Hi folks Glad you find this list useful! I realize it's a bit of overkill of information when you might only be looking for suggestions for a few roses, but like Seil I enjoy comparing notes with others to see what survives (and decide if it's worth trying a rose that died one more time). And Jacqueline, the point for me in a list like this is to see what to grow to be as lazy as possible, since anything in my yard has to be hardy enough to thrive without spray or fussing. Enjoy the first rose season, Nummykitchen, and don't blame yourself if roses do die - I fear the HTs that have died in my yard may be as long as the ones that survived, but you never know till you try. Ispahan, glad to help and I hope this isn't too much info to process for what you'd asked about. Like you I spend a lot of time double checking information on HMF, but it's always nice to hear from someone in a similar zone with their experiences too. As for Black Lady, I dearly love that rose and it's tough as nails. It truly is that elusive burgundy dark red color all the time in my yard - no pinking out like some dark reds - and it's thoroughly hardy and disease free as far as my strains of blackspot go (we don't get mildew much here). It's one of only a handful of roses I have multiple plants of in different beds and it holds its own on a nicely compact plant of around 3' or less (both sites have some part sun). My only quibble would be the relatively small flowers compared to other HTs - no more than 2" across or less - maybe between an apricot and a plum size on a good day. I can't vouch for the fragrance with my nose, but I certainly don't detect much of a scent. Still, it's a good rebloomer and entirely trouble free from me. Tantau is another breeder I like a lot, though they do stretch into some roses that aren't good for my zone at times. Glad this is helpful and you're welcome to ask for more input on anything else I grow. Cynthia

One of the things I like most about Salet is its hardiness. That won't be a relevant consideration for you, but for me the canes suffer almost no winterkill at all. My bush grows in the dappled shade of a flowering cherry, with the early morning sun blocked by an evergreen azalea. It also is infected with a rose mosaic virus (I bought it in the late 80's from Roses of Yesterday & Today). Consequently it doesn't grow as vigorously as Salet is capable of growing, yet even so after being transplanted from the Philadelphia area to the Boston area (a 6 hour superhighway drive further to the northeast) four years ago it now is approx. 3.5' high on four canes. So far it puts out one new cane per year, at the beginning of the growth flush following its late spring blooming. It's remontant, but not a strong repeater, with a big bloom in late spring and little thereafter. (I believe when it's growing in a better location it blooms very occasionally during the summer, and then blooms a bit more heavily in the autumn.) It's a moss rose that isn't heavily mossed, but very few of the mosses are remontant at all, so that makes it a rarity. I also believe it's regarded as one of the most dependable of the reblooming moss roses. The leaves are somewhat coarse in appearance, yet thin, with a healthy, flat, medium green color. (My soil is acidic and Rosa multiflora is an invasive weed here.) The leaves are notably hairy to the touch, although the hairs aren't really visible. The canes are heavily prickled, but the vast majority of the prickles are insubstantial. The prickles remind me of those on the cane of a rugosa rose, but they're less substantial than that. The flowers are nicely fragrant (as is the moss), about 3" wide, very double, and a medium pink color with a hint of lavender. In substance the petals are also more thin than thick. I regard Salet as one of the most satisfying roses I grow. Despite its less than perfect present location (& the horrific, droughty subsoil it grew in when it was in the Philadelphia area, where it barely survived, but did survive for almost 20 years) and its virus infection, it doesn't die back. The leaves get some crud in the summer (probably black spot, but the symptoms are a bit atypical) and it defoliates (about 70%) unless I spray it, but during the summer it also gets sprayed by lawn sprinklers for 30 mins. every morning at about 4:30 am. I wish I could stop that, but I can't! It puts up with much less than ideal circumstances and still gives satisfying flowers with almost no winterkill. So far the bush grows in a very shapely manner, with the longer canes bending into a gentle arch as the flowers come into bloom. One fault it does have is that the flowers struggle to open in cool wet weather, but that's not unusual for an antique rose with heavily doubled flowers. Here's the HelpMeFind entry for Salet.

There is one running (meaning it's going to spread a lot) bamboo you could try. I have seen it here and there around the midwest, as well as here in Canon City. I have also seen it for sale locally and at Harding Nursery in Colorado Springs, so you can no doubt find it in Denver too. With bamboo you have to be aware that you're not going to see much growth the first year or two, and you have to water it a lot. Then when it gets established and starts to spread, it will stay evergreen a little better, grow a little taller, tolerate drought a little more, and so on. But you'll still probably need to water it as much as a lawn. The following information is from the 'Lewisbamboo.com' web site: "Phyllostachys aureosulcata - (common name:)'YELLOW GROOVE BAMBOO'" "One of our top picks for very cold areas in need of privacy screening. I have measured this species at 46 feet and 2.6 inches in diameter in climate zone 7. We have customers growing this cold hardy species in parts of Minnesota. The culm (cane) sheaths are pale green with creamy streaks. Auricles and oral setae are present on mid culm. Can be absent on lower and upper portions of the culms. A very upright species at maturity. Less aggressive in cooler climates. Yellow Groove is from Jiangsu and Zhejiang in east China." "This species is doing very well in the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Logan, Iowa and Grand Island Nebraska. One of our customers in zone 3b/4a Wisconsin where temperatures have gone to -30 reported his 'yellow groove' dies back in the Winter months. It comes back each Spring 6 to 8 feet tall from a 5 year old planting. Reports back to us this year that it is doing great at the University of Minnesota Arboretum." "It averages 10 to 12 feet in height by .75 inch diameter at the Denver Zoo after 12 years and appears that this will be the mature average height at that elevation and climate zone 5." "In USDA Climate Zone 7 expect mature size canes to be over 40 feet in height. In USDA Climate Zone 6 expect mature size canes to be 18 feet in height. In USDA Climate Zone 5 expect mature size canes to be 12 to 14 feet in height. In USDA Climate Zone 4 expect mature size canes to be 8 feet in height." "I recommend this species for USDA Climate Zones 5 and warmer."

There isn't a lot you can do about the new growth. It happens. By the time the buds have grown out that far inside, the growth won't harden off. 45F is too warm, as you have found out. Unlike hardy roses, most roses you are going to want to keep garaged aren't very smart when it comes to temperatures. They respond much better to a lack of water, but that has its own issues in a container. In the northeast, where I live, we tend to have wet falls, and getting zone 6 roses to go dormant can be a challenge if you can't turn off the water. However, that is a story for another time. The roses have to be essentially hit over the head with cold enough temperatures that they have no choice but to understand winter is real, winter is coming. Almost by definition, these are sub-freezing temperatures. Then to keep them dormant, temperatures should be close to freezing. I assume you have some temperature control over this garage. For the roses, 35F is probably cold enough. I have an attached, unheated, uninsulated garage, and things definitely freeze out there. 28F is not an issue. The bigger issue is when things start warming up in the spring, and the roses have to be brought out on sunny days, and back in for cold snaps.