Black Magic is my best dark red. It doesn't have a scent, but the blooms are beautifully formed and last forever. It gets very tall, 4-5 feet tall here and only 2 feet wide or a bit wider at the top. I do have Barkarole/Taboo but I haven't had much luck with it. Every once in a while it will have a really great dark red bloom with a nice scent, but it doesn't do this very often. It doesn't bloom much and the blooms don't always form very well. I've been giving it time since other people on the forum really like theirs but I wouldn't go through the trouble to get it again. It is the closest to black of any rose I grow. Ingrid Bergman is a good dark red too, not as dark as the others but the blooms have a bit of a scent and last a long time so it is nice to have. Ingrid does not get very large for me, maybe 2X2'. If you want more of a dark purple, then the Prince is the best of the dark purples. It has a good scent and lasts for a few days in a vase which is more than I can say for most Austins. The Prince is a smaller rose bush. Ebb Tide bloomed well but the individual blooms were small and didn't cut at all well for me. Mine didn't have a scent either although it is supposed to. Intrigue has the same dark purple color most of the time but it does turn red in the heat. Intrigue smells very lemony and doesn't grow very well or bloom very much, but a good bloom is very nice. I do have Blackberry Nip which is a dark purple hybrid tea, but it was a tiny baby last year with one bloom so I can't say much yet. That one bloom was very promising though.

Thanks again hoovb and Phil. I guess the true identity of this lovely rose will escape me. Unlike in temperate climates, most florist roses sold here are actually field grown. They are planted by local farmers (family-owned farms) in wide and open areas, under significant elevations (mountainous areas) as the microclimate in elevated areas is cooler (still tropical though). The owners of these small family-owned farms really don't know and don't care about the exact rose names. They choose rose plants which grow well own-root, which survive the local climate and soil, and which yield the highest number of cut flowers. They don't grow on greenhouses so they choose well for the lowest cost. These type of roses are usually sold here at wet markets, in parks and even along frequented church sidewalks by small sidewalk vendors. Some florist roses are from large commercial greenhouse companies and are easily identified by their very large bud size, very large leaf size and very long, thick stems. These larger roses are generically called 'Holland' Roses here as contrasted to the 'American' Roses from the local farmers which are much smaller. These so-called 'Holland'/Greenhouse roses are expensive (5 to 10 times more expensive) and so are only sold at specialty flower shops at upscale malls. Even then, upscale flower shops don't know the exact name of the roses other than the generic 'color + Holland rose' pseudo-name. Exact names are only available if you are privy to the company who grows them or know someone who works there and have access to the exact rose names. How I wish the pictures at helpmefind can help but there is just way too much inconsistency from one photo to the other. Color for one, usually varies a lot due to camera limitations and settings as well as due to the fact that those who post them tend to overprocess their images resulting to exaggerated colors and sheen (probably for that website 'appeal'). This doesn't include the fact that colors can vary under extreme lighting conditions (too dark or too bright an environment when capturing the photo). Add to this the fact that computer monitors need to be calibrated and most of those who do post photos and postprocess them don't bother to do so as the site isn't a photography website. tropical

In my experience, most grafted roses in a cold zone, aside from the most vigorous varieties, do not well tolerate having the bud union planted 6" deep or more. The plants often struggle for new growth, end up spindly and produce few blooms. For zone 5, anything deeper than 4" is typically overkill anyway if you have anything resembling reliable snow cover in winter which will keep your plants well insulated enough. The issue is mainly the Huey understock. It is not suited to cold zones (anything below zone 6) and is very prone to rootstock suckering and the eventual take-over of the desired grafted variety. 3-4 years is often the most you can expect from Huey grafted roses here and they usually decline in their 2nd year. Unless you have very sandy and alkaline soil in your area, I would suggest you buy roses either own-root, or ideally, grafted on Multiflora understock from here on in if you are serious about roses. Pickering Nurseries and Palatine Nurseries are two very reputable rose nurseries that sell Multiflora grafted roses. With multiflora roses, planting the graft 2-4" deep is more than enough in zone 5.

My favourite dark red rose is Oklahoma which has the most heavenly scent of any rose I have ever smelt.It is a rather large rose and it is not a good cutting rose, but for depth of colour and scent, you cannot go past it. Mr Lincoln is a good cutting rose but the depth of colour is not as intense and neither is the scent. The blackboy rose does have good colour and perfume but I think that you can only get it in a climber. Kentucky Derby is another deep red rose and it grows quite large, however its perfume doesn't appear to be strong. Papa Meilland does have good perfume and colour and it has large flowers.A beautiful old world rose that is tending toward the burgundy and yet is red is General Gallieni. I think that it is very beautiful.Another rose that is healthy, grows very tall, flowers incessantly from early spring until the beginning of winter, has lovely floribunda flowers that you can cut and keep inside for a fortnight easily, is Permanent Wave. It is really a very dark pink with fluted petals like an azalea. This rose can be counted on to perform and it is disease free always in my garden.Its only drawback is that it has no perfume. Other than that, I would recommend it highly for any garden with sufficient space.