I have GD in my z4 area. Some years BS is bad & some years it is hardly a factor depending on whether I have a dry or wet summer. This year we are already 9 1/2" above our total annual normal precipitation & BS is a big issue. My GD came down with BS fairly early so not very resistant in my opinion.

My experience is similar to wirosarian's. In its first year in my garden, own root, growing in zone 5/6, humid, moderately hot, and BS Alley, Grand Dame does black spot. I do spray, so cannot report on how severely it would spread if not sprayed.

The flowers do nod, are very large, well petaled, and are very long lasting and durable with no wilting or frying. The bush shows great vigor and is expected to reach 5+ ft. at maturity. The fragrance is powerful.

wirosarian & thornworn ,

Thanks for the info .so Grand Dame gets black spot but does it get bare canes ? growth habit ? floppy canes like Perfume Delight ? any experience with same color roses Peter Mayle and Electron ?

Yes GD completely defoliated for me this year. It also has one other trait I'm not too fond of....very weak necked so the blooms tip & face down ward in most cases. This may be due to the fact I'm in z4 & GD is always blooming on new canes because I have 90% cane die back each winter. Also because I'm in z4, only gets about 3' tall. The canes do not flop over for me, just bend over at the bloom when it opens.

Bare canes?...I cannot say since I spray.

I have seen more advanced Grand Dames than mine, which is just finishing its first year in my garden, that show a somewhat wedge shaped bush with straight stems that do not arch. The center canes appear rather straight upright and the outer canes appear to emerge from the crown at about a 22 to 33 degree angle from the vertical. The bush therefore fans out, but does not sprawl. The flowers do nod. The color is intense, rich, and vibrant. As mentioned earlier the scent is potent.

I have no personal experience with PM or Electron. I have seen Electron growing in a public garden. It grew tall and very upright with a very nice bloom.

I live in inland SoCal.. we get extremely hot summers and a few days of high humidity this year.. GD did amazing, no BS, only a touch of the chili thrips.. GD bloomed off and on during the summer. The fragrance for me is intense and lovely.

This is Grande Dame's second season for me, so far it's been blackspot resistant, and one of my healthiest newer roses. The blooms hold up really good, even in the heat. Last season the stems were weak, but are strong enough now to hold up the big blooms.

On both the gulf coast 9b and the rolling planes 7b Grand Dame has had minimal black spot for me and I don't spray. Had it in the garden for 4 years now. Nice blooms in good sunlight.

Thanks! I have to get it now .

IMHO you'll be glad you got her! So outstanding here in hot, humid coastal Virginia 8A that I'd add a 2nd one! Good resistance and good repeat. The plant is narrow, very upright and quite tall. One bloom perfumes my kitchen.

I'm a lover of OGR's so the nodding habit doesn't bother me; also am noticing stronger stems than last year.

I would highly recommend her offspring, Pretty Lady Rose, over Grande Dame. THe flowers on Pretty Lady Rose have a nicer color, a better & stronger fragrance, and the plant has a lot nicer foliage and growth habit. I have 3 Grand Dames and had already shovel pruned 2 of them.

Thanks .any Particular reason for shovel pruning GD ?

The flowers have an uninteresting dull pink color. They bloom in cluster and nod in an unappealing way. The bush is gangly and leaves are bare at the bottom. I don't know why it is noted on HMF that it is almost thornless when it is full of thorns. I don't particularly care for its musky old rose scent. Sorry so negative on this rose. The only positive thing about this rose for me is that it has good repeat bloom. This is just my personal opinion. But if you can see both roses in bloom, Grande Dame and Pretty Lady, I think you will likely favor Pretty Lady.

I disagree on your description of grand dame.

I don't mean to offend anyone with this assessment. This is just my personal experience with this rose. Best thing for the OP is to see the rose in bloom in person and determine if the rose is right for him or her.

Lol I wasn't offended. Just disagreed.

I would love to get pretty lady rose but I don't think its available yet on Fortuniana root stock which I use in FL .so I will try Grand dame first !

