hmmm, well Harkness are my local hybridisers - literally, less than 20 miles away from me, so I do have a number of them. However, it is my understanding that many Harkness roses, especially some of the older ones, have some diverse breeding stock in the mix. I would have to say though, their later output lacks the innovations of older Harkness roses although they do appear to be concentrating on health a bit more (nearly all these small floribundas get BS by August). I am currently enjoying a smallish climber, Perpetually yours - only a few blooms for its first season but clearly some healthy wichurana blood given the tiny glossy leaves and general vigour. I am also besotted with the Harkness hulthemias although I notice Heirloom are not offering these. Pity. The list does contain one of the most fragrant roses I have ever come across - the lovely Margaret Merrill. Been around for many years but still unsurpassed for fragrance. Finally, for bedding types, the abundance roses have all been performing well - they are much used by my local parks department, standing up well to neglect (although are still not to be beaten by the terrific County Series).

I have a number of Harkness Roses, but my 2 favorites are Easy Does It and Easy Going. They are great producers and VERY disease resistant for me. Easy Does It is even planted in a partial shade location.

As for Clements, the only one I grow is Braveheart. I have't been that impressed with it; lots of blackspot and not too much rebloom. Although, I've heard others who love it.

~Tammy

I have grown Clements' Braveheart, and I love it. While it did have a few bouts of BS the first couple years, it has improved since then. Now I give it a couple sprays of fungicide in the spring and a couple in the fall, and it pretty much is BS-free the rest of the time. I do wish it would rebloom a bit faster, but it is not too bad, and when it does rebloom, it does it generously and the blooms last a long time. What I especially love is those big fat dark red blooms--very red. The picture below shows one, but the camera gave it a touch of dark pink that Braveheart does NOT possess at all.

Braveheart
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I always look forward to this rose stutting her stuff.

I used to grow Morning Has Broken--I loved that yellow bloom! Unfortunately, due to my own stupidity and neglect, I managed to kill it. I've often thought I should get another one, but I never seem to have a large enough spot leftover for it.

If you don't particularly like the idea of planting Heirloom's itty bitty plants, you used to be able to get these two roses at Roses Unlimited, potted and already blooming when they arrive on your doorstep. I'd check with them first if I were to order either one of these.

Kate

I'm in a completely different climate and have been from day one, but I second the recommendation of Harkness roses. They were one of the first British nurseries I imported from. Their service was flawless, plants beautiful and their offering remain among my favorites. Thirty years ago, the world was a very different place, with very different people breeding the roses. Harkness roses were wonderfully imaginative, the kind of imagination only hinted at these days by such things as the Hybrid Hulthemias now being introduced. Harkness pioneered the hybrids of this species with their Nigel Hawthorne, Euphrates, Xerxes and Tigris, which became the source for all the modern Hulthemias; as well as creating such wonderful roses as International Herald Tribune (which has gone on to help create all the amazing violet toned roses we now grow); Cardinal Hume; Rochester Cathedral and Jacqueline Du Pre'. They continue developing the Hulthemia line, thankfully, but the spark of creativity expressed by Jack Harkness isn't as obvious in the later creations since his death. Not to diminish their work or creations a bit!

One of my all time Harkness favorites continues to be Escapade. Not as disease resistant as many of the newer introductions, being nearly forty-five years old, but wonderfully shade tolerant, heavily flowering and simply "innocent and elegant". In my climate, most of the in-between roses have passed through successfully, remaining healthy and productive. Margaret Merrill grew to enormous proportions with an amazing fragrance and beautiful foliage. Compassion didn't get large for a climber, but flowered as heavily as any HT could be expected to, with huge, well formed, intensely fragrant flowers. His 'funny colors' have been very enjoyable. Not great garden plants, but definitely flower arranger's fodder, Greensleeves and Sheila MacQueen, as green as any other petal to have come from any breeder's hands.

