Just Joey! The blooms are large and very fragrant.

Being in zone 3 with rocky soil, I grow all of my roses in pots. These are the ones I wouldn't be without:

1. Paradise Found - the smell is so unusual (wonderful) that I can't describe it. The flowers are gorgeous beyond.

2. Memorial Day - this rose won the fragrance award for me at last year's rose show. Amazing damask fragrance. The petal edges are scalloped.

3. Valencia - so far no fragrance - don't know why. It's been with me for 4 years. Tons and tons of huge gorgeous apricot blooms.

4. Gemini - lots of blooms. This rose is my most photogenic rose. I have so many pictures of it.

5. Chicago Peace - the glorious colors! Tons of blooms. Another really photogenic rose!!

6. Rock & Roll - wonderfully fragrant with tons of blooms. Love this stripey!

7. Evelyn - the fragrance!!!! The wonderfully full blooms. The amount of blooms!!! Another really photogenic rose.

8. Peter Mayle - the fragrance and the size of the blooms!!! They last forever on the bush and there's lots of flowers.

9. Big Purple - the fragrance is wonderful and the color is such a vibrant fuchsia.

10. Queen of Sweden - light musky fragrance. Beautiful light pink roses. There's something really special about this rose.

I guess that's it. Didn't mean for it to be a 10 list. Please don't anyone limit their choices to 10 because I did. :)

I'm looking forward to reading others' lists!!
Carol

Of the new ones I got last spring I'd say Moonstone. It bloomed beautifully all season.

Definitely Mme Caroline Testout (1890), and Crimson Glory (1925). I like the old old fashioned HTs (obviously). MCT is a large spherical, what I call "blowsy" bloom - just lovely. CG is more of a HT shape, and has a really really strong "rose" fragrance, and a velvety red color.

Jackie

For me it will always be La France, the first hybrid tea. The blooms captivate me by their size, silvery pink color, fragrance; really I love everything about them.

Ingrid

I live for Hybrid Teas/Grandifloras, there are so many I could not live without among the best for me are:
Folklore
Moonstone
King of Hearts
Veteran's Honor
Gold Medal GR
Marijke Koopman
Hot Princess
Confidence
European Touch
Twice In a Blue Moon
Touch of Class
Let Freedom Ring
Mavrik
Suffolk
Dublin

and probably many more..... :)

This post was edited by steve on Sun, Feb 1, 15 at 19:27

I'm very happy to have Olympiad, because it does well in the heat. At first I didn't consider this red rose, because so many say it's not fragrant. But then I saw and smelled this rose in my friend's garden in 100 plus degree weather and found it to be beautiful and fragrant. Now I'm waiting for the first bud to open on my own root Olympiad. Can't wait!

This is a hard one...Tiffany, Peace,South Africa,Pope John Paul. In that order. I have some special floribundas but thats for another post! There are many others I love, but could not go without these four. Lesley

I'd say Double Delight, Fragrant Cloud, Gold Medal and Mr. Lincoln. But I've gotten back into HTs and have a bunch coming this spring. Looking forward to Gemini, Moonstone, Randy Scott and Magnificence!

Tiffany, Hot Princess and Neptune

Thanks so much everyone for listing your best roses. There are several on here that I totally agree with, because I have them too: Folklore, Marijke Koopman, Let Freedom Ring, Tiffany, Peace and Double Delight. I am also very hopeful that Pope John Paul II and Veterans Honor will be among those I wouldn't want to be without. I have Memorial Day and Moonstone coming for 2015, I am excited to see what they both do. I have had Chicago Peace, Dublin and Olympiad and would love to give all three another chance at some point. I have seen La France in bloom, it is beautiful and has a wonderful fragrance. I also agree that Touch of Class is a great rose. There are several that Carol, Steve, Lesley and Diane listed that I would love to try.

This post was edited by Sara-Ann on Sun, Feb 1, 15 at 22:43

I've grown a lot of HT's over the years and for one reason or another most of them are no longer with me. But I have kept Louise Estes in my garden for quite a while. It is by far my favorite HT. It does everything a rose is supposed to do. Big, healthy bush, long strait stems, plenty of great foliage, beautiful pink blend bloom with classic HT form and it smells great.
Brinessa is another that I have had in my garden for a long time. Same reasons except Brinessa has a beautiful dusty pink bloom.
Moonstone has been in the garden since it was introduced.
Remember Me is a fantastic HT that I got on a whim 7 yrs ago and is still in the garden. The blooms aren't the largest blooms in the garden but everything about this rose is a LONG time keeper.
Gemini always seems to be out there in the garden.
Every time I walk through the garden, Tropicana is always there to say "Hi". Just something about this rose I really enjoy.
Then there's Royal Amethyst. I've been growing this rose since the early 1990's. Always seem to have from 1 to 4 bush's of this beauty in the garden.
These are the HT's that have a good hold in my garden and I can always count to keep a smile on my face. And a smile on my face is all that counts.

What beautiful roses Brinessa and Louise Estes are, from the pictures I saw on HMF! I love the unique coloring of Remember Me. I don't think I can resist Gemini much longer, its color is growing on me, and it must be a great rose. Ken, I would imagine your Royal Amethyst bushes put on quite a display of color, would love to see pictures. I've grown Tropicana for years and it always does good for me and is disease resistant, wouldn't want to be without it.

TROPICANA

I like fragrance in my roses. My favorites are Oklahoma and Pink Peace - I will always have a place in my garden for these two. Also Bellaroma, April in Paris, Valencia.

Genesmasher, I would definitely agree with you about Pink Peace, I haven't grown the others, but my guess is they are great roses too.

