Old china roses don't need to be grafted on fort. Louis Phillipe is called the cracker rose. :-) Teas and noisettes do well here. The tea Duchesse du Brabant does well for me and I don't spray. I did enough of that back up north. ;-) I grow my roses down here in pots so all of my roses are own root. I wish I had room for at one noisette...sigh...

There are lots of good Old Garden Roses that will do well for you, but I don't think you'll find them on Fortuniana, unfortunately.

Anna Olivier - heavy bloomer, large pale yellow flowers, sturdy & leafy bush; I think she's going to be big (mine is only a year old & 3' tall x 5' wide)
Louis Philippe - easy care, pretty red/pink flowers, cherry candy fragrance, nice bush
Jean Bach Sisley - beautiful pink flowers on a nicely rounded bush, steady & quick rebloom
Enchantress - very leafy, lots of magenta flowers that have been small in the heat, constantly blooming, 1st year, may be smallish bush
LeVesuve - Best rose ever (IMHO), beautiful big pink blend flowers, excellent foliage, quick bloom cycle
General Schablikine - brick red flowers, pretty well leafed
Maman Cochet - gorgeous pink blend, perfectly shaped flowers, a lttle slower to build structure than the others listed
Souv de Frances Gaulain - Lots of magenta flowers that have been small in the heat, very leaf-packed bush

Blackspot is not a problem with any of these roses at this point.

Sherry

Take a look at Countryside Roses (Pass Christian, MS). Her website has lots of roses that do well in the deep south. I have several from there and she sends very nice plants. :) Cramoisi Superieur/Louis Philippe is one she has and it is very easy (no spraying necessary) and has lovely fragrance. Also, Mrs. B.R. Cant is very easy for me. Many others. Just tell her what you're looking for and I know she will have lots of great suggestions. :) I bought a white old-fashioned rose ("Prom Queen" a found rose probably a hybrid musk) from Emerald Goddess Gardens (FL)on ebay and it has done wonderfully for me too. She was very kind and helpful. You will love old-fashioned roses. :)

I agree that nearly all the Teas and Chinas are good. Also 'Tausendschoen' if you need a nice climber. Crepuscule is a great pillar rose (own root, no spraying needed). Maggie, Souv. de la Malmaison, and Souv. de St. Anne's are good Bourbons, especially if you're willing to do some spraying for blackspot. If you have room for something gigantic, e.g., to cover a shed or climb a tree, R. laevigata (the Cherokee rose) or 'Fortuniana' would do well.

Hi - Thanks for all the input, I will contact Countryside Roses , and maybe get more big-big pots,.... I found some 'fines' a GW member lives right here in St Pete and has some, what a great guy ! so it looks like I'm getting it all together.... I'm suffocating an area of grass in the front yard where it gets morning sun and no tree-roots, and will prob. put some hybrid teas there, Sweet Surrender, Tiffany, Gold Medal, they are tall and do well for me, and then put the big pots along the walkway... We all have these fantastic dreams in our mind's eye, sometimes they do work out and sometimes they never live up to the 'dream'... but the fun is in the 'trying'..... Thanks again rose lovers, sally

I am disappointed that it appears so hard to find Teas and Noisettes on Fortuniana. From what I read here, it appears that the Chinas may be OK on their own roots and they seem to be easy to find. How about the Bermuda roses? They certainly have proved themselves in Bermuda as tough and long lived. Will they do well in the hot sand in FL?

I am looking for large shrub roses that require only minimal care as the house is a winter home and won't get much attention during the rest of the year. I was going to choose based on the document "Old Roses for South FL" by the U of FL extension.

Here is a link that might be useful: Old Roses for South FL

All of my Antique roses ( 23 varieties ) are in the ground with native soil and no products added to the planting hole . They are thriving and blooming . I do mulch heavily using wood chips , cow manure , coffee grounds , oak leaves - what ever is free and handy .

I do not plan to relocate so have no qualms about putting OGRs directly in the ground . I have also had good luck transplanting them if , after time , I decide they should go some place else . I do have mostly teas and chinas and as Dr, Manners stated , they do very well in the ground .

Try planting some directly in the ground and see what happens . With enough irrigation and enough mulch , your roses should do just fine .

Sally, we are not kidding you when we say Tea and China roses on their own roots are the perfect roses for Florida, and I have the photos to prove it.

