I'm a little (?) south of you at the end of the Appalachians, !,700 Ft. I've had a few Austins on the east side of my home since I moved up here back in 08. They have thrived with only morning sun. I'm putting in several more Austins this year. There is a lady on these forms from VA. and she grows a BUNCH of Austins. Go over to the Rose Gallery and check out a bunch of the pictures and you should be able to find her. I was over there this afternoon and saw a bunch of her stuff. Beware!!! Once you start with Austins you WILL be hooked.

Lol - I'm getting hooked on the catalog photos, that's for sure. I'm checking out the Jackson & Perkins website now - they also have make-you-drool photos. Never having roses before, I want to make sure they are worth the expense. I did buy three or four cheapos at Walmart to practice on. (where I work, no nasty comments! lol)

Ok, I took your advice, and I'm checking out the rose gallery. All I have to say is; it's seriously messing with my head! I have limited space, but I can see I'll be doing away with somethings to make room for roses. How addicting...

I'm at foothiils of the Smokies and they do great here! Just be sure to ammend your soil alittle for bett drainage and they'll be happy :)

Coatfetish, welcome to the garden! Oh, I see you're going to be an easy candidate to enable, lol! Roses ARE addictive so be very careful or you'll end up with no grass and hundreds of roses like the rest of us!

I'm not in the mountains but on the lakes where it's very humid and the Austins grow and winter quite well here but they do black spot. Still, I wouldn't be with out some at all times because they are so beautiful and fragrant. I think you'll really enjoy them!

Welcome to the world of Austin roses--guaranteed rose addiction!

As you move towards selection of specific roses, keep in mind that you are always better off if you pick disease-resistant roses--that makes rose gardening considerably easier. In the David Austin descriptions, he rarely uses the words "disease-resistant." Instead, he will say something like "very healthy" or "exceptionally healthy." That is the equivalent of "very [or exceptional] disease-resistance."

If you get carried away with primarily beauty and fragrance (for which they are famous), you will end up having to spray fungicides every two weeks. Not fun, and, some claim, not good for the environment. So buy beautiful, fragrant, AND healthy right from the beginning. Will save yourself a number of headaches. : )

Kate

Actually, Kate, there are very few if any Austin roses that don't need fungicide here in southern Appalachia. (Very few repeat-blooming roses of any kind, for that matter.) The healthier Austin roses will look good through the first flush before defoliating from blackspot around midsummer. They are tough enough to survive winter despite foliar disease problems in summer and fall, but can be expected to look bad for part of the season. I tried for years to establish a no-spray garden by selecting varieties, but eventually went back to spraying. My rose garden is small and close to the house, so I want my plants to look good all season. Others have more tolerant attitudes.

Yes, I do have the BS issues with them that other's have mentioned. I'm one of the more tolerant ones that Michael mentioned :) Since I have too many roses to spray consistantly, the way I get around that is my using other types of perrenials and healthy low growing roses (mini's, some OGRs, and ground cover roses) around their bases to hide their bare canes. Still, defintly worth growing Austin roses, the blooms are just outstanding! Have fun, and like Seil said, you'll have no grass and lots of roses in no time (just think of the time you'll save mowing the grass!!!) :)

Tammy

Cindy thanks for asking the Austin question, those roses have captured my husband's attention, and in my post Dublinbay's reply was very encouraging. Her post prompted me to start looking over the older postings about Austin roses (there are many!)

It will probably take a combination of good soil amendment, and using a wintertime spray, and some spraying in the summer to keep the blackspot in check, but some roses from any hybridizer will be better than others.

You do know about HMF? (helpmefind.com) has been around for awhile, but it's a great research tool, it sure beats waiting for library books to come in, or overloading bookshelves with more books.

With cooler weather where you are you should be able to grow some wonderful peonies. I'm going to push our local grower-a very nice man, who sends out nice large peony roots, and is very straightforward in answering any of your questions. His website is up to date, and it's time to order peonies for fall planting-I've already missed out on a few since his catalog was mailed out a month ago. You can't miss with the classic combination of roses and peonies in the flower border.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hollingsworth Peonies

Thank you for all the info and the warm welcome! I have been doing more reading, and I have some concerns about the Dr Huey rootstock used on the US plants grown in Texas. I have a lot to learn yet - lol.
As for running out of room, I've already done that. I need to remove some plants to make room for roses - My home is 1200 sq feet, and my gardens are starting to exceed 1500! I have so little "yard" that I can mow with one of the old-time reel mowers - and I love the sound they make. I have a few small trees, shrubs, and assorted perennials, but mostly I have 200+/- daylilies and 300 +/- bearded iris. This year's iris order has already been placed - lol. Now I want roses. It's going to take me a while to learn what will do best in my area, and I'm partial to floribundas, ramblers, and climbers of the old-timey look. We'll see what is added to the garden this year!

In addition to Austins, you can also consider Generosa roses, Romantica roses and Delbard roses. Since you are in a relatively warm zone, you have more options than I do. Nahema (Delbard) is a nice climber. Bolero (Romantica) is a nice floribunda. Evelyn (Austin) and Rouge Royale (Romantica) are the two rose devas and of course you need Molineux. Sonia Rykiel's (Generosa) blooms are to die for. You can order from nurseries such as Roses Unlimited.

Here is a link that might be useful: Austin Roses at RU

Thanks, predfern - I am so new to roses that I haven't even heard of Generosa roses, Romantica roses and Delbard roses. I'm eager to google all these names and plants! I just noticed your "AR at RU" link (I only just woke up - lol). I will laugh if that's Radford University, because I live within walking distance of it!

LOL - Ok, now I know it's time for coffee - Radford University - really? How hopeful was that? ; )

Thank you for posting this. I would like to order an Austin Anne Boleyn to plant in a large container this year and was wondering how it would do in my zone. I'm in Pittsburgh and the roses would be getting a lot of sun on my deck.