Rekha - I have Renae and while she is beautiful when the blooms are fresh she looks messy when they turn white/brown. I have it somewhere that I have to go out of my way to see it so I can ignore it when it is past its best. It is not worth $70 and the hassle of ordering it IMO, but if you come across it by accident somewhere, or if you can get a cutting, it would be a nice addition to your garden.

Grow Zephrine Druhin as a large shrub. My most favorite climber is Lavender Lassie.

So, I asked ARE for suggestions and Mike recommended Madame Alfred Carriere. Also Buff Beauty which is out of stock or Lamarque.

Annie Laurie McDowell would be wonderful too, if only you could find her. Mike at ARE would know what would work from his holdings for sure.

Can't find Annie Laurie McDowel either. I dont understand why these Rose's that seem to be so highly recommended are not available more widely.

Was trying to look into the inspection issue, but there is not much on the internet. At least nothing showed up in a casual search. We have very strict restrictions on citrus, they dont even allow you to buy from the nearby county. But it is well publicised and well known. For Roses, I thinks its it's only for plants coming from California.

Speaking about citrus, my grapefruit and tangerine are in full bloom and my yard smells heavenly.

Some of these roses, such as ALM were created by individuals as opposed to large commercial concerns with correspondingly large distribution channels. Small nurseries just don't have the capacity to propagate or advertise some of their more unusual holdings. ARE has many that they have bred for the TX heat so it's really a great suggestion. That said, I do wish Paul Barden's were carried by a few other nurseries. Texas A&M received Mr. Moore's holdings upon his death so perhaps you could check with them for another source of Renae.

Annie Laurie McDowell is a rose that you'd have to get on a waiting list for.

http://www.angelgardens.com/ecommerce/roses-by-type/annie-laurie-mcdowell.html

I know Kim is sending/has sent budwood to Steve at Wisconsin Roses, but his plants are budded onto multiflora -- maybe not the best for your area (needs slightly acidic soil). http://www.wiroses.com/ 

ZD is huge in my yard, grows and grows and is very healthy, but very few blooms and I've had her for four years or so. I'm tempted to take her out since she takes up so much room and doesn't bloom much. I hate removing healthy plants though, so we shall see.

Burlington also charges the inspection fee for roses sent to Arizona and although she had some roses I wanted, I declined to order from her due to shipping and inspection fee expenses.

I did ask Mike about ZD, and he said it rarely repeats all the way to fall.

I hear you about removing healthy plants, I have never done it, but in a couple of years, I will have no choice as I run out of space.

So, I did get Renae from roses unlimited, she looked great when I got her. In the ground, she has a lot of blackspot and lost almost half her leaves. I hope it improves over time :(

Rekha - I planted Bella Rosa next to my Renae and BR is nearly naked from black spot but Renae is healthy. When I first saw the BS I sprayed every rose I have except the climbers because I figured they are too big to spray so if they aren't healthy enough to go it alone then they should not be there. Renae was not sprayed and she is 3 years old. Maybe yours will grow out of it.

I suggest Mac with Reve d'Or,

Lux.

I have Jude the Obscure on the other side, and Jude is dying yay! He never bloomed more that 2 to3 blooms a year and this summer was very harsh, most canes are dead. I don't think this is a rose for the heat, he may do well in cooler climates. Anyhow, my Renae is almost completely defoliated, and is on one side of the pergola, thinking of removing jude and trying Mac. Once you get on top of the pergola, its it's really harsh full sun, wonder if a) Mac is blackspot resistant enough to get there, and b) once she gets there,can she take the brunt of the full TX sun...

Update- My Renae died pretty promptly, i was really heartbroken after all the difficulty I had finding her. But it is what it is. I removed Jude as well. I found a Laguna off the clearance rack and put her in one corner and she seems to be doing well. I would like to add another rose to the other side, but realize now that the rose has to be very vigorous to do well in this spot.

Any suggestions? I already have a MAC by the garage. I would like double, highly fragrant, any color, very vigorous.

