Hi Josh: There's a difference between grafted Comte on Dr. Huey and own-root Comte. Own-roots have smaller roots, thus cannot handle heat and dryness for the 1st few years. Last year my Comte as own-root refused to bloom in our summer drought and heat of 100 degrees. Before the winter I took him out from the pot, to plant in the ground ... his root was wimpy, looked whitish like alfalfa sprouts, or an annual flower. Compare that to Dr. Huey that I dug up: It took me 1 hour, and the root was woody brown, extending 3 feet away ... the mass of Dr. Huey is many times heavier than "alfalfa-sprout" type of own-root. For a hot and dry climate, grafted on Dr. Huey would be best. Own-root Golden Celebration as a band was really wimpy the first year, I had to water it twice a day. This 3rd year I dug it up, and the root is finally as big as Dr. Huey. Since I have wet spring and fall, own-roots are healthier in my zone 5a. My own-root Comte de Chambord is very healthy in its 2nd year, zero black spots. Its scent is very much like the perfume Tabu. Another of my favorite scent, which no perfume can match, is Yves Piaget. My zone is too cold for Yves Piaget. I have Yves Piaget's children grown from seeds, I put them outside under the air vent from the dryer. They really like the humid warm air. Yves Piaget mildews in CA, and didn't do well for Ingrid's hot & dry climate. The Romanticas tolerate my alkaline soil and water much better than Austins and Comte de Chambord. They can handle 100 degrees heat, if it's wet and fertile clay. Robert in England, who has a great collection of Austin roses, traveled to France just to get Yves Piaget, that's how good the scent is. See below link for Yves Piaget in the English Roses forum: Here is a link that might be useful: Picture of Yves Piaget This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Mon, Jul 8, 13 at 15:12

IMHO David Austin has made a grave mistake by not promoting RADIO TIMES more to his U.S. customers. I get the impression from his writings that this cultivar isn't as good a performer in the UK. Pity, because here across the pond it is one of the few Austins that can be kept as a medium sized shrub (with pruning). Repeat is reliable and the disease resistance is on par with the rest of his collection. The color is a rich pink, a bit warmer in tone than GJ. While the fragrance is not quite as strong as GJ, it is still "strong" and will please any parfume junky. I consider RADIO TIMES and SHARIFA ASMA to be the best pink Austins available for the American rose gardener. The only vendor I know that sells it is HEIRLOOM ROSES (heirloomroses.com). Please note that what they sell are "bands"; i.e. rooted cuttings. I can't stress this enough. The plants are tiny. On the plus side they are guaranteed to be virus free. I've always had success with them but put this disclaimer in simply because I don't want you to be shocked when you open the box.

You have your Comte on the way, but I would like to suggest a replacement in case you don't have good luck with the Comte. A much better rose for me, that is virtually identical in all respects except disease resistance and vigor, is Gertrude Jekyll. Comte is a parent of Jekyll. Both have the same bloom and exceedingly strong classic rose fragrance and vicious thorns, but Jekyll is very healthy for me and a strong bloomer whereas Comte is a black spot magnet and generally drops most of its leaves by mid summer. Comte is spindly and a weak grower here, whereas Jekyll, on her own roots, is a very strong grower. I live in Hattiesburg Ms, our summers are hot and humid. It's zone 8b. Incidentally, here Jekyll seems to like a rather severe haircut in late January. It will cover itself in new growth and blooms magnificently. I have been critical of the Austin roses as not performing well in my zone, and particularly being not so long lived . I make an exception however for Gertrude Jekyll, Graham Thomas and Pilgrim. I haven't tried nearly all the Austin roses, but I have tried many, Those I mentioned have been excellent performers in my hands, all the others I've tried were just so so.

Vaporvac, my soil is loamy clay and pretty good even before amendments. We don't have heavy clay, but we're pretty alkaline. Part of the difference between Ohio and here may be rainfall. We're in the dry central prairies, not as dry as the farther west desert areas of course, but we need to be diligent about making sure roses are well hydrated going into the winter. Dave you're a zone warmer than I am and not quite as dry, so I think YdA has a good shot with you. I'm surprised by the zone 4 rating too but it definitely hasn't held true for me. Still, there are plenty of roses I'm "supposed" to be able to grow that I can't, and fortunately plenty more that aren't "supposed" to grow for me that do fine. That's part of the fun in this challenge I think. Cynthia