Where are you? Disease pressure varies greatly from east to west, and without that information it is hard to recommend good roses.

As per his profile, he is near Toledo, Ohio. John, if you like, you can edit your name to include your zone and location.

To answer your question, what about a mini flora called Shenandoah? It is available at Heirloom Roses or For Love of Roses. The bush is approximately 3'X3' as per HR and slightly smaller as per HMF, so it would meet your size requirements. It is noted as disease resistant with long lasting, fragrant blooms that are just over 2".

From what I've read on the gardenweb, Knock Outs are larger than your desired sized rose.

Is there more information on this rose and does anyone else handle it?

Yes, I am in Zone 6A according to today but was in 5A and I still believe we are in 5A to be on the safe side of things.

Would there be any others that would fit what I am looking fo?

How about Memphis King? It is hardy to zone 5 and deep red. It is out of stock at Heirloom Roses, but it is available at For Love of Roses. If you are looking for a shrub rose, most will be larger than your size requirement.

Knock Out will die in 5a, and reach 4 or 5 ft in 6a. So you will have to make up your mind :-)

Champlain is a possibility. It blackspotted here fairly badly, but you are further west. We haven't had Hunter long enough to know much about it. My soil pH is the same, and I've had chlorosis problems on and off with Verdun. Aside from that, it is a really nice rose.

John I have red that are the size you are looking for but they are red not deep red. The only one off hand that I can think of is Braveheart a Clements rose. I don't spray so I had to give my three away. It is a gorgeous deep red always in flower. An absolute show stopper if you spray for black spot.

Take a look at Home Run. It should meet all your requirements.

Last year, Lowes carried the Kolorscape series of roses, and the Milano and Kardinal ones that I planted bloomed all summer long, with absolutely no disease. This year, I see that Lowes also has Cheri, a medium red.

Palatine carries The 1812 Rose, also known as Fairy Tale Red Riding Hood, and that's an excellent red rose that doesn't get too large, and has no disease. It's one of my favorites. No bare legs on it at all!

The Dark Lady is a good Austin red, as is Tradescantia.

Lavaglut is a consistent bloomer that is disease free.

Home Run and Knock Out roses do well without spraying, and they are definitely hardy in zone 5 Kansas City. My mother grows both there with no issues.

Scarlet Carpet rose is fabulous, if you can find it, grab it! It's kind of hard to find any more for some reason.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a consistent bloomer, and once again, I don't spray, and it did not have disease. Normally we're dry here and I have little black spot on anything, but last summer it rained, and I could tell which ones are prone to blackspot. I feel for gardeners who fight that.

I have one bed that is just for red roses, so I'm always trying new ones. These are the best of what I've tried!

Hope it helps.

oops that Austin is Tradescant.....

Kashmir is a fantastic rose but I caution that mine (one root) easily reached 5' in the first summer.

For something that will remain short, I'd recommend Lavaglut. It's one of the deepest reds I know, it has nice glossy foliage, disease resistant, reliably hardy.

Something a little taller and very impressive is Oh My, big lush blooms.

Super Hero, Kardinal and Milano Kolorscape are gorgeous roses but not deep red more of a cherry red. I also love my Home Run which is true red but not deep red. For a deep dark red Dark Desire fits the bill but not sure it is the shape you asked for. Desmond Tutu is one I got last year is a deep dark red and gorgeous but still two early to tell how well it grow up here. Rated for zone 5b by Palatine. My Kashmir is also 5' in height. For a healthy deep dark red ground cover rose nothing here has been better than red flower carpet.

Does anyone have Rosa 'Drop Dead Red' it looks like a very nice rose and the red looks beautiful?

I had that one (Drop Dead Red). Mine didn't bloom all that often and it was also a cherry red. If you go that route, I'd go with something more like Crimson Bouquet that blooms a lot more often, or Oklahoma if it'll overwinter for you (mine took 3 tries). In general, the Hybrid Tea roses (classic rose shapes) tend to bloom less often than the floribundas, and the shrub roses that you'd originally asked about tend to bloom more often yet, though obviously that's a huge overgeneralization.

Cynthia

I do not like Hybrid Tea roses I agree with yo 100%.

