Ooh, how gorgeous. When my sister lived there we went to the rose gardens and Japanese gardens. Carla

In Dallas, the problem I had is that they love to grow into almost climbers before putting out flowers - so watch the fine print descriptions that say "vigorous" or "rapid growth". That said, Graham Thomas grows like a weed, and bloomed in the heat of summer. Shakespeare is in my garden now, and bloomed constantly last year - an interesting purplish pink flourescent rather than the red description provided. Pat Austin does well here, as does Abraham Darby. I absolutely adored the smell and look of Othello - taller bush, huge, rude thorns - but the most awesome big blooms and color and smell. One warning. The ones I have had put down one huge tap root to China, with minor supporting roots. It is darn near impossible to move them once established without cutting that root - I lost my Othello that way trying to move it to a location with more sun in hopes of increasing the blooms. So make sure you like the location. Also remember they bloom in flushes, then nothing for a while, so if you want constant color, this may not be the rose type for you... terry

I used to go for 'bests' and then I learned about rootstocks. A lot of my bought locally roses were on Dr. Huey rootstock. They didn't do well. They didn't do well because my soil is an acidic red clay with some top soil on it, but the business roots of the rose are going to go down into that clay for the moisture and nutrients. Dr. Huey thrives in slightly alkalin soil. That's why it was THE rootstock of choice for growing roses for resale and that was done in the alkaline playa lake beds of inland California. For Virginia roses....there are acidic red clays in a number of places. There are also sands, and there may be some alkalin soils. In your neighborhood do you see roses that have reverted to Dr. Huey? Do you see wild Rose multiflora (zone 7 Virginia would have had multiflora blooming back in early May. Next question: are you willing to spray fungicides every two weeks. Last question: Maybe take a chance with R. x fortuniana rootstock, unless you get serious freezes in some winters. There are two Hybrid Tea roses that I find to be all but bullet proof, and they are pretty in different ways. La Traviata: no scent, healthy foliage without spraying, and carnation like deep red blooms that do not have the classic HT form, but which look like carnations and last on their long straight stems for two weeks, even in summer. (The blooms and stems are so strong, they hold water after summer rains and it needs to be dumped out or the petals will stew in the summer sunlight. The MacCartney Rose: Scent!!! strong pink, open well. Strong bushes that thrive without spraying. Not a show rose, but it's so good it doesn't need to be. Glows in the sunlight when it's backlit by morning or evening sunlight.

I'm about a hundred miles south of you, in Gloucester, VA. It's zone 7B here, but I used to live and garden in the DC area, and I don't think there's much difference. Yes, it's fine to move things and plant things in the fall. September is excellent. The limiting factor is lingering summer heat, not oncoming autumn cold (as if!). I'm going to be moving roses and planting new ones starting this weekend, and I'll just take care to keep them well hydrated. We can still have 90-100 degree days ahead. Make sure you give your roses good deep drinks when you move them, and keep an eye on them especially on hot days. I always give a solution of root starter fertilizer (Miracle Gro Quick Start) when I plant. If you use systemic granules, you can also put those in the hole. btw, with climate change many of my roses are no longer going dormant in winter at all. They don't grow, but they do keep their green leaves. Very last blooms are usually in November.