Other compact & bush beauty and fragrant roses: Below Strike it Rich, very thorny & drought-tolerant, it's a 7th-year-own-root. Right white is 12th-year own root Mary Magdalene, very compact at 2' x 2' (no octopus canes)

Below Rouge Royal (left) is very compact & fragrant as own-root, same with Baronne de Rothchild (right of below pic). Both are 1' x 1' in my zone 5a, even as 4th-year own-root:

Below Augusta Luis is very compact & delicious scent as own-root, pic. taken 2 months after purchase as band-size from LongAgoRoses. It's healthy if enough potassium and calcium for its many firm petals. It needs fast drainage for heavy rain climate.

Below right is Augusta Luis, upper pink is Evelyn, and red is Munstead Wood (compact as 8th-year own-root)

Kristine LeGault 8a pnw Your Love song & Plum Perfect are gorgeous !! Agree on Double Delight being compact. I grew Double Delight as own-root and as grafted, and the own-root was much healthier.

Now my grafted Double Delight grew its own root above Dr.Huey-rootstock (after 9 years), and the repeat is fast. Not much blackspots after 9 years with longer roots to reach down the bottom layer for alkaline minerals, it gets morning sun only, below pic. was taken this early August:

Barcelona has fantastic scent, very compact 1' x 1' as 11th-year own root. But it's prone to blackspots after blooming during high-rain season. Roots are too short to reach down to the dolomitic bottom for minerals.

Old Port is very compact as 8th-year own root, scent is light and is prone to blackspots with its dark-green leaves. Same problem of roots being too short to reach down to the bottom layer of dolomitic lime, and I have to constantly lime it keep it healthy prior to each heavy rain.

This year, Queen of Elegance is my best bushy rose that blooms a lot. The bees love it.

I'm not sure how big it gets in warmer climates or grown in the ground. It has lots of leaves. The roses have a great spicy-rosy fragrance. :)

Gosh there are some beauties here. Kristine - your Love Song and Plum Perfect are wonderful! Straw - your Poseidon and your The Dark Lady are sublime!! :)

rosecanadian Your Q of Elegance looks great !! Your roses in pots are superb this year, very much like your many years of lots of blooms and healthy leaves. Are there differences in how you feed them this year versus last year? Thanks for the info.

I constantly experiment with new ways each year, it's about learning rather than being perfect.

Straw your roses are beautiful. What is the dark pink peony showing behind prairy harvest, it looks super lovely.

Liz, my suggestion would be to go to the rose garden there in Portland, and see what roses might fit what you have in mind. Your climate is going to be a big determinant in how some roses grow, and what might be a compact bush in a colder climate might not be such a small rose in your climate. Or it could go the other way around also. That being said, see how Boscobel grows in your area. For me it is very compact, very fragrant, does not have bare legs. But I've seen photos of it in other climates where it gets much bigger. My plant is now bigger than this photo shows, but it is still very bushy.

dianela7bnorthal I love your beautiful roses with many blooms too.

Peony likes my rock hard clay. The dark pink peony is from the bag of 3 bulbs sold at Walmart with no ID. It has no scent. I also grow Sarah Bernhardt peony (lighter pink with fragrance). Peony's scents are inferior compared to roses' scents.

I forget about the most compact & most healthy rose among 150+ fragrant own root roses that I grow: It's Blue Mist at 1.5' x 1' with old rose/musk wafting scent (better scent and more drought-tolerant than Marie Pavie).

I bought Blue Mist from Burlington nursery back in 2012, and Hummingbird roses in MI also sells Blue Mist.

Rabbits eat Marie Pavie but won't touch Blue Mist since it's prickly:

noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) Just saw your Boscobel (best bush beauty & most blooms ever). How do you amend your sandy soil for it, and how do you fertilize it? Is your Boscobel own-root? I got 2 Boscobel recently and appreciate any info. Thank you.

Do rabbits devour Boscobel like they do with Marie Pavie? Own-root Augusta Luis rise to my top favorites since the underside of its leaves are prickly, less likely to be eaten by rabbits.