Carol ,

Actually it was you who started me on the quest to find more about GD with your beautiful pics in organic gardening . I was fed up with perfume Delight and wanted a replacement .

So far, for me, Perfume Delight has a much better fragrance. But that may change next year. :)

Thanks! I still find it strange to be inspiring people with my roses. But, I truly do love this rose!

Carol

Carol ,I was happy with perfume Delight since I planted it last spring . It grew 6 ft tall and was a bloom machine even in heat . but since it got the ugliest and toughest fungal disease after the rains ,I am ready to s/p it . I sprayed it repeatedly but its not fully cured .

Wow, those are very impressive, Carol! Mine never look like that though, even in their third summer. I am just not crazy about its color, but it certainly works in certain settings.

Karen

I know what you mean .when l bought PD ,l was not sure about the neon pink color .l thought it might seem garish .but the color grew on me .when l see the bush from a distant ,l love the splash of color.

Pat_bamaz7 has gorgeous Grande Dame plants in Alabama. From what I saw, and her reports ( I believe), G.D. was fine there.

side note: Pat_bama???

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/2807508/searching-for-new-newish-rose-for-garden?n=29

Pink Rose - That's too bad. I live in an area where diseases don't bother the roses. But, if it doesn't work for you...then it might have to go.

Karen - thanks! Yes, it really works in my garden...but we get few diseases here. And I love, love, love pink roses - so...I'm happy. :)

Carol

Can't argue with rosecanadian's photos! My growing season is normally hot and dry, but the last few years have been hot and humid. My GD is in it's 3rd season, and I'm pleased. I'm generally leery of hybrid teas and have very few. They don't do well in my freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw winters, but GD holds up. Blooms are gorgeous, strong fragrance, huge and long lasting. The bush had very little dieback from last winter, has nice form and has been disease free so far. The old gal is beautiful.

Thanks!! I am so proud of how this rose has done. (we're done now - snow is here to stay). I often don't get many roses on a bush...but GD is incredible!! I can't wait for the fragrance to come.

Carol

My GD is finished for the season. One lonely bloom on the plant today, no more buds. Right now, it feels like such a long time until spring. We'll have to keep going over to fragrancenutter's beautiful photos to keep our spirits up until we can get our hands in the dirt again.

So true!! Our snow doesn't appear to be melting. Darn.

Carol

Been a busy, busy summer so I've been a bit MIA on the forum and just seeing this. I shovel pruned Perfume Delight this year due to it's horrible bs resistance here in hot, steamy Alabama. I still grow Grand Dame, Peter Mayle & Electron...all about equally bs resistant here...will get some bs in my low spray garden, but not too bad. I'm working to replace my worst bs offenders in an attempt to go no spray. I'm hopeful Grand Dame will be fine without any spraying since it is a favorite rose of mine...much prefer it over Electron or Peter Mayle. Electron blooms at least as much as GD for me (which is a lot), but not much fragrance to my nose and excessively thorny. Peter Mayle has great fragrance and a great cut flower, but not as prolific a bloomer and very tall, stiff, HT habit with blooms mostly up top...GD is very tall, too, but a much prettier bush. I like the old fashioned bloom form of GD, but if you prefer high centered, PM has huge HT type flowers. Electron has big, HT form blooms, as well, but not as huge as PM's. Neither PM or Electron's blooms nod, whereas, GD has some that nod and some that face upward. It took GD a few years to get strong enough canes to support all her blooms...I no longer have to add support for them.

Here are all three in September after weeks on end of temps in high 90s/low 100s:

Grand Dame

Peter Mayle

Electron

pat-bamaz

Thanks a lot for the comparison ! I was considering both PM & Eectron . I don't like tall stiff bushes with excessive thorns and no fragrance . GD is the clear winner .

Yes, thanks for the comparison - I keep thinking of ordering Electron...but since there's not much fragrance...well, I'll pass on it. :)

I think I like the look of Electron the best though. The color and shape of the blooms is exquisite!!!

Carol