United States

I'm growing roses in Albuquerque, NM, USA. The winter zone is 7a, sunset zone 10, ~5700 ft elevation.

The soil of my high desert city lot is dry clay with little-to-no organic matter and extensive shallow roots from mature trees. My roses are either in containers or raised beds.

I grow only "own root", and I don't spray. I choose roses weighted equally on how prolific the blooms and if they can stand up to the intense high altitude sun and how resistant they are to thrips.

My current winners for high desert roses:

Beverly (amazing fragrance, huge blooms)
Easy Does It (frilly and fun)
Julia Child (the most perfect yellow, looks good in all color stages)
Leonardo Da Vinci (probably the perfect rose for me if the blooms were a little bigger, I love the bengal pink hue and old fashioned form)
Plum Perfect (romantic and a good warm purple)
Safari (lovely coppery orange fade to pink, looks great till it shatters cleanly)
Sexy Rexy (a charming pink, like 50's vintage pink)

Miniatures:
Bees Knees (cotton candy colors)
Cutie Pie (peachy in my climate, never pink)
Millie Walters (LOVE this color, a true coral and almost big enough blooms to not be a miniature)
Pierrine (warm cheerful pink and perfect form)
You're The One (this one is just so fun, you have to get one to see what I mean)

Roses that I've tried and rehomed or are in plant heaven:

Marmalade Skies (I found the color weirdly artificial)
Portlandia (The color and bloom form was utterly boring in my climate, nothing at all like the marketing photos, not worth the effort)
Mrs B R Cant (I absolutely loved this rose but it had to be very carefully sited with strategic shade and it always died back too much in the winter. Too fussy.)
Duchesse de Brabant (Two plants didn't survive the winter, but the flowers bleached too fast anyway, so I didn't pursue further. Pale pinks that look so fantastic in milder light can just look ordinary in high desert sun, no nuance).
Zephrine Drouhin (Two plants died, I think they got too dry, but it wasn't worth the hype to me anyway, no real rebloom.)

Newer roses still in trial phase:

Aloha
America
Flamenco Rosita
Grand Dame
Queen of Elegance

I'm always looking for more roses, so if you're a high desert rose grower and have some winners, let me know. Own root only. I prefer shrub and floribundas more than hybrid teas, and I prefer warm pinks, dusky pinks, warm purples, lavenders, peaches, apricots, corals.

Experienced

Last visit: Friday, August 11th