I completely started over again a few years ago so still in the process! I chose some roses that have done well for my local friend and other people in the northeast without spraying so only time will tell...

Out of all of my roses, Guy de Maupassant and Fiji have been very BS resistant. Everybody else had some form of disease last season.

The top performers in my garden grown nonspray in terms of blackspot resistance: all the Fairy Tales (caremela, golden, red riding hood, lions', pompom, brother grimms), Cream Veranda, Poseidon, Dark Desire, Summer Sun, Sweet Jane. All Kordes, some of which are ADR roses. Also, Laguna, Awakening and New Dawn (but all three are wild beasts and I dare not to go near them now). Also, South Africa and Beverly, Grand Amore. Also, Solero Vigoroso.

Other than Kordes, here are the other top performers in the blackspot resistance department: Earth Song, Eden, Teasing Georgia, Heritage, Lady of Shallot and, the obligatory Double Knockouts. And Crocus Rose and Jude the Obscure. Red Drift.

The old roses are not bad either. Sorry, I am sure I got the names wrong but here you go: Luise Odier, Zephrine Drouline, Madam Isaac Perierie, all three teas (two in pots and one in a warm pocket: Mr. Dudley Cross, Duchesse De Brabant, and Ms. B. R. Cant.) The Burbons do drop lower leaves late in the season, but they all (other than MiP, they are all arching, graceful plants so they don't look as ugly as half naked hybrid teas).

Got Madam Anisset (another ADR rose), Fred Mistral, Flemenco Rosita, Olivia Austin and a whole bunch of Kordes planted this spring. They all are supposed to be blackspot resistant. I cannot handle roses that only look good in publicity shots. FM would be join the the few hybrid teas that I currently have. I find I do not have the patience and the ability to deal with them as a class.

Oh dear, just realized that how many Kordes/ADR roses I have gotten. For me, if a rose has an ADR and looks half decent, I am all in, hahaha :). However, all recently introduced Kordes roses (meaning the ones got in the market within the past 10 years) that I have planted tend to have the vigor and disease resistance necessary to survive/thrive in my garden as I don't fuss over my roses. The one exception is Out of Rosenheim, which blackspots terribly here in Northern NJ. Jury is still out on Plum Perfect as I am not sure whether this is a hot weather rose. Mine does not seem to gain in size as much I would wish.

I love the Rugosas,seldom if ever get blackspot. I love Therese Bugnet, Moje hammmarberg, Marie Bugnet. I also love Polyanthas & Hybrid Musks notably Marie Pavie, Darlow's Enigma( monster but fills a need),Penelope & Vif Eclat. I also like Albas esp Madame Plantier & Pompon Blanc Parfait. 2 Austins that are very clean are The Mary & The Mayflower. I have heard The Mayflower described as just another ho-hum pink rose but her reputation for no BS won me over as BS is a real problem here. Even though I am zone 8a we don't get the heat that most of the country gets in summer, our winters are wet without a lot of freezing temps. I'm trying to say I'm not sure how valuable my input is other than I do have high BS pressure. I just purchased 3 Peach Drifts & 5 Kordes HTs, time will tell. I highly recommend Peter Kukielski's book Roses Without Chemicals & yes he does have regional picks & advice.

Jane

This has been an exceptionally blackspotty spring for me--and I'm not that far from you, Sara. My theory is that our mild winter has been followed by a long cool spring--just the right temperatures in which BS thrives and so it has tried to take over portions of my garden to a degree I've never experienced before. It was getting bad, so I sprayed just yesterday--this is the earliest I have ever had to spray, earliest by about one month!

So which ones didn't have to be sprayed or had just minor BS problems and which ones were suffering badly?

The first part of this list consists of moderns, mostly floribundas and shrubs. Further down the list are my hybrid musks and OGRs:

Didn't spray:

Eutin (Kordes)

Double Knock Out

Home Run

Easter Basket

Gourmet Popcorn

Green Ice and another mini whose name I can't remember.

Elina

Well Being

My eight newly planted roses (2 HT, Austin shrub, floribunda, 3 minis in the "drift" style, HM) are poking out lots of red healthy leaves--totally innocent of the fact that the Evil Blackspot exists anywhere in this universe. Of course, they were selected to be BS resistant--but only time will tell if they remain unmarked by spots.

Austins like Pretty Jessica, Queen of Sweden, and Munstead Wood

Clothilde Soupert and several little polyanthas

Ghislaine de Feligonde HM/H Muliflora

Hybrid musks Cornelia and Felicia

Boule de Neige, bourbon/noisette

Souvenir de la Malmaison, bourbon

Fru Dagmar Halstrup rugosa

----------------------------------

BS Problems, Minor and Major BS issues:

Nearly all of my 8 hybrid teas, except Elina, had significant BS problems.

Eden climber had the worst case of BS in the entire garden. She usually isn't that bad.

A couple Austins had just a touch of BS: Molineux and Scepter'd Isle and Wedgewood climber and Jubilee Celebration.

