Flowersaremusic I agree with you on above climate ect. Mine was nine years old and had not been nearly as beautiful as usual for the last 2 maybe 3 years. I decided to dig it up at the end of this year and replace it. Is was full of disease with very small flowers. while digging part of the crown broke off. I reached down and pushed on more of the crown that part broke off. No wonder the poor rose was looking poorly as the crown was in decay. I could also see that it was grafted since I plant those on a angle. In my wetter environment and needing to bury grafts that the grafted area eventually rots away and effects the crown. Could also be affected by below zero weather. I'm also considering applying more fertilizer. Sort of thinking that some continuous bloom roses could use more than what I give them. Felt so bad taking out the old rose. Happy now that it is done and a fresh new beauty will be coming.

Great info on zone 5 climbers, Bella Rosa - I agree with your assessments. For me, Jasmina has been reasonably cane hardy but not a very robust bloomer in my zone 5. Rosarium Uetersen has been rock solid hardy and fairly trouble free, so perhaps by z5b is a touch warmer than jjpeace, since it wasn't hardy there. I've only overwintered Amadeus one year but so far so good. Other hardy Kordes climbers have been Antique 89 and Harlekin - not always the entire cane surviving, but pretty good. Illusion has had no problems with my zone 5 winters but isn't as robust as Quadra or the othe Canadian explorers that Bella Rosa mentioned. I've found Florentina to be very cane hardy in my zone 5, better even than The Prince's Trust that started out more robust but hasn't been as enthusiastic in later years as Florentina. I really love that rose and recommend it in cold zones - it's robust and has a quick rebloom with terrific deep red color. I planted Quicksilver last summer but it didn't get established, so I'm replacing it this year. It's good to know it might appreciate some TLC. FWIW, I've tried Hella twice in my zone 5 yard and it hasn't overwintered at all. Moonlight I've tried at least 3 times, and I keep being sure it will survive each time, but it doesn't. Golden Gate I only tried once in a non-ideal spot, but it didn't survive either. Rosanna has gotten through one winter but I don't think it was fully cane hardy. I have Seminole Fire on order from Chamblees and am looking forward to seeing how it does. Thanks for the extra information on the new releases Chris - we're so glad you chime in with feedback! Cynthia

Thanks for all the very informative replies. I truly appreciate the spreading of knowledge. This is a great forum for newbies to roses. Another lesson learned this weekend. I had no clue the "Kordes" brand of roses are hot commodities on the shelves of Lowe's. I hesitated a bit given I was in Atlanta and worried about the longevity (or the lack thereof) of roses purchased in Atlanta but planted in FL. Today, not a sign of a single Kordes rose. Gone, vanished, not to be seen or found in the garden center. Had I known better, I would have bought both Dark Desire and Summer Romance when I seen it back on Thursday. The staff at the stores couldn't say when or if they'd get more in stock. No worries. I guess it wasn't meant to be for Kordes roses this time. But I did find another gem...Belinda's Dream. Cell phone research showed a lot of positives and not much for negatives. It's a teeny little thing stuck in a 2 gallon container, very healthy with plenty of new growth on the way. Something about the plant caught my eye, likely the lush green foliage with so little blackspot present. And to be honest, the reviews on the plant convinced me to take this bushy little thing with me. Valrose...can you tell me more about the amended soil you wrote about and tell me more about the Dames de Couer rose? I looked up each rose you mentioned and became star struck this this one. Is it prone to black spot or susceptible to other disease? Does it do well in the FL summer heat? This rose on first appearance seems awesome, or at least it does to my eyes. A quick search reveals this rose was released in 1958 and faded away from popularity and production except for a few rose growers. Where did you buy yours? Antique Rose Emporium? Ken...a personal thanks for your wonderful help. Thank you. All the rose plants were bare root (body bag specials from Sam's). The hole dug was no where near as large as the one in your directions but then again I had no clue what I was doing either. I'll follow your direction to plant Belinda's Dream. barbarag_happy...Savannah looks impressive. I have one yellow rose...Golden Masterpiece. I'm not so impressed with the duration of the yellow...a few days and then it fades. And no scent. But my rose plant was placed into the ground only 6 months ago. I'll definitely consider Savannah for the front yard redo.

For me, she just wasn't that exciting. The blooms weren't that pretty in the summer, the color was kind of harsh, and I didn't care for the fragrance. When Sara Ann, who grows lots of beautiful flowers, said that she had less petals in the summer for her also, I figured I had no chance in my heat! BS wasn't a problem and they weren't ridiculously huge like Savannah and Earth Angel, but just didn't quite deserve the special spots here. I think that she has quite a good reputation though so that's why I didn't give them away. Yet!