Roses grafted on Dr.Huey at nearby rose park are many times taller than my own-root roses. Abraham Darby is over 6 feet tall as grafted at rose park, versus mine at 3 feet tall in late fall. Jude the Obscure is 7 feet tall as grafted at rose park, versus mine at 1 foot tall in late fall.

For that reason, I never buy Austin roses as grafted. Also, I'm too lazy to water and fertilize grafted roses like what Frank Gatto (owner of high rain PNW rose nursery) suggested: it's 5 gallons of water per week for one rose grafted on Dr.Huey, plus a handful of chemical fertilizer NPK 10-10-10 along with a handful of organic fertilizers EVERY 3 WEEKS!!

Own-root roses are much smaller like a geranium in my zone 5a. I never fertilize nor water my geranium flowers, so I can be lazy in watering and fertilizing with small own-root roses.

Smaller roses = smaller roots = less demand for water and fertilizers.

I accidently shared this photo, Boscobel isn't blooming in it.... But I can't delete.

You can see Boscobel here as the tall pink in the middle-ish area. it's about 5 ft tall. 3rd year grafted.

I love Boscobel. Beautiful blooms, nice shrub, lovely fragrance. It does get huge here. It's in the middle section of my bed as you can see. Smaller shrubs up front, climbers in back.

I live in the Eugene area. Although Boscobel is large, it has a beautiful bush shape. See below.

Munstead Wood is much more compact in my garden, very beautiful.

It's the dark maroon rose in the lower middle right. It's about 2.5 to 3.5 feet tall. 2.5 year own root.

Finally, Jubilee Celebration is medium sized in my garden. 2nd year grafted. Pink at the front of the border. 3 feet tall.

JC with Boscobel in background.

All three are great repeat bloomers, pretty good blackspot resistance ( Boscobel and JC got a little tiny bit in this very wet year). Lovely fragrance on each.

librarian_gardner_8b_pnw Just saw the pic. of your dreamy garden. Wow !! All your roses are vigorous, how is your soil like and how do you fertilize your roses to be so tall? Thank you. In spring I need fast growth for my roses to be taller than the 10+ hungry rabbits.

Wise Portia, sold as own-root at High Country roses and LongAgo roses is compact, fragrant, and healthy. It's small and compact for CA folks as well as my zone 5a. After 8 years, its size was 2' x 2' as own-root. After its dying in my zone 5a winter, I bought it again this year, and it's small & constant blooming. I can cut Wise Portia for the vase .. bloomed lots in only 4 hrs. of sun. It needs alkaline pH to stay healthy, and I constantly douse it with biochar at pH 8.6:

Below purple is Wise Portia, pink is Liv Tyler, and White is Bolero.

Well your compliments mean a lot, Straw. Your garden is gorgeous.

I think most roses get huge on the western side or Oregon because we have mild winters full of rain... Very great for root development! There's pretty much no dieback in winter and roses (and everything else, including weeds) take off when it warms up.

I'm near a river, in an area with a lot of great organic farms, so I think many of us here have nutrient rich soil. It's loamy clay but a little heavy on the clay. I have to be careful with a few spots in my garden where drainage isn't that great. Part of my garden is also the drainage field for my septic tank...maybe that contributes 😅

When I plant roses I put eggshells and banana peels in the bottom of the hole. I feed the roses once a year (sometimes twice, but I often don't have time) with alfalfa pellets and Down to Earth Rose and Flower food (they're our local company).

librarian_gardner_8b_pnw Agree that high rain and warm temp. can make roses very tall. After July with high rain and warm temp, my own-root roses shoot up. On this Sept. 1, Princess Charlene de Monaco is 9 feet tall, Dee-lish is over 5 feet, same with About Face, Savannah and Sweet Mademoiselle. In late summer these own-root Austin roses are throwing 4 feet octopus canes: Golden Celebration, L.D. Braithwaite, Lady of Shallot, and Crown P Margareta.

Roses die often in my zone 5a winter with freezing rain that killed 6 of my decades old trees. There are only two own-root roses that I care enough to replace: Versigny and Firefighter.

