Blackspot can be a major problem in areas prone to it. Winterkill IME is bad enough that you want to get them grafted onto a rootstock to help them rebound in spring.

In general, the less you know, the more important it is to let us know where you are in the world. Zone 5 covers a lot of territory, and some are easier on roses than others.

I think it really depends on many factors. I garden in Zone 5 WI. I have probably 70 Austins, not really sure at the moment.... I have a combination of both grafted (on Dr. Huey) and own root. I believe the majority are own root. I have never lost a rose to winter kill (knock on wood). I hope I didn't just jinx myself.... I make sure to really bury the grafted ones deep during planting. I also plant the own roots fairly deep. I do not use rose cones or anything of that nature. Mine usually are protected by snow or leaves. Some areas are protected from the wind by the house, garage etc....But others are right out in the open. I can get a lot of die back though on some of them. I just prune off all the dead canes in the Spring, fertilize well, and they all come back for me with no problems. As far as blackspot goes, mine stay pretty clean through most of Summer, but they can start blackspotting toward the end of Summer. We can get pretty high humidity here. I don't spray regularly. I think I sprayed twice last year. Some of them blackspot a lot more for me that others. Some of my favorites include PAK, LEH, LOS, and Boscobel. I also believe your soil will really affect how they perform. I am constantly feeding my soil with coffee grounds, egg shells, banana peels, manure, alfalfa meal, and many other components.

@hcarnevale THANK-YOU! You have given me more info in your paragraph than I`ve got from several MONTHS of searching/asking! When needed, can I ask you for additional info? Regardless, thank-you!

No problem. I definitely have an Austin addiction, along with Kordes, Meilland,..... If you look through old threads, I started 6 threads that were about my Austins last Summer. I included a ton of pics. I think the first one was titled "For Austin Lovers, part 1". If you can find them, I make some comments with some of the pics about what I think about them.