Both really good suggestions. I didn't really realize there were rose societies, so I will have to check. Thank you so much! There are nurseries around, but, I also know that some of the folks working them aren't always out in the yard with every particular variety of rose. We have another rose bush (not climbing) that has been suffering terribly with very extensive black spot (the old owner planted it under a birch tree, and it gets shade pretty early in the day). I've sprayed, and sprayed and sprayed. It's just not a good spot for the poor thing. I will be removing it in a few weeks and deciding whether or not it is salvageable. Since I will be planting the new rose in a much more sunny (most of the day) spot, that is also near some edible currant plants, which I grow organically, I would prefer to not have to spray anything on the rose if I can help it, as I don't want it wafting over to the fruits.

Oh, that is so sad to hear. I hate this stuff! I wonder if there will ever be a treatment for it, besides removal, that works.

Thanks Dan for the info, unfortunatly, blaze and new dawn both bloom on old wood. Golden Showers looks like a nice hardy climber though, and it blooms on new and old wood. Not sure if I would want yellow though- If anyone else has a few more suggestions for a new wood blooming climbing rose? I have been seeing "Shade Tolerant" in the descriptions of some roses (including the Golden Showers) and I figured that would mean they can withstand part shade. I was hoping this meant it could still do well with 3/4 hours of direct sun a day- can anyone clear this up for me? How tolerant is "shade tolerant" when it comes to roses? And of course, if anyone is growing a rose bush/climber/polyantha in part sun, I would love to know which kind it is. Thanks!

You have my sympathies with RRD! Been there. (Actually, more accurately: being there right now...) #1. I recently had to find the answer to question #1 for myself. The answer I received indicated that 99.99% of the time, one year is long enough to wait for replanting in the same spot as far as coming down with RRD again goes, because if the infected rose is going to regenerate from its infected roots, it will almost surely do so within a year. If it does regenerate from its infected roots, of course, any mites in the area would have the capability of passing the infection to the newly planted rose. You don't necessarily have to wait a year, but you are taking a greater risk if you don't wait that long. I'm going to wait a year. #2. I'm not sure about the answer to #2, except that I know the answer is unrelated to Rose Rosette Disease. The potential reason to avoid using the same hole would be a concern for Rose Replant Disease, which sometimes (or maybe even frequently) does occur in England. I don't know whether it happens on this continent or not, or if it does happen whether it happens frequently enough to worry about. If it were actually sometimes a problem here too, two years would be long enough to wait on replanting in the very same hole. But along a fence, you probably could just easily move the new hole over a bit anyway, right? #3. My Cornelia Hybrid Musk, before succumbing to RRD, liked to throw out extremly long canes that were beautifully flexible and had a zillion little stems with buds on them. So I think Cornelia would be nice on a fence, and it's as beautiful a rose as you can imagine. It's also likely to have fewer disease issues than Golden Showers for most people. (However, it appears that you were quite lucky with Golden Showers there, so maybe you might want to think "Don't fix what ain't broke!") Lots of Hybrid Musks might work. Some: Wilhelm, Prosperity, Bubble Bath, Lavender Lassie. Some other possibilities (that I don't have experience with, but have seen recommended by others): Felix Leclerc, Soaring Spirits, Goldfinch, Rosarium Uetersen (Seminole Wind), Abraham Darby. I do have (a new) Climbing Iceberg and that might work well for you, even though it can get blackspot. New Dawn is supposed to be easy to grow, though it does have more thorns than some other choices. Mortimer Sackler ought to work well, as long as you don't count on too much distance (lovely, fragrant, low thorns, healthy). I'll enclose the link to Help Me Find's website so you can search on whatever varieties you might be interested in. Best wishes, Mary Here is a link that might be useful: HelpMeFind rose search