Hi folks Glad you find this list useful! I realize it's a bit of overkill of information when you might only be looking for suggestions for a few roses, but like Seil I enjoy comparing notes with others to see what survives (and decide if it's worth trying a rose that died one more time). And Jacqueline, the point for me in a list like this is to see what to grow to be as lazy as possible, since anything in my yard has to be hardy enough to thrive without spray or fussing. Enjoy the first rose season, Nummykitchen, and don't blame yourself if roses do die - I fear the HTs that have died in my yard may be as long as the ones that survived, but you never know till you try. Ispahan, glad to help and I hope this isn't too much info to process for what you'd asked about. Like you I spend a lot of time double checking information on HMF, but it's always nice to hear from someone in a similar zone with their experiences too. As for Black Lady, I dearly love that rose and it's tough as nails. It truly is that elusive burgundy dark red color all the time in my yard - no pinking out like some dark reds - and it's thoroughly hardy and disease free as far as my strains of blackspot go (we don't get mildew much here). It's one of only a handful of roses I have multiple plants of in different beds and it holds its own on a nicely compact plant of around 3' or less (both sites have some part sun). My only quibble would be the relatively small flowers compared to other HTs - no more than 2" across or less - maybe between an apricot and a plum size on a good day. I can't vouch for the fragrance with my nose, but I certainly don't detect much of a scent. Still, it's a good rebloomer and entirely trouble free from me. Tantau is another breeder I like a lot, though they do stretch into some roses that aren't good for my zone at times. Glad this is helpful and you're welcome to ask for more input on anything else I grow. Cynthia

I am soooo confused. Exactly what is a sport? A sport is a spontaneous genetic mutation that has some quality distinctively different from the original. For example, someone in Chicago spotted a flower on their 'Peace' rose that was dramatically different in color than the original--that person rooted that bit of the plant, named the variant 'Chicago Peace' and it is in commerce today. Another mutation besides flower color would be growth habit--an example of a climbing sport would be 'Climbing Peace', which has the same flowers as the original 'Peace', but which has longer, "climbing" canes.

You have some nice flowers there. The Altissimo is actually quite a showy climber and is capable of some rather sizeable and impressive sprays at times. Altissimo has been known to have more than its share of knock-down drag outs with Sally Holmes when it comes to best shrub/climber trophies, depending on how the schedules were written.

I LOVE English Garden with your daylily! Clear pale yellows are among my very favorite garden colors. The form is just wonderful, and these are great photos. I have Symphony, which is similar. They look good with so many other plants. Renee