Antique roses and old garden roses (OGR's) are a good idea if you don't want an incredible amount of spraying and feeding going on. Louis Philippe is called The Cracker
Rose because it has been grown in Florida for over 100 years, and does well here. You can grow it for quite awhile on its own root, and even longer if it is grafted onto Fortuniana rootstock. It's lovely, fragrant, hardy and gets large. Every Florida garden ought to have at least one rose somewhere, and this is the one I would pick, both for ease of culture and for historical reasons.

Other good choices might include Pink Pet, St. David's, Maitland White, Duchesse de Brabant, Madame Lombard, Mutabilis, Bermuda's Kathleen, Old Blush, and Vincent Godsiff. Of course, I live in Z9 or 9B, so growing conditions would differ, but I'd check local nurseries for some of those, for starters. And of course, you can't beat the Knock Out series for trouble free roses. There is the original Knock Out (a bright red), Double Knock Out, Pink Knock Out, Blushing Knock Out and Rainbow Knock Out. All are outstanding roses and easy to grow.

Some of the above have good fragrance, and some not as much. And sometimes I can smell a rose that someone else can't, and vice versa.

Good luck with your choices! I'm sure others will have good suggestions for you.

Marcia

thanks. I looked at the Louis Philippe years ago and had forgotten it. I'm looking for a pink rose and the double knockout looks like a possibility. It says to Z9 but I'm closer to water so the breezes let me grow Z9 plants sometime.

You are right about the subjective nature of scent in roses. Just like wine. Sharon

Hands down, the best rose among my 80+ Old Garden Roses is Duchesse de Brabant. Most are not very mature yet so that may change. I do not spray. Very fragrant.

This pic was taken at the height of the rainy season last year. Very clean foliage, not too bad with the thorns either. I fertilize well. She is always building a new flush, too.

KO's... Well, I love to Knock them... Good color in the landscape, most are very thorny and they have little scent, overall.

My second DDB was purchased as a rooted cutting at the USF Plant Sale (SOON!) for only $6.00 eighteen months ago. She has a four foot candelabra of buds with 38 buds on it.

Here is a link that might be useful: DdB

Maybe this link will work...

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:298316}}

Does anyone have Caldwell pink ?
I know it stays fairly small and has beautiful pink flowers .
Not sure of the scent ?

Veronica
Thanks for photo of Duchesse. I always like photos :-)

noseyrosey
I have stayed away from English roses after reading they do less well in SWF conditions than heirloom teas, chinas and noisettes. I love fragrant roses so knockout roses are out for me for that reason.

There are many antique roses we can grow better here in sub-tropical Florida than anywhere else in the U.S., lots of the China and tea roses (not meaning hybrid tea) and noisettes. If only they were available at my corner nursery, alas not.

So...I mail order and get small roses that stay potted for a year to get big enough to safely put in the garden. And search plant sales for sellers of old roses. And trade with GW buddies who are good at starting cuttings from theirs.

Marcia has given you some good names. My favorites are the big, many-petalled, fragrant old kinds. Duchesse de Brabant fills that bill but there are SO many others.

Here are some websites:
countrysideroses.com
rosepetalsnursery.com
vintagegardens.com
ashdownroses.com
rosesunlimitedownroot.com
chambleeroses.com

Good luck.

Denise

archduke charles
{{gwi:820317}}

sawyer plot tea (named after the cemetery plot it was found in)
{{gwi:820320}}

I'm thinking the Duchesse is what I'm looking for. I also saw the Fortuniana, a white climber, that I may give a go as well. That is the root stock often recommended for Florida roses.

I am looking forward to roses again in the garden. NR

Hello NR ~ I love the old garden roses.

Here are the roses that I have.

Ducher - China - 1869
Duchesse de Brabant - Tea - 1857
Caldwell's Pink or Pink Pet - China - 1928
Cocktail - Floribunda - 1957
Louis Phillipe - China - 1834
Kathleen - Hybrid musk - 1925
Bon Silene - Tea - 1834
Maggie - Bourbon - 1900
La Marne - Polyantha - 1915
Homere - Tea - 1858
Borderer - Polyantha - 1918
Mm. Laurette Messimy - China - 1897
Mutabilis - China - 1894
Old Blush - China - 1793
Penelope - Penelope - Hybrid musk - 1924
Phyllis Bide - Polyantha climber - 1923
Prosperity - Hybrid musk- 1919
Ballerina - Hybrid musk - 1937
Dainty Bess - Hybrid Tea - 1925
Maman Cochet - Tea - 1896
Souvenir de la Malmaison - Bourbon - 1843

I may have a few more, but they are more modern roses. These I have now are all own root. I have read that the old garden roses are more hardy. I love them. Some of the above are not really ogr's, but have done well for me. I have had others and lost them, boo hoo.

