If you live in the East and do not spray fungicide routinely, 'Iceberg' will defoliate from blackspot and cercospora spot diseases.

Hm, that is very good to know! I live in the Midwest, zone 6a, but I can do research and try to figure out if that is an issue here. Thanks!

Daybreaker is a rose with nice coloring that just kind of putzes along for me, never doing anything fabulous but nearly always a pretty flower on it. If you garden no spray it does not have beautiful foliage here on the NW coast. I personally would go for a one of Palatine's fabulous Kordes roses. They are all standouts in my garden! I have this years plants just starting to bloom good. I can report on them in a few weeks.

Same here lizalily, on the Daybreaker, but I just love that color when it blooms. I also have Mardi Gras, with very similar color but a much healthier fuller bush.

I've ordered quite a few roses from Palatine in the past several years, and far and away the best of them all is the rose "Ascot" (here I go again, praising this rose). It was hybridized by the German company Tantau. I have photos of it on my posting on this forum and in the gallery. I know newer Kordes roses are considered to be quite healthy, as I believe are Tantau roses. I don't have Elegant Fairy Tale, but have three Sisters Fairy Tale roses which are bred to stay small, I believe. They are light pink floribundas with a slight old fashioned bloom look. I don't spray because we don't have black spot or rust here. Diane

Golly, I really appreciate all of this feedback!

So Daybreaker... Are the colors pretty enough to be worth a bit of sluggishness? Northland Rosarium has a potted Mardi Gras. Would that be a better one to go with?

I also think the Fairy Tale Queen of Hearts and Pomponella look beautiful! Any experience with these?

I saw Daybreaker in one of the Kansas City public gardens, and while the bloom was pretty, no, it did not make my heart sing (which is my criteria for a desireable rose), plus its foliage was rather spotty--and I was under the impression that that public garden does spray a fungicide, though I don't know how often. I would say that Daybreaker would be an OK choice, but there are others that would be much better choices. Like some of the other posters, I say look over the Kordes roses offered by Palatine Nursery--some lovely and very disease-resistant roses listed there, especially some of the "fairy tale" roses.

Kate

Personally, I think everyone should have an Iceberg (or two). One of the most famous roses of all time, it lives up to its hype. It is in the World Federation of Roses "Hall Of Fame." Yes, it will get black spot and cercospora as Michael says, but even a minimum of spraying will keep it check.

The only bad thing about Iceberg is that it stretches the definition of Floribunda. It is wildly/widely ranging, and does not like to remain short. It will spread almost like a climber, except at a somewhat smaller pace. Still, it tolerates heavy pruning/deadheading, so that can help keep it check.

Hm, so Daybreaker may not be as great as the pictures! And I am glad to hear good things about Iceberg. I had been limiting myself to Floribundas thinking that other varieties would not repeat bloom... But is that true? Dream Come True has that Daybreaker look, but isn't a Floribunda. Need I limit myself to Floribundas? Enlighten me! =]

I wasn't familiar with Palatine Roses, so I took a look at their offerings. Do they grow their roses in that cold climate? I'm wondering how they provide winter protection??, or are all of their varieties hardy.

Most roses repeat bloom--if they don't, they will be clearly identified as "once-bloomers" or something like that. Some roses repeat bloom much faster, other have a lighter rebloom, some are nearly continuous, others need a month rest between bloom cycles, etc. In other words, each rose is different--read the descriptions carefully.

Some posters would say the hybrid teas are much more disease-prone, but like other types of roses, some are more and others are less disease-prone--and floribundas aren't necessarily more disease-resistant--some may be, others will not be.

HTSs tend to have much larger blooms; floribundas tend to have smaller blooms in clusters. Floribundas tend to have a rounder bush-type shape. Some posters complain that HTs are not attractive bushes--all they have going for them is big, fat, gorgeous blooms. But to many posters, that is what makes the HTs the most beautiful of all the roses.

And we haven't even got started on the old roses yet!