I have Mrs Herbert Stevens in a pot, it grows fast from a band! Blooms are very pretty. I had Adam in a pot, lost it during the winter month. Will have to find another one. You might like it too.

https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.330644

https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.205290

How about Sombreuil? I haven't grown it myself, but I've seen great pictures of it in California (so a lot of hot sun) and I've smelled it in my MIL's garden -- gorgeous fragrance and beautifully formed, very double blooms.

White Maman Climbing is gorgeous, fragrant, and very vigorous. It has a touch of pink, which would go nicely w/Laguna.

And I’d second Sombreuil; just know it is viciously armed with thorns.

Florence Bowers Pink Tea might be an option, too. 😊

Palatine's Dreamland is beautiful, but it's hard to find one now.

Just wanted to throw in a bit about Zephirine Drouhin. I know you already nixed it from the list due to disease, but I thought I’d share another option. :) Mine does almost completely defoliate, as Paul and others have said, later in the season. However, it is so vigorous that it doesn’t seem to affect at all the next years’ (always spectacular) spring flush, and the canes are so graceful and arching that I just use it as a beautiful living trellis during the bare months. My Zephy will be almost completely covered by a clematis during her naked days, and you don’t even notice that she herself is leafless. Just another way to do things, if you want. :)

That's a great idea, Dilly!!! Summers, FreedomGardens also has Dream Land which is where I got mine. I notice Palatine no longer has it listed. I think you inspired me to get it and so far I love its big balls of fluffiness. Have you ever posted pics of your more mature bush? Mine just got in the ground last summer. While others are already covered in BS before the first flush this year, DL's foliage remains pristine.

Here is photo from last year. It's 3 years old, it has been growing under the shade of 3 huge ash trees for 2 years, last year it was finally be able to soak up the sun, we removed all the trees in the backyard.

Dream Land is gorgeous!

Thanks. Here is another photo of Dreamland.

Been trying to post all weekend and on the phone anything i type gets gobbled up. very frustrating! Dreamland is gorgeous! how is the fragrance?

I've been looking up all the roses mentioned, and the more i look, I think i want to stay away from white/buff or very pale pink....they all turn a very dingy shade of white in the heat. I already have a bunch in that color palette and most of they year, they dont look attractive. That beings aid, I just put a MAC near my garage.

Summers, Adam looks great, do you know how big he will become? I need something that will reach 8 to 10 feet fast..

Dreamland, crepsecule, Viking queen, awakening...

Sorry, off topic but, Dilly, how is the baby ?

Perma, White Maman looks so delicate and beautiful! thanks for the suggestion. I will look into it more. Also Florence Bowers Pink looks great, although not much information out there? is she fragrant? Thank you!!

Rekha, mine was a baby band in a pot. It's about 8' regarding to HFM:" Height of 39" to 8' (100 to 245 cm). Width of 6' (185 cm) ". I am looking for another Adam band right now.

https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.34.0

Rekha, I haven't been able to type on my phone here for a LONG while. Try using Voice Recognition speaking slowly. That's what I do and then hope I remember to edit the "oops' spellings later.

DL does fade to a pale pink for me, but I love it. Soft pretty fragrance that suits the bloom. VQ holds onto her colour extremetly well. Have you considered any of the other classics such as Cl. Caroline Testout, Peggy Martin and Parade? I've been really happy with Setina so far also. Cl. Pinkie is charming, but is BSing o a degree with our cold rainy weather. If this doesn't apply to you, she's another to look at. If you want a deeper colour victorian Memory and Felix LeClerc are beautiful and low-thorn..

Victorian Memory grows fast. The blooms are shy, facing down.

Pretty in Pink Eden is very pretty too. The blooms are long lasting, and color is so bright.

Sorry, off topic reply! :)

Kristine, the baby is doing wonderfully. We love her so much. She has settled into the family so calmly and happily. ❤️ Her big (5 and under. Haha :) brothers adore her already!

A beautiful baby!!

Very beautiful, thanks for the picture. She seems so calm and peaceful ..

She is too sweet!

