The rose in my mind when I read the title of this post -- and as I read through your post -- turned out to be the last rose you mentioned. I also had 'Night' aka 'Lady Sackville' last year, but it was one of the casualties of last Winter. I plan on getting it again from Burlington.

I know you say 'Nigrette' (aka 'Louis XIV') is a wimpy thing, but that's only if you consider it against more modern HTs. I think of it as being more like a Polyantha-sized China. For me, too, it remains rather healthy without spraying, and keeps blooming.

'Mirandy' is also pretty dark, but leaning more towards brownish-purple than black. I pulled mine out of its barrel and gave it a spot in the ground. It was one of three that survived unprotected outside last Winter, so that earned it some "real" soil at its roots.

Last year, I had the idea of collecting fragrant dark-red HTs and keeping them as pot-pets. Well, three things crushed that idea. The first was that my paved areas where pots would go simply got too much sun, and their blooms crisped in Summer. The second was that, frankly, they didn't bloom as often as I'd have liked, and raising the more modern HTs up off the ground into pots just exaggerated their bare legs. So the more modern HTs were kinda ugly potted plants that gave blooms here and there. The final straw was that leaving them out all Winter was just too much to handle, and all but three croaked. I think it was more the flooding from melted snow, but in any case, only three made it. And I've come to decide that Teas and Chinas would bloom more and make nicer looking potted plants -- but they're DEFINITELY going in the garage or my enclosed back porch for Winter. And any dark-red HTs I get again will be more of the old and "wimpy" type like 'Nigrette'. In pots, with some Alyssum at their feet, they actually look rather cute.

:-)

~Christopher

It certainly isn't as black as Nigrette, but if you were looking for a vigorous climber, how about Black Boy? it used to be widely grown here, and my husband loved it.

Trish.

You have amassed a gorgeous collection of blackish reds, Cynthia. The photo of the Harry G. Hastings rose is exquisite. I'm sorry he didn't make it through your last winter. But, of course, I was most impressed by Nigrette, which is quite stunning.

Most of my dark roses are really more purplish than red, but here they are.

Diane

The mini, Black Jade fits this question quite well.

Nigrette is dark and impressive. I don't have anything that can really compete with it.

Like Diane showed us above, Munstead Wood can get quite dark:

And it was the dark tones of the HT Oklahoma at our local nursery that instantly won me over, though I have to admit in 3 years time, it has never bloomed quite as dark as it was that day at the nursery when it seduced me into buying it. It's a bit more purplish in the picture than in real life:

Kate

Here's some of mine, including Dave Bang's VAMPIRE...

BLACK MAGIC

EDDY MITCHELL aka DARK NIGHT

VAMPIRE

TABOO

MIDNIGHT MAGIC aka LA PLATA SEQUICENTENNIAL

PAPA MEILLAND

OKLAHOMA

And then there's also...

KUROSHINJU

SCHWARZE MADONNA - usually a bit blacker, but that was the only pic I could find without going way back

LOVE'S PROMISE

NIGRETTE - really hard to capture it!

Christopher - I'm relieved to hear you say you've had trouble overwintering Night/Lady Sackville, since she's one that has eluded me four times and didn't even pretend to survive the winter in my most protected situation. Even ones that are marginally hardy like Deep Secret (also a 4 time trial) at least put out a little growth in spring before croaking. At least now I can know to give up the fight on that one. I appreciate the word on Mirandy, and I'll look forward to replacing her this spring - I had an uncharacteristically wimpy band this spring that didn't ever leaf out that will be replaced next year. And I have absolutely no beef with Nigrette being a small plant, given that it carries its weight in novelty and toughness. I like the poly comparison, since chinas are also marginal at best in my zone, and Nigrette is much tougher than that.

Trish - ah, it's great to hear that Black Boy is a candidate for this "black" category, since I have that one on order from Roses Unlimited for next year. I had it on this year's order but their plants didn't take for that one this spring.

