Is there something wrong with dark desire? I would have thought that would suit your needs and likes.

Vapor,

Actually Dark Desire is another one on this list that I would consider.

My main concern is that it's a bit darker / more purple than I like a red to be.

I love the bright reds, almost towards orange-red or crimson. But if the choices are so limited in terms of disease resistance, this one would definitely be an option.

Also, any red rose would go on the south side of my house, not in the rose bed where I have Good as Gold now and where it would clash with my pinks and oranges.

Then this sounds like an option! Beautiful bloom shape.

Severe,

I can't see how you could go wrong with any of the below roses regarding black spot:

Wedding Bells, Fuji, Poseidon, South Africa, Earth Angel, Dee-Lish, Quietness, Savannah, Zeide, Summer Romance, Winter Sun, and Bliss....and there are more.

These are well documented to be black spot free, or so little bothered by it to be of no consequence, in most situations.

Moses

Thank you, Moses!! Down on my list they go!

I know this is very location oriented but zedas black spot for me and D Fuller 8. However Zade grows back her leaves quickly and flowers constantly. Excuse my voice recognition

I am in a different zone but have found that in general the Kordes roses very well. Also, Olivia Austin has been clean as a whistle and so has Memorial Day

I applaud your efforts to be an organic gardener. I don't spray either. I try to encourage my bees so I am super careful what I use. If a rose is really black spot prone then it has to go. I will get a little bit sometimes around the bottom and I can deal with that.

I know that Sara Ann grows some really beautiful reds

I don't know if she sprays or not

Maybe she will chime in

Along with several that Moses listed and also Dark Desire, Beverly has been totally blackspot free here for several seasons. Also Francis Meilland, Grande Dame and Orchid Romance. Dark Desire holds its red color with the dark edging very well here. The blooms were so gorgeous in its third season. 2019 was a true test for blackspot resistance, we had over 60 inches of rain here, and while quite a few of my roses had blackspot during the rain deluges, it wasn’t an ongoing problem during normal rainfall and as the temperatures warmed. I did have Summer Romance for one season In 2017, it didn’t blackspot, but wasn’t healthy. I’m hoping that was a fluke, because I’ve replaced it with another one, it’s such a lovely rose! I do believe many of the newer varieties of modern Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras and Floribundas are fairly resistant to blackspot. I don’t use chemicals of any kind, but mostly try to get roses that are resistant to disease, and while blackspot and other diseases can be an issue from time to time, I don’t find them to be overwhelming. I do live in a different area, but we certainly have our share of issues here, including high humidity.

Pat from Alabama, whose growing conditions are probably more similar to yours, I believe has replaced many of her disease prone roses with the more resistant varieties and grows very beautiful, and healthy roses.

While I believe the majority of my close to 100 percent blackspot resistant roses are Kordes, I’ve found that many Carruth and Meilland varieties are very blackspot resistant also, including Twilight Zone, Julia Child, Neil Diamond, Memoral Day, Auguste Renoir and Frederic Mistral, etc.

A few pictures of a few of my disease resistant varieties.

BELINDA’S DREAM

DARK DESIRE

BEVERLY

GRANDE DAME

ZAIDE

POSEIDON

https://www.kordes.us/collection/sunbelt

Also look at Gypsy Soul for a good disease resistant red. I don’t find the Carruth roses to be super healthy here for me in general, but you don’t have the cold weather, so they may do better for you.

Kristine, I didn’t see your comment before I posted mine. Several of my reds besides DARK DESIRE are resistant, including Grande Amore, Firefighter and Liebeszauber.

Reported to be disease resistant, on my list to try, or I am actively growing (added last week) to test the disease resistance here in the South...

Quicksilver

Sugar Moon

Naga Belle

Plum Perfect

Princess Anne

Tournament of Roses

Olivia Rose Austin

I have already discovered that if three of my roses are to have leaves or be blackspot free, they must be sprayed. Fortunately, Neem Oil seems to have done the trick for Radio Times, SDLM, and Candice thus far. Fingers crossed, although as temperatures increase; if last year was normal, rainfall, humidity, and I believe blackspot pressure decrease.

Sara-ann

Your roses are so beautiful!! Thank you for sharing information, and the gorgeous images!!

