The Romanticas do well for me here on the So. Calif coast. I grow Jardins de Bagatelle, Peter Mayle, Yves Piaget, Eden, Comtesse de Provence, Johann Strauss, Jean Giono. I'd say most are pretty darned disease-free, except for Jardins de Bagatelle, which seems prone to rust. My Comtesse has issues with its blooms... they tend to fry quickly and sometimes smell slightly of vinegar. Odd, since it's next to Yves, who has long-lasting blooms. Yves will ball if it is rainy as it's opening. My Eden is on the north side of a six foot tall wood fence, conditions which should promote rust at certain times of the year, and it has never had rust (and I'm in rust central). I ditched Abbaye de Cluny a number of years ago b/c I thought it was a lesser version of Just Joey, which I like a lot better. The only one I gave away recently was Rouge Royale, for the reasons folks mentioned above. The person who I gave it to is happy with its occasional great blooms. John, I did not find Yves to be difficult to propagate... I made several cuttings of it a number of years ago. Romanticas are really just HTs. Susan

On the other hand, a lot of gardens could benefit from some editing. I am no fan of Marie Kondo's extreme measures in discarding our possesions, but there is real value in going through your garden and getting rid of plants that you only keep because of guilt, not pleasure. If you find this difficult to do all at once, try doing it in several passes spaced over a period of time with pauses in between for evaluation and reflection. Your garden exists to bring you joy. It might bring you more joy if you actually love all the plants you grow, and you grow a number that you can manage without exhaustion or stress.

I have STAR OF THE REPUBLIC that the ARE introduced in 1998. I had wanted EVELYN but the Brits decided to make her extinct because the rose was no longer under patent, so STAR was a substitution. I'm not sorry. The rose established itself very quickly own root and the first year gave me spring, summer, and autumn flushes with a few blooms between cycles. This was a worry of mine because I had read posts on this forum how her repeat bloom was a disappointment. Well not in my garden. The color is gorgeous too, an apricot pink blend. Flower form isn't as perfect as Evelyn but you get better foliage that is more resistant to black spot. Fragrance isn't as delicious either but is still strong and very pleasant. Another thing I like about Star of the Republic is the smooth canes. This rose is virtually thornless. I am really looking forward to seeing what it will do in the Spring. I like it so much that I'm ordering another. My growing conditions: USDA Zone 7a. We got four seasons with hot, humid summers. Raised flower bed against western side of house. Perfect soil because I basically dug a pit down 5 feet, lined with stone, and filled with loamy purchased garden soil with balanced pH (this was done back in the day when I had a young body).

I had it a few yrs ago when it was known as JALITAH. (I hate when they change names.) Unfortunately, it didn't survive the Camp Fire. I got a new one last yr, but at my new location, it barely showed the pink edges just at the end of the season. Was mostly just pale yellow. I have horrifically hot summers here, and I think it needs cool weather to get the pink to show up.