I don't live in a desert, but I do live in the middle of a giant praire where summer temps soar to 100F. Does that count?
All my rose blooms fry in the summer sun / heat, except for:

Souvenir de la Malmaison
Pretty Jessica

That's it, that's all ... just two rose plants.

My other roses are beautiful in the mornings and less than beautiful by evening.

Randy

Ingris, here's link to an HMF Ezine article I just happened on. Maybe you've already read it.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: Roses for the Desert

Hmm, that may explain why Mme. Cornelissen does well, since she's a sport of SdlM. For some reason I've always held off ordering SdlM but I think it might be a good plan to have this rose if it doesn't frizzle. Pretty Jessica doesn't ring my chimes but if she behaves well in the sun that would be a big plus. Since I've never seen Jessica in person she may surprise me. I don't know if you like apricot roses, Randy, but Carding Mill is another Austin that does not fry in the heat and it never stops blooming, no matter how hot it gets. No disease either, although quite a few of my roses have mildewed this year.

Ingrid

Don't forget to mulch: it keeps the roots cooler. Do you have enough room and water to grow plants that can offer shade and wind protection to your roses? Also I'm thinking that thick interplanting is good for all the plants concerned.

I don't believe 'Old Blush' fries, old stalwart that it is; and I remember spotting 'Vanity' in bloom when it was the only rose in the garden with flowers on it, and I don't think it fries, either. Mostly I just look at other plants when the roses are desperate. Good luck on finding solutions.

Sherry, that was an interesting article: thanks!

Melissa

I do not live in an area as you are describing. But Cliff Orent (Euro Desert Roses) does. I do not think he gets on this forum so you may want to send him an email and he could give you some suggestions.

"...Do you have enough room and water to grow plants that can offer shade and wind protection to your roses?"

That is a good idea. If the shade from, say small ornamental trees, can filter the afternoon sun, your roses could be much better off.

Randy

SdlM
Europeana
Maggie

There is a project in the wokrs at the Albequerque Botanical Garden of a desert rose garden. I would think that a lot will be learned from how these roses grow and bloom in that hot dry climate. Pernitianas and Bourbons are said to do well. I'm wondering if that applies to how the blooms last in the heat or only to the ability of the rose to handle heat and draught.
I think afternoon shade does help. I do live in a more moderate climate, though we can get temperatures into the 90's. The one area in my garden that needs the least water and always looks good gets some afternoon shade. It is also thickly planted with roses, perrenials, and ground cover. I don't think the soil there gets a chance to heat up.

Ingrid --I'm so sorry to hear about your roses--this year has been cool and lots of rain--some roses don't like that extreme either--

I hope you are able to find some that do well in your area-----

Florence

Reading through this Ingrid, I suspect some afternoon shade is going to be the ticket.
Even here, near the coast, the south-facing hillside can be pretty brutal, and roses with a lot of bare cane sooner or later have problems.

We started out thinking that all of the roses needed 6-8 hours of direct sun, but that proved to be incorrect here. Roses that get morning sun only seem to fare better than those that get all-day sun.
Roses that get afternoon shade only seem to do fine too -- toward sunset, the sea breeze normally brings in some humidity and relief from heat.
Trees provide shade, but they're a mixed blessing. Their roots can be tricky, and the blamed things tend to grow to a point where they make more shade than we want. Still, on the whole, trees are welcome.

Little by little we're finding the "fatal" locations, and moving roses away from those.

Jeri

John Paul II (really takes the heat well)
America
Double Delight
Pink Pet
Joseph's Coat
(All on Fortuniana)

I know that these aren't antique varieties, but
my OGRs aren't old enough to really bloom yet, they're just a few inches tall.
It's been close to 100 F and very dry here. My red HT roses especially are getting that "blowtorched" look you described - really burned.

Avalon

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately there is no way I can plant shade trees for the roses other than what is already there. If you can believe it even the roses on the east side of the house that get only morning sun fry. I suppose the house wall must retain the heat. Pink Pet is a rose I would consider, ditto Maggie and SdlM. Melissa, I like your idea of thick interplanting; that's something I could certainly do more of, the only problem being water usage. Of course I do mulch and plan on adding more now that the weather is heating up.

Florence, thank you for your concern. I'm not really discouraged by this but just trying to make the best of the situation by finding out what roses I can plant in place of the ones that do really poorly. Every garden has issues and I'm glad about the good things in my garden and will do my best to improve or live with the rest. There is no such thing as a perfect garden, and I'm sure those posters who are drowning in rain wouldn't mind borrowing a little of my sun and heat. When I think of everything you've been through a few fried blooms are a walk in the park.

