The majority of mine have been from 3 main nurseries, Palatine, Regans and David Austin

Also,

High Country, Roses Unlimited , Northland Rosarium, Antique Rose Emporium.

It usually depends on who has what I am looking for, prices and reputations.

Are we talking breeding or growing?

Texas Ben,

You have a way of putting words together that not only clearly educate and inform, but entertain. I always like to read what you have to say.

Moses

Rifis,

I was thinking in terms of interested fellow Roses Forum members doing a head count on the highest number of rose bushes they have from a single rose house (or breeder in that house), and name that house/breeder. Then telling why they have so many of those roses over their second, third, fourth...highest count from other rose houses/breeders, seemed to be an interesting question to have answered.

Moses

It may take a while to do my Tally, but I'm guessing Kordes followed by Austin and then Pemberton!

Weeks roses bloom constantly for me in hot & humid FL but have fungal diseases . Kordes are healthy but bloom less . Only have a few new Austins so can't make a decision yet about them .

Since I buy a lot of inexpensive (read cheap here) roses from big box stores I'd have to say probably Certified, lol! But I don't often buy by the source but more often by the breeder. I love all of Frank Benardella's rosses. I seem to have a lot of Tom Carruth roses too. And David Clemons' roses have caught my eye lately.

Seil,

While in the subject of Clemons roses, what is it you like about them? In particular, do they winter over well outside, and do they bloom abundantly? I have been tempted to order a few from Heirloom, but have been hesitant to do so.

Moses

Mainly old and new Kordes roses (375) except for the 75 Austins and 92 OGRs. I only grow roses that do well in my PNW climate. As I don't spray, I can't grow many that I would like to.

I also appreciate your sharing Ben, very insightful. Sounds like I should use Soulsister and Jude for hybridizing if I want petals that can handle the heat.

Oldrosarian do you have Austin’s that stand up better to black spot?

As of this summer I have a majority of Austin’s and OGRs. Though I just got the Austin’s and I have yet to see them bloom.

For me, in order of frequency surviving in my zone (and therefore frequency in my yard overall): Kordes, Austin, Lim, Svejda and the rest of the Explorer clan. The others you list do mostly HTs and floris and those are hit or miss. The best of the HT/floris is probably Meilland, with Harkness at below 10% winter survival for me.

Cynthia

Cynthia,

The only Harkness rose I ever grew was Irish Hope. I was smitten with its long lasting, strong stemmed blooms. In an earlier post, just a year ago, I sang its praises. It grew very well for a number of years after a slow start, protected over every winter, then this past spring, 2018, it was dead to the ground when I removed its heavy mulch protection, after a mild winter, too. I did not trust its future dependability so out it came. what a big disappointment...Irish Hope was a vigorous grower, just not a winter survivor for me. I have since steered clear of Harkness roses.

Moses

Goodness, Moses! You really spurred on my curiosity! I went through and counted all my roses and their breeders to find the winner and it's exactly as I thought. I could have saved myself some trouble! ; ) The top spot was close with Kordes followed by Austin and then Weeks if I count the distributor and Pemberton if I'm looking at the breeder. Weeks' breeders were evenly split between Bedard and Carruth. The rest are all onsies twosies withe Meilland at three, Boerner, Lambert, Turbot, LeVavasseur, Shoup, Basye, Bentall and Buck all coming in at two a piece. I do look at Breeders and hope to grow my collection of Jerabek and Bagnasco roses and try some of the Lens Hybrid Musks. I would think being bred in Belgium where I barely recall the sun shining, that they would be healthier. Although, I hardly associate England with year-round sun. I do really like my Kordes roses that I've had for three seasons. They have really changed in terms of blooming with the exception of Fire Opal which was a winner from the get go. With the exception of Munstead Wood and Molineux, my Austins were cheap impulse buys from Lowe's. I'm happy with them, but do feel they would prefer a slightly more acidic soil, much like the Pembertons. The Weeks roses mainly came from a Springhill Rainbow of Roses sale and they are none too healthy in terms of Black spot. We'll see if they improve next year. They do bloom alot, however. I've been meaning to do this, so thanks for the push! ; )

Being in Zone 5 with only 6 months of growing season and harsh winter, whatever roses that don’t require lots of heat to grow win. Therefore my No 1 is Austin, since they tend to have more reliable performance in cold zones. My second breeder is Kordes, and most my Kordes are newer; if they perform well enough, Kordes have the potential be become my number 1 breeder in the future because of better disease resistance.

Claire

In this order - Austins because of the flouncy form and colors, Kordes for their health and vigor, Meilland because of the old fashioned bloom form of the Romanticas, and Weeks because I like the work of Tom Carruth.

I would be remiss if I didn't include Canadian roses - no fail in my climate, Buck also reliable for cold zones, although I only have Quietness, but am blown away by it's hardiness and beauty.

When I first saw this post I was ready immediately to comment but the more I thought about it I realized there were so many variables that in all fairness I could not praise or condemn any one breeder/hybridizer or wholesale/retail nursery. In order for any statement to be accurate the rose would be need to be cloned, raised in the same location, in the same soil and handled exactly the same through growing time and shipping in order to make a valid assessment. For example was the rose own root or grafted, grafted on what, raised in the northern hemisphere or southern hemisphere, sold as a bareroot or potted, was it kept in storage and sold directly or did it go through several trips to various nurseries or stores? For example: Kordes roses I bought in the past 3 and 4 years - 5 were bought bareroot, sold through a catalog nursery that does not raise their own roses. Only one was own root that I can remember for sure, the others were grafted but don't know on what. 4 were purchased in large pots at Lowes big box store. They certainly looked like grafted bareroots that had just been stuffed into pots. Only two of those 9 roses are still alive. Both bought as bareroot, one own root. Does this tell me anything? Not really! Even David Austin in Texas sells KnockOut roses in their catalog! This is what makes it so difficult to even remotely try and predict what to buy, where to buy and how to buy for a lasting contribution to my gardens.

I haven't actually counted, but my impression is that these are the "houses" I most often frequent.

1. Palatine --Grafted on multiflora rootstock. (First choice used to be Pickering before it closed).
2. Roses Unlimited--I always get a good product from them. Own root roses. Sometimes I alternate my orders with that other excellent own root nursery Chamblees.
3. David Austin--if I want rootstock. If I can do with own root, I'm more likely to order from Roses Unlimited.
4. Regan--wide variety of choices and rootstocks. Used only if I can't locate the desired rose at one of the above nurseries.

But sometimes it is purely a matter of finding any nursery that carries the rose I want. For Boule de Neige, I had to search everywhere for about 2 years before I found a place in Florida that would specially breed one for me.

Sometimes the choice is mainly geographical--which place is closer and therefore cheaper shipping.

Kate

I even got a super healthy y although small rose band from Hirt nursery