Diane and Kate - those are some truly gorgeous Munstead Wood blooms. I definitely count the purple-blacks among the highly sought after "black" roses, and I love the deep mysterious nature of the colors you have. Diane, I could only wish that my Ebb Tide had the smoky purple of yours - mine when it bloomed was hot pink, and it has been reluctant to survive in my zone 5 anyway. I'm trying it grafted this time and in a protected spot for one last effort next year. My Ascot is more the tone of the pinkish bud below the flower, but I wouldn't be without its blooms - it's a keeper for me. I'm hoping my Twilight Zone looks half as wonderful when it matures as yours - right now I have two different Twilight Zones from different breeders (the usual Carruth one and a Williams one from Burlington). We'll see if they want to duke it out for "joining the Dark Side".

Ken - I agree that Black Jade is a stunning color, and it looks like that's one I'll have to give a more protected spot, as it has died in normal locations in my yard.

Kate - great photo of Oklahoma, and I think (hope) I've finally gotten one to survive after four tries again. That's surprising, because it seems to be hardy enough. At least this time I've seen blooms, and the faded blooms turn particularly black.

Wonderful roses everyone and they're all on my wish lists!

Cynthia

Fantastic, Beth - I knew you'd have some great photos to share, and these colors fall in the "oddball" range as well. Surprisingly too, only two of your recommendations are presently unobtainable in the US (smile). Usually your posts add to my heartbreaking list of roses I'll probably never have. I'd had Kuroshinju on my wish list from Vintage for years but they went out of business without ever returning it to circulation and no one else has picked it up. Ditto for Zulu Queen, which I fully expected you to tempt me with. Of course those would be the one with the truest luscious black tones. Night Time is one I wasn't aware of though, but it sounds like it's only locally available at best (sigh).

At least Abracadabra has returned to circulation (yay, yippee)!! Rogue Valley put it on their available list this summer and I fell all over myself to order it. Yes, I know it's a bit unstable and might revert to a solid, but the base rose is pretty nice too. I also have Schwarze Madonna and Ink Spots on reorder since mine had the grafts fail after a year or two. Your Ink Spots is wayyyy darker than mine was, but that's a good thing toward the future. Matilda/Love's Promise is one that had slipped my attention, though, and that one's back on the plans for 2016. I do remember it being a nice dark color, and it wasn't in the greatest location but survived a few winters. Thanks for the reminder and all the terrific pictures.

Cynthia

Well dang, Beth - I missed your first post. That is one AMAZING dark Black Baccara. I'm showing that photo to mine to see if I can encourage it along. Similarly Black Pearl is going to be encouraged to grow and bloom a little more, and Papa Meilland to bloom a little darker like your pictures. I'm looking forward to finally having a Dark Night own root in 2016 since in 2 tries my grafted ones have grown rapidly backwards, and I think I need to replace my Black Magic as I suspect what's left after not seeing blooms for two years is rootstock. Any current sources of that rose other than S&W (their timing doesn't work for my zone)? Black Lady is another one that ought to grow for me (it's a Tantau) but it wimps out after a little spring growth even in my good spots. And naturally there are two more unobtainable roses, though I already knew Vampire was a drool-worthy candidate. Midnight Magic used to be on the Hortico list but is now in US limbo - let me know if you notice any of those becoming available.

Thanks for the temptation and more great photos.

Cynthia

Unfortunately, I find BLACK BACCARA to be a rather small bloom. Never more than about 2" for me. But then that bed is under nourished. I'm trying to get it cleaned out. I have most of my dark reds in there. I stupidly planted 3 "Hot Lips" salvia in there, and they've overgrown the entire bed. My husband and I were digging them out a couple weeks ago, when we discovered a "meat bee" nest in the ground. That's what we call the yellow jackets up here. I got stung and bit on the b@@b (of all places... it got under my shirt) and we never went back to finish. I had him sprinkle the rest of the diatomaceous earth powder we had all over the try to kill them, but Mr Wonderful totally missed the entrance to the nest. And I haven't gotten back to try putting some Sevin dust down there. I gotta get that bed finished up. I lost several roses in there, including HOCUS POCUS and ALLELUIA, both totally irreplaceable now, as well as HACIENDA (FIREFIGHTER). Crap, I got off my point here... Sorry... I just really need to get the stuff cleaned outta that bed and get some much-needed mulch and fertilizer on all those roses. Then I think the blooms on BB will be better next time around.

