Ooooh, fun question. First some questions for you, is color an issue, and does it matter whether they are shrub, climbing or other? Do they need to rebloom? How much puttering are you willing to do, meaning would you go so far as to dig them up in fall, or do they really need to be hardy?

Hi DM,

I guess I should have been clearer in the details of my request. I'd like to benefit from the experiences of other Maine Gardening forumists with regard to the roses they have grown successfully here in Southern Maine. I mentioned big and smelly in my initial post but, ideally, I would like to plant varieties that are not only big and smelly but very winter hardy, disease resistant, 3-6 feet tall (not climbers), in colors other than white, and good for cutting. That being said I am ready to be flexible. If I can't find anything to meet those criteria I will change the criteria within reason. I have little experience gardening and even less with roses. I don't want to spend a lot of time and money trying to force a plant that doesn't like it here to stay alive or years being disappointed by losers with a good pr guy and photographer.

other than beach roses (rosa rugosas) in Maine all roses are treated like annuals I thought...especially tea roses. :(

I love rosa rugosas...very fragrant edible seed pods and blooms. Extrememly hardy and great dried hips for tea, decorating, or jam.

Other than that with Maine weather, the rose should be buried in the ground (heeled in) dig a trench and lay the rose in it. Hopefully the ground doent freeze thaw too much and that mulch or snow stays over the frozen ground (unlike it did this last winter)

Many roses kicked the bucket last year that were not prepared for the winter we had.

You can get the big smelly roses...its just gonna be more work to encourage them to make it through the winter... and you cant forget them,unless you get lucky and we have a mild winter that year.

Sorry to be so negative, it can be done if you are willing to do the maintenance it takes.

Well, I have two that I would recommend. I don't do anything special to them and I have to say that they both seem to be enjoying this damp, cool summer that we are having this year as they are putting on all kinds of new growth (sending up new stems) First, my favorite is Harrison Yellow (also known as "The Yellow Rose of Texas") It is the first rose to bloom in my garden and is unfortuantly a "once bloomer" It has smaller sized flowers that are semi double and are a deep, dark yellow. But for what the flowers lack in size they more than make up for in number. The plant smothers itself from top to bottom with it beautiful yellow flowers! The fragrance isn't strong but is light and delicate. In my eyes it's a winner! Then there is Theresa Bugnet...maroon, almost thornless branches with deep pink, semi-double flowers. Another one with light fragrance, but it blooms heavy early on and then has scattered rebloom thru out the summer. Maroon stems are nice winter color. Another winner for me!

Cathy

Here is a link that might be useful: See pics of both flowers here

Austins, Austins, Austins!!

Many of them are hardy in an average Maine winter. I will admit that I lost 3 of mine last winter, due to the extreme cold and no snow cover. But I replaced them all and then some more because, for me, they perform better than nearly every rose I have tried. I have never winter-protected in the past, but may consider placing some leaf mulch around the Austins this winter. If I had done this last winter, I may not have lost the ones I did.

Let me say that if you are looking for very fragrant, big fluffy flowers, David Austins are the way to go. Your wife will fall in love with them. I have fallen in love with them. They are the only roses I have ever been enamored by. Although the Canadian Explorers and Bucks are hardier, you are right in that they have no scent. I have two Champlains (Can. Expl.) that do bloom red continuously all summer, but I am not impressed by them because they have no scent and their form is not as nice as Austins. I have tried a couple French Rugosas, and though they are fragrant, they have not been anywhere near the blooming machines as my Austins. In fact, I have been quite disappointed with my rugosa "Souvenir de Philemon Cochet" because all the buds just beginning to open balled in the rain (turned an ucky brown color and never really opened).

Nearly all Austins will bloom all summer long, even into the fall sometimes. Their fragrance will make women swoon (and some men too). They are absolutely beautiful, old-fashioned round, fat, thousand-petaled, scrumptious blooms.

They have been very disease-resistant for me. An occasional speck or two of black spot is all I have seen on some of them. Many are 100% clean.

Now to the hardiness part: Last winter was a doozy, but I have had Austins sail through the previous two winters very well. Their canes do winter-kill, usually down to 6-12" depending on the conditions. In mid-April, when they have started to put out new buds, I prune off the winter-killed canes down to live growth. They make up for the lost height by mid-summer. If you winter-protect, you will have less winter-kill.

