this area. Not foggy here, but overcast much of the time, obviously. Sunbreaks, though, which help a lot. We had several weeks of sun and warmth in April/May this year. It was unusual weather from what I read.

My soil is an acid clay base with a high organic matter level, over glacial till/rock. I live in a forest with a section carved out of it.

My main gardening area is basically a giant raised bed so our summer drought really causes problems because water drains right through it into the rock underlying. The soil was added, then, rather than being the rocky stuff I have in some areas and is very easy to work. It is also our septic drain field, so I am limited in the areas I can grow.

I have about 140 roses, either in the ground or in pots. The oldest of my roses are going into their fourth year, so I am somewhat comfortable in making some kind of a judgment about these.

hybrid musks: Cornelia, Buff Beauty, Felicia, Darlow's Enigma, Lyda Rose do really well for me. I see these do well for you as well. Ghislaine de Feligonde is a champ here, too.

Portlands: I grow Indigo, Rose de Rescht, Marchesa Boccella, Portland from Glendora, and a new one, Marie de St. Jean. These all do well, but Indigo is the fussiest about soil and feeding. MeSJean may also be fussy, I'm not sure yet. Portland from Glendora is a beautiful, beautiful thing. RdRescht has been slow to get started but maybe this year will be a turning point for it.

albas: my favorite is Konigen van Danemark, but I like alba maxima a lot. Three others will bloom this year, Maiden's Blush, Felicite Parmentier and alba semi-plena. I have high hopes for them but don't know anything yet. I love this class of roses. I have a hybrid alba, lemon blush, and tried to root Aanchen van Tharau, Geschwind's hybrid alba, with no success this year. I was heartbroken none of the cuttings made it.

gallicas: they are all young, but none have gotten blackspot or had any problems so far. This year I'll know more. I have ten of them, some own root from Vintage, others from Pickering. I think, like you, that they will all do well here, though.

Tea roses: they are slow to get started, and I have been pinching buds to help the bushes along. I grow Devoniensis, Melanie Willermoz, Lady Hillingdon, and Mme. Berkeley. Devoniensis froze back to the roots its first year here but came back. G. Nabonnand died and has not returned. I am giving them all another five years before I decide anything.

Polyanthas: I have a number of them; they all do well w/few problems.

Rugosas: I have four of these, all young, less than 3 years. Healthy here.

China: Le vesuve does well here. No bs and blooms a lot. I was surprised it does so well.

Buck: I grow Winter Sunset - it is not as healthy as I would like, but it's young. I think it is prone to bs.

Moss: these are all too young to say anything, except I love the mossy buds!

Noisettes: I am really happy to hear that yours do well. I have several found noisettes and am looking forward to blooms this year.

Hybrid perps: all very young. Mrs. FW Sanford has struggled for three years in a pot doing badly.

Moderns: I grow some of these, but we can discuss them later if you want to. Some, like the Kordes fairy tales, I like very much. I have a few hybrid teas, own root; some are putting on size, finally.

Ramblers: I am working on a section for ramblers, but it will be a while before it's finished. I bought a Baltimore Belle for it too. :)

Gean

Jeri, I have wondered why teas do so well in your climate, given what I understand are your temperature ranges during the year. Maybe you're warmer than I think...?

I find that the singles and semi doubles do well here also, as there is no problem with balling or not opening well because of the wet.

I do have two bourbons, Zeffy and Madame Cornelissen. MC rarely opens well, but the heat this early spring seemed to help her growth. She has a lot of fat buds now, but they will prob not open because of the constant rain for the last week or so. bummer. Zeffy I moved because of bs; I think she's doing better but will probably be sp'd eventually along with MC. As a class I don't think it's warm enough for them.

Suzie,
I have r. xanthina/Manchu Rose in a pot. It is not happy. It's not root bound, hasn't been neglected. Is in a standard potting mix. I don't think it will even bloom this year, although it did a small amount last. I've wondered if it needs more heat/less rain. It is related to the spins, as far as I can tell.

I read it is native to a mountainous, stony area of Afghanistan, which probably is very dry. Yet I also read it grows well in Ireland. I'm doing something wrong, or perhaps it is just very young. I'm tempted to re pot it using some grit and sand along with a potting mix to see if the drainage is the problem.

Thoughts, Suzie or anyone?

I grow one eryngium, a steel blue companion to Purple Skyliner. I like eryngium and would like to try more of them; I'll look into Miss Wilmott's Ghost. I wonder how it would play with the foliage of r. glauca?

There are roses that hate pots. Xanthina strikes me as a good candidate for that group. The climate shouldn't bother it at all, but a pot? I can practically hear it screaming from here.

Maybe that's it, Mad Gallica. I am not trying to make into a pet, but have been slow to place it. I have a place in a rockier area with good drainage, but it will be shadier than I think it would like. I've thought I might put it back with the ramblers in a sunnier spot, but that area isn't finished being cleared yet. Is it at all shade tolerant?

