I think Pickering has some. I absolutely love Helena Rennaisance. It has gorgeous creamy white flowers with a hint of pink in the middle and is one of the best-smelling roses in my whole garden. That is saying a lot because I grow almost all Austins and OGRs.

Last year I planted Sophia in my client's garden and it is doing fine. The Renaissance roses are less hardy for me than the DAs but I haven't lost one yet. They also grow more upright like a HT; technically they are HTs, aren't they?

Some are shrubs, Some are hybrid teas and others are floribundas. There's a climber also.

I've got Sandra Renaissance and I really like it. I'm glad to see that Pickering has it because I had to get mine from Hortico and it was tiny when I got it. It's three years old now and has gotten better every year. The blooms are a nice lavender color and smell nice. It gets about 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide or so.

I grow two Isabel Renaissance (my granddaughter's name) and they do very well for me in my zone 5 garden (do get some blackspot however). They get very tall, so I grow them on pillars. Beautiful pure red fragrant blooms.{{gwi:245906}}

very happy to see this post. I was thinking of ordering some of the 'Renaissance' series for my self in southern Ontario. I thought I would be OK winter wise but was going to check here. I am a milder climate than Illinois. I plan on Sandra and I think I will include Helena now. Thank You !

I have several of them from Arena. Isabelle always catches my eye from across the field. My personal favorites are Helena, Bering and Sophia. Mine are all at least 8 years old. The only one that did not survive my cross country move was Princess Alexandra.

Trish

Susz, in my zone 5b they do get winterkilled pretty much down to the ground (with no protection). A bit more than most of my David Austins. But like DAs they do bounce back.

Thanks for all the responses.Veilchen - some one on GW has mentioned that Helena blooms fail to open at times and that is the only reason it went to fourth place in the list of the roses from this series. The four roses I have throw multiple sturdy canes that grow upright and bloom in clusters (sophia ,clair and julia - 3to5 per cluster and Amelia blooms in sprays-upto 16 flowers.Lea is supposed to be a climber .
Karenforroses-Thanks for posting the pic of Isabel Renaissance.It is going to be on the list next time I order renaissance roses.
Athenanwi-You seem to have succeeded in growing the hortico bare roots.Out of 12 or so roses I bought from them I have only one rose .I would love to have some of the roses only available from them ,but Iam not ordering from them if I can help it.I hope I will have better luck with pickering.
Trishaw - Can you share you opinions and expereience with these roses ?
Dana

We grow Clair Renaissance, here in east coast PEI. Cupshaped had good things to say about this one and he was right. It is a very sturdy shrub with a nice shape and flowers well. We have a fair amount of live cane after winter. I like fragrant apricot flowers and this is one.

Ruth

Dana, I've never had that experience ever with Helena. And Helena doesn't bloom in clusters for me, great for cutting.

Dana - I didn't have that much luck with Hortico bare roots. The two times I ordered, I would order 4 and end up with 3 that live. Actually, I would order 4, have them call the day before they ship and ask me to pick a replacement, and then they would send 4 plants, of which two or three would only be grade 1.5. Then I'd cut the canker of and end up with tiny stubs. I gave up on getting replacements or ordering from them any more and if they're the only ones who have something then I go without it. Hortico is the only vendor I've had that kind of bad luck with. I haven't ordered from Pickering but they're supposed to be great and I'll probably order from them this year. Palatine is my vendor of choice now but they don't carry the Renaissance roses.

I can't stress enough how wonderful Princess Alexandra is. I had her in the shade (full shade) in her five gallon can for about 3 years. She rarely got water. She never showed a hint of disease or stress and even threw up some blooms. I finally got her in the ground and she took off. Color, scent, ruffly form, and complete disease resistance makes her one of my best roses. She does get tall. Only draw back is when the weather gets hot the edge of her petals turn purple.

Bonita is a tall, disease resistant rose. The fragrance is OK. The color is a vibrant almost neon salmon. I am thinking of pulling it out because it clashes with the apricots and yellows that surround it. It also has a low petal count. I have only had it one season though.

Good luck choosing. The Renaissance roses are amazing.
Eileen