Don't ask me what her problem was, but Austin's Lady of Shalott had a pretty bad case of BS--and she is supposed to be very BS resistant.

The climber The Pilgrim wasn't doing too well either.

Buff Beauty (HM) was beginning to develop a light case of BS.

Braveheart shrub needed a little help, but not too bad.

Hybrid Perpetual Mrs. John Laing had a medium case of BS.

Mini Sweet Diana had bad case of BS. She usually only has minor bouts.

------------------------------

That's all that comes to mind, right off hand. It will be interesting to see other people's lists of roses that escaped the BS plague! This year is really becoming a major test of my roses since this is the worst BS year I've had so far.

Edited to add: For the record, I have multiples of some of the roses listed above--like 3 Queens of Sweden, 3 Eutins, 3 Home Runs, etc.

Kate

High blackspot resistance is a bottomline necessity for any rose to prosper in this no spray humid garden. By "blackspot resistant", I mean without any sprays or granules added to the soil. Finding those roses for these conditions has been pretty much hit or miss over the last 35 years, though much easier for the last 10. Much appreciate resistance ratings on Kordes' & Newflora's websites, echoed on many sites worldwide, along with feedback from this & other forums.

Sara-Ann, since Aloha (Boerner '49) does so well for you, you might consider her apricot sport Dixieland Linda/Lady Ashe. www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.19902.2&tab=36 Both are highly blackspot resistant here, generous with bloom & very fragrant.

Climbers that do well here include Westerland & its sport Autumn Sunset, America & its sport Pearly Gates, Talisman climbing, Brownell's Lafter & White Cap, Harlekin, Viking Queen, Penny Lane, Rosarium Uetersen/Seminole Wind & Golden Celebration.

A mix of varieties that excel include Easy Does It, Abbaye de Cluny, Austin's The Endeavour, Ballerina, Buff Beauty, Fragrant Cloud, Belinda's Dream & Julia Child. A number of roses new last year look very promising & we'll see how they do this season that's seen on again off again warm & cool weather. The lavender are ready to bloom, while few roses have mustered baby buds as yet! Odder weather than usual & delayed blooming.

All the 70 or so roses scattered throughout the garden have proven highly blackspot resistant, with the notable exceptions of Abe Darby & Iceburg - two survivors that have managed to endure for many years despite their troubles. Abe has a spot all to himself where he does well some years & not so great in others. Iceberg struggles with blackspot but doesn't affect perennial neighbors. Other roses prone to blackspot that have come & gone succumbed to freeze/thaw Winters from lack of health that led to decline. Never shovel pruned a rose that wasn't already departed, so all get their chance to sink or swim.

Thank you so much everyone, this is very helpful. I appreciate so much the detailed information. There are at least a couple I forgot, Belinda's Dream and Souvenir de la Malmaison , which were both listed above.

That's something I noticed too Kate, my newly planted roses all look so healthy. Veterans Honor, Pink Promise and Easy Does It are three I'm very anxious to see, because they are supposed to be such good roses.

It will be interesting to see other responses.

That's weird SDLM is severely black spot prone here in Florida. ( the bush, the climber, not so much) so is crocus rose. I've bought 2 crocus and both are consistently getting bs. Honestly here in fla everything gets bs!! Its bs! Lol. I read these posts ab u guys upset u had to spray, it's crazy bc if u lived here, u literally can't grow roses without some kind of spray schedule. I would LOVE to be in some of your areas instead of this sub tropical climate it gets soooo humid here it's sickening!! Without any spray, roses succumb to fungus fairly quickly. Even the ones considered disease resistant! Many of the earth kind roses have to be sprayed here. It's not fair :( some days I would love to pack up and move!! U guys are in WAY better areas than here. lets trade places!! We've got nematodes too :(

I do have a few roses that don't get bs as easily as the others. that would be, ducher- Margo Coster-Mary Daly- Francis Meilland- Red cascade-the fairy- old blush- blush noisette- Kordes vigorosa collection- drift roses- Cecile Bruner- Belinda's dream- mothers day- sunrosa roses- our lady o Guadalupe- however the drifts & the fairy will get leaf spot ( spot anthracnose) instead of bs. Most roses here get bs. some end up covered while others only get a light case of it. There's many more I can post but I can't think of them all right now.

The absolutely cleanest rose in my garden is 'Golden Buddha', which is a Hybrid Bracteata. From what I remember reading, the species ancestor is virtually immune to blackspot, and this trait has been transmitted to many of its offspring. Sounds like breeders should be using it more, right? Well, there's a downside -- it's apparently not easy to get fertile hybrids of it. Paul Barden scored a victory with this one, and even though it is a great-grandchild of R. bracteata, it maintained the species' health and distinctive bracts.

I should add that it can get some mildew, but for me only in cool and wet conditions, which is just some points in Spring before the first bloom, and again in late Autumn just before going to sleep. It clears up on its own when conditions change.