When Eurodesert was closing, Cliff and jiminshermanoaks both convinced me I NEEDED Bedont, a Harkness floribunda with no fragrance, but extremely good health in these parts with no spray. They've been right! Vigorous, rudely healthy with beautiful foliage. No fragrance, with a beautiful apricot tone that does fade in my heat and brilliant sun, but very satisfying so far and definitely one I intend to mine for disease resistance in my seedlings. I wish more information was available about it. Personally, I'd give anything with any good press from Harkness a try. (I have and do).

I can't comment on the other's roses as I haven't grown any in over twenty years. Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: Bedont

I am in a vary similar area to what Clements was hybridizing in,(though mine is cooler) and I love his varieties. They have tough shiny leaves that seem to resist black spot and remain healthy all summer. The only one I have had trouble iwth is Hi Sheriff. Two different plants simply dwindled and died, even though I loved the flower. I seek out his hybrids and hope the breeding program continues without his presence.

I also like the few Harkness roses I have bought through Heirloom. Right now I have several in gallon pots that will be planted out next spring. Anne Harkness is among them. And I have Clements last named hybrid Anna Louise? to go with it.

I mixed up High Sheriff with Robert Clements. Actually both of them pulled disappearing acts after the first season, and I had really liked both for their first flowers. So one negative for each breeder. I also really liked Joan Fontaine the first few years I had it but it has balled badly in our damp early summers and black spotted badly.

lizalily, I imported Anne directly from them in the 80s and found it to be an amazing garden plant. I used it with Basye's Legacy to create my Indian Love Call. In that climate, Anne Harkness was always spotless and flowered like mad. Such a glorious color! It radiated light and produced enormous clusters of flowers which made full bouquets on a single stem. I loved that rose! You get a feel for how Mr. Harkness felt about his niece. He named the rose to honor her.

In my opinion, it's in shrubs and floribundas their firm has excelled for many years. They created some marvelous hybrid teas, too, of course, but their shrubs and floribundas have been the ones to really "touch" me. Kim

'Easy Does It': love the color, ripe mango with pink. Sweet rose. 'Samaritan', a rose with a lot of different names ('English Sonnet', 'Fragrant Surprise', 'King Arthur') is another nice floribunda.

I have 'Louise Clements' and 'Star Of The Nile'. SOTN hasn't been that great. Flowers pretty, but not many of them. Strong fragrance just as the flower opens, but then it vanishes. I guess the best thing about it is that it is still alive. LC has beautiful flowers, but every year the plant has gotten smaller and smaller, which is the only rose in the garden that has done that (besides 'Fair Bianca', of course). It doesn't have a lot of foliage and the canes sunburn. Maybe I don't have a healthy specimen.

The longer I grow roses the more attention I pay to factors other than the flower.

I did love the blooms on Easy Does It but it was too tender for my winters. It came back pitifully the first one and died the second.

'Star of the Nile'-this was my favorite rose 2 houses ago when I grew around 500 different roses. No disease problems at all. I really liked the vigorous yet compact habit (around 3.5 ft x 3.5 feet)and the complex color, with various shades of pink, orange and hints of violet. Excellent fragrance-I don't remember that it faded with time. I just bought one when I was up in Oregon. I hope it does as well at my new home as it did in a previous one.

'Louise Clement'- this plant was a 4 ft x 4 ft bushy shrub. It has a very appealing shade of orange, sometimes drifiting towards coral. The flowers are around 4 inches across with a fairly high petal count. I had it for at least 5 years 2 homes ago, and I just planted 2 of them at my new home.

'Joan Fontaine'. Another Clements rose that I had 2 houses ago. I remembered that I preferred it to the 2 white Austin roses that I had at that time, Fair Bianca and Glamis Castle. The flowers were around 4 inches across and had a high petal count. Healthier than the 2 white Austins that I had at that time.

'The Impressionist'. An outstanding climbing rose that was spectacular in both the Portland Rose Garden and at the Heirloom Rose facility in Oregon. The flowers are large (5 inches) and can be of varying shades of yellow, pink, and orange. Strong fragrance and healthy foliage.
I just picked up this rose and another in the 'Impressionist' line, Apricot Impressionist (perhaps a color sport?).

