Dollsandroses, I see on HelpMeFind that Julia is very highly rated by members. America has been a rose I noticed a long time ago and have always liked it, I will look into those two, thanks. Maureen, thanks for sharing the results of your own research. There is a lot of information out there and it certainly takes time to sort through it all, so I appreciate it. It is helpful to get a reality check. You don't want to be chasing after something that doesn't exist. Yes, I guess I would love to have something that keeps blooming until frost but I realize that there really isn't one rose that has all those qualities, but I figured it never hurts to ask. [g] I haven't spent much time over at Antiques but I plan to. I've heard of Quadra and I have seen photos Mme Plantier that I really like. Marchesa Bochella such a pretty name. I will check these out, thanks. York Rose, I think I'm going to have to do more research on the climber. I didn't realize New Dawn had a silvery sheen, never having seen it in person, Thanks. Rugosas, I would love if I were by the beach, but in my small garden, I have found shrubs that sucker to be difficult for me to deal with. I vacationed in a beach community as a child and loved the beach roses! I have had my eye on that Stanwell Perpetual and I didn't realize it repeats...I am going to have to take a good look at that, thanks, I would have zoomed past that one. It would seem the New Dawn has it's fans and then those who describe it as a monster...lol. I've heard that before lesmc. I'm still trying to make up my mind about it. Interesting that there might be different plants out there behaving differently. Consensus on the mild fragrance though. veilchen, I wish I had a wild corner on my property where I could fit some rugosas and just let them go. I have been reading lots of raves about New Dawn so it's good to hear the other side of it to get a clear picture. Thanks. You said 'mine is very vigorous'....did you mean you have the 'Teasing Georgia'? So it would seem that giving up the repeat bloom might allow me to have the rest of what I want. Maybe I can find something that repeats that I could compromise on the other traits to keep something in bloom. I like the albas. Good to know FParmentier is vigorous as well as pretty. Thanks for all the specific information, I'll keep editing my list. :-)

Thanks. I'm going to try that. I still can't a good picture of The Prince or some of my red roses.

I looked at the new varieties that DA was introducing, but the only one that looked interesting was the white sport of The Mayflower. All the others were some version of pink, and there are plenty of pink roses out there to choose from. The only one that I am interested in getting that is new is Lady of Shallot. I would like to see how it compares with Summer Song, Pat Austin, and Lady Emma Hamilton. If someone has Lady of Shallot, please speak up on how it does. Pat Austin is a nice, clear orange. Lady Emma is a softer orange on a smaller bush and has a nice fragrance. My first crop of flowers off Summer Song were not as dark as the pictures, but that can change with time and plant maturity. So, on that one, I will wait to see what they do. Other Austins I would like to add to my already severely overstuffed garden are another The Prince, another Lady Emma Hamilton, English Garden, and Sir Edward Elgar. Other than that, I have plenty and am out of room. Ones I am not impressed with for one reason or another are Tea Clipper for its dirty dishwater-colored flowers and no repeat bloom, Sweet Juliet for its all bush no flowers lifestyle, Fisherman's Friend for its excessive growth habit and not enough flowers especially because the ones it has are fairly large and fragrant, Ludlow Castle for its lack of repeat bloom, Rosemoor for its poor performance and very small flowers if it has any, and Port Sunlight for its mini-flora-sized flowers so far although its color has improved this year.

no, not really. In fact, I only buy plants I have seen and know a bit about. I didn't always though. Lessons have been learned. Generally, especially if money is not always flush, it seems better to buy plants which you believe will be good for your garden...and this info is rarely available in the horticultural industry. Lots of lovely photos, but hardly anything really useful and never specific to your garden. Not that I am not tempted - I have been holding off T&Ms blue verbascum for a couple of years yet - if it's good, it will still be around when I have had a chance to get familiar with it. Because I love roses, the issue of rose replant syndrome also tends to propagate a certain caution - a bad choice is not easily replaced without much soil amendement and mycchorhizae so impulse is a bad rationale for plant buying.