Rekha, I think Florence Bowers Pink Tea is fragrant. My baby is doing great.

Summers, I had Victorian Memory in my list, I was not sure if she would get to the size I need, so was hesitant. I recently planted PIP Eden on my other side of the garage, the flowers look incredibly pretty to me.

Sheila, thank you! I will look into the size, I am hoping it gets to the top of my pergola and spreads a bit. Doesnt have to cover it, but a good size is needed.

Victorian Memory is much taller this year. It would be over 10' for you in no time.

Photo: MAC and Zephirine in a vase. I wish you could take a whiff. The combined fragrances are intoxicating!

Oddly, my Zeph keeps 3/4 of her leaves in my Portland garden. Go figure! I am no spray. She's completely thornless. VERY fragrant! BIG late spring flush. With maturity, she produces a few continuous blooms all summer and a much smaller fall flush. I wouldn't be without her. I only grow 2 bourbons here: Zeph and Honorine de Brabant because they have only relatively minor disease, great fragrance and remontancy. Large flowered clematis can be used to create "rose foliage" on Zeph if there is none, and since Zeph is thornless, it's no pain to train and tend the clematis. Zeph is a very manageable climber.

MAC is HUGE, spectacular and thorny. GREAT fragrance and all summer bloom. I grow her even though I have no business doing so in my tiny garden...because she's traffic stoppingly gorgeous! Did I mention that MAC is huge? Carol

15 foot tall and 15 foot wide MAC eating my house and AC unit.

MAC after severe pruning. We are training her away from the AC unit and over our front porch roof. (Our roofing company is going to murder me when the crew comes to clean the gutters.) MAC has even been eating my Violette which is a BIG no-no. You can see my poor multiflora rambler struggling to the right of the arch. Violette is now free to shower me with her glorious plum blossoms next spring! I should remove MAC and plant something in better scale with my skinny side garden, but, of course, I won't. We rose lovers are nothing if not undaunted, right?

Oh, I didn't note how tough MAC is. She's been planted on top of a French drain for almost 18 years. Yes, really.

Here are my MAC and ZD.

A beautiful MAC!

portlandmysteryrose , thanks! your combination of both in a vase is so charming! that is the combination I was thinking of initially, but I dont spray and a naked ZD was not appealing. Clemantis does not do well in our weather, ive never seen it grow in our area and I tried a few times, a couple years ago, I got two from ARE and they promptly died over the summer.

I have thought about a planting a hardy jasmine vine...my brother cadfael is in a large planter and he remained puny and naked most of the time (the two i previously planted in the ground did not even make it), so i planted a poets jasmine and the combination looks nice. Or maybe a rangoon creeper...my husband does not let me plant vines in the ground after a battle with our asiatic jasmine and a neighbor's trumpet vine in our previous house (the trumpet vine won).....

I live in a climate very different from you, but ZD is my best climber. She is able to handle the intense afternoon sun as I have her planted in a western exposure. PIP Eden was never able to handle the sun for me and this year I pulled her. I do get Rebloom with ZD, nothing like that first flush of course. I also have her tied up along a fence and all of the canes are very horizontal which has made a huge difference. I restained my fence this spring and the lack of thorns on ZD was nice. My ZD is five years old, planted as a band from Heirloom. i don’t have her in the best spot; exposure and planted at the foot of a maple, but she has still done well. She is even bigger and better this year and I can’t wait for her show.

Last year

I feel your pain, Rehka! Houston is a challenging rose climate. Hot and humid punctuated by surprise attacks of hail, Blue Northerns, hurricanes, floods and tornadoes! I grew up in Dallas but visited Houston off and on...(dramatic music)...in the summer.

I also feel your husband's pain: Asian jasmine and trumpet vine in TX. A patch of neglected Asian jasmine once ripped off the bathroom window screen at my sister's house in Dallas! I think the hardy jasmine you mentioned might be Trachelospermum jasminoides, star jasmine? If so, I applaud you 100%! That's a great go-to fragrant vine for much of TX.

