I am not going to give you advice about what OGRs grow in zone 7 - I'm sure you will get lots.

However, I would like to recommend Cl Crimson Glory if you want an amazing red rose with the strongest "rose" fragrance of any rose I have ever been around. It was hybridized in 1935, and it is a climbing HT, not an OGR. It has the most gorgeous blooms, and HMF says it is hardy in cold zones 4b - 9b, so it ought to do fine where you are. I only prune mine once a year, and tie up its new canes. It is not very vigorous or rampant, and so it is easy to control. I have attache a pic.

Oh, I just thought of another rose - Sombreuil (aka Colonial White). It has a true OGR looking bloom - very double, sort of after the style of Madam Hardy. It also climbs. HMF says it is cold hardy to zone 6b. Mine has a nice fragrance, too.

I would guess that the roses around you which you describe as tall & spindly are modern HTs - that is a perfect description of how they grow.

Jackie

I think no garden should be without Reine des Violettes and Rose de Rescht! Both beauties that smell divine! RdV can get mildew occasionally and RdR will spot but I wouldn't be without them.

RdV
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RdR
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The once blooming OGR classes should do very well for you - gallicas, damasks, albas, mosses, and centifolias. You can also grow some glorious ramblers, again, once blooming.

Excellent repeaters for colder climates will include the rugosas. They will thrive, and most are wonderfully fragrant. A couple of mosses repeat, and Autumn Damask does, too, but it is a background rose. You might look at the damask perpetuals which I forgot on my first pass at suggesting things. Some of them are wonderful. Hybrid perpetuals should also grow well, but most of them have noticeable disease problems. A few are more resistant. I could tell you which ones those are in my climate, but that would not be terribly useful to you in yours.

Oh, and Stanwell Perpetual, the only repeat blooming hybrid spinosissima that I know. I dearly love that rose.

Rosefolly

This post was edited by rosefolly on Mon, Nov 25, 13 at 0:09

Thanks everyone..! Beautiful pics. I'm partial to pinks, creams, apricots... love some pastels mixed with perennials.

Rosefolly, I was just looking at Stanwell online a few hours ago, looks like it's sold out at Heirloom Roses, any idea where I can get one?

I'd strongly recommend starting by figuring out where you are. Zone 7 covers a lot of territory, and what roses are going to thrive in a particular place can vary enormously. Things like disease pressure, summer highs, length of time for winter lows, are all variables that can affect roses that aren't described by zones.

Guess I need to go update my profile since it keeps trying to put my old zone9 info in.

We are in Delaware County about 25miles from Philadelphia, near Delaware border if you know where that is.

Portia, take a look at Pickering Roses. I got Stanwell Perpetual from them years ago and it looks as though they currently have it in stock.

Very good nursery, BTW. Many of their roses are grafted on multiflora, though I do remember that they branched out into also offering some own root roses at some point. The chief drawback is that you can't order just one rose at a time. They have a three plant minimum. Of course at a time when you are setting up a new garden this will probably not be a problem for you. It is later when you pretty much have your garden established but are tracking down an elusive rose that it becomes more problematic.

You might also look at High Country Roses for an own root nursery oriented toward the colder winter areas. They are currently out of stock of Stanwell Perpetual, but I would expect them to offer it in the future.

There are also lots of small nurseries out there that just offer a small selection of roses that grow well in their area. Some of them are worth seeking out. I have posted a link to a recent thread listing some. Azalea House is the one I was thinking about.

Rosefolly

Here is a link that might be useful: OGR nurseries

Oh thanks for that link Rosefolly, tons of great info then and yep while I'm setting things up and mapping them out, now's the time to get larger orders in. ;)

So you are near Longwood?

Zone 7, east coast is practically the world-wide epicenter for blackspot. The reason the local roses look like they do is because they are probably defoliating several times a season from disease, not from the coldness of the climate. Most roses will require a good spray program. If you don't care to get into that, you'll want *local* recommendations on what can get away without it.

Yup about 10min from Longwood.

For blackspot, are there any organic methods of spray treatment that are shown to be effective? I already have acquired a few roses and while they didn't seem to be too prone to BS this year, they did get munched on by unseen bugs and squirrels ate a lot of the buds (never had to deal with that before!). Also we have deer where we'll be so I guess I have to think about that too.