I do like the floribundas and the shrub roses and yes I do like the deep reds . There have been so many beautiful roses that all you mentioned and I have to get on the stick and order them or wait tell next year and that is not what I want to do.

It is hard to find nurseries that still have these roses on hand.

Check your nurseries again in a few weeks. Ours are just now putting the roses out. Most are still growing in greenhouses and not ready for sale, and I'm way south of you in zone 6/7. Mother's Day is usually the peak sale date for potted roses.

Bare root sales are almost finished unless you want to order online. Edmunds is still shipping bareroots. There's more selection ordering online, but sometimes it's a challenge to get them to break dormancy and grow well.

Nippstress, we seem to have many of the same roses! Drop Dead did drop dead for me too. Even here, Oklahoma, Mr. Lincoln, Olympiad and Chrysler Imperial all die back pretty far every winter, but I've always grown them, and always will.

Champlain and Linda Campbell get HUGE for me. Super Hero is a great one here. I wish I could find Kashmir! Nobody around here has it.

Milano Kolorscape is more of a scarlet, but Kardinal is a deep red for me, growing in full sun. The color stays true, doesn't fade or turn purple. Readily available at both Lowes and HD, they are a terrific value for $10 or so.

A wonderful image of Kardinal Kolorscape from Select Roses in Langley, British Columbia. The image was taken late June a few months after planting a one -year old field grown own root rose much like what is offered in the home improvement stores. In comparison to Milano Klolorscape they are the same shade of red and hard to tell apart except for the bud shape of Milano is a tulip shape. We introduced Kardinal because of its tremendous performance is very hot climates. Since then we have found that it is also cane hardy in USDA Zone 4. In my test field site it is easy to maintain as a 3' to 3.5' foot tall bush with just spring pruning. A really exceptional bloomer spring until frost. Excellent resistance to black spot and mildew, but it does have some susceptibility to rust.

Anyone had any experience with Kordes HT Grande Amore?

Wow, thanks, Chris! I'll add more Kardinal this year.

Thats why I love my Kardinal Korlorscpe plus the blooms do not fade here and last forever on the bush. I have 7 of them.

Europeana would likely suit you if it is still available. It was very popular at one time, so popular that hedges of alternating Europeana and Iceberg became something of a cliché.

Does anyone have Navy Lady? I was looking at the roses that all you mentioned and then see this one and was wondering if anyone has grown it.

I'd be interested in hearing your opinion of Crimson Glory as I considered it before ordering Munstead Wood. My old Rose book with articles from the Cincinnati Rose Society members put Europeana as one of the best Floribundas or the time I and hadn't really seen it mentioned here much until today.

I have AC Navy Lady that I got from High Country Roses, and it has been a very prolific and season-round bloomer even in its second year. The best thing is how very dark red the blooms can be - as dark as LavaGlut or Black Baccara or any of the other burgundy roses. What's turning out to be odd about this rose is that it's staying 2' high but about 6' wide (so far). It seems to want to be a groundcover rose. I have it in full sun around my mailbox bed, and while I can handle ground cover roses as long as they stay short, this one is planted right at the edge of the bed and constantly needs tucking the canes back behind other canes so it doesn't reach out into the sidewalk and trip people.

Mine has been effortlessly hardy in zone 5 and has no disease problems with black spot that I've noticed. This one really should be more widely grown. Here's a nice sample cluster in basic red:

Here's a sample of the lovely dark red color it can have even in hot full sun:

And here it is in contrast with some white phlox (one of many plants I tuck it into to keep it off the sidewalk):

I have Crimson Glory but in 5 years I've not apparently taken a picture of it. Needless to say, it's a very off and on bloomer for me. Same for Europeana, but mine was a big box store rose in its first year and it doesn't yet look to have survived my winters. I have Grande Amore on order for this year but haven't grown it yet.

Cynthia

Beautiful! Chris- any other roses that you know of that would be worth a try our here in tropical mn, zone 4?

Burling of Burlinton Roses recently recommended Anda: http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.20164.1&tab=1

It's rated to 5b, but one commented there was no die-back. Perhaps others have some experience with it. She has it in stock as a band.