Houston is up there in humidity, if she is in the gulf coast, probably same there. I dont spray and almost all roses have no leaves on them. When the weather cools down a bit, they look better. So it would all come down to whether you spray, what is your tolerance etc. Most people even in houston dont grow roses apart from knock outs.

I live in a Houston suburb too, curious on how your SILs roses do well with our weather. I am on the south ide,side, I think west and north are probably a tad better.

Remember Suebelle in New Orleans? She growns some beautiful roses in an extremely hot/humid climate. I think spraying is a must for many roses in the hot/humid south. Even in Dallas, most people only grow KnockOuts

What about noisettes? I think they were bred in Southeast humidity.

I am in South East Zone 10 on the Intercoastel ..... it is hot, humid and muggy.... I grow roses.... some do better than others.....Not sure if there is any place more humid..... probably....

I do spray

There’s quite a lot of us that grow roses in humidity...I wonder if she meant she can’t grow hybrid teas? That’s a common thought.

When I first moved back to the South from So. Cal. I was told not to try to grow the roses I grew in CA here, but many of them have actually done just fine with humidity. OGRs, mostly, but a few moderns too. I don’t spray.

think many folks think only of the HTs when you say”roses” and don’t know about much more. I sure didn’t for some time! :-)

Thank you everyone, I appreciate your input, very helpful. BenT, thanks for mentioning Suebelle, I remember her gorgeous roses, but couldn’t recall her name. Always look forward to seeing her beautiful pictures, she grows some real beauties.

Hi there I agree with everyone else here. Our conditions here in Alabama are probably not very different than Louisiana. My parents also grow roses in Miami, FL 10b. I agree that in places with very high humidity we just have to either select for very disease resistant varieties or spray. Suebelle was the first person that came to mind also. Please encourage her to try some of those roses that have been mentioned here on the black spot resistant threads in no spray gardens. I think those roses would probably do very well for her.

Thanks Dianela and philipatx. I appreciate the suggestions and ideas from those who have experience growing roses in these areas. Everyone has some good suggestions. I know there are several of you who grow beautiful roses in very humid places, so I know it is possible. The Earthkind and Kordes were both types I was wondering about. I totally agree, there are too many KO roses!

If she has room, the indestructible Peggy Martin rose came from New Orleans. It would be a great one to start with. I had an uncle, avid gardener, who had a rose garden in Shreveport.

One thing to consider is planting in raised beds. Our soil is gumbo clay and I can see the difference in Rose's planted directly in the ground vs in a raised bed. Some plants may do better in containers.

Here are some rose recommendations from the Gulf District Rose Society.

Modern Roses

Modern Roses

Old Garden Roses

Old Garden Roses

The New Orleans Rose Society also has a page of Roses in Review that might be helpful..

Roses In Review