Straw, as usual, out came the pen and note pad. I have all those roses above written down. Thank you. And, ordering in June makes more sense for me, too. I'm never ready to plant in May because our season has barely started then. Pat carries roses you can't find anywhere else.

Ann: Your Bella di Todi looks great !! How's the vigor of Bella di Todi compared with Golden Celebration? How tall is Bella di Todi? Thank you. Roses in my zone 5 are 1/2 the height & size of roses in CA. So I aim for TALLEST rose possible. My Golden Celebration is 10-year old as own-root. It's giving 4 to 5 blooms in partial shade, 4 hours of morning sun. But the blooms don't last long like Honey Bouquet, which I would grow again if I'm in a warm zone. Honey Bouquet LASTS TWICE longer in the vase than Golden Celebration and smells just as sweet. Plus I never see black spots on Honey Bouquet. I like it more than Julia Child since Julia Child has a cough-medicine scent & fades to white .. Honey Bouquet STAYS YELLOW and DOES NOT FADE to white, plus it blooms well in partial shade:

Below pinks are Francis Blaise (continuous bloomer from RU). RU's French Guillot collection of Francis Blaise, Sonia Rykiel and Versigny bloom well with my alkaline tap water at pH 9. Reddish are Big Purple. Yellow is Honey Bouquet. Beige is Mary Magdalene. Honey Bouquet is my #1 rose for the vase.

I've considered getting rid of Golden Celebration for years. It's a healthy bush, but blooms are so few and they're darker than I like in a yellow. I do enjoy Morden Sunrise because it's variable from the palest yellow to orange sherbet on the bush at the same time. It's a tallish rose in my zone, at 4'+. Moonlight, a climber from Kordes is a soft yellow with touches of pink on the petals. Kordes roses don't always thrive here, but this one is happy and blooms a lot.

Straw, your bouquet combinations are striking and unexpected. I think all rose colors go together with very few exceptions.

Straw - Bella di Todi has reached about 5ft this year after staying at about 3.5 feet for a couple of years. It's a much stronger plant than Golden Celebration which I've only had for two years. GC is still establishing itself but it's much weaker than Bella. Thanks for the information on Honey Bouquet!

I also recently got Golden Zest from RU and really like it. It's still a baby but the color, fragrance, and vase life are very good. It's about 3ft tall in year two and Golden Celebration is a parent.

Ann

Ann: Thanks for the info. of 5 feet and excellent vigor on Bella di Todi (good news for my zone 5). Thank you for those fantastic pics. of Golden Zest ... Nipptress or Cynthia in zone 5 (drier climate) stated that Golden Zest is among her top 10 roses.

Andrea (floweraremusic): Thanks for the info. on Morden Sunrise and Moonlight Climber. Moonlight has "Large, glossy, dark green, dense foliage." which is excellent for heavy clay like mine and yours. Jay Jay of the Netherlands in HMF has rocky alkaline clay (lots of stones) with pH 8 and he grows Moonlight, Aloha, Polka .. his roses have glossy, or LARGE or DARK-GREEN leaves. Best roses for my rock-hard clay have glossy & large leaves like Betty White, Sweet Promise 2007, Aloha. There are lots of Large (broad-leaf) weeds like dandelion in my rock-hard clay, I kill them with vinegar. But along the driveway where it's loose & loamy ... I have tiny-leaves weeds that sprout after rainy-month, and I kill them with lime. The tiny-leaves roses hate anything alkaline (Lady of Shallot with its tiny leaves was troublesome in its 1st year), but Aloha with large leaves grows easily in dense clay with pH near 8.

Golden Celebration leaves are small ... it likes LOAMY & FLUFFY soil with excellent drainage. Its light-green leaves also prefer acidic rain & refuses to bloom with alkaline tap water. It did better in a fast draining pot & fluffy soil than my dense clay with poor drainage. I should had bought Golden Zest with "Large, glossy, dark green foliage." as stated in HMF.

Wow, this thread has a lot of posts over a short period of time. [g]. I haven't gone through them all yet, but it's a very helpful topic.

