Our climates are pretty much the same, though probably not quite so windy here (usually! past month has been unusually and annoyingly windy). Of your list, I am familiar with Mermaid, Lamarque, SDLM, Felicia, Dortmund, Nastarana, Le Vesuve, Clementina Carbonieri, Maman Cochet (actually the pink and Niles versions, but all are much the same, other than color, from what I have seen), and Archduke Charles.

I can attest that SDLM in the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, relatively near where I live, is always so afflicted with mildew that I won't even venture to grow it here. Le Vesuve did mildew badly when growing here.

Clementina Carbonieri's foliage was exceptionally gorgeous and healthy and the blooms wonderfully colored and shaped, but the flowers went crispy in about 1/2 an hour any time temperatures exceeded 80 to 85 degrees F, even after it was large and very well established and planted in the best, most cared-for part of the garden. So, regretfully, off it went.

The rest are, or have been, fine. In particular I can recommend Nastarana. Here it actually does handle all the adversities ticked off on Beale's list: poor soil, shade, warm climate, etc., plus drought, and still blooms nearly continuously, with wonderful scent. Very high on my list of favorites.

Hi Nik, here goes:

Lamarque Cl: growing through 4m Pittosporum tree, roots in dry shade, watered very infrequently, trying to take over carport roof as well. Cut back very hard last winter to clear gutters, now nearly back to previous size, very healthy and I expect flowers through winter.

Paul Lede: I grew this on a north facing brick wall under eaves so it needed a good watering weekly but managed with less during the drought and still produced good flushes of flowers; also remained healthy but needed to watch for spider mites. Couldn't understand why it started to look sick and dry, until I caught St Bernard puppy using the bud union as a teething ring.Oops! Too late.

Penelope: shaded (dappled) in a.m. Full sun in p.m. Within 5m of eucalyptus roots. Blooms well as long as she gets some water. Healthy. 2x2m

Felicia: part shade p.m. Doesn't like hot northerlies, but will flower madly if given a regular water supply. Octopus, so I keep her 2x2m shrub.

Le Vesuve: grew well in nearly full sun until ring- barked by a self - styled gardener (my big mistake). Also very healthy and floriferous with a minimum of water. 1.5m and spreading.

My soil is clay which has been improved over the years.

By the way, have you found out what your Not Magnifica is yet?

Melodye

No Melodye I'm afraid I still have no clue about what the Magnifica-not-meant-to-be rose is. It is vigorous and growing very fast (mostly sideways) throwing out octapus arms and there are still unopened bud clusters on her this late in our Spring season so it's a late blooming once bloomer. I have not ruled out the possibility of her being some rootstock (I still need to dig better around the bud union which gets increasingly hard to do) although I have no clue which one. I wish I could find some good pics of Laxa but I haven't. I will post a couple of newer pics in that thread.

Thanks for the enlightening info Melodye and Catspa. Melodye do you get PM where you garden?

Not very often surprisingly enough. I have been keeping a close watch as our night temps dropped quite dramatically and although the days were not really cold, it hasn't been our usual warm dryish autumn, so I would not have been surprised to find some PM. Our spring weather is often quite unstable, warm to hot, then back down to winter temps all in a matter of 24hours, so I'm more likely to see PM then, but it isn't a problem. I have read that some people have problems with Mme Alfred Carriere but here she is PM free. The only roses that have caused any trouble were Mme Ernst Calvat, Mme Isaac Periere and Tipsy Imperial Concubine and they are long gone. Against my better judgment, I have ordered SDLM this year. I don't spray, so we will see! I do get some black spot at the end of the season, but not to any great degree and only on a few HTs that I know are prone to it. They are sentimental favourites so I accept their weaknesses. The biggest threat to the garden at present is 11 month old saint puppy. He has started gardening by digging up a young rhododendron (twice) and 2 alchemilla mollis. I will really need to watch him once the new roses are planted!

You're telling me about dogs and gardening... The story of my life.. Come around to see lots of chicken wire spread out in beds... For some strange reason, and I hope this won't sound sexist and politically incorrect, it seems that females are much more prone to 'gardening' than males are... They also have a tendency to 'fix' the drip network.. Dogwise I mean although this might be applicable, quotes ommited, to humans as well. Not with regards to the drip system though..

