I have found the English Roses to be a disappointment as cut flowers. It isn't just the short vase life, a lot of them have weak stems too that can't hold the large blooms upright for flower arranging. I'm moving away from them because of these faults. There are a few exceptions. Of the David Austin roses that I've grown FAIR BIANCA (white) and EVELYN (apricot pink) did the best as cut flowers, but good luck finding them in commerce. The hybrid tea ROUGE ROYALE (red) looks like an Austin rose but does extremely well as a cut flower. I can get blooms that last a week in a vase. GOLDEN CELEBRATION (yellow) is great if you live in an area not plagued by black spot. To condition the vase water add a pinch of sugar and one or two drops of bleach. Don't forget to recut the stems under water in the sink and then immediately plunk the roses into the vase. If air gets into the stem then it will form a bubble, travel up the stem, and collapse the bloom. Not a big deal if you only want one or two days of vase life, but I grow roses as much for cut flowers as garden specimens.

Thanks Kate--I guess I've been very much on the fence about whether they'll tolerate the cold here, will just have to see I think. The flowers look so gorgeous I think I have to try anyway, so I was going to put in 4-5 and see. I'm essentially zone 6 in the backyard, so maybe I'll have success with them if you have. Do you winter protect? My neighbor did lose some HTs from year to year but he planted the bud union above ground and didn't winter protect. My Austins always seem significantly hardier and I was hoping these, although marketed as HTs, were more mixed lineage and would be hardier too. The beds are a bit elevated, which hurts cold-tolerance but helps keep things well-drained. But I can bury the bud unions and throw on some bark mulch or leaves in the fall, which may help. Okay, Peter is officially on the list, and I think I MUST have Liv and Yves Piaget--the flowers look too wonderful to pass up. Every weekend the ground stays workable I keep fixing up the beds to accommodate more roses...so now I have room for another order from Roses Unlimited!

It is important to remember that I live in Richmond / Vancouver BC. I can only talk about how the roses doing here in my garden, with my soil and our wet weather. I like the following roses for: strong growth, fragrance and colour. Favorites: Abraham Darby, Crown Princess Margaretta, Charlotte, Gertrude Jekyll, Golden Celebration, Jude The Obscure, Pat Austin, Summer Song, Sweet Juliet, Williams Shakepear 2000, Tamora Here is the list of my DA roses Abraham Darby - probably the healthiest Charlotte - pretty good Crown Princess Magaretta - pretty good Jude The Obscure - great fragrant Tamora - very pretty Golden Celebration - very strong growing, large flower Graham Thomas - strong growth but black spot somewhat in late summer Gertrude Jekyll - great rose Evelynn - A diva but when she behaves, she is beautiful and fragrant Mary Magdelene - Always performes, nice fresh fragrant Summer Song - Beautiful color, very healthy Pat Austin - Great color, wonderful fragrant LD Braith Wade - Beautiful flower, not much fragrant Winchester Cathedral - very strong growing, strong fragrant Falstaff - strong growth but defoliage. Very beautiful flowers. Very little fragrant in the sun The Dark Lady - large beautiful color, no fragrant William Shaepear 2000 - great rose with nice fragrant Mary Rose - strong growht, light fragrant Sweet Juliet - strong growth, nice fragrant New ones this year, I might be able to talk about them next summer :) Heritage Gentle Hermione Lady Emma Hamilton - the color is wonderful and the fragrance is out standing. But I have only got 3 flowers so far this year so ... :) Sharifa Asma Scepter Isle Teasing Georgia Generous Gardener

I'm actually not sure this is how to respond in the new Houzz format, but I'll give it a shot. Dsd2682, I don't think any of the Kordes roses above have any fragrance, but I'm not a good judge of such things with a poor "nose". Most Kordes rose are bred for cold hardiness and frequent flowering, and often exquisite beauty, but fragrance is something that is often sacrificed. I also like the Delbards, and our summers are good for them. I haven't been able to keep Liv Tyler alive through our winters, but Dame des Chenonceau does nicely for me, as do a dozen or so other Delbards. My favorite is Edgar Degas, among the Delbard painter series. I'll try to post my allowed 4 photos to test the Houzz site this time around. Cynthia Dame des Chenonceau (above Edgar Degas (above) Henri Matisse Comtesse de Segur