If I have to choose one roses that fit all the categories: best for the vase, best scent, best health, most compact, most heat and rain tolerant, it's Versigny. That's out of 150 own-root fragrant roses for the past decade.

Versigny died twice in my zone 5a, too bad Roses Unlimited didn't have it available for my order this year. Below is own-root Versigny back in 2013 grown in my rock hard alkaline clay and very shady garden, never see blackspots in the years I grew it:

Below are the best own-root roses for the vase, lasting 5 days: orange is Versigny, white is Bolero (compact & healthy), red is Firefighter (very tall), pink is Liv Tyler (healthy but not compact):

Thanks for the kind words on Love Song and Plum Perfect. Sadly. Plum Perfect is not happy in his space so he is moving to a sunnier location. I hope it gets happy again .

Kristine, your PP and LS look so beautiful together. I hope PP likes it's new spot when you move it.

Straw - I'm experimenting with keeping the watering more neutral with a mixture of collected rainwater and tap water. I'm also giving weakly weak doses of worm leachate and fish fert. (0-10-10) with a dose of tomato fertilizer (for the calcium). It all appears to be working. :) :) Thanks, Teresa...and I love experimenting on my roses too. :) My! Your Blue Mist is really lovely! So well grown as all of your roses are. :) :) I love your Liv Tyler! I've been hoping to find that one for awhile. :) Ooooh!! Versigny in your last photo!!! What a beauty!!! :) :) :)

Noseometer - perfection! Glorious perfection!

Librarian - I would love to visit your garden! What lushness and beauty!

rosecanadian Thank you for sharing your smart approach for many blooms in pots. Roses DO NOT need high nitrogen to be tall, since air is composed of 78.09% nitrogen. This year with 17 newly bought air-pots, I cut out nitrogen fertilizer completely and use alfalfa tea at NPK 2-1-2, very low nitrogen at 2. And roses get so tall in pots, like 3 feet tall Kiss Me Kate after 2 months as gallon size own root. Or Purple Lodge shot up to 2.5' x 2.5' after 2 months as tiny band from LongAgoRoses, see below:

The own-root roses that refuse to grow are the ones in poor drainage clay and roots choke from lack of air in soaking wet dense clay. Like Versigny was 3 feet tall in a 3-gallon pot, then I transferred to my poor drainage clay and it shrank to 1 foot.

I love the intense color on your rose shown above. What would you say about my Vineyard Song...small wimpy bush (nice blooms though) with mildewy leaves. It's own root. I'm not sure if it enjoys as much rain water as my others on multiflora rootstock. Any suggestions? I've never grown an own root before. :)

@strawchicago z5 - I think my Boscobel is so small and bushy because I don't fertilize it very much. It gets some compost and a bit of milorganite in the spring, but that's about it. And as you mention, my "soil" is mostly sand.

rosecanadian Two other people mentioned about Vineyard Song being pale & wimpy. It's a cross between mini rose Little Chief and a Hybrid Multiflora with tiny leaves, which means it prefers light & fluffy & sandy soil rather than soaking wet pot or dense clay.

Little Chief × Violette (Hybrid Multiflora, Turbat, 1921)

Mildew is often from rain water can't drain fast, thus the pH drops. I got mildew on Firefighter when I mixed acidic alfalfa meal and alkaline rock dust in potting soil, that made it wet & dense and water could not drain fast enough. I replaced the soil, gave it sulfate of potash and NO MORE MILDEW with faster drainage.

My peonies in poor-drainage clay get mildew after blooming, but my peonies next to trees (fast drainage) do not get mildew.

Thanks, Straw...I'm probably watering it too much. I'll stop doing that. :) :)

I’m new here, but just had to comment on that stunning photo of Love Song and Plum Perfect, Kristine LeGault 8a pnw! I’ve been considering the same purple-ish pairing—but I thought that Plum Perfect might be too small. How does the size and growth habit of Plum Perfect compare to Love Song’s nice bushy habit (assuming both roses would be grafted on Doc Huey)? Otto and Sons lists Plum Perfect as only growing to 2.5’ tall by 1.5’ wide, but helpmefind says that it can attain 47” in height. Also, this might not come up as often in your zone as it does in mine (SoCal 10a), but can Plum Perfect handle the heat as well as Love Song? We’re entering our second week of 100+ degree temperatures, and this was Love Song today at the Huntington Gardens. The high was literally 107. I was impressed! Wild Blue Yonder was also unscathed. I don’t think the Huntington has Plum Perfect, but every other mauve at the Huntington (including Angel Face, Arctic Blue, and Blue for You) was crispy.