Nik,

I have two Clementina Carbonieri; a band that I received last month and one received as a band last year. The one I received last year was placed in full sun during October, which isn't hot here. I don't recall how it performed during the summer, but my leaves were not scorched, if I recall correctly. Temperatures here are just beginning to hit a high of the 90's so I will pay close attention to it this week. The fragrance, foliage and blooms are very lovely, so much so that I purchased the second plant.

Blush Noisette is new this year, and even as a 1 gallon plant, it is healthy and growing rapidly.

Archduke Charles, for me is growing rather slowly but it is healthy and I like the varying stages of bloom.

Lynn

Thanks Lynn. Having been to Vegas (didn't spent a dime on the slots mind you, was there strictly on business), I assume there's not much PM around, is there?

Nik, I came upon an article from Paul NABONNAND in the 1921 November/December edition of Les Amis des Roses.
This a list of roses according to him, who resist/ reject mildew in Southern France, precisely in Golfe-Juan in the French Riviera.
Maybe it would help you with your list:

I can try copy pasting the list from pdf, if you're interested, however, the names might not pop up correctly. Let me know.....

Nik, my climate is very similar to yours and Archduke Charles almost never had the pink middle part; it was mostly red. SdlM for me gets very little mildew and is a champion in every way. Clementina Carbonieri's blooms crisped very quickly even when it wasn't hugely hot. Senateur Amic I believe can also get very big. Mermaid I wouldn't grow for the thorns alone, but in my climate it also didn't bloom much. Souvenir de Madame Leonie Viennot from what I understand is not great in the rebloom department. Dortmund, if I remember correctly is red, and might clash with all the other roses you've named, but that might not bother you. Penelope and other hybrid musks like Buff Beauty for me just didn't bloom enough, and frankly to me Penelope just didn't have much garden impact. These roses might do better where it rains in the summer. Hope I helped!

I may be coming in late . . .
7. Blush Noisette -- Wonderful here. Not self-cleaning, but no one's perfect.

8. Lamarque Cl. -- a GREAT rose in my climate.

9. SDLM (maybe too mildewy?) -- I tried 3 times to grow it here. It mildewed SO badly that blooms never opened. It's great in Sacramento. Never again here.
16. Le Vesuve -- mildewed non-stop in my SoCal coastal climate. Never out-grew it. Gone.

18. Maman Cochet White -- You know, if you get cool-damp, the blooms may not open all the way, but it is STILL beautiful, and disease-free. Wonderful, WONDERFUL rose.

19. Souvenir de Mme. Leonie Viennot -- Won't bloom here. No winter.

20. Archduke Charles -- One of the GREAT roses!!! Wonderful!

21. R. rubinigosa 'Magnifica' (second attempt at getting the correct rose) -- Will nee acidic conditions. Won't grow where it is alkaline.

Jeri thanks. Maybe you are confusing this Magnifica with her rugosa namesake? This is the rubiginosa rose (sweet briar hybrid). Also, I know that SDMLV is known for strange reblooming tendencies (some think there are many different sports of it in commerce some better rebloomers than the others) but it is the first time I hear of a Tea needing 'real' winters to bloom... In any case Albas and other european OGRs do bloom in my garden so I wouldn't worry about this. We do have mild winters over here but obviously much less mild than you do.

Below are summary climate data for 2014 and 2015 taken from the weather station at the port just down from where I live. Temps are in C and rain in mm i'm afraid, so the numbers may not mean anything to you lol!

2015

2014

Ingrid, thanks. From what I gather mildew is not as bad here as in coastal SoCal, our dry summers and cool winters stops it from being a year long problem but it is a problem in Spring and Fall, the main blooming seasons. I will probably strike off Le Vesuve for that matter and I'm ambivalent about SDLM... Maybe I'll try it and regret it. Regarding HMs I have both Buff Beauty (in full sun) and Cornelia (in dappled shade) in their first year blooming here and they are blooming pretty fine while we talk. I don't know about their rebloom but I expect them to rebloom in the fall too. They do get watered during the summer. Maybe I will rethink about Penelope.