Straw - those are huge plants for $12!!! Here that would be $40. I would love to be able to smell the fragrance when you get blooms. GASP!!! Your Honey Bouquet rose is stunning!!! Oh my!!! And I adore your vase roses...especially the last 3. Ohhhhh!!!! I love your last picture!! Your roses seem better than ever. You've analyzed what works and what doesn't...and your roses are benefitting!!

Ann - I love the yellow (so fresh and bright!) of your Bella di Todi!!! I love its delicate white edging!! Oooh!!! I love your Goldent Zest!!! The scrolling of the inner petals is beautiful!! IMHO the color is way nicer than that of Golden Celebration.

When I asked Nippstress in Nebraska zone 5 about the Rose Barni Collection at Roses Unlimited, here's Nippstress reply from her loamy & drier climate: "My experience with Versigny mirrors yours, in that I had mine in my zone 6 pocket of my yard and it lasted about 3 or 4 years before dying one winter. I think this one is only marginally hardy in zone 5 and needs heavy winter protection to do well. It's gorgeous though.
So far, Antico Amore has survived with more cane over the winter in the same zone 6 pocket, so I'd rate its hardiness a bit better. It didn't overwinter in part sun in an average spot in the yard, so it's not entirely robust in zone 5. Etrusca is the smallest of the bunch and also in the zone 6 pocket, and I think I'm pushing its limits. Bela di Todi I only tried once and it didn't overwinter, but I have planted it again and can keep you posted.
Bottom line is that Antico Amore is probably the strongest of the bunch you list, but all are in need of some winter protection to do well in our zones." Cynthia

Since my house siding is white, I look for DEEP or GAUDY colors roses that stand out. I have too many Austin roses that fade badly, so the new roses I buy tend to be DEEPER & brighter colors. 5th-year own-root The Dark Lady does well in 6 hours of sun (pic. below shows some tomato leaves .. tomatoes here invade my roses). The Dark Lady has a fantastic wafting scent, I can smell it 10 feet away. Pick taken this July at 90 F.

Below gaudy-orange Sweet Mademoiselle finally does cluster blooming in only 4 hours of sun, pic. take this July at 90 F. It's a 2nd-year own-root.

Beautiful straw! Your roses are so healthy and well-formed. I wish I could smell them!

Ann

Straw - oh my!!!! After seeing your Sweet Mademoiselle, I really want mine to get taller than 6 inches. Dang. Gorgeous, gorgeous!!! And your Dark Lady...wow!!!

Carol: Sweet M. as OWN-ROOT likes it alkaline. It didn't do cluster-blooming until I gave it bio char (half-burnt charcoal) at pH over 12. it's a French Meilland and they like it alkaline such as Rouge Royal and Peter Mayle (one bloom can perfume the entire room). Both have dark-green leaves thus love higher pH. I should had bought a second one from RU's last summer sale. Never see black spots on Peter Mayle in my alkaline clay (pH over 7.5), but my own-root Rouge royal has black spot after blooming. Rouge Royal is a CONSTANT bloomer so potassium & calciuim get depleted & I need to IV that rose 24/7 with soluble fertilizer. Forgot to winter protect Rouge Royal so most canes are dead, except one cane left, but this one tiny cane ended up with 5 blooms when it's less than a foot tall: Picture taken early spring to show one-surviving cane of Rouge Royal after zone 5 winter. I constantly have to lime this rose to prevent black spots.

Peter Mayle is more winter-hardy, ALL CANES SURVIVED zone 5 winter and is a stronger scent in the vase than Rouge Royal. Below bouquet with dark-pink Peter Mayle, right upper is Orchid Romance (doesn't last long in the vase), left pink is Savannah, dark yellows are Strike-it-Rich (doesn't last long in the vase). Light yellow is Crown Princess Magareta. Peter Mayle lasts 5 days in the vase & smells best among the below. Peter Mayle's scent is old rose & myrrh and eucalyptus, very intoxicating ... one bloom is enough to perfume a room.

I'm a little late to this thread, @strawchicago z5 regarding your question of fragrant roses from RU. Just chiming in that I received Stile 800 HT from them in May (Barni rose) and it smells very strongly of apples, really wonderful. It also has that old rose look. This is a new plant for me but so far seems like a strong grower at 3.5 feet high already with several basals. I'm in zone 10 so can't discuss cold hardiness unfortunately. The photo is the same bloom, inside and outside.

