I came across your questions while examining my stats on my blog site. I appreciate whoever it was who visited being curious enough to explore my little realm of pain. The 6th picture down is definitely not the same as the first picture, although the species could - I suppose - be the same. But these were in different locations, so I would suggest different species. It is also one of the reasons I am not 'all that' at Rose names. I respect how many varieties there are far too much. I have enough on my plate at the best of times,....roses I love to look at, but that's as far as it goes. ;-) Typically, at that Rose Garden, they clump a few varieties of each together, making what ends up being a more effective and, probably healthier showing in general. I know they sure look good, lol. Here is a link that might be useful: Steve Snedeker's Landscaping and Gardening Blog

Does Rosa virginiana produce hips worth using? Oh, and the York Rose, Rosa x alba semi-plena produces hips that could be used. Its white is tinged with peach-pink, so it looks more milky white than pure white, but it's lovely in bloom! Some people don't care for the colors of Rosa rugosa's later flowers against the color of the ripening hips. If you're sensitive to such things you'll have to consider whether you like the idea of scarlet/tomato red hips adorned with lavender-pink roses. If the idea of that color pair bothers you, go with Rosa rugosa alba. Then you'll have scarlet against pure white.

Gary, I was wrong, 4 of my rose bands didn't grow have soil issues, they're not the same as yours. I pull out one today which was planted next to a pine tree, I was hoping it can climb on the tree and be the center of one rose garden. It had white stuff all over the roots, not sure what was, I took a photo. The soil next to the pine tree is not good, I bought a bag garden soil today, will pick up another bag tomorrow just for the four roses close to the pnie trees. I aways add some manue (Lowe's) to every rose in the spring. I have a "working horse" to carry all the garden soil/ manueI, you'll see. :-) All the troubled rose bands are in pots now, hope they will grow in the potting soil. Good luck with yours.

It is unfortunate that the ratings don't state where they were found to be valid. What black spots for Californians may well be spot free in New Jersey and vice versa. Mildew is often an issue on many roses here, while it is rare elsewhere. We have rust on some very disease resistant roses while many in the rest of the country never see it because it's more of a hot, arid climate issue. If there are local rose society members in your area, their experiences of how resistant something is should provide you with more accurate, valid information than anything anyone else around the country could share with you. Because the strains of diseases which exist in YOUR yard and the disease pressures (climate, conditions, etc.) in YOUR location, are often very different from elsewhere in the country, and world. I would honestly suggest you contact the most local rose society group to where you live to check the information you obtain outside of your area to determine how valid it may be for where you live.