I thought the tree is already to be replaced as the discussion ensued, if so, what cultivars would be better, given the history. Tomcot would be the best suited, based on Don Yellman's excellent advice. Harcot would also be nice, but recalling that the place is around the Bay Area, it would not get enough chilling hours in most years. We are 12 miles west of the Sacramento Capitol as the crow flies. In our area a couple of years ago, during prolonged low intensity rains around bloom time, there were severe brown rot, blossom blight on apricots. Peaches also got the blight and rot aside from peach leaf curl. Fruit sets were generally poor. During those times, Tomcot, Goldkist, Royal Rosa, Harcot apricots fruited adequately without needing to thin out (that means just adequate fruits). Last year, we had relatively very dry spell during the bloom, and almost all stone fruits whose diseases did not get deeper into the tree, they have limb breaking yields. Those are a few observations from around the neighborhood who seldom spray their trees. Oftentimes, it is useless to spray your trees in an urban setting, because of the neighbors. And even if you did get their permissions, not everyone will spray at the same time. So you will always have a reservoir of diseases and their vectors. Often hobbyists have a plethora of cultivars in close proximity of each other and not big blocks of monocultured trees. Planting distances of trees are designed for machineries to pass through in commercial orchards and these spacings are never applicable for a city backyard in prime costing land. Commercial growers and home hobbyists have different objectives in raising fruit trees or plants in general and have dramatically different environments in which they operate. I take the observations and experimentations of hobbyists and home growers with proper context and value them much better than the standard methods meant for commercial growers. One has to consider these primary differences when discussing various issues.

Kisa, Neither one looks quite like my Apricot Drift, of which I have 8 bushes. Your second photo comes closest, and photo #1's color and single petaled blooms are not typical for the Apricot Drift. The flower color of Apricot Drift is very much like Austin's, 'Ambridge Rose,' but more pink with pale yellow suffused with the pink tones as well. The very full petaled flowers (50+ petals), of Apricot Drift are large, bigger than the typical 1.5" sized Drift Series bloom. They are mostly 2.25", 3/4 inch larger. A.D. also grows less sprawling, more compactly, almost dome shaped, at about 16" X 24" for me, but I give them a good shaping each spring which keeps them limited to the stated size by season's end. CJrosaphile, I would recommend Apicot Drift, my favorite Drift, for the even, very tailored growth habit that it exhibits for me. Also, its larger blooms, for a Drift, are heavily petaled for a Drift, too. It's flower production for me is not profuse for a typical Drift, but still plenty adequate. My second favorite Drift rose is Popcorn Drift for its cupped blooms. Third is Sweet Drift, the bush gets 3' wide for me, a bit sprawling, but its blooms are heavily petaled, which I like in a small bloom (concealing aging, browning stamens very effectively), although the bloom's petals quill annoyingly as they age. Moses

I know this is an old thread but its been very good and useful so I thought I'd chime in. All the roses i recommend have been mentioned here but I live very close to you in Zone 10 Florida so I thought I'd let you know what has worked in my garden. I have over 50 roses and my best performer is by far Belinda's Dream (you probably have it by now, if not, get it!). Always in bloom all year round, doesn't mind heat/humidity or rain has perfectly formed blooms AND its fragrant. It has it all! One of my other good performers so far have been some Ausitns. My BEST bloomer is Huntington rose, but it does get black spot a bit. I don't spray her so i just prune her a bit after every other flush and she keeps bouncing back. Queen of Sweden has been excellent. Not as big a bloomer as Huntington but NO black spot at all. She does grow TALL though (huntington grows WIDE), So Far she has stayed very narrow and tall. Jubilee celebration has done well but she is too new to tell if she'll get through the rainy season without too much BS. Wollerton Old Hall, great fragrance great BS resistance but bloom color is not my cup of tea (kind of a tan/beige). Alnwick rose has done well too as well as Abraham Darby (tried and true). All my Austins are in planters though, none in the ground. As for HT roses my best performers have been Mr. Lincoln, Olympiad (very good), Gold Medal (also very good), Queen Elizabeth (kind of gangly but blooms alot), iceberg and brilliant pink iceberg are great but grow wide, not tall (they stay short though). Pretty much all my HT get some black spot in the rainy season but i just trim them come fall and they do well all the way until the following May. If you are looking for a more bushy rose try the new KORDES varieties. I have had ABSOLUTELY no black spot on Lion's Fairy Tale and Mandarin Ice, and I hear all the Fairy Tales are just as good as lions. I'm getting a few more this year from that series. OH also don't forget BUCKS roses. Superb! I have Polonaise and Golden Princess and both are great with BS (very very little) but by far the best one has been Quietness! She has NO BS and beautiful fragrant blooms. Very Fragrant! Some roses to stay away from would be Oklahoma, Double delight (every one raves about her but she's a BS magnet in my garden) Angle Face (same). Cherish (love her blooms but same BS issues). I grow most of my roses in planters so you may need to see if you can find any of these on Fortuniana RS. I highly recommend the Kordes ones though, they have really thrived own root with NO disease they stand out like champs. They almost don't even look like rose bushes they are so leafy. Duchess du Brabant has been another good one. She does get a little BS but she seems to shake it off quickly. I just also got Rosette DeLizzy and clotilde soupert but they are still babies so too soon to tell. Good luck and let me know what does well in your garden!

No spray in USDA Zone 7? Otherwise known as Black Spot Hell. There is one that repeats, has a little bit of fragrance, and is a clear yellow unalloyed by gold or green tones. It is called CAREFREE SUNSHINE (Shrub, William J. Radler, U.S., 1991). Not a cut flower but as a landscape rose is hard to beat. Another option would be REVE D'OR (Tea-Noisette, Claude Ducher, France, 1869). It is an Earthkind Rose recommended for no spray gardens but it more of a buff, apricotty yellow. You are also zone pushing in 7. Now, if you are willing to spray then you have more options. JULIA CHILD, MOLINEUX, GOLD MEDAL, CHARLOTTE, and THE PILGRIM are my top picks. Of these, the best is Julia Child. It has everything and isn't fazed by summer heat. Does need some spraying or will defoliate by August. I am trying it on an organic spray this year. Will let you guys know how it does in September. My profile pic is a bloom of Julia Child.