Ingrid

I also grow at a rather high elevation, with a dry and hot microclimate in the summer. Temperatures in the past two weeks have been in the 90's, with not a single drop of rain. All of my roses look quite awful this time of the year. The flip side of my climate is that I do not have to contend with all the fungal problems and other diseases. My Hermosa, Mrs. John Laing, Rose de Rescht, etc. all have put out new blooms; however, they are almost immediately shriveled by the combination of intense heat and the multitude of strange insects that have migrated from the dry native vegetation to my garden.

Jeff, I know what you mean about the insects. A lot of my leaves look like Swiss cheese. I did have mildew because of the strangely cloudy and cool weather we had for weeks but now that the heat is on the mildew has improved quite a lot. This summer I'm going to keep a log of which roses do best in the heat and which the worst offenders are. Angels Camp Tea, which I love, is either going to have to be moved or disappear because the delicate petals just can't take the heat. Given the many months without rain we have here (at least six) I see no use in having ugly roses or non-performers for that length of time. I can't spare the water to keep roses alive that aren't going to give return value. I hope throughout the summer those of us in this situation can keep continuing to post about which roses are worthwhile (or not) so we can help each other have the nicest gardens possible.

Ingrid

So sorry, I meant Pam, not Melissa, regarding the suggestion of having close plantings between the roses to shade the ground. My brain must be fried along with the roses.

Ingrid

Hello Ingrid, I hear you about heat blasted looking roses. Here in Las Vegas we have even worse heat and dryness than were you are at. Some people are able to combat it by making microclimates with lawns and high water use plantings but I've seen the bathtub ring on Lake Mead and just don't find that socially responsible.

Roses are a very small part of our yard because of this but we do have a couple that have surprised us. The teas all defoliate for a couple of months during the summer because the roots can't keep up with the amount of evaporation off the leaves but I think noisettes may be the ticket. Crepescule is in a very exposed spot and it never loses its leaves and this year it is even keeping up its blooming although they quickly brown and are smaller. Belle Vichysoise (sp) Not only keeps its leaves but it has a wonderful full shrubby form and its blooms never stop and never look small or faded. It is in a nice spot however up against the east side of our house so it doesn't get any late sun.

Personally in our climate though I do love roses and will always have some they are a small part of our landscape. Desert loving plants like the cordias, leucophyllums, cassias and california sages are so rewarding because they actually like it here and respond by being healthy! Here's a pic of texas olive, Cordia boissieri, an 8 foot tree/shrub that blooms nonstop all summer in our furnace of a yard and has lovely big furry olive leaves to boot. It's no rose but it is dependable and beautiful.
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If I were you Ingrid I would keep the roses that you love and love you and replace the others with plants that like your conditions. Nothing is so beaufiful as a happy plant.
Maria

Maria, thank you for your thoughtful and well-reasoned post. What you say makes so much sense and your beautiful picture reminds me there are many lovely plants that are not roses that might love my garden and dry hillsides. I've researched texas olive and would love to have this plant. I'll have to see if I can find this locally. It's sad that one site said it was thought to be almost extinct in the wild. All the more reason for us to grow it. Did you purchase yours locally?

Ingrid

I'll second the California sages, Ingrid.
We are removing some roses with water shortage in mind, keeping the ones we really wand/need, and filling in here and there with some of the lovely, drought-tolerant salvias and similar plants.

Our garden will change, over time, but I hope for the better.

Jeri

Why yes, though far away, I do have a garden of fried roses at the moment. Crispy! The ones still blooming pretty well with least crispiness are Georgetown Tea, Bishop's Castle, Mystic Beauty, Jean Bach Sisley, Mme. Berkeley, and the modern Our Lady of Guadalupe.

odyssey3, I have Bishop's Castle which is starting on its second flush, and it's a new plant, and I'm happy to hear it stands up well to the heat. Jean Bach Sisley has just been transplanted and has lost all its leaves so that will take time to bloom again and it's now in a shadier spot so I'm looking forward to beautiful blooms on that. OLOG is fortunately good in the sun for me too. Mystic Beauty doesn't surprise me since the two sports I have of SdlM also seem to be doing well, even though they're still very young. Mme. Cornelissen seems to be a really good rebloomer, lots of buds on this young plant.

Jeri, I think what Maria and you are doing is the direction we all should be going in hot, dry areas, and there are many good plants to choose from. I had looked at the California sages after Maria mentioned them and I really like them. I think these plants will also be very beneficial to birds and bees, and should take very little care and water. I hope I'll always have roses, but they should be the best possible roses for this climate and quality will have to supersede quantity.

