Hi....good to talk to you again. I do grow 'Violette', but the photo of 'Russeliana' from HMF was one I took at the Montreal Botanical Garden a few years back. I do think that 'Russeliana' will be hardy for you, though, since they grow it up there. I just got a baby one of it, but it will be a while before it is a rambler, that's for sure. My 'Violette' started as just a teensy cutting that I rooted. It took a few years to get going but that's typical of ownroot roses in my climate and its in a partially-shaded spot that no one else wanted to grow in. Mine is considerably hardy but can have some cane loss in a severe winter....but mild winters like this past one it had no winterkill to speak of. I love it because in my soil it is a deep, dark purple...darker than a Concord grape. Mine stays healthy and disease-free without any spraying, but I don't know how it would be somewhere else. A bonus is that its not a thorny rose, so when you work around it or wander too close it doesn't stick you. I have heard that Russeliana is often found in old cemeteries so my guess is that its pretty hardy and easy to grow. Any roses I have found growing in those conditions haven't had much care or culture and survive because they are a really good, tough old rose. I think either of these roses would make you happy. Celeste

"I don't see how you even get the rose into the soil beneath a tree. Most trees have roots that would make it hard if not impossible to dig underneath them...don't they?" You are correct: you can't plant a rose directly under a tree. That's one reason you need a big rose that can support itself with stout canes, because you don't plant it next to the tree, you plant it out of the direct root zone but under the canopy. Getting a rose to grow up a tree can take a long time and requires a rose that is already growing well. Roses do not do well in the shade and will never overcome a tree if entirely in the shade. Notice that I stated I will plant my 'Long John Silver' by a Yew. The Yew is a multi-stemmed large shrub that grows slowly into a tree. I will plant the rose on the south side so it gets enough sun to power it up the tree. As already mentioned, it can be successful to start the tree and the rose together so that neither over powers the other. I tried this with a rambler and a lilac which, again, makes a large shrub rather than a tree. I should have given the lilac a head start as the rambler is overpowering it already. Other shrubs I am using to support ramblers are Prunus maritima (Beach Plum) and Myrica pensylvanica, the Northern Bayberry. Both these shrubs are slow growing so need a head start before planting the rambler.

'Nuccio's Bella Rossa' was my thought also. It is known to have a long blooming season. A lovely camellia, Virginia

I was given a name by the granite yard but it looks nothing like the pics I googled!