Happy Rose growing, and remember one is not enough, and before long you will be an addict. :-)

FlowerLady

I was just out walking around and saw Vincent Godsiff, which was not on my list. I got this rose along with Crepuscule, which I just realized is not on my list either, from Nikki. Sure do miss her in here.

Vincent Godsiff - It is a found Bermuda, China rose.
Crepuscule - Noisette - 1904

I think that is it. Most of my roses have new growth right now and my main Duchesse de Brabant is loaded with buds. I will take a picture when she's blooming. Others are starting to get lots of buds too so will take pictures of them also as they do their thing.

FlowerLady

Flower Lady: one is not enough...oh, I know that well. I had about 60 in Michigan which were tucked into a huge herbaceous border of perennials and small shrubs. I put that away when I moved to Florida but had a few when I first got here, namely David Austins as I was a tester for them.

Thanks to you all here, I have a lot to think about.

Hi Noseyrosy
About Gertrude Jekyll - lovely flower, but the common complaints are that it hardly ever blooms, gets very few blooms, and the flowers shatter very quickly. My experience with them has been exactly like that. I have 2, and I wish that I had bought something else - like anything off of Flowerlady's list.
Happy gardening,
Avalon

I agree with Thonotorose that Knock Out roses have very little fragrance, so if you are looking more for that, then there are better choices. But if you want a tough, brightly colored, constantly blooming, disease resistant accent rose that doesn't get terribly large, they work very well. My neighbor has Knock Out Blush around her mailbox, and they are very pretty and trouble free for her. I have two that I really enjoy, as well.

But for sheer romance, fragrance and beautifully old fashioned flower forms, the OGR's can't be beat. Duchesse is fantastic, however, it is a "nodding" rose, and some people love that, while others aren't as happy with it. In other words, the flowers tend to "droop" and face the ground, rather than looking up and smiling at you. It is charming, I think, but that's a personal opinion.

There are so many OGR's to consider! I think your best bet is to see what seems to do well in your location, and choose from those. You've got some great suggestions here, but there are lots more, too. I believe Chinas and Teas are very good down here. If you like a HOT pink...Vincent Godsiff is a real standout. If you want softer pink, Old Blush probably can't be beat. I was particularly fond of my Pink Pet, too, as it had clusters of smaller, fresh pink roses that were very cheerful. Not a lot of fragrance, though.

Let us know what you choose, and how it does for you!

Marcia

I was an interior designer for 40 years and loved the cabbage roses on English chintzes. I love the nodding roses you describe so I think I have found at least one rose for sure. I have had no luck in my 14 years here with a local source for roses so I will order from a specialist.

The Gertrude Jekyll is a David Austin rose and I agree that they do not do as well in our climate. In Michigan they were unstoppable. I'm looking forward to receiving my Duchesse de Brabant.

Noseyrosey-
have you been to Scrivner's nursery in Ft. Myers? They carry a decent selection of roses on Fortuniana, the rootstock that is really the only one for Fl. All of my hybrid teas are from Scrivner's, and they are doing very well indeed. I'm picking bouquets everyday now.
Avalon

I've been to Scrivners many times. I buy my mulch there, but little else. Cedarcide is a great mulch and barrier.

I try to do old roses or the old rose type, like Austin. Fortuniana is a good root stock for Florida, but not the only one if you are using non-hybrids. For hybrid roses is is a must.

I buy some things from Driftwood but find myself ordering online for most things after doing research.

I almost gave up on growing roses, and then I gave OGR's and shrubs a try - and now roses are my second big love after orchids
I grow quite a few different vars, cant remember all names
(and right now I have Fortuniana blooming for the first time, what a pretty rose!)

Here are some of my roses that have done well without spraying

question for Noseyrosey:
What other rootstocks have you had success with down here? I'm getting conflicting info from different sources about the necessity of having Fort as a rootstock, so I'm interested to know if there are other acceptable rootstocks for S. Fla.
thanks,
Avalon

I'm not the final authority on this by any means, but my understanding is hybrid roses, like Jackson and Perkins, etc. are grafted roses always and in Florida, the Fortuniana root stock is essential for longer life of the plants.

