Um,, pretty much anything that isn't Japanese.

You can't make any conclusions from roses in public gardens unless you know for an absolute fact what rootstock they are on. Particularly since multiflora is the biggest no-no.

Thank you, mad_gallica, for that great point. My 10 Austins are own-root. I don't know what type of rootstock the rose-park use (they have over 1,000 bushes, mostly hybrid teas, floribundas, carefree series, a few Austins, no OGR though) - my assumption is the cheapo Dr. Huey.

My 6 Knock-outs are from HomeDepo and Lowe's. I don't know if they are grafted on Dr. Huey - they are doing great on alkaline soil. My own-root Austins in the Hybrid Old Rose group: Mary Rose, Eglantyne, and William Shakespeare were really slow to establish until I fixed the soil to make it more acidic with peat moss and alfalfa meal.

I remember the Jackson & Perkins tags on my Knock-Out bushes - so they must be grafted on Dr. Huey. Someone mentioned that Crimson Glory doesn't do well own-root. Edmunds Roses in Wisconsin (3 hrs. from me) are Dr. Huey rootstock, but does not carry Crimson Glory.

I might have to get Crimson Glory own-root from Roses Unlimited - it's hardy to zone 4b, but I don't know if it will do well on alkaline soil. Chrysler Imperial lost its scent in the cold weather, and it's more thorny. Anybody have success growing Crimson Glory own-root on alkaline soil? Thank you, I appreciate any info.

I did more search on previous forums and found recommendation for Burlington Rose Nursery with low prices & quality and Kim Rupert's creations. With my struggle to get Austins (in the Old Rose Hybrid Group) established on own-root, I'll leaning toward Dr. Huey grafted for alkaline soil. I'm glad to find another nursery with good prices like Chamblees.

Burling (Burlington owner) will also graft roses for you. She uses a Ralph Moore preferred rootstock, Pink Clouds. My bet is that it does fine on alkaline soil since most of the inland California soil is alkaline - it can be acidic in places with a lot of rain, such as Sonoma County, but I've read that the San Joaquin Valley, where Burling lives in Visalia, soils range from 7.3 to 8.0.

I'm in the Sacramento Valley, north of Visalia, but our soils are alkaline too. We grew Grey Pearl that Burling had grafted. It has a reputation as notoriously weak-growing but was quite vigorous on Pink Clouds.
Anita

Thank you, cemeteryrose for that info. I e-mailed Burlington the list of roses for South Central Texas (pH of 8, while mine is pH 7.7), and she replied promptly with the following:

"All my roses are grown on their own roots in 5 inch bands. I only bud roses by contract only. Miniatures are $7.50 each and all other roses are $10.95 each. I ship by priority mail on Monday following receipt of payment. I accept payment by credit cards, Pay Pal, and personal check.
Have the following roses in stock from the South Central Texas Rose list.
Crimson Glory
Lauren
Apricot Nectar
Alltissino
Joseph' Coat
Drigadoon
Christian Dior
Double Delight
Mister Lincoln
Olympiad
Paradise
Loove
Impatient
Showbiz
Archduke Charles
Mutablilis
Baronne Prevost
Old Blush
Paul Neyron
marie Pavie
Sombreuil (Cl)
Jacques Cartier
Souvenir de la malmaison
Abraham Darby
Bonica
Miniatures in stock:
Good Morning America
Irresistible
Jean kenneally
Kristen
Minnie Pearl
Peaches 'n Cream
If you want only budded roses, you might want to check with Regan's Nursery, they ship budded bareroot roses. www.regannursery.com
Regards,
Burling Leong
Burlington Rose Nursery
24865 Rd 164
Visalia, CA 93292
(559) 747-362

Look for Field Roebuck's excellent book Complete Roses: Featuring 100 Easy Growing Favorites published by Creative Homeowner. I have an earlier edition with a similar title, Foolproof Guide to Growing Roses. Both editions are out of print but frequently can be found on Amazon or the online book vendors such Biblio.com, Alibris.com, or ABEbooks.com. Field Rosebuck died a year or two ago, but he was a frequent poster on various Gardenweb forums in earlier days. He was a real expert on soil. Since he himself lived in an area with an alkaline soil, his advice should be very valuable to you.

Rosefolly

I have to say the list from San Antonio in the lead post looks pretty much like a standard list of popular roses as of ~1983.

Thank you, Rosefolly, for the info. on that book. I'll ask the library to place an interlibrary loan. I read 3 books about roses and I enjoyed them all. It's good to know that Field Rosebuck is an expert on soil, since the soil forum experts can't figure out why my soil has TWICE more magnesium than calcium, and I'm next to a limestone quarry.

The list from San Antonio has a valid point about mini-roses tolerate alkaline soil. My neighbor planted her minis from Trader's Joe into hardened clay without amendments. She never winter-protect them in zone 5a windy Chicagoland. But they have a zillion more blooms than my pampered Austins. Sturdy like Knock-outs, they don't get yellowish like Easy Elegance hardy shrub roses.

There's an advantage to alkaline soil: lime, which is a potent fungicide. In the old days, agriculture used lime sulfur to spray grapevines against mildew. Lime sulfur is also effective on plant rust. The link below shows chemical composition of lime compared to wood ash. If you scroll down to the bottom of the article you'll see it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Acidity and Liming - Wood ash vs. Lime

Both lime and wood ash are caustic to the skin, eyes, and nose. From the soil forum, I learned that magnesium is what makes soil sticky. Lime has 5 times more magnesium than wood ash, but wood ash beats lime in other nutrients. Wood ash is also high in aluminum, harmful to roots. In her 35+ years of putting wood ash into the garden, my Mom always kept it away from plant roots.

Now I understand why mulching with horse manure kept my Austin roses from black-spot: Stables use lime to deodorize their stall. By mulching with horse manure high in lime, blackspot spores can't germinate. Dusting with corn meal, another fungicide helps. I still like corn meal better, since it's neutral in pH and supplies nitrogen as well.

Stawberry Hill,

My soil in SW Ontario ha a pH of 7.3. Unlike yours, I have to add a little magnesium sulphate to manage the calcium. Roses that do well here are:

Bailley's Polar Joy (Northern Encore), The Paul McCartney Rose, The Fairy (which seems to grow anywhere), The New Dawn (ditto), Knockout (the same), Erfurt, Westerland, Sally Holmes, Betty Prior, to mention some.

There are other I'm sure, but these pop into mind, and I have to go now. Everyone is getting up to open presents.

Merry Christmas,

Steve