Cynthia, I never was able to get ZULU QUEEN. Or maybe I just never really wanted to. I know I looked at it several times over the yrs. Yeah MIDNIGHT MAGIC used to be on Hortico's list all the time under LA PLATA SEQUICENTENNIAL. That's one of the ones I had to dig out during the septic ordeal. It's in a pot and I had mismarked it as one of the other roses. And its tag was in another pot with my EDGAR DEGAS that I thought I had lost! So I was glad to clear those two up. And MM is waaaay more beautiful now that I dug it out of the bed it was in. It never got that dark of a red before. And like most of these blackish reds, it does fade to a bright red with time. I hope Hortico brings it back, as it is a really gorgeous rose. That bloom lasted about a week, only turning more red.

Beth - youch! Those "meat bees" sound pretty vicious and that just adds insult to injury as a rose gardener, since we already get scratched to smithereens, even with gloves! I'm so sorry you lost your Hocus Pocus and Alleluia, as I remember your distinctive photos of those roses. It's good that your Midnight Magic survived the move, as I don't think Hortico looks to be returning to some of their old postings. On the plus side, they seem to have removed roses that they never really had for sale in the first place, but their offerings have decreased substantially. They now never even pretend to offer Bella Renaissance, and there's no one else to replace my plant that died in a drought some years ago.

I agree that these blackish reds can brighten up a lot in the sun, but that makes it even more fun to find one that gets BLACKER with age. For me, Black Baccara does that and mine has at least modest sized blooms.

Cynthia

Wow, just absolutely beautiful roses, everyone! Beth, what a fantastic collection of "black" roses you have! I don't I have the space to grow all of them so I really appreciate seeing them here. Thank you Cynthia for starting this thread.

Yes, they are all so beautiful and quite breathtaking. Kate, isn't Munstead Wood gorgeous? I love the composition of your photo with the dark beauty of MW against the lighter colored roses. Oklahoma is a rose I've long admired--I should have one myself. Yours is lovely. I, too, have found that as these dark roses age, they grow darker. Twilight Zone, in its third season, has finally put on some impressive size and its blooms are larger and darker, though they always have been pretty dark. It's also blooming a lot more this season, in spite of the hideous heat and high winds that won't go away (ugh). Ebb Tide also has improved a lot in color tone the last couple of years, but it is a more mature rose than TZ. Munstead stepped up the dark color this year, too. So, I guess maturity really does help enrich those colors.

Beth, your dark rose collection is envy producing and I can't pick a favorite, though I love the photo of Black Magic, which is perfection. I think I'm most intrigued by Kuroshinju, a very unusual rose. Thanks for posting all those pics.

Thanks, Cynthia for your comments and this thread. I hope to see more dark rose photos posted. Diane

NIGRETTE is probably the hardest rose to capture accurately, especially when it's that dark. Hard to pick up the darkness and the definition. And, yes, it really does get that "black." It's a very cool rose...

That really has the WOW factor! What a fantastic photo of a superb bloom and buds. Now have to see if I can find Nigrette here.

Wow, those are the darkest blackest roses that I have ever seen. They do look freakishly scary.

ozmelodye -- if you don't see 'Nigrette' at Australian rose nurseries, look for 'Louis XIV'. At least here, the same rose is sold under both names.

:-)

~Christopher

Thanks, Christopher, I'll do that.

Cool- that definitely wins the 'blackest' award in my book, Christopher, and Nigrette already had my vote to start! Great photo, and we trust you that this is indeed a real rose (smile).

Cynthia

Those are gorgeous, Christopher!

My darkest red is Black Baccara. It can get very dark sometimes. It's not my favorite rose though. The blooms are very small in size.

I still grow the mini "Black Jade". It has been in a 7 1/2 gal pot for years. This way I can move it around to keep the blooms VERY dark all year around. It responds very well to an open area that gets afternoon shade.

Wow! Loving everyone's beautiful pics! Love "Nigrette". So beautiful!! Where did you buy it?

The same rose is sold under two names -- 'Nigrette' and 'Louis XIV'. I got mine from Rogue valley Roses. You'll find other nurseries carrying 'Louis XIV'. Search both names on HelpMeFind and you'll see where to find them.

:-)

~Christopher