Love Song

I don't know if you got your answer or not, @Desert Rose (10a Sunset 19), and I live in a totally different climate to yours (CT), but I wanted to let you know how my Plum Perfect bush looks. I have both, but my Love Song was a band and is still growing in a pot and not ready for the ground yet. I have 2 Plum Perfects grafted on the Dr. and this is the second year they are in the ground. They were one of the first to leaf out this past spring.

and gave me beautiful continuous blooms all summer.

I didn't take a picture mid-summer when it was loaded, but it was full of flowers and the clusters were huge!

I thought they would be 3x3 bushes, but now, the end of September, they are about 4x5 ft and full of buds, they are about to put on a show in the October flush. A lot of new growth too, as you can see from all the red.

Deser t Rose, somehow I missed your question and I apologize for not responding.

Plum Perfect is slightly taller than Love Song and both about waist high.

They are in quite a bit of shade so we need to remove a photinia and the they will have better light.

I was going to move Plum Perfect but it has put on a ton of new growth so I will leave it alone for now. Anyway, I think that the two would work well together.

Susu, gosh your pictures are beautiful. What a stunning garden you have created .

Librarian, I used to live in Santa Clara and the soil is something special. I could grow anything in that wonderful soil.

They used to have so many u pick places. That was really fun with the kiddos.

Thank you @Kristine LeGault 8a pnw, it's a work in progress and I'm learning a lot here. I caught the rose bug pretty bad and this is only my second year growing roses, although my mom grew them all my life. I love the mass planting effect, so I have doubles of most of my roses and despite being in a cold part of the country most of my roses are growing bigger than listed and will run out of space soon! I need to restrain myself, but keep ordering cause I want them all!!! :)

Thank you, @Kristine LeGault 8a pnw and @SuSu CT 7a! What stunning photos of Plum Perfect, and that actually sounds like just the right size for the spot that I have in mind. And wow, that saturated plum color is just beautiful!

Susu, everything here grows taller than listed if it is grafted.

If Palatine says 4 to 5 ft it will be 6 ft lol. This year I only ordered roses that are 2 to 3 ft and I migjt actually have a place to stuff them lol

The rose bug is real

Rosematic fuschia, brand new and a blooming machine, also a shortie.

Oh my! @Kristine LeGault 8a pnw, that is so bright it almost looks fluorescent!! Gorgeous!

@Kristine LeGault 8a pnw, I am tempted but I have 15 more on my wish list before I try anything else. I have an area with raised beds where I plant my roses to see the shape of the bush and flower color before moving them to their forever home in the flowerbeds. They are growing so big where they are now that I don't know how to fit them all in their planned spots. The struggle is real! lol

It does seem like most roses do grow at least a foot taller than expected. One that actually does seem to stay very bushy and compact is Our Lady of Guadalupe. Has anyone ever seen one surpass 3 feet tall? Here it is, being very sweet and well-behaved at the Huntington Gardens in late June.

Desert, my OLOG stays below 3 feet.

Desert Rose - very lovely Love Song blooms...and the bush looks great too. :) My!! OLOG looks great with so many bushes...tons of blooms!

Susu - gosh!! Your Plum Perfect bouquet is amazing! Looks so beautiful! And your bushes really are growing well. :) I'm amazed that your roses are doing so well since you've only been growing roses for 2 years! You really have a green thumb. :)

Kristine - your Rosemantic Fuchsia always looks great...a shortie...but a great bloomer.

Thanks @rosecanadian, can you believe this is just one spray, I didn't make the bouquet, I just cut one stem :D

Straw, after seeing your Mirandy, that may be my new red. Thorns or not it is a beautiful rose.