Generally the repeat blooming northern OGR are not spot resistant like the teas and chinas you are used to. But the once-blooming albas and gallicas are iron hardy (meaning cold-resistant), and most of them are spot-resistant. Generally they will not need much irrigation or fertilizer once they are established. The once-blooming, early Asian yellows and once-blooming ramblers are also easy to grow and will extend the season of bloom. If you have mostly once-bloomers, you mostly bypass the Japanese beetles that ravage roses in July and August.

Among repeat-bloomers, 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' and its several sports stand out in my eastern 7a garden. If grown without fungicide, they get blackspot, but not as badly as most roses. Then some modern roses to try include 'Earth Song', 'Bolero', 'The Generous Gardener', 'Munstead Wood', 'Laguna', 'Quadra', 'Carefree Sunshine', and 'Caramela'. These are spot-resistant in many gardens.

If you haven't had much blackspot this year, it will probably get worse, and most roses will defoliate repeatedly. Micronized sulfur and copper soap are two products that are considered organic and that will help a lot with blackspot if sprayed every week

You will certainly do well to get local information about what classes and varieties grow well, and I can't help you there. But I want to put in another word for the once-blooming old roses, and planting a garden for succession of bloom. I think the once-blooming old roses include many beautiful kinds, and many of them are very tough plants. Some have hips and good fall color, so they offer value beyond their bloom; and unlike HTs they're not ugly in the winter (though I say that who love the look of leafless canes in the winter garden). And it's a joy to watch them leaf out in the spring, then develop their buds, which are often fragrant. I heartily second Michaelg's recommendation of the early yellows in particular, and of the late-flowering ramblers.

If you like cream perhaps Ghislaine de Féligonde will suit you? It's pale yellow and has passed the 10-year test at Longwood. It's one of the most popular roses in Sweden (some nurserymen grumble that it's too popular at the cost of other desirable roses) and it's one of my favorites too.

Marianne in Sweden, zone 5.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ghislaine de Féligonde

If you like cream perhaps Ghislaine de Féligonde will suit you? It's pale yellow and has passed the 10-year test at Longwood. It's one of the most popular roses in Sweden (some nurserymen grumble that it's too popular at the cost of other desirable roses) and it's one of my favorites too.

Marianne in Sweden, zone 5.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ghislaine de Féligonde

Sorry about double posts!

Good suggestions for once-bloomers, as they are generally quite sturdy here without spraying (fungicides) for blackspot. Albas, damasks, gallicas and Centifolias are for the most part beautiful, fragrant, and hardy. Portland damasks repeat and many also do very well -- Rose de Recht, Marcessa Bocella are two favorites. Pure Rugosas are very disease resistant here. Bourbons and Hybrid Perpetuals tend to be very blackspot-prone and more difficult unless you want to spray.

Some Austins do well here without spraying: Constance Spry (huge climber), Generous Gardener, Sharifa Asma, Teasing Georgia, and Sweet Juliet, Munstead Woods are favorites. Earth Song is a modern shrub that has done well for me.

Many once-blooming ramblers and climbers are also good here: Baltimore Belle, Aloha, Debutante, climbing American Beauty, and Fields of the Woods are some I grow.

Thanks so much for all the help and suggestions. I have a lot to check out for next spring!

If I was on acreage, I'd think of this general principle when selecting roses to plant -- hardier once-blooming or species roses further away from the house, thinking of them more as "shrubs" than "roses"; and "fussier" though more repeat-blooming roses closer to the house -- the ones which will need dead-heading, possibly need spraying, need more frequent pruning, etc. This way, the ones that can get by better without coddling will be the ones which are the longest trip from the house. Many of the once-blooming old roses aren't even commonly dead-headed because they will produce decorative hips for Autumn.

Also keep in mind that zone 7, while "cooler" than zone 9, still provides you the opportunity to grow some of the roses with which you may already be familiar. Some Teas will need some protection, and others won't reach their full-glory, but they are possible. I like to think of zones 7 and 8 as the "happy medium" areas which allow enough cold for the old European roses, but not so cold that the Chinas and Teas would be outright killed in Winter.

Just some thoughts....

:-)

~Christopher