:-)

~Christopher

Sara Ann, I do not live far from you, and have not sprayed for many years.

I like Hybrid Musks, Chinas, and Teas. The Bourbons have also been good for me.

I order from ARE, and ask about new roses. They are very honest about the black spot resistance, and they do not spray. (I grow no hybrid teas, and avoid many Buck roses.

Sometimes my roses get blackspot, drop the leaves and quickly grow new ones. That is ok. Quietness and Heritage are two that do that. SDLM is probably one of my favorites, but is not as resistant as I would like. My count has gone from 276 to 96. My tastes have also changed. Instead of a vision of all roses, I like the vision of landscape, with roses woven in with all kinds of perennials like phlox, echinacea, etc.

Specifically I like Cramoisi Superieur, Duchesse de Brabant, Nachitoches Noisette, Archduke Charles, Ducher, Madame Antoine Marie, Maggie, Prairie Breeze, Caldwell Pink, Perle d'Or, Sweet Frances, Star of the Republic, Penelope, Felicia, Nur Mahal, William R. Smith, Monsieur Tillier, Thomas Affleck, Marie Van Houtte, and many others.

Sammy

Almost everything here gets blackspot. But some of the ones that are really resistant are the teas/noisettes. Crepescule and Reve d'Or almost never get blackspot. I now have two rugrosas and they can't be sprayed but don't get blackspot.

I have been impressed with the disease resistance of many Austins including Teasing Georgia, Gentle Hermoine, Spirit of Freedom, Claire Austin, and James Galway. When the disease pressure has been high they have demonstrated very little to no blackspot. I'm hopeful that the newest introductions, such as Olivia, will be as well. I hope to grow other supposedly disease resistant Austins such as Molineux and The Generous Gardener.

Kordes Summer Romance has also been great.

Sombreuil has been the most disease resistant climber of mine so far.

I used to believe it was worth coddling a disease prone plant but not anymore. Rouge Royal, for example, produces some of my favorite blooms - very beautiful and so fragrant. I also hate to get rid of any plant. However despite this I can hardly enjoy this rose anymore.

I am so glad that disease resistance is a high priority many rose breeders now.

Thanks again everyone. There seems to be many beautiful and disease resistant roses. Sammy, I can just imagine that you have a beautiful garden. I really do intend to check out ARE, so glad to know they're honest about blackspot resistance!

Kordes rule in my z5/6 no spray Massachusetts garden. I have also had great luck with some of the Easy Elegance roses. "Yellow Submarine" has gorgeous yellow blooms all summer, even though she only gets about 4 hours of sun, "Music Box" which was a brand new band last year so not prolific at flowering yet but has blooms of pink and yellow swirls and "Centennial" which sadly seems to be out of production and my favorite has beautiful softest pink to cream tea rose like blooms. No scent though.

Yellow Submarine courtesy of rose solutions

All of the Easy elegance roses are own root grown and nursery stock has a two year guarantee. I have "Macy's Pride" on order another creamy/soft yellow rose. The only thing their roses lack is scent.

For DA I have good luck with Heritage, Charlotte and Windermare which is a blooming machine though not heavily scented. Bolero was decent as was Julia Child although Julia is not very hardy. The Kordes were exceptional though and most came through the winter with very few issues, a few broken canes from heavy snow and minimal tip death. As a plus some of them even smell delicious :-)

Sharon

My best roses that seem more resistant to BS are:

South Africa, Poseidon, Tahitian Sunset, Pacific Celebration

Rosa Rugosa and Rosa Rugosa Alba are darn near perfect in my garden. No disease, no pests except Cutter Bee's. When I turn 100 years old, Rugosa's will probably be the only roses I will grow.

I have a bed of floribundas that is several years old. This year I dug out two that had BS problems and one is on death row. I removed Angel Face and Margaret Merrill as both were very spotty and Passionate Kisses is the one on the cusp of being ejected as it also spots pretty badly but it is still a strong grower.

Some of the floribundas in that bed that have no BS so far include Hot Cocoa, Living Easy, and surprisingly to me both Sun flare and Sunsprite. Any else care to comment on these two? I just assumed that as they were yellow they'd be more BS prone.

My Sunsprite has never had any bs nor has my Nacogdoches. I am in a heavy bs part of Texas and we have had a very wet spring so it is wreaking havoc my with most of my roses but the ones that stand out with no bs at all are my Quiteness, duchesse de Brabant, Evelyn, Eutin, Caldwell pink, Heritage, Tamora and Molineaux.

Marie Pavie, SDLM, Mrs. BR Cant and the climbing pinkies have had very minimal bs. I have had a lot of yellow leaves on some roses but I think that is due to almost 30 inches of rain over the last several months.

My zephie totally defiliated due to bs and so did my Golden Celebration. I may have to move GC to a sunnier spot and see if that helps, it helped with Evelyn who had BS all last year and then I moved her to a sunnier spot this February and she is a happy girl.