Thank you all so much! I will make a list that is clearly more promising than the "Roses without chemicals" suggestions - and will make some decisions soon.

If I order now, I wonder whether I should only consider potted roses at this stage in the season. I think I am past the time when I can plant bareroot in my area; as for bands ...they are so small I see them more like roselets that will take a while to develop into actual roses. :)

Beware however that there are various strains a black spot and what is good for one situation may not apply to another. So be prepared for disappointments. Many of the Roses mentioned black spot terribly for me and defoliate.

Agree, agree, and more agree.

If you are serious about growing roses in your area without spray, you need LOCAL input, not suggestions from people hundreds of miles away, who are dealing with a different climate, different soils, different strains of blackspot, different sun exposures....

I agree with the Vap and Mad's post and know they have more expertise than I. My experience is growing roses in an arid environment, with no fungal disease issues, to now one where it exists. I have a recommended list for Texas, but even here where I live has different conditions than a city 20 miles away. I would almost have to ask rose growers in my community for rose recommendations. I work in the city of Austin and have yet to experience the humidity levels at home that I do there. There are other differences that elevation etc. make. What I decided to do was look to gardeners in my state (Coastal Plains Region only), then Oklahoma and other southern gardeners, and then all roses reported to be disease resistant. I created three lists ( a primary, secondary and tertiary).

My first batch of roses, the ones purchased last year, came from the Texas AG and local source recommendations... (primary list).

My secondary list is comprised of suggestions from people who in my mind fight a stronger disease pressure than here where I am.

My tertiary list is comprised of roses that are just reported to be disease resistant.

I tend to grow a lot of roses in number and variety. Using only those suggested for my area will not yield the rose garden I want. With that communicated, I purchase a lot of bands that come at a lesser cost, am up for the trial and error, hopefully with some good surprises, and will use something like neem oil, oiled cups etc. to keep my garden as spray-free as possible.

YMMV. What I am doing is the best plan that I could come up with for my conditions, but it definitely has a good degree of trial and error.

mad_gallica

That was the purpose - to get some suggestions for roses known to do well in my area. The 'Roses without chemicals' book mentioned that list specifically for the South...it's just that there's not a whole lot I like in there.

I’m with you, Severe Novice. There’s very little in ’Roses without Chemicals’ that I like, if that was all I could grow, I’d have ‘Garden without Roses’!. I’d do zinnias and petunias instead, those, um, ‘subtle and natural’ looking roses are not what I’m after. I want my rose garden big bold and colorful.

However , I understand some people are enchanted by these ‘roses without chemicals’ sorts, how boring the world would be if we all liked everything the same way.

You spray, don't you Ben?

Yup, my book would be ‘Roses with Chemicals’. Unless we’re talking about the bloomless plants like Gertrude Jekyll and Summer Romance, then it’d be ‘Chemicals without Roses’!

BenT,

I have seen several pictures of your garden and I am absolutely smitten. After doing some research, I was considering Love Song and then I saw it in your garden - and I ordered it instantly, that's how much I couldn't help myself. So I hold you at least partially responsible for my developing rose obsession. :)

May I ask how often you spray and what you are using?

My problem with too much spraying is time-related. There is only so much time I can allocate to my gardening hobby and there are periods when life really gets in the way. So I need my roses to be disease-resistant not because I refuse to spray when needed, but because I don't want to be doing this all the time.

I live in Georgia. I don't spray. I don't mow as often as I should. My suggestions for you are South Africa and Julia Child roses. Also, roses from Palatine are very good here. The graft on multiflora makes them grow like weeds. I will post some photos of my roses in a minute.

Mrs BR Cant

La Rose de Molinard

I heartily agree with the 'Julia Child' recommendations! I thought I didn't like brightly colored yellow roses until I saw this one in person at the Portland Rose Gardens a few years ago and it literally stopped my in my tracks.

It is a bright, saturated yellow, but the particular tone of the yellow goes so well with all kinds of other colors. Add to it the super disease resistance and almost non-stop blooms and you have a real winner of a rose. I have 3 in my sunset border! You may want to check it out if you're looking for something bulletprooof.

Rosylady,

Oh, apparently this is Super-Rose, as in 'Wonder-Woman." This is the first I purchased this season. She is my third rose, already in the ground and growing by the leaps and bounds.

Can't wait to see what she can do for me :).