Kathy: Wow !! That bloom is awesome, so beautiful. Thank you for sharing your Stile 800. I always look for roses that last long in the vase. Too many mosquitoes outside in my humid climate, so I don't sit out in my garden ... I enjoy roses INSIDE & in the vase instead.

Straw - when you say you have to constantly add lime to roses that blackspot (my Chrysler Imperial comes to mind)...do you really mean that? Like every time you water you add lime? Maybe I should do that to my (hasn't grown an inch all summer at an astounding height of 5 inches) Sweet Mademoiselle. I've given it lime...but maybe it needs lime every time I water?? What do you think? My Peter Mayle died over winter when my daughter left the garage door open...but I remember the fragrance was wonderful! What a lovely bouquet!!! And it makes a lot of sense if you have mosquitoes to enjoy your roses in the house.

Kathy - your bloom is gorgeous!!! I've never heard of that rose before...wowza!!!

Carol: I used to lime the dark-green leaves ones (Peter Mayle, Bolero, Rouge Royal) before a heavy rain, but with so many roses I get lazy. Now I top roses with pea-gravel which releases calcium & potassium when acidic rain water hits. It's like a buffer on top to neutralize acidic rain. It works great for Radio Times (10th year own root) ... new leaves come out clean & plus blooming well. I should had topped Radio Times early spring with pea-gravel.. acidic rain water dissolve those tiny pebbles in a few months into nutrients.

You've got a great system! :)

Golden Zest posted by Ann in CA is absolutely gorgeous !! Nipptress in zone 5, Nebraska with less rain & loamy soil stated that Golden Zest is among her top 10 best performers among her 1,000 varieties. My best performer among my 143 varieties is Dee-lish, Evelyn, and Poseidon, pictured below. I have alkaline rock hard clay with 38 to 40 inch. of annual rain along with 6 rain-barrels. Blue Poseidon was recommended by Pat Henry for its vigor, it's always over 2 feet of green cane after zone 5 winter. Poseidon's scent is clove/grassy/floral, lasts 5 days in the vase. It has bush-beauty & always healthy & never see diseases in its 7th-year as own-root:

Glorious, Straw!!! My faves are the two at the bottom!!! Oh, sweet mama!!! LOL :)

Carol: the bottom two are: Left is Abraham Darby and right is Evelyn. Evelyn has a sweeter scent of ripe peaches, versus grapefruit for Abraham Darby. Evelyn lasts longer in the vase than Abraham Darby.

Even though my Coral Dawn was having a gypsy moth caterpillar problem I think I got the upper hand on them. Is proving to me how tenacious it is despite them eating leaves or leaving holes in them and one tried to eat the bud (which I quickly disposed of in the container of warm water and dish detergent soap) it is still trying to open!!! I smelt the bud and like oh wow!!!! The fragrance on this one is awesome!!! And it is still a bud and hasn't even opened yet!!!! There is a 2nd one next to it untouched. And new shoots are also growing on it. Sooo hoping that I have won the war on them. I check it over everyday and found some that almost looked like they were dead hanging from it soo removed them. They are still in full force out the back parking lot in our 2 or 3 Oak trees when I looked up at them. Could see one or two per leaf. Got a picture of the bud today. Curious to see how it is going to open. So every morning I give it the once over to see if there are any on it.

Straw - thanks...I thought they were the same rose. But now, looking more closely...I like Abe better. :)

Karen - that's the way to beat them...be vigilant!! :) Good going! Very pretty bud!

I prefer receiving roses from RU in early spring since they come with buds. I have been ordering yearly from RU since 2011, and this week I received 6 biggest gallon own-roots with blooms on April 27, 2022:

Below is Firefighter with 2 blooms, this is my 4th own-root Firefighter (doesn't last long in my zone 5a), but I keep ordering since one bloom can perfume the entire room. This is the first time I grow in a 7-gallon air-pots (thanks to Hoang Ton's setting an example with his amazing roses).