Susu - :) :) Wow! That is from one stem? Amazing! :) I didn't notice that in your other picture...Wowza!

Wow! I've been on vacation the past month and was pleasantly surprised to find so many suggestions here upon checking the forum.

strawchicago z5 - Munstead Wood is definitely one I have been considering to replace the monster Firefighter (which will be gone come spring). I have to grow roses in pots on my raised deck as the deer have just wouldn't leave the roses in the ground alone. The problem with tall roses is that I can't reach the blooms when they are in pots. Fortunately, the deer are not yet inclined to climb 6 feet up the stairs to reach the roses.

I have Strike it Rich in a pot (my husbands pick) and it is just the right size and shape for what I need and grows well potted. Twilight Zone is another I am considering. Any rose that balls is a no go for me, which is another reason Firefighter is going. I think it likes more heat which we don't have here in the spring.

Noseometer - I love going to the Rose test garden in Portland but it has a lot of historic roses and not so many of the new ones I am considering. They do have a new bed of Sweet Madame Blue which looks promising but I couldn't find it locally this summer. Anybody have experience with this? Sweet Madame Blue below:

Several people have hinted that grafted roses may grow taller than own root. I don't know what the roses around here are grafted on, but I have only seen grafted roses at local nurseries. I have grown own root roses at a previous house and they seemed to get plenty big, it just took longer. Does anybody have evidence that own root roses stay smaller?

Su Su CT 7a - Your Plum Perfect is gorgeous! I wonder how big it would get in Portland - anybody growing it here?

Liz, I just planted Sweet Madame Blue so too soon to know but it came as a nice big band.

A great trio of roses are the Rosematics. I have the fuschia and it is small but it has bloomed continuously since its first bloom. Right now it has 40 blooms and they are gorgeous

I heard that the pink is also incredible

They would do really well in a pot

Liz: I’m also super curious about Sweet Madam Blue, and am eager to hear how Kristine’s plant does once it gets going. They have one at the Huntington Gardens that’s maybe 2.5’ tall and wide, but it obviously hasn’t had long to establish since it’s a new rose. It’s planted in front of an enormous Violet’s Pride, and their bloom form and fragrance seem identical—with the obvious differences seeming to be the more diminutive stature and deeper, more saturated colors of Sweet Madam Blue. They also have Sweet Madam Blue at Otto & Sons nursery, and it seems to be in bloom whenever I visit. The guys at the nursery like it: they say it blooms a lot and does well in the dry heat.

Where did you find a band of Sweet Madame blue? I think it would be worth a try.

First photo is Sweet Madame Blue at the Huntington, and the others are at Otto and Sons.

Liz, I got mine at Northland Rosearium snd what a beautiful specimen

After seeing the pictures I am really excited. She looks beautiful

Thanks for sharing those pictures Desert Rose.

Regarding Sweet Madame Blue. Today I went to my local nursery to pick up a bunch of potting soil, which was on sale. They also happen to specialize in roses, and they had announced that Oct 15 was going to be the end of selling roses from their rose field (5 gallons). So I wandered out just to see what was still there. They had a lot of Sweet Madame Blue, and they were all in spectacular bloom. I really liked the blooms, and I smelled 5-8 of them, and they were pretty darned fragrant. Now, this was at 10 am on a cloudy day with a temp of ~65, so perfect conditions for fragrance, but I was quite impressed. If I didn't have a moratorium on getting new roses next year, this would probably be on my list!

Susan, thanks for sharing about the fragrance

That sounds encouraging

Well, i went ahead and ordered SMB from Northland and was surprised when I opened the package and the leaves were all perfect! So used to getting plants with the leaves stripped off. Not sure if that is an Oregon thing. Its potted up, hope the roots can grow some in the next month before our first frost. I’ll leave it on the deck with the other roses unless it gets really cold, then its the garage.

Liz, I was surprised at how big and heathy mine looked too.

I potted it up for a few weeks and then decided to go ahead and plant her.

It will be fun to share notes on. SMB