I only have three hybrid teas. They are Alain Souchon, Firefighter and an unknown ht from the local market.
So far the unknown rose is easily the best. It is the most prolific, the longest lasting and the most heavily scented.
It flowers almost year round. I prune it gradually throughout the winter, as each bloom finishes. It doesn't mind being in a pot, out on the village path. I like it there as it is easy to get my nose to.
Daisy

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Very nice Daisy. It would be great to know what your unknown rose is.

I grow mostly oddball hybrid teas that don't look like HTs, or often have a different growth habit. I think my three favorites (ask me again tomorrow, and the answer might be different) are Frederic Mistral. He's huge, nearly as big as Brother Cadfael, very wide and about 8 feet tall. Fred is a mixed bag. The blooms are very pretty, lasting longest in the vase of all I grow. Fred's scent is gorgeous, too. There is downside for me, in that Fred tends to be chlorotic in my alkaline soil. He blooms continuously, but is susceptible to botrytis, and the blooms spot in the rain (luckily we don't have much rain. I still love the guy, though.
My second favorite is Augusta Louise from Tantau. She has an awful growth habit, tall and skinny, but those blooms of hers are just incredible--huge, ruffly things that have shades like a constantly changing watercolor painting.
And finally, another favorite is Ascot, a grandiflora, that's also huge. He blooms pretty continuously, too, in rich wine reds with old fashioned shape. The colors don't fade in the heat here, either.
Here's Fred flirting with Jude. Diane

And here's Augusta Luise in one color look. Diane

Diane - Both of those roses are gorgeous! Love that picture of Augusta Luise.

Veterans Honor, Louise Estes, Neptune are the best in my garden right now, as far as good bloom rate, relative disease resistance, vigor, I also love Dark Night for it's unique color and shiny leaves, despite some other "issues" that it has....

I favor floribundas but there are some HTs I wouldn't want to be without:

Ingrid Bergman
Chicago Peace
Sultry
Gemini
Honey Bouquet
Marilyn Monroe
Hot Romance
St. Patrick

Sara-Ann, my best, biggest, healthiest, and most continuous blooms HT is Tahitian Sunset. Thrips like it , too.

Stross, those are all beautiful roses. Kathy, I've been enjoying your beautiful rose pictures, you have some lovely ones. Hot Romance and Sultry, the two I'm not familiar with are gorgeous! Kentucky_rose, your Tahitian Sunset is so pretty. So many wonderful roses, thanks!

Thank you, Sara-Ann for starting so many fun and interesting threads. Keep them coming. Glad you like Fred and Augusta. Diane

Sara-Ann, your pink peace has soo many blooms. What a nice looking bush!

I know I've mentioned it many times, but my favorite is still Mr. Lincoln and I don't think it's going to change anytime soon. Intense perfume, Big red blooms, unbelievably velvety, strong stems and neck, disease resistant. Ugly lanky bush, but its flowers singly sure make a statement.

Thank you Diane and Dan. Pink Peace is turning out to be a better rose than I once thought, even though I've always loved it, especially the fragrance. I enjoy it so much when we share our love of roses.

If you like fragrance, here is a rose that won "Best in show" based on its fragrance alone. Typhoo Tea is very thorny, long stemmed, gets about 7 feet tall in my Chicagoland garden, and relatively narrow for its height, definitely needs spraying for BS. I'd put its fragrance in the Mr Lincoln, Fragrant Cloud, Bella Roma, Lemon Spice category as far as strength of scent goes. It might be a tiny bit stronger smelling, if that's possible. The scent is fruity deep and complex. The picture is accurate, its a bicolor, with the underside being lighter. That being said, my favorite is Double Delight.

This post was edited by ameri2nal on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 18:19

OK, Here's Double Delight. Why do I like it the best?
Its a nice compact bush, constantly repeating, and even after a long day in the sun, it still smells beautiful.

This post was edited by ameri2nal on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 18:18

Oh my!!! That Typhoo Tea is STUNNING!!! Plus it has superb fragrance??!!! WOW!! If I ever find it - I'm getting it. My roses overwinter in the garage - so winter hardiness isn't an issue.
WOW!!
Carol

At one time I had 50 HT's. Now I have eight. I kept the most hardy and beautiful:

Peace
Firefighter
New Zealand
Heirloom
Secret
Tiffany
Sweet Surrender
Neptune

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Typhoo is lovely, sounds like a great rose. Harryshoe, your roses always look so beautiful and healthy, I imagine it is beautiful when they're blooming, you have some great varieties. I would love to see your Firefighter in full bloom.

Nice post. I would add "Lengends", & "Sugar Moon" to the list. I also like "Firefighter" and "Double Delight". I have a rose bed at the golf course where I work, I put in a "Betty Boop", which is not a HT but it is so cheerful and perky you just have to smile when you see it. This spring I am planning on putting in 7 new tea roses, so I am taking notes on this thread as to what people favor. We are in NW PA in zone 5 if anyone has additional suggestions.

Harryshoe, your bouquet of Heirloom roses looks like a romantic Valentine with lots of ruffles and lace. I wish my Heirloom's blooms would look so good. Some pretty blooms are produced, but they cannot stand more than a few hours in our hot summers. The earlier and later part of the season is not quite so bad. Diane

I vote for Heirloom, too, along with Blue Moon for fragrance and gorgeous lavender blooms. But Blue Moon does lose all of its leaves for about 2 weeks a year. Still blooms like crazy though.

For me, World War II Memorial was a blooming machine.

I only like the super fragrant ones so my favourites are New Zealand, Barbra Streisand, Frederic Mistral, Firefighter, Double Delight, Memorial Day, Beverly, Papa Meilland, Blue Moon, Fragrant Cloud and Stainless Steel. Augusta Luise is beautiful and fragrant but does not look like a HT to me. The bush and flowers are more like the Austin type roses.