Below is CLIMBING Crimson glory received from RU with 2 buds (I grew Crimson glory hybrid tea before, it was too small for my zone 5a). Firefighter's scent is many times stronger than Crimson glory (nice but scent doesn't last long in the vase):

Summer Sun also has a bud to sniff, it's a fresh & nice scent like Louis Estes.

Yolanda d' Aragon also has a bud coming from Roses Unlimited 4/27/22.

My other 2 orders: Ardoise de Lyon and Kiss me Kate Climber don't have buds, but very tall with BIG roots. This year is the BEST in size and quality coming from Roses Unlimited.

RU uses Mills Magic mix for fertilizer. The ingredients have changed for the better. Below is an excerpt from Mills Magic Rose website:

"We’ve removed the fish meal. We’ve removed the biosolids. We’ve added feather meal and Citrus peels. We’ve kept the alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal, bone meal, and blood meal."

I really like the look of your YdA bud! I hope your Firefighter does well for you. :) :)

Firefighter with dark-green leaves broke out in mildew in the past 2 days of heavy rain. I mixed 3/4 cup of alfalfa meal with 1/2 cup Azomite (pH 8 to 8.6), but that wasn't enough to neutralize tons of acidic rain.

Plus my mistake of keeping the saucer at the bottom of the air-pot so water could not drain fast. I should had bought the rack with wheels so the pot can be elevated for faster drainage.

I had to re-pot Firefighter in MG-potting soil plus 1 cup of pelletized (slow-released) lime. My first Firefighter back in 2012 was very vigorous & healthy since I watered with my pH 9 tap-water. Dark-green leaves hybrid teas need higher pH to stay healthy.

Oh, Firefighter...why do you torture us?? I hope you can sort your Firefighter out. :)

I have endless pain with low-thorn roses as OWN-ROOTS: A. Shopshire Lad, Firefighter, Firefighter, Climbing America (orange), Leander, Felicia, Jude the Obscure. All die through my zone 5a winter with freezing rain in winter.

Low-thorn roses prefer moist, fast drainage but fluffy soil (like sandy & loamy) and hate my rock hard & poor drainage clay. The only vigorous low-thorn roses that survive many winters is Sweet Mademoiselle, in 4 hrs. of morning sun (bought from Roses Unlimited):

kathyc_z10 Thank you for that gorgeous pics of Stile 800 HT. I always look for roses that last long in the vase.

Too bad that Roses Unlimited no longer sell Betty White, that had the best scent among the 5,000 roses at Chicago Botanical garden and among 1,200 roses at Cantigny Rose park nearby.

Anyone know a source that sells Betty white as own-root? Thanks for the info.

Mine died after 6 years thanks to a dry winter and dry spring. I enjoyed its marvelous scent, see below. Betty White is the upper pink in below bouquet:

Betty White is small & compact as own-root at 1.5' x 1.5', compared that to Princess Charlene de Monaco, which is over 10 feet tall as of 10/10/22 as 5th-year own-root. Betty White consumed 1/4 the amount of water compared to PcDM. Betty White is a constant bloomer, no pause in between like PcDM:

Betty is out of stock at Heirloom but you could try the waiting list. What a nice rose.

Yesterday was the first chance I got to smell a Versigny bloom, the fragrance is VERY good.

Berrypie - ooooh. :) :) I love it when a rose has a great fragrance.

@strawchicago z5 Betty White is on sale own root through Ebay LongAgoRoses. Auction ends in 5 days.

Heaven on Earth has a beautiful fragrance. Not the strongest , and not better than Versigny, but the glory of the rose paired with it's perfume has made Heaven on Earth my favorite rose of 2023 .

Berrypie, I grew Heaven on Earth in the esrly 2000. It may have just gome out, I should check on its release date, but sadI had no idea what I was doing and killed it off. I do remember s wonderful fragrance . I’m glad that yours is thriving.

Thanks Kristine. I have had such a struggle with hardly any blooms year after year. This rose makes it all worth it.

I bought HoE for my mom—it’s one of her favorites!

berrypiez6b Your pic. of HoE glows, gorgeous !! If I had seen yours I could had bought HoE in 2022 instead of a weird old garden rose (once bloomer) with tiny purple blooms. I did that just because my garden was so shady. Now I have more sun with 5 large trees chopped down.