I can't tell you about Dream Come True, but do you know helpmefind.com? Storehouse of info and pics on just about every rose in existence. I'm sure it can tell you more about Dream Come True.

Kate

I got Dream Come True this year. Not doing well. Lots of powdery mildew and the blooms look pretty (but smallish) for a day, then fades to a blotchy red. Not a big fan. However it is a first year rose - could improve.
Carol :)

You know planted in the ground at northland rosarium are several Daybreakers that just make my eyes bug-out with joy they are so full of multicolored blooms it's amazing. It's the only rose i am seriously considerbreaking my no-fragrance no grow rule for. It generally is reviewed by zone 6ers. They propogate- so you'd likely get that amazing clone.

Then I won't rule out Daybreaker just yet! What about Palatine's Garden Delight rose? I believe it is a Kordes.

Or Sheila's Perfume? They all look so pretty, I am confusing myself!

Shaila's Perfume is beautiful, but has zero resistance to Black Spot. It is always leafless here from early June on.

Palatine has Kordes rose Eliza which is very healthy in my sister's garden here and has amazing vigor and repeat. It is mildly fragrant. Great for cut flowers too. I am thinking to add it to my garden too.
In my garden Floral Fairy Tale has good resistance, as well as climber Laguna.
Olga

I planted Kiss of Desire/Harlekin last year. I was looking for a Kordes climber, and I ordered mine from Palatine.

I've been very happy with it, but I just moved it on Sunday. I did not give it a big enough support structure, and it was too close to it's neighbors. I couldn't get between Harlekin and the other roses to do normal deadheading.

Flowers are very "cute"; not a tight spiral, more a loose, decorative form with great scent and lovely little picotee. Repeat is decent on my immature plant, and each terminal end sets 3 blooms. The center one opens first, like normal, and then the 2 sidebuds. Flowers don't last long, but having three buds each time gives the illusion of long-lasting blooms.

I really like Harlekin and hope she survives the cruelly imposed move we did last weekend.

It seems Kordes roses has a pretty good record! I am leaning toward Elegant Fairy Tale, Harlekin, and maybe the Garden Delight. Or, Chicago Peace is awfully pretty. Any success with that one? Are hybrid teas any trickier than Floribundas?

I don't know if Elegant Fairy Tale is as nice as his Cinderella Fairy Tale, but she's one of my favorite roses that I grow. No scent that I can detect, but just extremely beautiful. All of the really modern Kordes roses I have really do have excellent disease resistance.

I have Harlekin and really like her. I'm not usually big on those colors in my garden, but she's a beautiful rose. I probably haven't had her long enough to mention anything important, but things look great so far. Fast repeat for a young plant (and in general). Her colors are not as consistent as some photos may imply, so keep that in mind. Mine is usually more of a dark pink blend than red, and that's likely due to the heat we have here. I wanted a deep pink, so it works well for me :)

Yes, Chicago Peace is pretty--the only rose prettier is Peace. Unfortunately, they are both very susceptible to blackspot, so if you don't plan to spray fungicides every few weeks (at least in the spring and fall, but maybe in the hot summer also), they will not do very well.

HTs and floribundas in general have BS problems. More recently, they are trying to breed better health in a number of them, but there are still many gorgeous roses on the market that are total disease-magnets. The problem is that they really are gorgeous.

Kate

Here is my Daybreaker with its current load of flowers. Check the health of the foliage. The picture of Daybreaker on Palatine has much darker flowers then mine have ever been. Don't know if it is the photo or if they do get darker in other climates. I can only report on how it grows for me on the cool NW coast with our many overcast mornings and mild temperatures.

NOw if you want a huge show off rose that is fabulous, I most highly recommend Palatine's South Africa!

Thanks for the picture, Lizalily! And thanks for the South Africa suggestion. That rose had caught my eye on Palatine's website!

I appreciate everyone's advice! I haven't made a final decision yet, but am certain I will stick with Kordes roses this year, trying roses from the different classes.

I just can hardly wait until Spring, though!

And I can hardly wait for Palatines new Catalog year to start next month!