Regarding Clementina Carbonieri, might it help her if it received only morning sun or would that mean it would not have any blooms to fry? She's a candidate for striking out also. I can place roses in lots of different sun/shade variations due to the geography of thi splace and the various trees and structures over here but strange requirements do limit the possibilities for placement, though it is full dawn to dusk sun I find most difficult to provide.

I have removed a few based on helpful info provided above and better thinking on my part, but I still need to remove another 2 or 3... I'm open to disenablement... If I get another 2 comments about how horribly mildewy SDLM is in other parts than apparent mildew paradise coastal SoCal, I will remove that from the list too..

Anybody familiar with no 5: Purple Skyliner which Beales suggest as a remontant Veilchenblau alternative?

Anybody familiar with The Garland rambler in the warmer climates and alkaline soils?

1. Senateur Amic

2. Vicomtesse Pierre du Fou

3. Cooper's Burmese

4. The Garland (I know it can become huge)

5. Purple Skyliner

6. Blush Noisette

7. Lamarque Cl.

8. SDLM (maybe too mildewy?)

9. Paul Lede Cl.

10. Ballerina

11. Penelope

12. Dortmund Cl.

13. R. moschata 'Nasterana'

14. Maman Cochet White

15. Souvenir de Mme. Leonie Viennot

16. Archduke Charles

17. R. rubinigosa 'Magnifica' (second attempt at getting the correct rose)

I live in Melbourne, Australia- early Spring and/or late autumn, something always mildews in my garden. I am currently avoiding looking at the remains of the window box petunias too hard, because although they're still flowering a bit, theyre also awfully mildewy ).

So far SDLM has been ok (only had it about 18 months tho). I have the shrub version, and its been pretty good- no blackspot either- surprising, cos most of the other roses are covered. the only problems have been the odd balling. It was fine this spring, but some late autumn rains did for the last mini-flush-before-winter-pruning flowers.

I don't grow any of the rest yet; so I cant say anything about them!

I say again -- SdlM was the second- or third-worst mildewer we have ever grown here. If mildew isn't a problem for you, go for it ... it IS lovely, when it is "right." But if mildew IS a problem for you, you don't want it.

Yes Jeri, point taken! Mildew is a problem for me but I suspect it is a worse problem for you due to your ocean influenced climate. I can tolerate a bit of PM during the PM season here (and I've been known to selectively spray a couple of times if the season is particularly bad) but not a lot. I am curious about which roses were the other 2 worst mildewers over there. Maybe that will help me.

The Garland is miffy for us (in the UK) - astonishingly, an Austin rose, the Snowgoose has proved very similar...but would (given its moschata parentage- be wonderful for you...as will Nastarana (and especially useful as a late starter).
Penelope - meh.
Paul Lede - nice colour, mean blooms
Ballerina - well, there are some really great Lens roses which use Ballerina as a base...but on its own, doesn't really float my boat (but the smaller Lyda rose!!)
Purple Skyliner - I love this neat little climber but it is quite modest, very like Violette but without the blackspot which always ruins most of those multiflora purples - a good rose for training as it does not get too bushy.
SDLM - horrid, drab, sick - obviously, this is a rose which is utterly dependent on climate and conditions because when it is happy it can be great...but if not, it is just nasty.
Mermaid - go on, be brave - you won't regret it -put it somewhere it can scramble without too much fuss or intervention...and it can be stunning grown on wires to cover a wall.
Cooper's Burmese - another lovely rose...but have you considered the more reliable La Mortola?
Blush Noisette - another modest but reliable rose - a really good, sturdy variety which, I think, will justify a place in your garden.

Don't really know much about teas apart from the fact that they take a long time to get off the ground - 4-5 year, even longer...and Chinas, are, unfortunately, a diseased disaster for me...and to be honest, I don't really care for their twiggy fragility and sparse blooms. I know they flower endlessly, but sparing, very sparing...and I like the fulsome display for a month rather than 6 months of parsimony

Camps, I'm not sure what 'miffy' means in this context, would you care to translate? My knowledge of English idioms is getting rusty..