I sent my mom a rooted cutting of Zeph for her Dallas garden, and it grew well there. I think Mom's rose lost about 50%-60% of its leaves during the hottest part of the year, but Zeph was pretty darn healthy (no spray except Safer fungicide) and grew fresh leaves when the temps cooled. Mom planted her Zeph in half day sun and grew a vine through the canes. Zeph rests for a longer summer stretch without blooming in TX, and your climate is getting hotter, so I agree that selecting a cultivar with more continuous bloom and foliage cover might be a wise choice for your preferences..

With training, Blush Noisette makes a charming, continuously blooming climber up to about 8' or so. It works well on an arch when 2 are planted, one on each side. The fragrance positively WAFTS in the evening. Humidity contributes to wafting so maybe BN is worth considering for Houston? For a large pergola, I'd plant a BN on one side and a yellow or white Lady Banks on the other. I'd train the Lady Banks up one side and across the top for a magnificent spring show with BN to carry on later in the season. Antique Rose Emporium sells both, but sometimes you have to jump in at the starting gate of restocking. They're popular!

I'd call ARE and ask about blackspot tendencies in your area, and check on BN's resistance as well as inquiring about other Noisette possibilities. I'm a big fan of the fragrant, glorious Noisettes but only grow BN and MAC here in Portland.

I've never grown Renae but have heard great things about it. I have a couple of baby Annie Laurie McDowells in my driveway pot nursery and am super excited about their inclusion in my garden! If you can get a ALM, and Kim Rupert gives it a thumbs up for your area and pergola, I'd absolutely hold out for her. The photos I've seen are breathtaking! Pure romance. Carol

portlandmysteryrose, you are absolutely right! In my fist house, i was all excited to have roses and quickly gave up apart from a couple. No one grows anything more than knock outs, drifts and an occasional Belindas dream. I am slowly learning, and trying. I dont spray, so it makes it all the more difficult, but some seem to do reasonably well. I am very tolerant of blackspok unless it totally defoliates or is a big eyesore with all the leaves covered in spots.

I was have star jasmine on both the fences, planted by neighbors and the fragrance at this time will literally knock you out. I was thinking of Poet's jasmine, which i think is not invasive, but very pretty and blooms through the season. The fragrance is amazing.

ARE steered me away from ZD, and i think i would like to looks for something that is more BS resistant. ALM is beautiful, i tried rooting some cuttings but they did not take:(

Rekha,

In time, you'll find the roses that are best for your garden and rewarding for your soul. It just takes a bit longer in Houston! Think of the process as an exercise like yoga, one where your inner self expands as you create an anchor of inner calm in the face of blackspot, bugs and weather. ARE will be a great resource, and the forum is here for you. In my opinion, Houston rose growers deserve extra kudos for perseverance and fortitude!

Carol

P.S. It's awesome that poet's jasmine grows in your area! I've got a small plant of a variegated variety that I'm about to plant on an arch. Love that aroma blended with the scent of wafting roses.

Carol,

Most of my roses are from ARE, they are great. I've visited them 3 times now, and they ship out really nice size plants. I am still figuring out my space, the microclimates, light exposure etc, so its been fun. I still cant get myself to remove the ones I dont like, but i'm getting there!

We are lucky indeed, poets jasmine is supposed to be hardy to zone 9. I have a few varieties of jasmine and gardenias in bloom now, and although every plant/variety has its own issues, trying to accept things as they are and for me key is not expect too much. I am never going to have roses smothered in blooms or perfectly healthy, but I enjoy what I have and some have been surprisingly great. I wish we had area specific threads about what does well in that area to help others.

Sorry, Rekha; just now saw your reply. Yes! FBT is very fragrant! Very fresh, and a bit fruity. She’s got a lovely range of colors, from deep rose to yellow to apricot. She ages to a medium pink. Very floriferous, and vigorous! I just whacked her back to keep her off the patio, and she’s already pumping out new growth. (So no bloom pics at the moment, but I have no doubt she’ll be back at it PDQ.) 😊

20 some years old ZDs :

3 year old ZDs:

Both May 15th 2020