I've got a couple of Austins, but not the ones on your list. I've got The Prince, Jude the Obscure, Golden Celebration, and Crown Princess Margarete. All have been crown hardy for me and will get bush sized by June (3x3 for all but the Prince which stays smaller at 2x1 or so). I've been very happy with all of them. Crown Princess is newer than the others (got her last year) so I can't say as much about her, but Jude smells wonderful and Golden Celebration has a good scent and gets nice and large. The Prince has a lovely dark purple color and lasts decently in a vase. I haven't heard of any Austin that isn't hardy here - Golden Celebration was one that supposedly doesn't always make it but mine hasn't had any problems. My GC is own root from Roses Unlimited, Jude is from a local nursery so is probably Dr. Huey grafted, the Prince is own root, and Crown Princess is another that is probably Dr. Huey.

Thanks for the info! I was worried after reading mad_gallica's post. Your Golden Celebration only gets 3 x 3 as well? I was thinking of that one for a different spot. Any BS problems?

GC does get a little larger by the end of the summer, but it's only about 3x3 right now. It does get some blackspot - I've been lax on spraying and it has some now. When I spray regularly it is fine, and I don't know how any rose would do without spraying since the only ones I don't spray are my climbers. Most of my roses including the Austins get blackspot.

Have you checked on what they have had success with at the Chicago Botanical Garden? As I remember the standout Austin there (to my great surprise) was 'Heritage'.

hoovb - Good idea. I've got a trip planned to the Chicago garden later this summer. I will make a note to check on what varieties they've got there. Thanks!

Sharifa Asma is very hardy. Evelyn and Tradescant die to the ground but bounce back vigorously in the spring. Pretty Jessica and Abraham Darby also come back. On the other hand, The Prince, A Shropshire Lad, William Shakespeare 2000, Graham Thomas and Golden Celebration died. I bought several more Austins from Roses Unlimited this spring, including Charlotte and Crown Princess Margareta. We shall see which ones survive the winter.

I am growing several Austins, and they have been, so far, among the best performers for me in northern Illinois.

'Windermere' is my favorite, I have two. It was very hardy and very vigorous, but it does show a little blackspot in my no-spray garden; not so bad as to defoliate.

'Lilac Rose' is another extremely hardy and prolific Austin. Thorny as heck, but profuse bloomer and very healthy.

Last year I planted two baby bands of 'Happy Child' and the jury is still out on these. They were extremely hardy through the winter, even though they were planted quite late last year. The blooms are precious, and a gorgeous bright yellow, but the bush form, so far, is kind of yucky, very spindly. They are just now starting to push out some lateral growth.

I dug up and rehome an own-root 'Jude the Obscure' for his marked lack of vigor. Others have had extreme success with him, so I will likely replace him when we figure out if we are staying in this house or moving.

My new Austins for this year are:

Belle Story
Glamis Castle (x2)
The Alexandra Rose
Golden Celebration
Eglantyne
The Prince

Of these Belle Story has already been a vigorous grower and shows good form and fresh fragrance. Likewise Eglantyne, but with a deeper, sensuous fragrance. The Prince has blooms to die for, in color, form and fragrance, but I am a little alert now as to how he might develop shrub-form-wise.
I think I am going to rehome both Glamis Castle, HATE the fragrance, and still deciding about The Alexandra Rose and Golden Celebration.

Forgot to tell you that a friend grows 'Constance Spry,' an Austin climber, and it is extremely tip-hardy and healthy with zero protection.

I was recently at the Chicago Botanic Garden and they actually had quite a few really healthy DAs with tons of blooms. Among them, I believe, are Heritage, Sharifa Asma, Gertrude Jekyll and Abraham Darby.

I'm also in zone 5, a block from Lake Michigan in Northern Michigan. I grow over 50 Austin roses and they have all been hardy for me. I do mound the ones in the lower open windy garden in November with 10 or 12 inches of shredded bark, especially the younger ones. I really love them - grow over 100 other roses but the Austins are my favorites. A smaller one I really like because it is a heavy repeat bloomer is Harlow Carr. The blooms are smaller than usual but very full. But I love them all.

A recommendation: I have been growing the floribunda "Valentine" for years with my Austin roses. It is a pink-y dark red with reddish foliage. I have 5 plants.

This rose is a very low growing, NON-stop bloomer for me. No scent, but for the japanese beetles it is a "last resort" rose. One of the last to get munched. I highly recommend it own root from Chamblees. I am in chicago area and they have always come back after the winter.

And again the winter workhorse for me: Mary Rose for rebloom but alas has very little scent and it may get a little blackspot but does not slow it down. It will bloom past frost well into October here.

I have been growing Austins for about 10 years and have never lost a one. I grow about 40 some varieties, I haven't counted them lately. I plant them with the bud union 4-6" deep. I order good bareroot stock from Pickering or DA Roses, those seem to settle in better and grow quicker than the ones I've bought in containers at local nurseries. I would think any DA would be hardy to zone 5 as long as you bury the bud union. I don't winter protect. Some years we don't have much snow cover but you in WI shouldn't have that problem.

Most of my DAs die back pretty far after the winter, some need to be cut back to just a few inches above ground level after a particularly cold winter. Others average getting cut back to about 8-12". This year was an exception as the winter was very mild and I didn't have too much winterkill. But however far back they get pruned, by mid June they are nearly back to their full height.

If you are worried about taking a chance, the hardiest DAs I have grown are: Crocus Rose (#1 hands-down, I just discovered this rose a few years ago and it is much hardier than what I thought were the hardiest DAs). Nearly hardy to the tips. Mary Rose, Winchester Cathedral, and Redoute--basically the same rose, sports, very hardy, do get winterkill but less than others usually. Brother Cadfael: Maybe even hardier than Mary Rose, an absolutely gorgeous fragrant flower, not as much die back as others and grows into a fairly large shrub. The Mayflower: Was hardy to the tips this year. Don't know if that was a fluke as I don't remember it being so the year before.

Both Constance Spry and Chianti are hardy as any OGR. Beautiful climbers but they only bloom once.

They do spray for blackspot at the CBG. I tracked down the gardeners there and asked them. They said they tried no-spray, but that so many people complained about how horrible the roses looked they went back to fungicide. At least that was the story a couple of years ago, the last time I was there.