Sunny Mississippi 8a I'm getting Betty White, plus 5 Austin roses from GardenRoses LLC in PA for 2024. The price is great at $20 per rose, about $25 total shipping cost. With the risk of harmful Spotted Lanternfly transmission from PA, I prefer making one big order, so I can dunk all 6 roses in a bucket of 1 gallon water & 1 cup oil & 1 TBS DAWN dish soap. Plus I need to burn the box in the firepit since Spotted Lanternfly can nest or lay eggs in the box from the nursery.

We don't have Spotted Lanternfly in my zone 5a Chicagoland, but a friend in New Jersey told me her garden is infested and they devour roses & destroy agricultural crops. The first spotted Lanternfly was in PA in 2014 and they spread rapidly, causing millions of losses in agricultural crops.

I am not sure if this Link is where you look at what Roses Unlimited carries to place your order, but I have not found the roses that you mentioned above on this thread in their "Our Collections." I understand this thread is old but I just want to make sure.

nametakenplz Roses Unlimited doesn't have certain varieties every year due to failure to root (weather changes or short supply).

Roses Unlimited stops offering Austin Roses in 2021. The high in demand roses (Versigny, Sonia Rykiel, and Italian roses) are sold out the in the first few days of November.

Versigny was NOT offered in 2022 and I had to get something else. Versigny is hard to root since it's drought-tolerant & thorny.

Betty White was NOT offered for a few years, but now it's back at Roses Unlimited.

Thanks, straw! That makes sense.

I don't see Betty White on the list. Wonder if you're looking at a different place?

My most fragrant from Roses Unlimited are:

Antico Amore

Dames de Chenonceau

Roberto Capucci

All three do get blackspot but I live in a high pressure locale for bs and do not spray so ymmv

Absolutely amazing photos oursteelers , you are a good rose Mama.

nametakenplz Betty White is most likely to be sold out since it's winter-hardy (grown in both roses parks here in my zone 5). The high-in-demand varieties are sold out within the 1st day of Roses Unlimited.

In 2022 I ordered in mid-November and a lot were sold out.

oursteelers 8B PNW Gorgeous pics !! Your soil and cool temp. make roses' colors vibrant and blooms are so large. I don't spray either, we get week-long rain and the vigorous own-roots can handle BS better.

Below About Face from RU is a constant bloomer in hot summer, even at above 90 F. It survived many zone 5a winters. I never see blackspots on it, it's the parent of State of Grace. It blooms just as well as Bolero.

Only Bolero can put out 30+ buds in only 4 hours of morning sun:

Golden Zest died in my zone 5a winter, did the same to another cold zoner. I adore Roses Unlimited's Summer Sun (disease-resistant Kordes rose). It has a spicy strong scent, the color glows and the bush is small & compact. My alkaline clay fades all colors, below is how Summer Sun looks like in full-sun and poor & dry clay:

Below pic. is to compare the height of gallon-size from Roses Unlimited to band-size (planted in the ground) from High Country Roses:

Below is a 2-gallon own-root purchase of Prairieville Prince From Antique Rose Emporium. The leaves are stripped off to stop the transmission of chili thrips to other states. I see no difference between a gallon purchase and a 2-gallon purchase.

Kristine, I doubt if it was your fault Heaven on Earth declined. I started growing mine in 2006 with wonderful results. About three years later, in midsummer, it started a dieback of one or two canes from the tips inward. This persisted until the end of the season. I decided to let it overwinter and see what would happen the following spring. In spring, the 2/3 of Heave on Earth that was healthy continued just fine, while the weird dieback continued in just certain canes. So I removed H on E. At the same time, the few sellers that sold HoE, quit selling it, and it seemed to disappear from the market. Now in the last couple of years, there is a sudden resurgence of this rose, and I can't help wondering what gives. I was a fairly experienced rose grower at the time HoE declined, plus my other roses all surged ahead and I had no complaints with them. So, I am curious to see what the next few years happens with all the new growers of Heaven on Earth. Diane

There's an outstanding orange/yellow color with many petals and best scent: HALLOWEEN, hardy to zone 7 sold by Roses Unlimited. A friend in Texas bought Halloween twice since it died in Texas freeze. Another breeder in PA raved about his Halloween's scent and colors. Father Jerome in CA also raved about HALLOWEEN's scent among his many Austin roses in the abbey. See Halloween's pics in below link:

'Halloween' rose photos (helpmefind.com)

Only Tchaikovsky from Roses Unlimited can bloom in 3 hours of sun in late fall, right before frost. Leaves are dark green and super-glossy, never see any blackspots in its 10 years as own-root in my zone 5a.