I've always preferred non-hybrids as I am looking for fragrance and a certain wild appearance and those roses tend to do fine on their own roots.

Here is a link that might be useful: fortuniana root stock information

Fotuniana is more viney looking than Dr Huey...the graft is higher. You have to watch below it for sucker formation.

Hybrid teas are a struggle in South Florida. I am dying to try some OGR's.

I really have no interest in hybrid teas anymore. I'm just trying old roses on their own roots.

Dr. Huey, thanks for bringing that type of root stock to my memory. I read about it about 10 years ago and promptly forgot it.

I should get my first plants late this week.

JP has started to offer some HTs on their own roots.

Dr. Huey rootstock, IMHO, is totally inappropriate for S. Fl -
it just dies. I guess it can't take the 6 month spring followed by 6 months of summer. Many people believe that Dr. H may have been the spread source of the rose mosaic virus infection.

Maybe it's because of the micro-climate where I live, but my HT ( all on Fort) are doing just fine. And, by the way, if your still interested in Austins, Scrivner's carries some Austins on Fort, but you probably already know that.

However, I too am much more interested in acquiring own-root OGRs rather than more HTs. I'm working on my "wish list" for OGR teas now.

Unfortunately, I have been advised that even OGR teas need to be grafted onto Fort to survive here more than 5 years or so. I just don't know, too much conflicting info.
Avalon

Wow thonotorose The Duchesse is pretty. On help me find it says it is good to go through zone 11 and is shade tolerant. I have several Austins that do well for me. Here is my favorite:
Mary Magdeline (with The Dark Lady jumping into the shot). It doesn't get leggy like most. It blooms non stop. It has a great musk smell and it is one of the few roses in my garden that the thrips leave alone.
{{gwi:226737}}
Close-up
{{gwi:226735}}
Nancy

Thanks to all for the info on the OGRs and Florida. I have planted my Duchesss d B and she is blooming already. Tiny blooms which I should have removed, but it has a long time to grow for me and I was anxious to see the flower and scent. Lovely and very much the cabbage rose with myrrh scent I love.

I don't see any facility to imbed photos here this morning. Any help is appreciated.

I realize that this is an old thread, but just started a small rose garden. I live in Ft Myers, and wondered if there are any new nurseries that carry nice roses. If not, where do you order online with the best luck.
Thanks for any advice on this novice gardener.

I am in Ft. Myers too. Several years ago I ordered roses from the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas including the above mentioned Duchesse de Brabant, and Mutabilis. The D de B got killed a while back but the Mutabilis seems to be indestructible. I have moved it a couple of times, and it never skips a beat. A few years ago I also got Martha Gonzales at Lowes and it has done extremely well. Neither is ever sprayed. I mulch around them with pine straw. Occasionally I throw coffee grounds, epsom salts, or worm casts around them, but that is it.

Hi, Ginakay & Oukay, our Marion County Rose Society had a guest speaker recently who is from Sarasota who grows a ton of David Austins, and she's tried a lot more than even what she has in her garden now. She wants LOTS of flowers in her HOT summer garden, and she has a list of DAs that she recommends for their summer bloom - and some she can't recommend. She knows her Austins! She also says she has roses on Fortuniana, Dr Huey & own root, and she's even planted bareroots with no losses. She's very informative. Last year she spoke to us on fertilization. Here's a link to the Bradenton-Sarasota Rose Society. She's the last one on the contact list, and her email address is there. There's also a list of the Society's favorite roses. I recommend that you contact Connie. She's very vivacious and nice. Maybe she can email you her list.

Bradenton-Sarasota Rose Society

I think Sarasota is more like Ft. Myers than Ocala is, and we also have some big differences, like cold weather vs no cold weather. Personally, Teas and Chinas are good in Florida, but you can expect them to take a summer break generally. I've just bought 4 new Austins highly recommended by Connie (Darcey Bussell & Lady of Megginch) and a lady in Brooksville (Tradescant & Jude the Obscure).

Have fun!!

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

my Duchesse de Brabrant is still among the living. I just don't have the yard for growing roses so I will replace it soon. Anyone want it? It is healthy and if cut back someone might have a nice rose. I'm in south fort myers near in Whiskey Creek area. Message me if you are interested in digging her up!