Linrose, you should try grafted Austins - get them from DA (on Dr Huey). I've grown a ton of Austins over the years and had only one that failed - it never made out of dormancy: Trevor Griffiths. All the others, most of them grafted, some own root, have done extremely well. They all need a good and regular amount of food (and water in hot and dry conditions) to perform at their best. I also always amended the planting holes thoroughly since we had heavy clay soil in NC. The main problem for all roses in the US Southeast, even more so the coastal Southeast, is blackspot. Even my teas and noisettes suffered from it if I didn't spray fairly regularly. Bourbons, HPs, HTs, floribundas, all got it without protection. To the original poster. If you're willing to spray (and amend the soil, if needed, and fertilize, of course), you should be able to grow any rose without sacrificing anything in the looks department. If you don't want to spray and don't want roses to defoliate from BS you should probably be a bit more picky. You could also try some Romanticas - a friend of mine in coastal NC thinks very highly of them. There's one Austin you should stay away from unless you're willing to spray religiously, and that's Tamora. Mine were very beautiful and great bloomers, but they would completely defoliate when not sprayed (although they were vigorous enough to grow back their leaves rather quickly). The Austins that did especially well for me when I lived in NC (which of course is not the same as coastal SC) were the following: William Shakespeare 2000 (a must) Sharifa Asma (a must) Heritage Molineux Pat Austin (a must, but blooms can wilt in strong afternoon sun) Abraham Darby Crocus Rose The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild Golden Celebration (a must) Fair Bianca Radio Times Portmeirion Jubilee Celebration Sophy's Rose Jude the Obscure Christopher Marlowe Teasing Georgia (needs to time to develop good rebloom, but is absolutely stunning when in full bloom) William Morris James Galway (totally BS and PM free even without spray, very beautiful, but very slow rebloom) The Prince (not a very strong plant, but a good bloomer with terrific scent) Extremely beautiful is also Crown Princess Margareta, but if not sprayed relatively regularly she'll catch BS if she's in a moist location. We live in southeast England now (Cambridge), and interestingly enough, the roses I grow here, Austins and others, perform very similarly compared to ones I had in NC. Among those I find also excellent are: Lady of Megginch The Prilgrim Lady Emma Hamilton (a must, and although it will catch BS without any spray, it does not at all defoliate here) Claire Austin (very healthy, always in bloom even in its first year) Prospero (stays small, but blooms all the time) Summer Song is a beauty of most unusual color with a fantastic banana scent, but its rebloom is a bit slow and it's not that BS resistant. Young Lycidas also looks promising in terms of performance (and is very beautiful and heavily scented), but it's a brand new rose which I got last summer before its official release in the fall, and it's still too early to really tell. Anyway, I hope this helps a little. Andrea

Get a rose you're in love with.... if you're having a whole hedge of it, then you've got to love it.. ...my choice here would be without question..... 'Scarborough Fair'.. in that colour range.... I'm near the sea and it withstands the elements.... it blooms constantly, in poor soil, drought conditions and heat - such as we get it here on occasions... 3.5 tall by 4 foot wide... no issues... it should be better known really.... not double, but semi double... musk scented with hips in winter.. I think it's good for zone 5... I took this photo in blazing 100 deg .. which I don't get too much.. ...this is a late evening pic... just before dark... ...you will get that I totally love this rose... of course no one else has to like it.. but... ...hope you find something you like just as much....

I have a loamy clay here in zone 6. I have tried a number of Austins and I loved them, but I usually ended up with some kind of foliage issue. It's been awhile, so I don't remember what. I keep trying different roses that are thought to be good in a no spray garden and last spring I planted - Savannah and Beverly and Pope John Paul. Savannah is a Kordes - my first. It was enjoyable in it's first season. Pretty foliage and I liked the color and texture of the blooms. It didn't grow too much or produce many flowers, but I didn't expect a lot in it's first year starting off bare root from Palatine. But by the end of the season, it was suddenly showing some problem with one of the canes. Not insects, but disease. I left it alone and just hoped for the best this spring. This spring, it had some leaf buds on it, but they deteriorated as soon as they opened and while the other roses were pushing out more buds and then opening leaves, Savannah did nothing and looked worse. So I decided to cut all the canes back to the ground. And I thought that was the end of it really, but to my surprise, it sprouted new canes - about 3 of them. Right now it's about 6-8" tall and has leafed out and looks okay. Not a great start for a rose though. Beverly is another Kordes and last year it did fine and produced more flowers than Savannah and looked healthy. This year it has filled out with leaves. I usually have roses starting to open by June 1st, so, we'll see how it does this year. The foliage looked clean all season last year and so far this year too. Maybe by the end of this season I'll be able to make a better comparison.

Just as I've said all over this forum, take a little trip to Boise and pick up your 5 gallon Austins at Edwards Greenhouse. These are in Austin pots and with Austin tags. For $46. Hurry. I should get a bonus of free roses from Edwards for this. Tantau still owes me. Diane