I may be closer to you and maybe our BS climate therefore might be similar. Here are my experiences Tamora-- truly one of my favorites but this rose just must be sprayed to keep leaves in the upstate of SC. If you plan to spray, you must have this one!! Abraham Darby-- spots a bit but keeps his leaves (acceptable in this garden). When he is in bloom I smell fresh cut green apples mixed with strong rose scent--fantastic! Lilian Austin--this rose spots but only in spring. Leaves stay on and the rose recovers well. The rest of the year she is clean. I love the color blend of this rose. Do note that she tends to have a weeping quality so if you have a hill or high wall--great--planted there she will be more impressive in her early years. She does get stronger more upright canes as she ages. Some things are worth the wait no matter where you plant them--she is. (sharp thorns--I never said she wasn't feisty) Sophy's rose--no fragrance but wow!! How beautiful is this rose!! Great bush form in my garden. Only spots on occasion and blooms without being pampered (that means no water unless we are in drought conditions). Quick rebloom and gets a lot of attention from those visiting my garden. This is a bright rose but it looks fantastic with purple companions. Scepter'd Isle--do you like black jelly beans? I do!! ...and this rose smells much like them (myrrh fragrance). I loved this rose for the fragrance and "gave it a go" in my garden.....and the rose did well. I had one spring where the rose did defoliate as a result of BS but it was new to my garden. In the following years, it did much better and only spotted. The blooms are pale pink but unlike other roses don't fade in baking sun. That gets points in this garden. I had Graham Thomas--and when the spring flush hit I could barely get from the car to the house. I literally stood in my driveway and looked at this rose forever. I credit this rose forum and this rose for converting me into the rose addict I am today. Such color, fragrance and beauty....alas, he preferred to be naked....equally as shocking from the driveway. I have Christopher Marlowe but admittedly have him in a poor location. My information on this rose won't be valuable. Good luck and enjoy!!

Thank you so much Diane. I can't speak about many of these roses but I had Ambridge Rose years ago and within weeks it was totally covered in rust, the only rose in my garden at that time to have rust. Abraham Darby withers in the sun and now that I have it in the shade also has rust. Carding Mill is excellent for a hot dry climate so that one is certainly correct. Interestingly, when I visited the Austin rose garden at the Barona Casino last August, the only rose that was blooming well from David Austin's list on a blistering hot day was Sophy's Rose. Some blooming well there were Miss Alice, Anne Boleyn, Charles Darwin, Lilian Austin, Mary Magdalene and The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild. It does make me wonder how Mr. Austin acquired his data. Since their American branch is in Texas I would think that would be a good source of information on dry-heat tolerant roses. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has grown the roses listed by Diane in the heat. Ingrid

I'm in a hot, dry climate, so what I say now doesn't mean much, perhaps, but if someone in TX also recommends some of the following, then maybe those could be good picks. They are roses I grow, and seem to do pretty well in the heat, though they do some resting when it's really bad. I grow all of these, and they have lovely scents: Princess Alexandra of Kent, Munstead Wood (even though it's dark colored), Evelyn, perhaps Boscobel, though I need to grow it longer, and though I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, Brother Cadfael. Not so good are Eglantyne, Jude the Obscure, The Prince, Tamora, and others. Diane

Okay, before I continue, Roseguy you MUST post some pics of your rose garden here. 1000 ROSES!?!?!?!?! Wow, and all in Florida. Please share. Rachel, based on what I know about the soil in Central Florida and what I know about the weather pattern up there, I would suggest you plan out what you want in detail and begin section by section. Never get rid of a rose. Let that thing die on its own before you toss it. I've had roses with dieback coming up and down the stem and seen it make it with some TLC, so never give up. Shoot, I have a Crescendo that I got bareroot from Breck's with massive crown gall that I know will eventually succumb but I can't get myself to give up completely! Here's what I'd do (for what's it's worth, lol): 1.) Plan out your yard. Use MS Publisher or get a cheap poster board and plot out where you want all your roses to go. Make sure to take into account the rose's habit as well as the color scheme that you're going for. With all that space you have, you can afford to space out your roses using the three foot rule. Also, make sure to place your roses in the sunniest spots of your land, no use putting them next to root greedy trees when they will already have a hard time establishing a good root system. 2.) Create beds for your roses. I have installed my beds using Castle Rock pavers. I purchase them a little every weekend and now I have great big beds that look good. Once the pavers are in place dig out the existing soil down one to two feet. The task is arduous, but if done in sections it will seem doable. Call C&C Peat or The Bushel Stop and have them deliver several yards of their potting soil to fill in your beds. 3.) Plant your roses one section at a time. Remember to cut them back a bit and to place the weaker/smaller bushes to the outer edges of your beds to give them plenty of room and sun to grow. 4.) Apply mulch and possibly ground cover to your beds. 5.) Get into the habit of mixing in fertilizer onto your roses. I like to create a tea using alfalfa pellets, fish emulsion, and seaweed extract. Occasionally, apply a water soluble fertilizer like miracle grow in cooler weather. Remember, during the June to August your job is to maintain your rose's existing leaves and not to grow it further, so fertilize during the cooler months. 6.) Develop a spray program that works for you. You have purchased quite an arsenal, but there's no point using something that is not needed. For Florida gardeners, the go-to chemicals are Banner Maxx/Honor Guard, Mancozeb, and Conserve SC. Cleary, Subdue Maxx, and Alliette are other great chemicals that can be applied between applications of the aforementioned spray program so your pests don't develop an immunity to any of the medicines. Spray every seven to fourteen days as needed. Spraying too frequently may actually hurt your plants. 7.) Come here for help. Years ago I found this site (then under a different incarnation that has undergone two major changes over the years) and I found the answers to questions I didn't even know to ask. Know that you are among friends that share you passion for roses. 8.) Understand that the past five months have been atypical. When the nursery that produces the roses I buy tell me that they have experienced the same problems that I have had due to difficult weather conditions, I relax at the thought that little ole me, with my limited resources, am not alone in the problems. With any luck, the recent weather pattern will usher new healthy growth and turn the tide that has brought so much hardship to our rose collections. Good luck! -Adrian.