Email me if you want some pics or more growing information, and sources.

Wow Cathy & veil, you've got me interested! I also have beach rose because it reminds me of weekends in Old Orchard. The Bostone flower show had a really fun displacy of those, complete with sand and slat fence! And I've got a pink rambler that wasw probably the root stock from a hybrid tea that someone grew here in the 1970's the blooms are small and don't last long but the fragrance is WOWIE! And this summer I acquired two nearly dead climbers from my mmother. One of them put out a bloom even though I didn't expect it to this year, but I still don;t really know what either of them will look like when they do come back.

Last winter was a hard one on roses here in maine. I lost 17 roses that I have had for years. The only ones that made it for me through last winter. Where the Mordern roses. mordern ruby, morden blush, mordern snow. There are a few other morderns can't think of them off the top of my head.
Climbers , ramblers John Cabot ,William Baffin and Henry Kelsey came through with hardley any die back.

I need to put my glasses on before I post. Sheesh

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I've been cruising some websites to see what's being advertised and there seems to be a good selection available. I saw a lot of stuff on the David Austin website that they say is hardy for zone 5 and the Pickering Nurseries website has some that look promising. Perhaps a combination of sheltered Southern exposure and heavy mulching will be enough to get marginally hardy roses to be reliable from year to year.

Has any one ever had any sucess with growing the roses (Austins) in pots or any of the teas. Then bring in like one would dahlias in a cool cellar till Spring? I do this with many plants but not with roses...I think it would be difficult with a climber though. Nonetheless, I may try it this year and see what happens.
I too, love the David Austins- gorgeous is all I can think of.

I've brought potted minis in for the winter. I have a plant room in the cellar, it has a large window (about 3ft tall and the entire width of the room, maybe 8-9ft.) The window is located on the south side of the house. So once the leaves drop and the sun gets low in the fall/winter sky the room gets full sun almost the entire day. There is a wide window sill/shelf the entire length of the window that contiues around the corner onto the west wall of the room. I bring all the potted tenders that I want to save in and set them in the window for the winter. The roses usually drop all their leaves shortly after I bring them in. They do the dormant thing for a few short weeks and then start to leaf out again. I usually "prune" them after they drop their leaves. Around Jan. after they are leafed out and are growing in good shape they usually start to bloom, just as the days start to lengthen. Now, if the minis will do this, then why wouldn't the larger ones do the same thing?

Cathy

Some roses must be considered annuals in Maine, but there are many that survive quite nicely. Harison's Yellow is very tough as is Stanwell Perpetual, a wonderful re-bloomer with a great scent. Also, many of the old garden varieties or "antiques" have proven to be quite hardy. Look for albas or gallicas. They don't re-bloom but their scent is wonderful.
I tend to prefer own-root rather than grafted plants. Even if we have a bad winter, they will come up from the roots. I haven't had much luck with Austins, with the exception of 'Mary Rose', a lovely pink which is still managing to survive my winters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Joan's Roses

Just happened upon your forum. Nice. I'm from Nova Scotia, and can relate to everything here, so might visit more often. :)
Another vote for Austins. Marie Rose is the greatest rose, and you would be very pleased with it. The most beautiful pink which fades very little, and a scent to die for. Your 'other half' will not be walking away from this one!! I obtained mine from Pickering.
The rose Lillian Austin, named after his mother, is also a knockout. When in full bloom, the colours are amazing - deep yellow inside which gently turns into a pink at the outer edges of the petals. I've yet to find a picture which does it justice.
For the winter, I just mulch a bit with leaves and seaweed which in the spring is turned into the soil. Both of these beauties survived our harshest winter on record last year. And they are in northfacing gardens.
Stanwell Perpetual has actually disappointed me. It is a spinosa rose, and spindly and sprawly. Great when in it's full initial bloom, but blooms only sporadically after that. And with our humid fog (ARGH!!) all those petals fall and stick to foliage... Sorry, but I cannot recommend it. Oh, and although the blooms start out pink, they quickly fade to white, lasting only a couple of days.
Go for an Austin!!
Nicole.