Gean

Gean, I just read your last posts- I wrote mine yesterday morning, and I guess I forgot to send it. I wish I'd read yours before. I'll study it tonight when I have time.

yep, I have never seen xanthina grown successfully in a pot - it likes to get its long roots down into stony crevices, much like many high alpine plants. Although, what really rung bells was the standard potting mix. I never use these potting mixes for anything other than short season annuals or veggies. I suggest you try to find either some good topsoil (I use a loam based on John Innes recipes which is made from old turf stacks with a little peat and lime thrown in the mix) and amend with a little alpine grit or better yet, get it in the ground. I don't think heat or rain will have any effect on this really very tough rose.
It will swiftly grow to 8-10 feet.
A beautiful and very good coastal rose.
I think quite a few of the eryngoes will go very well with glauca (I also have a little rowan, cashmeriensis next to my glauca, and the combo of red heps and white berries is quite something).

yep, I have never seen xanthina grown successfully in a pot - it likes to get its long roots down into stony crevices, much like many high alpine plants. Although, what really rung bells was the standard potting mix. I never use these potting mixes for anything other than short season annuals or veggies. I suggest you try to find either some good topsoil (I use a loam based on John Innes recipes which is made from old turf stacks with a little peat and lime thrown in the mix) and amend with a little alpine grit or better yet, get it in the ground. I don't think heat or rain will have any effect on this really very tough rose.
It will swiftly grow to 8-10 feet.
A beautiful and very good coastal rose.
I think quite a few of the eryngoes will go very well with glauca (I also have a little rowan, cashmeriensis next to my glauca, and the combo of red heps and white berries is quite something).

Gean -- Teas mature more slowly here than they do in a warmer climate, but when they do achieve maturity, they are trouble-free. Our climate is a bit like that of Coastal Oregon -- but with more alkalinity, and far, far less rainfall.

Jeri

Diane, my fog vs. your fog: we don't have it as much, I suspect, or year 'round, but the roses that seem to thrive in my almost-zone-7 coastal climate (800 ft. from the ocean) are: alba semi-plena, alba maxima, Buff Beauty, r. moschata species, sombreuil, crepuscule, Gardenia, lots of rugosas, good old New Dawn, S. de la Malmaison, r. eglanteria, a very new but bloomful Zepherine Drouhin, and my biggest bush, Complicata. The surrounding environment of acres of wetlands and wild vine weeds (honeysuckle, bittersweet)includes lots of multiflora roses. Everything blooms around the end of June. Salt air, acid soil, old pasture land.

No spraying, only fed manure and compost, mulch heaped up in winter, and they seem to thrive. They are almost all non-repeat bloomers for me.

Carol

Once bloomers in general are fairly shade tolerant. Early bloomers like the Chinese yellows are even more tolerant of latish deciduous shade because they can get a lot done before the trees leaf out.

The one thing I would say quite loudly is that they get BIG. They are occasionally used by landscapers locally for commercial plantings. Invariably, they are given a 'rose' space, which around here is never more than 4 ft across. The pruning necessary to keep the rose that small totally destroys the shape, and often also destroys the bloom.

Here in coastal Orange County, Calif. (I'm located where we still get coastal breezes, but they peter out another mile or so inland):

--Teas do magnificently;

--Chinas do magnificently, though can mildew a bit;

--Bourbons do magnificently, though can mildew and ball under bad conditions;

--Noisettes, mysteriously, do poorly;

--HPs vary; some ('Jay's Hudson Crimson', 'Duc de Bragance') do magnificently; others ('Baronne Prevost', 'Mme. John Laing', 'Gloire de Ducher') do poorly;

--Damask Perpetuals vary; some ('Jacques Cartier', 'Rose de Rescht', 'Pergolese', 'Joasine Hanet', 'Miranda') are clearly delighted to be here; some ('Rose du Roi' and its sports) do well for a time, then decide they don't like it here; some ('Indigo', 'Rembrandt') don't ever take hold; 'Portlandica' (the 'Portland Rose'; don't call it 'Duchess of Portland'!!!) blooms dependably . . . but is a once-bloomer;

--Damasks proper I haven't tried;

--HTs mostly do magnificently; but I find that a high proportion of German HTs (and Floribundas), be they old, be they modern, are unhappy here;

--Floribundas do magnificently (but see above under HTs);

--Polyanthas are completely dependable and bounteous;

--Ramblers often take several years to establish themselves, but then can perform magnificently; for instance, 'Casimir Moulle' grew but didn't bloom for about five years; two years ago gave one or two damaged blossoms; one year ago, bloomed promisingly; this year is a magnificent show-stopper; the Multifloras seem to want to establish themselves very well before doing much of anything; going by 'Erinnerung an Brod', Setigeras are happy here;

--Centifolias want more chilling than they get here; 'Rosier des Dames' ('Centifolia Minor') seems to need less chilling than most, and so will bloom many years;

--Gallicas are unhappy; 'Camaieux' blooms but does not thrive;

--Mosses are mostly unhappy, but 'William Lobb' blooms plenteously every year, and grows like there's no tomorrow;

--R. hemisphaerica is happy here;

--Hybrid Chinas, Hybrid Bourbons, Hybrid Noisettes vary; it's trial and error variety by variety;

--'Duchesse d'Angouleme' is a once-blooming hybrid of some sort somewhere I think in the Gallica/Centifolia/Damask/Provence/Agathe complex; but it blooms wonderfully every year;

--Hybrid Musks (going by 'Wilhelm' and 'Will Scarlet') are very happy;

--Pernetianas tend to be too "thin" in this So. Cal. warmth, and so blow too quickly.