Ingrid

Ingrid: You and Jeri make too much sense! We have an issue with the California delta smelt, which could result in the reduction of water supply for agriculture and homes. I'm looking around my garden and trying to imagine a garden without roses. I just can't, not at this point. I am starting to plant more drought resistant companion plants though. I do feel bad when I water my roses during hot days, knowing that somewhere a farmer's land could be impacted because there is not enough water to go around. But I figured that my 280 roses are nothing compared to all those incredibly lush golf courses in Palm Springs and Las Vegas.

Ingrid, I'm in semi desert and we deal with the dry heat too. I have a rose suggestion for you- Star of the Republic. The blooms on this rose look so fresh in extreme heat, the petals have substance and it's quite fragrant too.
Instead of coping with heat, it appears to thrive.

Maggie and Emanuel look pretty good in the heat, but they drop their petals pretty fast compared to Star.

The climbing version of SDLM does not like me in any season. The blooms always ball and it's a mildew mess. It pains me because when there is a good bloom it's so pretty, but this one has to go. The Prince doesn't like the heat either in my garden. They open burnt in the heat. I moved it to morning sun only, so I'll see if it improves.

Mohavemaria, if you're still around maybe you could post some pictures of your sages and such.
I have salvia pachyphylla and it's sending up it's first blooms, I'm so excited. I also have salvia dorii which is native here too. I just need more of it.
I'm liking anything with evergreen foliage, so that I have something to look at in the winter.

You warm desert folks have more choices with all those succulents like echeveria and such. I would add those if I lived in your climate. The book Designing with Succulents would have tons of inspiration I bet.

I grow hardy groundcover sedum (such as Dragon's Blood and John Creech at the base of some roses. Also I have some thymes growing at the base in some areas. These could help cool the roots.

Penstemons make great companions too. Here again Mohavemaria has pictures on an old thread, that I pull up to get me through some dreary winter days. The penstemons in those pics aren't hardy for me, but I'm sure they'd work for you Ingrid.

PS. Ingrid, I love all the grey foliage plants in your garden from when you posted your pics recently. They really blend make your garden blend with the gorgeous mountainside surroundings.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mohavemaria's beautiful penstemon pics

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The big blue flowered bush is Salvia Clevlandii my very favorite of the CA native sages not just for its beautiful blue bloom and evergreen nature but its scent which is heavenly. Other CA natives in our yard are S. Pachyphylla, S. Apiana S. mohavensis, S. dorrii, S. chamaedryoides, S. greggii and a CA buckwheat also evergreen and with flower bracts that last 6 months eriogonum fasciculatum. Oh and the pink plant in the foreground is penstemon baccharifolius another treasure.

Ingrid, about where I got the texas olive (by the way its sibling Cordia parvifolia is every bit as wonderful) it is easily available at nurseries now but at the time I aquired it desert plants were harder to come by. There is a college campus with a small nursery that had a lot of stuff you just didn't find at the local nurseries where they like to push plants more suited to coastal CA than Las Vegas. I don't think there is a nursery here I haven't prowled through looking for plants that actually like our tough conditions instead of the plants that are easily propagated and simple to come by that the nurseries like to stock. You may have to do some exploring but that kind of hunting is great fun.

Good luck, there is a lot more you can grow than what I can do here and I hope I don't get run out on a rail for mentioning replacements for those beautiful but sometimes not well suited roses. Maria

I LOVE that penstemon!!

Pat Austin a great favorite fries in the heat that some of my other roses thrive in.

We only recently acquired Clevelandii, but you sure are right about the fragrance.
We found a red gregii, and a rose-colored variant -- both lovely, but one of the showiest salvias is "Hotlips," which is white, tipped blood red.

I also like the deep fuchsia chiapensis -- and bees seem to be very attracted to it, as well.

I'm NEVER going to give up roses. Nor do I think roses will ever be in the minority in my garden. But I AM sticking to roses that tolerate a little drought. And I'm not going to be dismayed if my roses shut down in the hottest part of summer.

Moreover, we are REALLY stingy about water. Dishwater and warm-up water go to the garden, along with things like used tea leaves and coffee grounds. If things get too tough, we'll figure out a system to take ALL of our graywater to the garden.

Santa Barbara Rose Society's September program will be on water saving. I'm really looking forward to that, for I know the guy whose doing it is very knowledgeable.

Jeri

Barb, thanks for the tip on 'Star of the Republic'.
I went to HMF and the photos there are beautiful, including yours.
And, being a Texan, I like the name of this rose :-)

Randy

Barb, like Randy I'm enamored of Star of the Republic and love how it grows in your garden. This one is definitely going on my wish list of sun-tolerant roses that I started the other day. It's really gorgeous. Thanks so much for mentioning it, and also for your complement about my garden. I'm really going to look thoroughly into the sages. Salvia Clevelandi is really beautiful. I wonder whether the name came from Cleveland National Forest a few hours from here.

Ingrid