Maybe it just does well in my climate, but I adore Dorcas. Bucks dont have much scent, but I dont care - this one is out in full hot Texas sun, is a big huge strong bush with well shaped blooms that stay on the bush a long time - I just finished deadheading another flush - and great disease resistance. I think the "dorky" name has hurt it - it is anything but dorky! Maybe not much is heard about it because it isnt grown much. Mine is in the middle of Sally Holmes and Chuckles on the other side [another fabulous, heavy blooming, beautiful rose, much underused!] and they are along a front fencline in the all day sun. They bloom all the time - the 3 of them are always putting on a show. I decided I wanted Dorcas near the house to enjoy and it was very hard to find. I get most of my Bucks at Chamblees but they didnt have it anymore. Got mine from Hortico, they are being shipped right now, so should get them in a few days. I will be sure to put my 2 Dorcas roses in a prime spot so I can enjoy their beauty. For me, this is one of Dr. Bucks very best! Give it a try! I have some photos someplace on my memory stick, but finding them is another matter. If I have time to look, in between putting up Christmas, I will post some photos. Dont overlook Bright Melody either, and you should see Barn Dance today! Covered in lovely pink blooms, big strong bush....I would like another of this. Dorcas's blooms are more well formed or "finished" - they arent loose and floppy and they remain on the bush a long time. Tough as boot leather, as we say in Texas.

Is there a size limit?.... I know you say compact, but that could be 2' around or 4'. My Munstead Wood is suddenly feeling its oats as a spring-planted graft and sending out some tall canes (4'+). I think in the warmer climates this will be bigger than stated. However, while thorny, it is beautiful, fragrant and a blooming machine. I've had over 100 blooms on these 5 month old plants and they're still growing and pumping them out. Bolero is meant to stay small, although it's white. I'm probably not much help because all mine are first year plants. I'm a newbie. However, Summer Romance and Dark Desire are lovely as is Darcey Bussell. All are fragrant. Lots of blooms on the latter two, although they are grafted and the SR is own-root from Chamblees. I also have own-root Cecile Brunner and Fire Opal and can highly recommend either. They are also fragrant with lots of bloom. My red and pink drift are super healthy and bloom in quick flushes...alas, only the red has fragrance. Gee, I guess I got a lot of roses this season. I f you want a polyantha, my little Tooth Fairy is going gang-busters (white single) and now that Margo Koster (apricot) has decided to grow, I can't disbud her quickly enough! Sweet Chariot was highly recommended and it's a purple/ mauve. I don't have this, but I'm really wanting Barcelona, a compact deep red.HMFBarcelona

Bernik, It is difficult giving advice on rose varieties. It is such a subjective, personal decision only you can make. That is why I believe Roses Forum members are hesitant to respond to your question. Do you require all exceptionally fragrant roses? Do you want classic hybrid tea exhibition form blooms, more casual blooms in sprays, or the cupped and quartered Austin rose bloom look? Bloom colors, bush sizes, growth characteristics (arching, columnar, spreading....), ...are all traits you must decide upon yourself. There is one bit of advice i will give you that will make your care of your roses go a lot easier. It is to grow disease resistant roses. This holds true especially if you would like to grow your roses organically. One way of accomplishing this is to do a thorough research on every variety that interests you, to determine how much 'babying,' it may need to keep it in top condition. Choose only the ones that require minimal/no insect and disease control care The ADR awarded roses, many of which are Kordes roses, have been tested to thrive without disease or winter protection. They essentially are bulletproof, ideal garden roses. There are ADR winning roses from other breeders than Kordes. A list of them is found on Wikipedia. Insect issues may be present with ADR winners. Insect resistance is very difficult to breed for. However disease resistance, especially to the dreaded black spot and powdery mildew, among ADR roses is exceptional.....essentially no spray roses for disease. Grafin Diana, Limona, and Souvenir de Baden Baden are all ADR winners, great choices for you. Your beds comprised of these three would be spectacular! All three of these hybrid tea bushes will have somewhat upright, elegant presentations of their blooms in your beds. The colors will complement each other richly. Grafin Diana is very fragrant. I had Grafin Diana, but the particular bush I had did not thrive for me. I believe it was more that the bush was diseased from the grower not the variety itself. I plan to acquire Grafin Diana from another source and try again. So many people give glowing reports about GD that it would be foolish for me not to try again. Souvenir de Baden Baden, moderately fragrant to some noses, strongly to others. I class its fragrance between moderate and strong. It is vigorous, blooms abundantly, and I find it an indispensable, much beloved rose! I do not have Limona. From its press, it looks great. Moses

I posted elsewhere that I've killed a variety of Austin roses; they blackspot badly here (7b ATL area) and they try and bloom as much as they can but it's a struggle (I don't spray) and they always look kinda sickly. They never look healthy and leafy like the photos I see posted here (looking at you enviously, West Coast!), they just hang in there and make/drop leaves. They blooms are perfect, how, I don't know, but they kinda stay small. I don't spray. It becomes this issue of having a sickly-looking plant year-long to get 5 or 7 flowers/year. I'm stubborn and have kept trying but am starting to learn to let go... because I now know there are so many roses out there! If you won't be spraying, before you pull the trigger on the Austins, do look at some of the Kordes being recommended here and search for posts from others in the hot/humid southeast. As an aside: it would be fun to do a thread on Austins vs. similar roses (full-petal Austin-esque color/look) that actually can thrive in the southeast. Here are some of my "Forget you, David Austin!" roses... I ordered Earth Angel (Kordes) last year; the blooms are gorgeous, and smell good too. Here she is today, probably about 2.5" as is, will be closer to 3" when fully open. She's pale pink and with very delicate petals. Summer Romance and Quicksilver just went on my wish list, bring on the Kordes! I also ordered Star of the Republic (Pioneer series), also based photos/comments from folks who live in the same state/similar zone. This is Star of the Republic, ~4" wide, much thicker petals. This one I can't officially recommend because I got it a couple months ago and it's still in its pot; who knows how it will do the rest of the season... I mention her because she's supposed to make big flowers (she does). She's grown several leaves and they look healthy (I'm already seeing black spot in other parts). It's Reichsprasident von Hindenburg and when I put in my last order to Rogue Valley Roses, I just couldn't resist the photo; the photos on Help Me Find are also just my thing: big, a little messy! I couldn't find much discussions here about this rose, it may be a total disaster for me, we'll see. The fragrance is awesome, reminds me of Zephyrin Drouhin but softer with a citrus note at the end. It has a second bud, I'll try to follow up once that one opens and later in the season regarding how the foliage does. Those are her light green leaves to the right (pea leaves to the left!).