Hi everyone, really appreciate hearing everyone's comments. SorryI have not had more time to respond but I'm preparing for an art exhibit so time is limited for the forum.

Gean, I've got a combination of sand, clay, rocks that were dumped by former owners and Monterrey Cypress tree roots. It's a wonder to me that anything grows here but I do my best to amend the soil before planting.

Carol, hello hello. It was so great spending time with you at last year's conference. Complicata doesn't seem happy for me. Not sure why as other Gallicas are blooming away.

Jeri and Odinthor, the Teas are NOT happy for me although I keep trying. Lady Roberts has buds that have enough "oomph" to open. DdeBrabant is a mildewed mess.

zjw727, Noisettes are mostly good here. Narrow Water is remarkable, climbing 20ft into a tree. Mrs Woods is OK but has a lot of dieback. Champney's and Blush Noisette are happy. Tutta's Pink is growing slowly but well. I have high hopes for Sarah's Grandmother from the Sacramento Cemetery which may be Blush Noisette, they're not sure.

I forgot to mention, the Hybrid Musk Nur Mahal is growing like crazy. I got 2 as tiny bands from Long Ago Roses before she stopped shipping to CA (alas) and both are taking off. The color is astonishing, a deep deep red. Will post a picture when I can. It's a rarely mentioned HM that should be way more popular based on my limited experience. I stopped in my tracks the first time a bud opened.

I think I forgot to mention Buff Beauty also, how remiss of me since I like it so much I have four!

So very interesting how we can each succeed with different roses but many of us have crossovers that do well for all of us.

Diane

Diane, thanks for the comment on your soil. I wondered because I'd thought your soil is alkaline, but the ones that I think of as getting chlorotic easily do well for you, so thought I must be wrong. Gean

I planted r. xanthina this afternoon during a sunbreak. It is in a fairly shady spot, but with a great deal of room to grow. I appreciate the help, mad gallica and campanula.

Oh lovely. I often see them (well, usually Canary Bird, which is common round here) growing in a shady spot and am always charmed by the vivid green foliage and clarity of the blooms - it seems to have a sort of internal illumination.

Diane, have you tried Grandmother's Hat? I've been stopped from trying it by the reports it blackspots.

Jeri, thanks for the tea encouragement. I don't mind waiting.

Odinthor, you mention that bourbons but can "mildew and ball under bad conditions." Can you tell me what "bad conditions" you mean? In coastal Orange County, I think the temperatures are mild but very dry. Do you mean rain or humidity?

I am growing an ownroot 'Duchesse d'Angouleme' and hope to see a bloom this year. It does seem like a beautiful rose.

Carol, you grow the same way I do. I do occasionally use a synthetic fertilizer, but rarely.

Have to go now, Gean

Gean, I tried both Grandmother's Hat and it's clone Larry Daniels to no success but they were both budded plants purchased from "he who shall not be named."

I recently purchased a GH at the Sacramento Cemetery sale and it looks like this plant may be a winner. Keeping my fingers crossed.

By the way, I can't say enough good things about Excellenz von Shubert. It's a trouper.

Diane

I went out yesterday with the camera to see how the rose blooms had done after four or five days of drizzle, cold and rain. Not many of the roses are blooming, but these I thought had done really well and still looked good. More rain is forecast so I'll check again later.

Clair Matin
Heritage
Marie Pavie
Portland from Glendora
Lauren
Madame Alfred Carriere
Excellenz von Schubert (I agree about this rose, Diane)
Polareis
Duplex
Verde
Cornelia
Till Uhlenspiegel, a hybrid rubiginosa

In worst shape was the floribunda, Blue for You. A little bedraggled was Baptiste La Faye, but not really too bad. Faith Whittlesey was in pretty good shape, as was Wasagaming. Overall, these roses seem to be good for my mild climate, wet gardening area.

I hope the GH does well for you, Diane. Keep us posted!

Gean

Clair Matin after four or five days of rain
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Cornelia
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Marie Pavie
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This post was edited by harborrose on Thu, May 30, 13 at 21:06

For two days now I've had that picture in my mind of Canary Bird glowing in a shady corner. Maybe r. xanthina will do that too. Thank you, Suzie.

Thanks for the photos Gean. I've got all three but my Clair Matin isn't doing as well as I'd hoped.

Diane

Yeah, here CM is an early bloomer and the blooms really hold up in the rain, but it does get some bs later in the year. But nothing is perfect, and it makes me smile in the spring. Mine is on multiflora and even then it's been slow. But I still think it is a great rose, I just like it in the springtime more. Maybe it likes drenching rain more than thick fog.

Zach, have you tried any water loving irises as perennials? I grow some Japanese in a pot sitting on a pond ledge and they love it. I've been wanting to try the Pacific Coast iris as well. Maybe they would like your 90 inches of rain?