Hi Lynn,
I grow Rosa Moschata in the Dallas TX area, love this rose, and it puts up with our heat in the summer.

I've grown Cornelia and Vanity in Mississippi. Both thrived. Cornelia had a messy habit, for me, but grew to be big, fast. Vanity was tall, and extremely "open" in habit. Cornelia is typical, I suspect, of the class. If I ever plant it again (the fragrance is out of this world), the plant will go into a kitchen garden, or someplace where tidiness of growth habit won't be an issue.

I don't know if Sydney's heat compares. Minimum winter temp is 7 on an exceptionally cold day, summer maximums are in the low 40's occasionally, but usually low 30's.
I grow Cornelia, but it's big (and no perfume for me), Felicia, which has made a tidy shrub but fades extremely fast, but the perfume is lovely, and Buff Beauty, which also gets huge. Also Penelope, which throws out long ungainly canes (maybe it will thicken up). The flowers on P are sometimes the loveliest I have seen, and s'times very ordinary. But certainly, they all cope with the heat here.

Ballerina has done very well in our hot, dry summers. She just finished her ninth year here. The extra cold winter we had last year was harder on Ballerina than the very hot summer we had. Diane

I've grown several hybrid musks successfully here.

Yes, they love warm climates. I have Ballerina, Belinda, Pax, and of course Buff Beauty. Of these, Ballerina or Belinda are the shorter (don't even think about Buff Beauty if you want to keep it short - it is enormous, and Pax is 10 feet tall for us).

And, they grow in partial shade - here is a picture of Ballerina (it is the pink one in front - the back violet one is the once bloomer Vielchenblau). This plant is growing in a pot which is 2 feet off the ground (because of being planted under a huge tree), so it is not as tall as it looks.

Jackie

Kansas Zone 6 certainly is HOT in July and August (most summers anyway) and while the winters are not the prolonged frigid type, it gets down in the freezing zones periodically throughout the winter. The hybrid musks I've grown seem to do fine--though the best two get a couple hours of shade mid-day. How well they would do without it, I don't know.

Buff Beauty--this is my favorite one. Very healthy--only occasionally bothered by a bit of BS--blooms (beautifully) in several cycles throughout the season--mine sprawls about 5 ft in all directions, rather than climbing or resting on a structure of some kind. This one is lovely enough that cars going by sometimes stop to get a better look.
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Pink Prosperity--unfortunately, after 6 years, I lost this one to RRD. Until then, I loved its delicate white/pinkish blooms--though it wasn't the most floriferous rose in my garden. In other respects, it was about the same as Buff Beauty.
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I also have a Jeri Jennings HM which is located in more sun--some rather strong sun from the west, in fact. It does fine as long as I remember to give it some extra water---but it sulks otherwise. Sorry, no pic. (She is pretty, however.)

Hope that helps.

Kate

My sense is that hybrid musks don't love my climate. However, I do tend to compare all roses I try to tea roses, which are so easy here.

I do have Buff Beauty though, which I really love. It blooms profusely in the spring but not much any other time of year. I also have Prosperity but had it planted in a bad spot. I moved it recently so will see how it goes. I do know someone in this area that grew it very successfully though.

It has been a while since he posted, and darn if I haven't forgotten his name, but a long time ago we had a member with a gorgeous website who just loved hybrid musks. I do believe his garden was in Alabama. You don't get much more hot and humid than that.

Rosefolly

I've had Prosperity for years. It is only so-so (has a tea parent which struggle even to survive here) for me and does get big.

On the other hand I had the opportunity to see Cliff Orent's collection of hybrid musks growing in his desert garden. Magnificent!!!! Loved Excellenz von Schubert with the gorgeous purply flowers. It loves it here. Will climb but seems easily contained. Mine is from Rogue Valley. Saw many Cliff had that I'd eventually like to get. There were quite a few of modest size. And you should have seen the HM area of his garden when in full bloom--it was a sight to behold. There are plenty of his pictures up on HMF of individual HM's, and if you look in the background you will see other hybrid musks. One that I loved is Omi Oswald. It is a single and a very pale yellow that fades to white in strong sun. The flowers have a nifty formation of stamens in the center that make the blooms look like hibiscus. Mine did shut down in the worst heat of the summer but the foliage continued to look great--even in my low-water garden. It is reblooming now. My plant is fairly young still, so my only guide to seeing it mature was at Cliff's, where it made a beautiful mound of color, about the size you want. Here's a picture on HMF: http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.169796

Another that I saw at Eurodesert that was just stunning was Heavenly PInk. It stays small too and what a mass of color it made.

Melissa

Here is a link that might be useful: Heavenly Pink on HMF

Penelope loves it here in Texas!

Josh

Thank you all for the input. You've suggested really beautiful roses. I forgot that EVS, the ones I resuscitated are also considered a Hybrid Musk vs. Polyanthas. I must consider Jaspermplants caution as while my heat is not as prolonged as AZ, it is similar and I believe drier. I also look at what Cliff has growing in Rancho Mirage, another climate related point of reference. Between the two, and my EVS being happy now, it is definitely worth a try, but in the back or side yard, so if it fails, it will be an eyesore to me. I would likely dig it up and gift it to a family member in CA. Cat rose, thank you for reminding me about his garden. Ballerina, Pink Prosperity, Penelope and Heavenly Pink are gorgeous.

I am partial to Ballerina and the dainty little pink roses. Jacqueline and Diane, how large are your Ballerinas.

Lynn

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Thu, Nov 7, 13 at 15:05

I have two ballerinas growing in different parts of the garden. They are both about 3 1/2 feet tall by 3 feet wide. They are both over 20 years old, and so mature.

Jackie

The few I've tried haven't done well for me here, but in a previous, equally hot garden Buff Beauty looked wonderful in the spring but did very little afterwards. They often take quite a bit of room that I don't have and there are other roses that are more suited to my area, so I haven't seen any reason to give them garden space. Felicia and Francesca are gone since they weren't able to tolerate the dry heat.

Ingrid

Lyn, my Ballerina is about 3 1/2 X 4 feet, and it stays that pretty consistently. It is wider than it is tall. Diane
Ballerina is behind Bernstein-Rose (yellow). My best B pics have files too big for posting here and aren't on Photobucket.

I have Prosperity, on Fort., and it is by far my best bloomer most healthy rose, but it has 15 ft. canes, with huge clusters of white fragrant blooms all the time... it has gone up into a grapefruit tree and always takes people by surprise when they walk thru' the garden, they comment that it doesn't look like a grapefruit to them, not realizing it isn't!! also, the chili-thrips ignore it completely, it is one of the few.. the others are Louis Philippe, Ducher, and Spice... sally

What a gorgeous picture of Ballerina with Veilchenblau in the background. Everyone else's pictures are lovely too. It's so great to see roses that I don't grown.

Ingrid