Check out the Antique Roses forum right here on GW . Lots of Florida rose growers post there . Read the posts from southern posters and you will be astounded at the varieties available . Also read helpmefind.com for more choices . We have dozens and dozens of OGRs as choices growing on their own root stock that do very well in our climate . I have just 22 varieties and I know Nova and others here have 50 or more . The OGRs do not need Fortunia rootstock and thrive on their own . Now is a wonderful time to plant OGRs . I just moved three roses yesterday in anticipation of rain . Florida Forum rosarians - where are you ?

I live in zone 5 a little west of Madison WI and have a "Blaze Improved" that has been in for over 8 years. I live in a valley so I get lots of wind and a little cooler climate than in town, my lilacs bloom 2 weeks after the ones there. I didn't do a very good job of taking care of Blaze (didn't prune, water regularly, or fertilize up till 2 years ago). The pictures below are from today, October 3rd, and it's still cranking out the 2.25" blooms on the 5-6 foot canes. It does get BS here but I don't care, this has got to be the bloomingist rose I have. The color is a true, rich, beautiful red that does not fade (picture color is pretty accurate). Little or no fragrance to me. I don't do anything special in the winter except dump a half bag of chip bark mulch on the base for winter and sometimes if I have extra oak leaves I use those instead. There is very little die back or pruning to do come spring. From what I've read, 'Blaze' is zone 6-10, blooms on old wood, and 'Blaze Improved' is zone 5-9 blooms on new and old wood, if that helps for pruning. Very consistent and dependable. This is a repost from the Blaze topic.

I wanted to learn about old roses, so I planted a bunch, from many different types -- whatever I could fit in my tiny yard. So I have a few each of Bourbons, Chinas, Damasks, Gallicas, Hybrid Chinas, Hybrid Perpetuals, Damask Perpetuals, Mossy Perpetuals, and two species ancestors -- R. moschata and R. fedtschenkoana. I also have a few each of different types of modern roses, such as Floribundas, Hybrid Teas, Hybrid Musks, Polyanthas, and whatever you want to call David Austin's roses. This may sound like I have hundreds, but I don't. In some cases, it's just two or three or four of each class. Then, since I ran out of room, I asked if I could plant some date-appropriate roses at an old church cemetery in my town. Great! So starting with the once-blooming oldies, I got to plant Albas, Centifolias, Mosses, Hybrid Chinas, Hybrid Bourbons, Gallicas, Damasks, and some old-but-not-OGR tree-climbers. So, smithdale1z8pnw, what's an OGR? Well, roses were divided into three basic categories -- Species, Old Garden Roses, and Modern Roses. The dividing line between OGRs and MRs is often repeated as being 1867 -- but that's only part-true. It's not when the rose came out, but when its class came out. So while the Tea rose 'Rosette Delizy' came out in 1922, it's still an OGR because the Tea class was around before 1867. Polyanthas as a class were recognized after 1867, so they're technically not OGRs but rather MRs. So even though the Polyantha rose 'Perle d'Or' (introduced 1883) is older than the aforementioned RD, PdO is considered a Modern Rose because Polanthas were introduced as a class after 1867. Why the year 1867? That's the year 'La France' was introduced, and was later granted a new class -- Hybrid Tea. While a few older hybrids between Teas and Hybrid Perpetuals were around from before, this was the first one considered different enough that it didn't easily fit into either Tea or Hybrid Perpetual -- so they came up with a new class. And that was deemed the dividing line between the "old" and the "modern". But there are Modern Rose classes which are embraced by fans of the OGRs. Why? Because even though they came out after Hybrid Teas, they retain an "old charm". Hybrid Musks (Modern Rose class) were bred to emulate and expand upon Noisettes (Old Garden Rose class). Polyanthas (Modern Rose class) were sort of like hardier Chinas (Old Garden Rose class). And then David Austin came along, and the "old flower form" became popular again -- even if the plants behave more like Modern Roses. Now, here's the rub -- where does "antique rose" fit in? I think of the word "antique" as referring to something at least 100 years old -- and I'm not alone in using the 100-year mark for the definition. Since 1867 was 150 years ago, that means a lot of Modern Roses are also antique roses. And since a few breeders continued to dabble with the oldies, we have some Old Garden Roses that are too young to be antiques. So, in my book, 'La France' is an antique rose (i.e. over 100 years old), but also a Modern Rose (i.e. a Hybrid Tea), and not an Old Garden Rose. Meanwhile, 'Rosette Delizy' is old, but not quite yet an antique rose -- give it another five years for that title. Being a Tea, it is still an Old Garden Rose and not a Modern Rose. And, to those of you who are curious to dip your toes into the OGR pool, I'd suggest learning a little about the general habits of each class before falling in love with a picture of a beautiful bloom and buying the plant. For example, if you don't get much Winter chill -- or if Summers come in hot and fast -- Gallicas and Albas will likely be disappointing, but you'd do well with Noisettes and Chinas and Teas. The classes among OGRs are a bit more ancestry-based than are how Modern Rose classes are put together, so that makes it a bit easier to figure out if something would do well in your climate. Oh, and don't be afraid of once-blooming roses -- think of them as azaleas or lilacs, mixing into the garden as "flowering shrubs", and you'll understand how to use them. While their annual flushes may last only a few weeks, they'll produce at least as many blooms in that period as similarly-sized repeat-blooming roses would all season. Also, generally OGRs will perform better as bigger plants than what you may be used to if you've grown mostly Hybrid Teas and Floribundas. They can be trained and pruned, but not generally as harshly as is recommended for "show roses". There are so many beautiful roses out there, it'd be a shame to miss out on so many because you want to grow "only Modern Roses." Or, for that matter, "only OGRs." :-) ~Christopher

SoCalGardenNut, Beautiful La Reine! Yay, 5 blooms! She has tge most girgeous blooms & fragrance! Don’t forget to smell her fab fragrance! That’s so exciting that you have a Mme Isaac Pereire! I draw designs of whete ai wish to plant my rosrs so I can look at the design and know which rose is planted thete when I first plant. I keep plastic labels on them, too, if they have them. Eventually I memorize them. Your La Reine doubds very promusibg with 5 blooms! She has really beautiful blooms! I live La Reine & Isaac Pereire! Berry, A 4ft La Reine is wonderful! I am really thinking Zi want to move mine out of it’s pot! Next spring! My La Reine had about 15 blooms first flush. However a ”larger La Reine” will probably have twice as many blooms!