LeVesuve - this rose was planted as a very tiny plant in 3/08 and was moved to its present spot in 3/09. It's first year it's canes grew sideways and low to the ground. Today it is about 2' high and 4' wide and taking on a nice vase shape - will probably be 5'-6' tall. Notice the lack of blackspot. This rose doesn't get any.
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I also have a baby Climbing LeVesuve, planted in September. You can see how low to the ground it is and no blackspot. I will say that as Teas are preparing to add new growth the old leaf at that budeye will turn yellow, maybe get a blackspot or two, and drop off. That is how they grow. On LeVesuve it's not noticeable.
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Jean Bach Sisley is a beautiful bush with stunning pink flowers that seem to float above the bush all around it. You can see the scattered yellow leaves on the bush. She was just coming into a big flush and was still pushing out new growth, hence the old yellow leaves about to be pushed off.
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Anna Olivier blooms like a fool and laughs at blackspot in my yard. She's pale yellow maybe with some pink shading in cooler weather. She's only been in the ground since March (a 2-gallon plant) and is about 2.5' tall and 5' wide, so well foliated that you can't see some of her BIG flowers that are down inside the bush. (Not the best photo, sorry.)
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Enchantress has been pumping out her magenta, half-dollar sized flowers all summer. She constantly has flowers on her. In the heat of this summer they crisped pretty quick but they're not unattractive on the bush - kind of like having dried flowers on a live bush. You can see how leafy she is and no blackspot. She's going to be small, I think. She was only planted in March so I'm not sure. She's about 2.5' x 2.5' now.
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Souvenir de Francois Gaulain is starting out (planted in March) like a lot of my other Teas - low to the ground and spreading out sideways. I doubt he's a foot tall yet, but he's 3 ft wide in one direction. He also bears magenta flowers but with a silveriness that Enchantress doesn't have. I think he's going to be a mid-size Tea. He's never had a blackspot problem.
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You can't go wrong with Red Cascade, a miniature climber with nickel-sized blooms that come in huge clusters.
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Marjory Palmer is an Australian polyantha that has been very healthy and green since being planted in August. She also blooms very nicely - but not here :))
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All of these photos (except Anna Olivier's flower & Jean Bach Sisley) were taken yesterday. My garden is young, and I've struggled with keeping leaves on most of my roses but not these (not necessarily due to BS, maybe due to heat, not enough water or food, or all of the above.) Try them; you'll love them. And there are others that do great - with no spraying!

Sherry

Thank you Sherry - I am flabbergasted !! what a lovely garden... you have convinced me ! My grandson is coming after school today to help me set out my roofing paper to kill the grass, after abt. 3 weeks I can take it off and start digging.... I do think I will just go ahead and order several own-root from Antique Rose Emporium, they seem to have the largest selection,,, I do want to tell you, my other Hybrid Tea are all on Nelson's Fortuniana and some are over 30 years old, and huge..... I have a huge Pecan tree in my back-yard and it has been dropping limbs and several came down and smashed abt. 15 bushes I had in the back yard, and they died... I have replaced the space with Papayas, at least until I can get that tree either out of there or trimmed way back, but the tree people want an arm and a leg, so Papaya and peppers and tomatoes are there for now..... I have a rose garden in my front yard and am adding to that, by taking over more of the grass area..... and then I will run out of room...... I don't have a camera to show you, but my hand shakes anyway so the pics would be lousy.......... I think I will order Souv. de la Malmaison, a Louis Philippe, and Anna Olivier and Le Vesuve.... to start with... then I might get more later and see if I have enough room, I have to plant closer than you do because I am running out of yard ! Thanks Sherry, sally

Sally, there's an antique rose nursery in Alachua, 10 miles north of Gainesville, called Angel Gardens. Pam has 500 OGRs in the ground and 200 in pots. You would probably benefit from seeing these more mature roses in the ground growing in Florida. She's zone9 not zone10 but there's not much difference with these roses. She has the roses you mentioned except for Anna Olivier. She also has bigger roses (2- or 3-gallon) that generally aren't shipped because of weight & cost. She's very pleasant to talk to.

Also, Rose Petals Nursery is in Newberry a few miles west of Gainesville. Lovely ladies there, smaller gardens. I have bought about 25 roses from them - all good ones. One gallon rose for $7 or $9. Here's their website:
http://www.rosepetalsnursery.com/shop/page/1?shop_param=

I think it's very useful to see roses growing in Florida and also seeing what full-sized roses look like. Both nurseries do ship also if you can't make the trip. And both are close to I-75. It's a good time to see things blooming, too.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: Angel Gardens availability list

Thank you Sherry - thanks for the 2 nursery listings, I have gone on both web-sites and Angel Gardens sure has a huge selection, but seems to charge a bit more for shipping, Rose Petals has small selection but appears shipping is cheaper, but I'll have to call both of them to be sure. I was really impressed with Angel Gardens they have such a nice site with lots of information. Cool Roses in W. Palm has not replied to my queries and don't seem to have very many Antiques... so I think I'll go ahead and order from Angel Gardens.... my grandson came yesterday and helped me lay some roofing-paper on the lawn-area I am putting the addition so it will be a few weeks at least before I can have it ready.... and of course, I am all worked up abt. this, and you have been so helpful I want to thank you, again,......thanks, sally

Hi all - Just want to tell you-all that I have contacted several Nurseries abt. ordering their roses, and was flabbergasted by the Shipping costs.... the Nursery in La. quoted $84. to ship 4 plants, a Nursery in Ft Myers quoted $240. to ship 5-6 plants, these are for own-root plants, and this is out of the question for me.... I have learned that Nelson's has grafted LOUIS PHILIPPE on Fort. and have ordered it from my local Nursery, Dolin's here in St Pete, and the price total will be abt. $24. period....... it seems there should be more Nurseries grafting the Antiques and I wonder why they don't., because they are not bothered by Nematodes....... sally

Sally, Louis Philippe does not need to be on Fortuniana. According to Malcolm Manners, it is the only rose to be found in Florida to be living for 40 or more years. It is resistant to nematodes. It has a lovely size and shape on it's own roots. Mine is 3 years old and 5' tall, not quite as wide. I don't know what kind of size and shape it would get on Fort - presumably huge. Somebody else probably knows.

Sherry