Variable from one year to the next, temperamental, dodgy, fussy. I really wanted to love this rose but it seems to lack substance in the petals of something because it rarely has nice full panicles of flowers like, Rambling Rector say, and it also gets whipped around and looks...untidy (I know, this isn't usually a complaint). I admit to not liking the shape of the blooms either and they look horrid in a damp summer.

Mr.Campanula, reading over my shoulder, claimed not to know what 'miffy' meant - accused me of making it up.

Miffy is a fantastic portmanteau with connotations of the rose being 'iffy' and 'miffed'. Or perhaps the iffiness causes the rose grower to become miffed?

If you did make it up, more power to you...

Virginia

I just want to second Jeri's last comment--life's too short not to have at least tried SDLM. If it works in your climate, you'll be so glad you did, and if it does't, then you'll have an open spot in your garden for whatever rose catches your eye next year. (The only good thing about roses popping their clogs is that it justifies buying more roses...)

There are lots of roses that I love, but I love Souvenir (and Cramoisi) best of all.

Nik, my climate seems to between yours and Jeri's, about 60 miles north of Jeri but at 900ft so the marine overcast burns off more quickly. Close to Conception Point, we do have wind, constantly. Given those elements, SLDM only mildews in early Spring and is gorgeous thereafter. Clementina, I planted where she has morning sun and shaded afternoons. Good success, lovely coppery pink color, but she is only 1 year in the ground so it may be too soon to relate much. Archduchess Charles, China's do well here, seems to deal with the wind quite well and the light to dark pink is so pretty. Le Vesuve is a pretty China if they do well for you. Best of luck on your additions. We will want to see pics!

you won't know if you dont try, and it really is too lovely not to! You can always sp if it doesnt work out...I feel so sorry for Jeri and everyone that has to fight against the mildew

Now, now, I asked for disenablement....

I've tried 'SDLM' twice, and removed it both times for different reasons. But actually I do agree that it is so lovely when good that it is genuinely worth trying anyway!

'Le Vesuve' does well for me, even though I am only about 10-15 miles away from the SJHRG. Most chinas are not happy for me, so I think it is above the others in resistance. With all those roses grown in close proximity and no intervening plants, SJHRG has a serious monoculture issue. Not their fault; that is the way the garden is designed, but it does increase disease pressure beyond what most of us face. The volunteers work devotedly and to their best, and I noticed just the other day that the garden is looking very good just now.

Yeah, that's what I call disenablement...
Something out of my youth days, many moons ago...

Confusion

Ok. Time's out. I have made my order based on everybody's input. I have never tried Trevor White in the UK but I've read good words from Camps and Marlorena. Since they are about 30-50% cheaper than Beales I ordered most of the roses from them and only the ones not available from them I ordered from Beales. Even their P&P are cheaper than Beales'. Despite the dual shipping costs this still comes out cheaper.

Nik,

Upon observations this week, Clementina Carbonieri's foliage is fine, the blooms have lower than normal staying power when the temperature hits the 90's. During the Fall, with very ideal rose growing conditions the blooms were the opposite. Your temperatures and humidity levels could balance out the issues. Oh, I love the fragrance.

Thusfar, my Blush Noisette appears to be unfazed by the recent temperature increase; in fact, this one gallon plant in a pot has numerous blooms on it. I cannot wait to see what it does when it is planted and can benefit from good prepared soil, proper watering and it is a little more mature.

Good luck :)

So what have you ordered then, Nik?
I am awarding myself some too - soulieana, sinowilsonii, Bobbie James, Cedric Morris, William Tyndale, and forrestiana (so far - have thought I would get a nice round 10) so still deliberating.

Do you really have to cut down that list? These are great! I'm growing most of them here in zone 8 California. If you have room and can afford them just go for it.

I don't know your climate, but if I were to pick a just few from your list, they would be Lamarque, Maman Cochet anything (maybe all of them), Rosa moschata anything, and The Garland. I like big, glorious walls of roses.

Love those choices, Folly. :-)