Because Clements roses have performed well in my garden, I also picked up Tranquity (blush pink), Memories (pink) and Safari (orange, pink) when they were on sale late this summer.

Glad to hear what you say about Star of the Nile and Louise Clement--I have both on order for this upcoming spring! Can't wait...

Thanks to all who've posted. Based on your input, I'm committing to adding Clements and Harkness roses to my garden next year. Below are the roses I'm considering. I need to wheedle the list down to about 35. Would value your appraisals of the garden worthiness of any of the below. I prefer big, fragrant, double flowers on a BS-resistant bush. If any of these don't fit the bill, please let me know.

CLEMENTS
Anna Louise
The Impressionist
Apricot Impressionist
Joan Fontaine
Louise Clements
Morning Has Broken
New Orleans
Robert Clements
Sarah
Star of the Nile
The Poet
Tranquility
April Love
Discovery
Fragrant Masterpiece
Imagine
Magnificent Perfume
Wonder Stripe
Sons and Daughters
Antique Artistry
Lexy
Memories
Lovesong

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HARKNESS
Cameo Perfume
Compassion
Courageous
Irish Hope
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Mitchell
Margaret Merril
Tower Bridge
Anne Hathaway
Betty Harkness
Cathedral Splendour
Lady of the Mist
Lord Mountbatten
Reconciliation
Royal Ballgown
Royal Pageant
Honor Elizabeth
Judy Garland
Pure Gold
Rosemary Harkness
The English Lady
Welsh Gold
Lawrence of Arabia
Savoy Hotel
Thornbury Castle

Gardenerzone4: I also plan on some Clements and found this info. from Al, who lives less than 1 hour from my zone 5a (alkaline clay, 40" rain per year)

� Posted by ameri2nal 5B (My Page) on
Wed, Apr 25, 07 at 18:59
My Clements Roses-
Star of the Nile is awesome for its fragrance (smells like Cherry Nibs) and repeat. It even came through our horrible winter with some cane left! The best one of the group.
Magnificent perfume is nice, but I'm not thrilled with flowers that nod, and a lot of them did. Bush wants to get big. Fragrance was good, but not magnificent. Goneski
Tropical Fragrance- Has no fragrance to my nose, but repeats better than knockout, and is reasonably winter hardy. A keeper.
Morning Has Broken- Has a strange scent, sometimes not pleasant. Flowers well, but blooms last less than a day in the heat. Goneski
The Impressionist- Nice climber with strong myhhr fragrance and decent repeat. A keeper.
AL

Campanula: Heirloom does carry a couple of Hulthemias this year. A pink one and a yellow one. The bloom coloration reminds me of the widely grown Rose of Sharons...Of the Harkness roses my favorite is Lady Mitchell. I've grown one for years now in a container, and liked it so much I ordered another last year. A compact grower (3 feet or so) with large blooms and a remarkable resistance to both heat and cold. I have grown Welsh Gold and it was nice, but someone else admired it more then I did so they got it as a gift. Easy Does it was beautiful, but didn't survive a minus 7 degree winter (Lady Mitchell did). Savoy Hotel is an excellent choice I hear for those with cooler summers then mine....Maryl
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Here is a link that might be useful: Hulthemias at Heirloom-eyconic series

I have only one Harkness rose, Amber Queen, and it compares very poorly to the Tantau rose of the same colour and in the same bed, Bernstein-Rose (bernstein means amber). Visitors ask me if the puny Amber Queen plants are my own cuttings but I have paid dearly for them, all 12. Of course I don't believe all Harkness roses are bad because of this sad experience.

You must grow Star Of The Nile. Cherry Nibs is definitely the scent.
I also grow Tropical Fragrance and I also can't smell it either, lol.
Livin easy and Easy Goin are two classic roses that are outstanding if you don't care about fragrance. Only a hint out of those two. One is a sport of the other.