If I were you, I'd spend long hours dreaming over the David Austin catalog (or web page--whichever is appropriate). In Zone 7, all his roses should grow fine, especially if you can supply some mid-afternoon/late afternoon shade for a number of them (assuming it gets very hot in your Zone 7). If you don't have the later in the day shade, then note when DA says a rose is good at withstanding heat or is delicate and appreciates some shade. Most of his descriptions won't say that, but note when they do. He also has a list in the back of the catalog (and somewhere on his website) of roses for hot areas or for partial shade and some other categories like that. Just remember that most roses want a minimum of 6 hours of sun--but afternoon sun is a lot hotter than morning sun. Other than that, my main recommendation would be to note when DA describes a rose as being healthy, very healthy, and exceptionally healthy. That translates somewhat disease-resistant, above average on disease-resistance, and very, very disease-resistant. That is important if you don't want your roses totally wiped out by blackspot disease--or don't want to be spraying a fungicide every few weeks. If DA says nothing about the health of the rose, believe him--there is nothing good he can say about the disease-resistance of that rose--it is a disease-magnet, in other words. Other than that, you decide what colors, heights, shapes, fragrances appeal most to you--and go for it. If you'd like to start searching by checking out a few of my favorite DAs, here they are: Lady of Shalott--disease-resistance/heat resistance Mortimer Sackler--disease-resistance Molineux--I have 3 of these shorter roses--love the blooms, very floriferous The Pilgrim--lovely delicate yellow climber William Shakespeare 2000--gorgeous blooms Pretty Jessica--shorter, good in all ways This spring I'm planting Scepter'd Isle, Munstead Woods, and The Wedgewood--all highly recommended from several different sources, including this forum. Hope that helps. I'm in Zone 6 by the way--Austins seem to like this midwestern region as a whole. Kate

One thing to keep in mind when considering winter hardiness of any roses, including Austins, is whether you're talking about winter survival with or without reliable snow cover during the coldest parts of winter. Some things that I can't overwinter here in zone 5 without snow cover can sail through the winter with surviving cane in zone 4 if you have snow cover. For instance I'm on my fourth or fifth try to overwinter Golden Celebration, third try for Mary Rose, and second try for Brother Cadfael, and I've not been able to keep them alive, much less climbing. BC wasn't in the best of conditions so I'll be trying him again BTW. Under the snow it's always 32 degrees or so, and that is a survivable temperature for a wide variety of roses. I have some virtual zone 4 areas on the north and east sides of my house where the bulbs are always at least 2 weeks later than other beds, so I can report on Austins that are hardy for me without reliable snow cover in those spots. I can vouch for the following in my dry zone 4 (virtual): Teasing Georgia Lady of Shalott Carding Mill Tamora Queen Nefertiti Queen of Sweden I am reasonably confident that the following Austin roses would survive zone 4 given that they are cane to tip hardy in my zone 5: Heritage The Generous Gardener (infrequent blooms) Spirit of Freedom The Mayflower Gertrude Jekyll (but she almost NEVER blooms for me) Scepter'd Isle The Alnwick Rose Charles Darwin Olivia Rose Austin St. Swithun The Poet's WifeTess of the D'Ubervilles (but she doesn't at all climb for me) Darcy Bussell Benjamin Britten, Christopher Marlowe The Shepherdess Leander The Dark Lady and Tradescant - lose some canes but consistent survival I have recently had decent canes remaining but it's too early to know for sure: James Galway, Lordly Oberon, Wildeve, William Morris, A Shropshire Lad (in its fourth year but VERY slow to think about climbing), Charity, Chianti, Cressida, Princess Anne, Dies to the ground for me but survives in zone 5, may be iffy in zone 4: Immortal Juno, Boscobel, Tranquillity, Fisherman's Friend, Lillian Austin, Princess Alexandra of Kent, St. Alban, The Reeve, The Squire, Wenlock, Young Lycidias, Munstead Wood, Pat Austin, Charlotte, Crown Princess Margaretha (never blooms without surviving cane), Happy Child, Eglantyne, Pretty Jessica, Wollerton Old Hall, Jude the Obscure, Sharifa Asma, Winchester Cathedral, Ambridge Rose, Admired Miranda, Susan Williams-Ellis, L.D. Braithwaite, I have had to give a protected spot or otherwise had trouble overwintering in my zone 6 pocket: Graham Thomas (agree with the above posters), Abraham Darby, Strawberry Hill (sorry Straw! snow cover may make a difference), Potter & Moore, Molineux, Claire Austin, Evelyn, Prospero, Sophy's Rose, Lichfield Angel, William Shakespeare 2000, Crocus Rose and Comte des Champagne (might have been a poor location issue for the last two), Can't overwinter even in my virtual zone 6 - though some I only tried once: English Garden, Radio Times, Othello, The Prince, Lady Emma Hamilton, Claire Rose, Fair Bianca, Falstaff, Jubilee Celebration, Wise Portia, Grace, Noble Antony. So far Pegasus, Kathryn Morley, Perdita, Port Sunlight, Tea Clipper, and Sister Elizabeth have all died in zone 5 and I haven't wanted them badly enough to try again in zone 6 territory. Obviously there are zone 5 and even 4 posters that can overwinter some of my problem children very well, and at least some posters in zone 4 who have stellar photos of CPM that blooms all season, vs. mine that never blooms at all though puts out 10' of cane every summer after dying to the ground. So moisture, snow cover, wind, location, stress, water and a variety of other factors can contribute to winter survival or not. Mostly I don't protect my Austins much and I don't think it makes that much difference for me in my zone. I put windbreaks at the edges of the beds an cover all the rose beds to a few inches with leaves when possible, but that's about it. So YMMV, but in general if you don't have high blackspot pressures Austins can be good roses for cold zones. Cynthia

