I'm in NC and these do very well for me.

Chinas - Napoleon, Mutablis, Comtesse du Cayla, Archduke Charles, Ducher, Sophie's Perpetual

Teas - Rosette Delizy, Duchesse de Brabant, Lady Hillingdon, Madame Joseph Schwartz and Mrs. B.R. Cant

Noisettes - Crepuscule, Juan Desprez, Reve d'Or, Natchitoches Noisette

I hope this is helpful! Denise

Oh! I am glad to hear that Reve d'Or does well there -- it would always be one of my first choices. Since it does well, that would seem to open the door for William Allen Richardson, and Crepuscule???

Jeri

Barbara, for the five china roses, it would be an easy decision for me:

Spice
Cramoisi Superieur
Archduke Charles
Mutabilis
Ducher

For the teas, it's so subjective I shouldn't even go there, but you'd do well to seriously consider Madame Antoine Mari for her elegant plant habit & Duchesse de Brabant for her excellent fragrance.

Have fun,
Randy

It would be a ways to travel, but the Columbia, SC Riverbanks Zoo and Garden has a no spray antiques garden. It has a huge Reve D'Or, & Climbing Devonesis among others. It has many of the early noisettes like Champney's Pink cluster as well. It is zone 8A, but is hotter than SE VA in the summer. I'm sure the board knows of closer gardens for you. Also, Roses Unlimited in Laurens SC has an awesome display garden of many varieties.

I've read about that Riverbanks garden. It's something I would really love to see, one day.

Jim Delahanty wrote an excellent article on it, which you can read at the Gold Coast Heritage Roses Group web site.

Jeri

Here is a link that might be useful: Riverbanks Article by J. Delahanty

That is a good summary. I would say its best to visit in May-early June. Even then it can easily be 90 degrees, but the roses are in their max at that time. It also has a huge collection of crinums thanks to Jenks Farmer who was once the director of the garden. Its laid out as a large irregular bed, with mixed plantings and a irregular-circular walk, so its different than more formal gardens. The rest of the zoo is also a decent garden by itself.

What fun to be able to design and plant so many old roses that thrive in the heat of the Southeast! I live in hot and humid eastern NC. We are probably hotter than you are. The teas I really like are Mrs. B. R. Cant and Barronne Henriette de Snoy. Mrs BR gets huge: mine has spread to 10 feet in three years, 4' tall. She gets no black spot and blooms constantly. I had always heard not to prune a tea hard as it will not bloom well. Baronne HdS is about 6" x 4' high and has exquisite blooms of porcelain peach. She gets small bs occassionally but I do not spray and she does fine. Mrs. Dudley Cross has remained small and blomm is pretty but sparce. Flushes twice a year. General Galleni gets no bs and keeps an odd shaped red blend bloom or two---never covered. My son has Mutabulis, a China, in Charlotte. He rarely fertilizes and does not prune. Only in the coldest part of winter have I seen this bush without bloom. It is usually covered. Also has gotten very large---8 x8'. Hope this helps. I love the teas for their beautiful flowers and toughness! I have ordered Mme Berkley from Roses Unlimited for next spring. They have an excellent selection of OGR and plants are always large and healthy. Enjoy! Enjoy!

I have had wonderful luck with the tea Madame Antoine Rebe. It has been healthy and blooms like crazy. The individual flower are not overwhelming but the overall effect of the bush is stunning.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=25427

hi! I live in your area. (VA beach)I am kinda new to having lots of roses and could help with the fragrant garden. I know a lot about those since that is all I plant. I assume you have been to the Norfolk Botanical gardens. LOTS of roses there.

Cramoisi Superior, Hermosa, Mutabilis
Alister Stella Gray, Belle Vichysoise, Crépuscule
Barronne Henriette de Snoy, Lady Hillingdon, Georgetown Tea,

Five teas with exceptional BS resistance exhibiting the full color palette (not all PINK)...
Mons Tillier-pink/flesh, a zillion petals
Lady Hillingdon- golden blooms, lovely plum new foliage/stems
Duchesse de Brabant- pink, cup shaped bloom
Marie van Houtte- cream blushing pink, a good color changer
Gen Gallieni - red, lots of petals
Dang, that doesn't include a white one or a peachy one. Five just isn't enough for this class. MT and DdeB are both pink but the blooms forms are quite different, I want to include both. BH de Snoy is another exceptional pink. Mrs BR Cant is also a great pink. Georgetown Tea is a pink with lovely red spring foliage and a generous bloomer but the individual blooms don't make my heart skip a beat. The Cochets are glorious in bloom but the BS resistance is poor and the bush form is awkward.

Oh, don't leave out china Eugene de Beauharnais. Beautiful purple blooms and a heavenly fragrance. He'll make a nice contrast with any of the yellow/peachy noisettes.

Sunnishine, I've been to Norfolk Botanical Gardens but despite its size, it is a very limited display (lots of HT's and floribundas, little else)and includes none of the roses I will be growing at the arboretum. You may wish to visit the municipal rose garden at Wilson NC, which has a lot more climbers, shrubs, and English roses and a very small antique rose display-- oh, and a special section for fragrant roses! Wilson is WELL worth the drive; well laid-out and roses are superbly cared for by an army of volunteers.

Thank you all; it's so valuable to know about the quality of blooms, habit, resistance, etc. It is a very tough job trying to get down to so few of each!! Hopefully the small selection we start with will inspire the arboretum to put in a much larger planting. You may want to know that we already have Maggie, Mme. Isaac and Louis Odier, polyanthas Caldwell Pink & Little White Pet, and yellow Lady Banks. And some mostly struggling once-blooming OGR's. Elsewhere on the grounds is a well-established plant of Mutabilis (about 7ft X 10 ft in mostly shade!).

I hope that your planting will inspire home gardeners to try antique roses. Perhaps you can have a handout with info on the roses and suppliers. If your garden has a shop, it would be nice to offer a few potted bushes for sale.

Tryon Palace in New Bern, NC has a half dozen mature tea roses. They are pruned up like small trees, underplanted with mondo grass, violas and spring bulbs. It astonished me to see how large a tea can become in zone 8.

Cecily, a BIG hug for the mention of Tryon Palace in New Bern-- I'd like to see those teas, tho we grow ours less formally. Now to mapquest!