Blooms are 4 inch. across with many petals like an Austin rose. Growth it tall & compact (doesn't occupy much room). Scent is so sweet & strong, like caramel candy.

Below pic. is to compare Golden Fairy tale (gaudy yellow) and Tchaikosky (on right). Golden Fairy tale is a huge bush with nasty thorns & won't bloom unless with tons of rain.

Here's Tchaikovsky at 1.5' x 1.5 feet, blooming in less than 4 hours of morning sun (on the north side & shaded by my tall house plus a big Japanese maple tree).

Straw - it's so good to see you posting more on Houzz!! You bring so much to the forum. :) :) And it's so good that you have more sun in your yard! Excellent!! I just googled Spotted Lanternfly and it's not supposed to be here in Canada. So that's good to hear. They sound horrible!

Oursteelers - oh my sweet heavens!! Those roses are divine!!! My favorite is your Roberto Capucci!!!!

Straw - that's an incredible amount of blooms...and ESPECIALLY for only 4 hours of morning sun!! Those are beautiful Summer's Sun blooms...I especially love the close-ups. Oh my!!! Now I want Halloween!!! Those blooms are stunning!! Looks like a rose Diane would love to grow too. :) :) Tchaikovsky looks sooooo beautiful!!!! I especially love the 3rd picture!!! What a gorgeous rose!!

Diane - that does sound like it's a bad variety.

I agree Carol, Straw has an unbelievable knowledge about roses.

Today i sent an email an order 6 roses from RU.

I bought roses from RU before but it was a sale, so not much selection, so this time it’s very hard to restraint myself, lol lol.

Some bouquets of fragrant roses bought from Roses Unlimited. My all-time favorites from RU are: Sonia Rykiel (a dozen blooms per flush in 1st year as own-root), Versigny (the scent is worth buying), Poseidon (going to frost with 30+ buds), Summer Sun (compact & small for a Kordes rose), Savannah (non-stop blooming), Pink Peace (great for the vase), Sweet Mademoiselle and Firefighter (both last 5 days in the vase), Betty White, Twilight Zone, About Face, Liv Tyler, and many Austins that RU sold before 2021.

Below upper pink is Sonia Rykiel, dark red is the Dark Lady (from RU):

Below dark red is Munstead Wood, and and orange About Face, red is Firefighter.

Below orange is America, light pinks are Gene Boerner (thornless), and blue is Poseidon. Big red is Peter Mayle (survives 5+ years in my zone 5a winter):

Below yellows are Moonlight Romantica (smells just as good as Golden Cel). Upper light pinks are Princess Charlene de Monaco (now 10' x 3') needs space. Blue is Poseidon lasts 5 days.

Below deep oranges are Sweet Mademoiselle, light left pink is Savannah, and reds are the Dark Lady (going into Nov. frost with many buds):

Below bouquet is picked Oct. 29, 2023 before frost. Red is Veteran's Honor. Pink is Radio Times, white is Bolero, dark pink is Dee-lish, and dark red is the Dark Lady. All are from Roses Unlimited.

Below large dark pink is Peter Mayle (eucalytus rose scent, so unique), light pinks are Evelyn, deep pink is Comte de Chambord, gaudy orange is Solitude (worth having for hot summer).

Liv Tyler (right deep pink) never ball like Sweet Mademoiselle, Liv Tyler gives twice more blooms than Sweet M. Left dark pink is Pink Peace (worth buying with its buttercream frosting scent). Right light pink is Frederic Mistral (petals get spoiled often in rainy climate, worse than Betty White)

Below was Liv Tyler in my garden at above 90 F, it's best for hot climate.