Of course, Knockout roses are the rage right now and deservedly so. It's probably the next shrub to be deemed "over-planted" by the botanical police, but I couldn't help but to plant my fair share of 'em! I've also grown Red Cascade and Verdun for years with no problems whatsoever. Both bloom throughout the growing season.

I recently purchased three rugosa roses simply for their drought tolerance and fragrance: Hansa, Therese Bugnet and Baseye's Purple. Hopefully they'll do well even though I think they prefer a cooler climate than north-central Alabama.

That's about as far as my knowledge of roses goes! Hope it helps...

Nelson

Yes I do love knockout and have a couple.

You might post on gardenweb's Roses Forum & Antique Roses Forum.

Best luck, & have fun!

'cecile brunner', the sweetheart rose, is a good one and still with me after many years. it makes a large, upright shrub with miniature pink blossoms.
'felicia' is very fragrant with clusters of loose, pink flowers. gets blackspot but not severely.
'sir thomas lipton' is a large, very thorny shrub with long canes holding white, lightly fragrant blooms. never got blackspot and lost it during the drought last year. leafcutter bees loved this one.
'the mccartney rose' is another very tall shrub that blooms repeatedly all summer with the most fragrant hot pink flowers i have ever smelled. somewhat blackspot resistant.
those are all that have survived for me over the years after i quit using pesticides.
maybe phillip in florence will see this and respond. he grows many different roses.

China roses, and tea roses are 2 classes of Antique roses that do particularly well in the South. Chinas tend to be smaller than Teas. Both will also take longer to get established than modern hybrid-teas roses, but will generally live longer.

Roses hybridized by Griffith Buck are very hardy and disease resistant and look more like hybrid-teas though they are often described as shrub roses. Carefree beauty, Folksinger, & Quietness are all Buck roses that have a hybrid-tea flower form. Carefree beauty is probably the easiest to grow but the bloom is looser looking.

If you post your question on the rose forum you will get many additional suggestions.