I have carefully followed your suggestions on overwintering your roses on another forum; should like to ask what you consider to be YOUR hardiest fragrant red roses? I also live in a nominal 5a in Ithaca, NY outside the lake effect zone, in a microclimate with unexpected spring freezes that damage and kill young growth, especially mulched canes making vigorous new growth.

Plus, some of the own-root stock I have received from various vendors have been of mixed quality, some of the their certainly of much higher vigor than others. The Mother plants must be of declining vigor, or else they are supplying sickly liners. Both Vintage Roses and High Country have done this: some fine mixed in with weaklings that have never put on good growth. Logees also has this practice, with other species. So, one cannot truly say that they are supplying bad stock, but there is a let down, since one is paying about $15 plus S&H for rather small plants.


Madame Louise Laperriere is one I received from Vintage Roses and I thank them for stocking hard to find varieties, like Pink Radiance, another relatively rare one, a healthy liner. But the former never even began to grow cossetted indoors and out. I have spent my life as a NASA-CELSS researcher, and should have learned a thing or two about growing plants in controlled environments by now, one hopes. SO, not from the lack of care. Perhaps, some roses do better grafted.

Roses Unlimited sends only perfect plants perfectly packed, in my limited experience with them, but they have cut back on the older roses I love.

I have only purchased from Heirloom Roses when they were in their early stages, in Oregon, picking up the plants. The sizes and prices both have become too large for cross country shipment and for my wallet. Good selections for all the older classes.

Should love some advice on some of the better RED and fragrant roses that MIGHT survive out of doors in Zone 5a. Graham Stuart Thomas survived for many years, as a hardy perennial, coming back each year from the soil level and putting out a few flowers; very quaint and sweet, in its determination! Alec's Red, and Dickson's Red, Gruss an Teplitz, and a misnamed Griffith Buck grew well for some years before a hard winter took them out, despite heavy, careful protection. My fault for choosing tender types, and hence, need for better advice!

I have a raised bed 28 inches above the soil, composed of rotten oak, maple, leaves, ditto wheatstraw, some milled peat moss, some Promix, a little sterilized soil, all turned over until it feels good to my hands, slightly acidic, slightly shaded in the late afternoon, but sun again in evening. Excellent drainage assured. No nutritional issues that are noticeable, at least to me. May exist unbeknownst.

Try to have relatively lower leaf nitrogen levels, a practice we attempt on many fruit crops, and increase potassium levels. Watch how phosphate moves with the various phosphate species. As far as we can. Leaf color changes. And the various species of nitrogen and polyamines, as far as we can gauge their uptake by eye.

Alba semi-plena does very well, rude good health. Would love more and Gallica City of Brussels, which cannot find anywhere. Rugosas did well until an insect whose name I was told killed them all, along with a rosarian friend's wall of rugosas.

Thank you kindly.