HehHehHeh - I have a Meidland Rose which is a rambler, horribly thorny, bores through steel chain link fencing enlarging its holes, presents spectacular white clusters of flowers that are truely breathtaking in their sheer abundance, doesn't get black spot, has so many small leaves that the Japanese Beetles are not populous enough to decimate it like other roses, and likes to be hacked to the ground in the winter - if it doesn't eat your skin first with you trying to get to the canes. It can take over an entire side yard and when watered manages to weigh down power and telephone lines and has been auditioned to be the star of the next Stephen King movie. Oh yeah, if you fertilize it, it dies. Sounds like just what you need.

Seriously, any rose that you like the color and/or scent of is right for you. If you don't want to fuss with it, let it be. The price of a potted rose is equal to a McDonald's hamburger and you have long forgotten THAT cost. Why stress over a rose? There are lots to be bought next season so think of them as annuals and not as a lifelong commitment. I know, I know, there are enthusiasts, but to me, life is too short to agonize over having the "right" bush and I'd rather DH buy me a dozen cut roses than stress over a McDonald's hamburger for 6 months.

Nancy the nancedar

I never do anything to my roses except water and (occasionally) fertilize. Sometimes they get a little blackspot and I pick off the leaves. Or sometimes they have aphids or jap. beetles but mostly they seem ok. (knock on wood) I don't have Hybrid Teas because they seem to need extra attention. The ones that I had got terrible blackspot. I try to spred them out in the gardens so that they don't spread problems and pests to one another. If I were going to spray them regularly I would probably try to put them close together to make it easier but I am too lazy to spray them preventatively. Besides, I like them better mixed in the garden. Good luck. -Ais.

I need to adopt your way of thinking Nancy. I'm really new to gardening at all really and am just now beginning to get my toes wet. Its our first house and my mom is amazed at my sudden interest in plants and my yard. I tell her I had no reason to be interested before I had my own yard to fuss over. I don't know if its my thing yet but I seem to be trying to establish a yard that is very low maintenance. I don't do annuals, I like to plant and baby it for the first year and then basically forget it. The original plan was to plan the landscape, plant it and then be done with it other then weed pulling over the years but the more we get into the yard the more projects we come up with. I'm beginning to think this may be a never ending project for me that i'm beginning to enjoy more and more as time goes by.

Ais thats exactly what I want in a rose or any plant really and for some reason I didn't think it was possible for roses.

Thanks both for responding and would still love to hear from anyone with experience on this rose if anyone has or has heard of it.

Hybrid teas are why you thought roses are high maintenace, and those are. However, there are lots of roses which can do well here: Knockouts and other shrub roses, teas, noisettes, chinas, polyanthas... I have ordered roses from Antique Roses Emporium, Roses Unlimited and Ashdown so far and have been very happy with the results.

Here is a link that may be useful: roses for a no spray garden

My Rosa 'Mutabilis' is an easy, no-spray rose. Blossoms open a buff color, change to pink, and finally become crimson. All three colors appear on the bush at one time, leading to its common name of 'Butterfly Rose'.

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Another good source is Pickering. If nothing else they have a nice site for browsing roses by type or color.

Here is a link that might be useful: pickering

For really good iniformation, try the roses or antique roses forums.