I don't have Celtic Pride, but have you considered using a pale-pink or mostly white rose? White can work wonders in unifying a garden and preventing color clashes. I would recommend Milawaukee Calatrava or Gentle Hermione, both are extremely healthy in my no-spray garden and have great fragrance.

annachicagoz5- Thank you very much for your post. I appreciate the input. I really like the idea of Gentle H. I did not realize it was healthy no spray. I love Austins, but must of them need spraying here it is always a great surprise when I find one that does not need it. Thank you!

John thank you very much for your detailed post. I really loved the look of that rose and couldn’t find much on it. I was looking through heirlooms page since it is too late to order from Austins and I wanted a rose this year. I may have to wait until next spring to fill the spot. A rose not growing much in your zone sounds worrisome to me and I also don’t want to pay that much money without getting some good feedback from someone in blackspot territory. I am growing Roald Dahl, and Bathsheba and agree they are lovely. I think Judi was certainly removed from the states.

Dianela, this rose has 86 'Favorite Votes' on helpmefind.com, so I am convinced that it is a solid variety and that I just had a bad plant. Time will tell. This is the first time that I have had a rose that has received such favorable reviews, that has done poorly for me. Most roses that I plant here grow much larger than advertised, due to our very long, sunny growing season-their dormant period here is around 2 months or so. I will be digging the rooted cuttings out of my rooting area and planting it in my growing bed this week. I should see if these new rootlings will outperform the mother plant by fall.

Hi dianela !! I haven’t grown that rose but it sure looks beautiful. I loved Bathsheba and thought it was very healthy in Tennessee. Personally never saw any pink but it is a very versatile honey color I certainly would recommend.

How about Felicia ? Double check the health of it though . I never grew it but Lisa’s is amazing and I would definitely recommend it . I personally was not crazy about my Cornelia , I think it was healthy ? I’ll have to search for posts I made on it bc I know I complained about it but everyone loved it .

I too am growing Emily (2 of them). The right roses on Instagram reviews it gets spectacular in a few years of growth and that saved it for me. I was going to keep the one in a pot but the other one in the ground was making me think i wild switch it out . I just don’t have a lot of ground space and worry I made wrong choices .

I hope you’ll report back John and let us know what happens . I actually had a similar problem with a Desiree from heirloom. It never grew more than a foot and a half , and it never ever bloomed. 3 years I waited!! I can’t believe I was that patient. I ended up ordering another and it bloomed right away and grew. I wish I could get that rose again .

I am pretty sure Dame Judi Dench was removed from the offerings because it failed miserably in the U.S.

I am not an expert, but not quite a novice either and mine literally grew backwards. Completely dead in just a few short months while the other smaller, weaker roses nearby made it just fine.

Thank you Lilyfinch. I love the look of Felicia, I am sucker for hybrid musks in general but aside from Darlow’s enigma the ones I have need spraying (love them all). Going to check on the health of this one. I hope you absolutely love Emily. I am very eagerly awaiting my first blooms. I just got my first bloom from James Galway and it was a shriveled brown thing. When I looked up close it was covered in thrips :(. Fingers crossed for Emily. Your garden is already looking amazing, there is no mistake you can made that can’t be easily corrected so just follow your heart.

dianela, can you recommend some of your favorite hybrid musks? I have a feeling i'm going to shift to shade tolerant roses and quit experimenting next year.

i follow your progress since you are so close by in climate and zone.