I grow Albas and Gallicas here in zone 2b Manitoba, Canada(Ag. Canada changed us to 2b but I refuse to listen!). I also grow several Canadian Explorers, Rugosas and some modern roses. Even some Hybrid Teas do okay here, although they might not be permanent fixtures in terms of decades. It is currently -23 Fahrenheit but we have a deep snow covering this winter so things should be fine. It's not true that once-bloomers have a longer bloom period here. All my once-bloomers bloom between mid-June and mid-July, and only the regular bloom period for each variety. It is true that we have a short growing season and we're grateful for our short, beautiful summers. The remontant roses that I grow usually have a large flush in June and a smaller one in September, with sporadic bloom in between. A lot of the less hardy roses that do "okay" for me will never get as big as they do down south. We do have some things going for us though. There are no JBs, it's too cold for them. We also don't have RRD and rarely see powdery mildew. I have only seen blackspot once. The positive for once-bloomers is that they are truly smothered in bloom when they're on, and the rest of the summer they tend to have very attractive foliage. Celestial is almost as pretty out of bloom as in. And Ispahan, Mme. Plantier is my very favourite rose too. It absolutely takes my breath away. :)

Um, mine are mostly once bloomers, though one of them I hacked back and it immediately put out another flush of bloom, so perhaps a slightly harder dead-heading than I have been doing is the key to rebloom. Since they are huge, a whack-back is in order anyway. The prickles are nasty. Gloves and goggles required at all times! She likes her fertilizer generous.

Any of the true gallicas are fine. Hybrid chinas stray into zone 5, so be careful there. Also, about half the common albas are disease magnets, so be careful with those also. The bigger problem is going to be that it is a non-trivial matter to grow a band or quart rose to size in a cold climate. It is a race to get it big enough to survive that first winter. When we started out, and temperatures below -20F were a real things, the standard purchased rose was a two year old bareroot. Rooted cuttings spent the first winter indoors, and anything that didn't make it was written off as a wimp. There is an automatic default around here that roses come from Palatine. If they don't carry it, we don't buy it.

Hi Nancy, I garden over here in the so-called temperate rainforest of Portland, OR (which is getting hotter and drier every year). But I did grow up in TX, so I have experience with HEAT. Some of the Hybrid Musks might suit you. They tend to do their big flushing in spring and fall. Buff Beauty is one of my favorite yellow roses, and a gardener from Alabama with a marvelous blog's worth of photos grew a grand one on a tripod! Philip Oliver. He also grew a lovely, once blooming Alba rose, Madame Plantier. It's a good Alba for the south. If you search on Dirt Therapy, you can find PO's Alabama garden photos. He now lives in Vancouver. If you can get ahold of a rose that was once used as rootstock, I recommend trying the large shrub/climber Manetti. It is a once-blooming early Noisette of sorts and makes a gorgeous, fragrant spring display. I have dropped around some notes to neighbors who seem to be accidentally growing it. I hope to take cuttings, but I haven't heard back yet. Any of the Gallicas with China influence (Hybrid Chinas) are worth a try in your area. Alana in South Carolina grows a number of these. They seem to be fine with some heat and they like a bit of winter chill, but 7B might be fine for Cardinal de Richelieu and Duchesse de Montebello. Paul Barden roses are hard to obtain, but worth the effort. He bred a number of "new old" once bloomers which may actually out-old-rose the antiques! A couple to try: Marianne and Allegra. Both are OGR-Austin crosses which seems to increase their southerly performance. Others are great, too, but research the ancestry. This is true in general of any once bloomers you are considering. Anything with a slice of China or warm climate Austin has a better performance shot in your climate, as does something musk rose. I hope this helps. And for the record, I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE J BEETLES!! Carol