@Ann Marie, I have a few climbers and ramblers on a trellis and my best advice is to make sure your rose is hardy for your climate by choosing ones that are atleast one or two hardiness zones below yours. That’s the best way to ensure cane survival through winter (right plant, right place). If the rose is near a wall that retains and reflect heat, then I do zone push and have had success with climbers my zone or one zone above. For example, I’m in zone 4b and I have no problems with New Dawn and James Galway surviving winter without protection on a northwest and southwest wall, respectively. As for training the rose, my approach is to tie the canes tight against the support so that it is secure and doesn’t whip around or rub. I do this in the late winter / early spring when the rose is dormant along with pruning so that I can see the rose’s framework. It also means that I’m working with only hardened canes (I never tie soft or semi-hard canes). I use simple garden twine and tie tight double knots. I don’t skimp and make sure the final rose frame work absolutely does not move. I tie the largest, most established canes to the support first, then the rest. I may even tie smaller canes to the bigger ones. Yes, it’s “crossing branches” but so long as they are tied tight and not rubbing, I find it’s totally fine. Key is no movement of any of those framework canes. I intentionally use twine because it blends in, is cheap, and will eventually degrade (since I do this all over again every winter/spring). If the rose cane is really old and has a tough bark and I know it’s not going to expand, then I tie into the support with black zip ties (gasp!). I’ll also mention that optimal blooms form on canes that are positioned between horizontal and 45 degrees. Here’s a pic of my William Baffin climber last year on a wooden trellis.

I grew PAoK in Las Vegas. It was very heat tolerant and healthy. Sorry, I have not grown Ancient Mariner but if my memory is correct, PAoK is a deeper? shade of pink comparatively. March June... High 90's Faded blooms PAoK- On the bush at the same time - September The above is how the blooms can appear in some conditions. Princess Anne is one of my preferred Austins. It can have long candelabras covered with blooms. The shade of pink is different... I like it! In Las Vegas, PAoK was on her way to becoming huge, Lily. In CA where everything also grows bigger... exercise caution... I do not know if you are going to remain in CA and/or for how long, but PAoK can get large, and quickly. In addition, so many states have agricultural restrictions regarding bringing plants into the state. AG restrictions resulted in my plants being gifted, donated and left behind when we moved to TX. Like CA, NV and many of the states out west are classified as category 1 regarding AG restrictions.