Maybe there is a rose society chapter around there somewhere with a locally based list of recommended kinds.

Tell us about your spray routine.

If the answer is you don't have one, the most important characteristic is going to be blackspot resistance, followed by blackspot resistance followed by blackspot resistance. In general, hybrid teas have very poor blackspot resistance, with Austins being not a lot better. Remember that blackspot pressure generally increases as you move east, so recommendations based on experiences west of the Appalachians aren't very relevant.

So this is roughly Harrisburg? Longwood is definitely a day trip, and well worth it.

@Nippstress Nebraska z5 - I have picked mostly roses that I did not have in California. Exceptions are Fragrant Cloud and Electron. My favorites from CA are not hardy to zone 6b.

I have room for about 10-12 rose bushes on the south side of my house where they will get full sun. Figured I would start with 3 or 4 on the south side + Lyda in a semi sunny space and see what happens.

After living in CA for 30 years I am having a hard time with plant selection in general here.

First thing I did was de-landscape the property that had overgrown everything from when it was built in 1970.

I am slowly planting things I find in other people's yards that I think look nice and making the assumption that if it grew in the desert it won't like the humid, rainy or cold weather here.

I moved from Moscow to Maine 5b. My gardening horizons expanded with all sorts of new, lovely options!

Things that matter include soil Ph and clay/sand. Get your soil tested. I moved from damp, mildly alkaline clay to very fast-draining, acid soil. Many of my gardening practices needed to change. I used to preach that nobody ever needs to water their lawn.

Sun and temperature are easy to see, what's different about the soil is harder. On the plus side, my observation is the colder the winters, the fewer the bugs. However, I suspect you moved into deer territory, they can be worse than a plague of locusts.

I have deer across the street from my house, but they don't ever come into my yard. I get lots of bunnies and squirrels, but no deer or groundhogs.

Insects here are really limited compared to California, but I understand that roses are especially attractive to Japanese Beetles in this area.

Everything is different here. Sun, temperature, humidity, rainfall, soil, insects, disease.

I am starting from scratch.

I am in Middle Tennessee technically 7a but I can only grow to 6b and I have The Fairy. It makes for a nicely shaped shrub 3-5 feet in diameter (by the end of summer) and about 3 feet high. I prune it pretty hard early spring. It has several distinct flushes through the summer and has excellent disease resistance with heavy bs pressure and no spray. It is on the East side of my house, so only gets morning sun. I wouldn't say it is my favorite rose, but I can count on it for color all summer.

The Fairy is the farthest on the right, middle of the boarder.

How big does Big Purple Hybrid get for you, Nippstress Nebraska z5? I need to create some structure in a very oddly shaped area of a garden I work in. I'm thinking something similar to that color, but it can't get too tall or it will obscure what's beyond it. I'm seeing varying descriptions of it.

Which roses did you end up choosing and how are they doing for you?

I lost my mind and ordered far too many and ordered some more this summer, but I do love my roses.

I ordered own root, so I don't expect them to be great till next summer, but some are doing exceptionally well, while others seem to be struggling or did not make through the winter. Seems that anything planted near the end of summer didn't make it through the winter.

• Queen Bee | Buck Hardy | Nice Growth / healthy / happy
• LD Braithwaite | David Austin | Nice Growth / healthy / happy
• Tower Bridge | English Legend | Did not make it through the Winter / late planting / Want to replace but out of stock
• Margaret Merril | English Legend | Lost it twice, but replacement of the first bush was late / Replaced
• Parade Day | Grandiflora | Small but healthy
• Alec’s Red | Hybrid Tea | Did not make it through the Winter . Not replacing
• Fragrant Cloud | Hybrid Tea | Did not make it through the Winter / late planting / Replaced Deep Secret | Hybrid Tea | Nice Growth / healthy / happy
• Compassion | Hybrid Tea | Nice Growth / healthy / happy Electron | Hybrid Tea | Small but healthy
• Midas Touch | Hybrid Tea | Small but healthy
• Velvet Fragrance | Hybrid Tea | tiny (4" tall) but seems healthy
• Princess Elise | Shrub | Nice Growth / healthy
• Lyda Rose | Shrub | Nice Growth / healthy / happy / shade
• Oranges And Lemons | Shrub | Small but healthy
• Twilight Zone | Grandiflora | New
• Louise Clements | Shrub | New
• Teasing Georgia | David Austin | New
• Sceoter’d Isle | David Austin | New
• Louise Clements | Shrub | New

Darn, Tower Bridge was on my list...

I'm going to replace and try again when it comes back in stock. I think it came too late last summer and I may not have protected well enough.

I think I've finally decided to go with Princess Anne.

What other roses do you have? Any favorites with great scent?

I have Westerland and Perle d'Or, both have great fragrance, and Lyda but first year, tiny band, can't comment yet.

At the garden I do for money I have; Bathsheba, smells nice close up, nothing to write home about, also bleaches so badly I wish I had picked something else, Lady Emma Hamilton, smells fantastic, it's first year so it's not wafting, and something I got for 5 bucks at Lowes to stick in a corner, it's purple, blackspots badly, smells amazing. This garden is where I'm putting Princess Anne, and if I get my way, also Rosarie de L'Hay to cover an ugly expanse of fence. I usually use tithonia for that, which gets 8 ft in her magical yard, but I don't think an equally large rose that blooms months longer will be a hard sell.

I think I've just decided to put a couple of Penelope's in a weird strip of soil between a fence and my driveway. It's part shade. I looked for a white, single or semi double, fragrant climber for the spot and never found one that worked. Just realized Penelope is fence high, so who needs a climber to cover an ugly fence, lol.

bubble bath might also work.

I am growing Lyda Rose in partial shade - really happy!

I got a tiny band of Lyda this spring from Rogue Valley. I didn't think it was going to make it, but it has hung on. I would have potted it up and waited to plant out, but her directions specifically say not to. I still question this.

I think Penelope is less pink, (not a big fan of pink) and more self-cleaning, which is pretty much what has led me to her.

So you planted Lyda in the ground, Reb?

Yes. I followed the directions, against my better judgement possibly.

It will likely do great, but I too have usually potted the RVRs babies for a few months before planting them. The directions I received from RVRs gave instructions for potting and for in ground planting too.

Weird, mine said put it right in the ground, unless I didn't actually put my glasses on and missed something. I assumed it was that Lyda hates being potted.

There was a back page to the directions Reb. I'm not sure about Lyda but the directions were a front and back page.

Figures, it's so hard for me to read normal sized font, I tend to skim quickly, lol.

I found this interesting. I'm definitely going to try it next year.

"Not only do they look surprisingly great together, but parsley also has many benefits for roses. Parsley deters many unwanted insects from your roses, including aphids and rose beetles. Even better, this herb may actually enhance the fragrance of your roses."