I suppose your choices are endless. I'm no rose expert, but one of my favorites is 'Tropicana'. I grew it when I was a teenager at home and have recently re-acquired it. I love the glossy green foliage and the coral-orange blooms. Some sources say it only has moderate resistance to disease, but I find mine doesn't have many problems (though that could be due to our less humid climate here on the prairies). In fact I think my Morden Blush suffers more blackspot than tropicana.

It's still a bit too early to rate the performance of mine. I planted it last year and it was a 1-1/2 grade rose, so not that bushy to begin with. It came through winter nicely with just the usual winter protection (mounding peat moss and then leaves over the crown). In fact a few years ago I planted this rose and it survived one winter back then without winter protection (but died out the next).

Glen

You're absolutely right that there should be a cold zone roses forum. The rules are different!

I have a florist's rose, Sonia, which people on the Roses forum say I shouldn't be able to grow. Does great here, been here for EVER, must be on the right rootstock.

Double Delight is my most hardy tender rose. I also have an unknown red floribunda, and two Montezumas that are long-term survivors. Roses that I have removed due to poor flowering or bad placement are Peace, Queen Elizabeth, Tropicana, Mirandy and Electron. Climbing Blaze was fabulous for years but one year just up & died.

New this year I have Garden Party, Autumn Sunset, and rosa Gallica Versicolor.

The only two roses that I have lost to winter were Angel Face and JFK. I have since found out these are not good cold hardy choices even for zones much warmer than ours.

I also have a few hardy roses not mentioned here. Good topic!

My favourites are Portrait (Hybrid Tea, is about 5 year's old and still going strong.) Graham Thomas (Austin - very vigorous, also about 5 year's old). I also love Penelope and Bishop Darlington (Hybrid Musks, maybe doesn't fall into your description of tender?). I hill up all these roses.

Good luck with your choices!

Back up north (zone 4/5 WI) I had Garden Party, Double Delight and Touch of Class in one garden for 18 years! Others that did well there were Folklore, Dublin and Mr. Lincoln. Moonstone did okay but it was one of the last to sprout in the spring. There were a couple of years when I wasn't all that sure if it had survived. Most minis are good choices for up north. They seem to bloom more than HTs do. I found Austins - especially Graham Thomas - to be rather tender so I put them in with my HTs. I grew old teas and chinas in containers and overwintered them in our unheated attached garage. I wasn't brave enough to try them out in the garden up there. I will now get some of these again here. :-)

I've also found Garden Party very hardy and another is Iceberg. I havn't covered these two for several years although I did plant them deep with the bud union 6" below ground level. Most of the Austins do pretty well with very little winter protection. My favorite Hybrid Teas are Double Delight and Peace.

Hi!

Just joined here! Looks like a nice place.

Am in in zone 3, but many of my tender roses survive; some don't. (area: central alberta)

What didn't survive:
(1) Mr. Lincoln (planted 3 years in a row.
(2) Double Delight. so beautiful the first year, But died.
(3) Angel Face; my favorite fragrance. Planted these also at least 3 times.

What did survive:
(1) Austen rose, Abraham Darby, much fragrance
(2) Austen rose, Winchester Cathedral; white
(3) Floribunda, Sunsprite; yellow and fragrant
(4) Graham Thomas; creamy yellow and fragrant
(5) LD Braithwaite; think this is an Austen rose. Supposed to be very fragrant, but mine is not. However, it is a very healthy strong bush!
(6) Floribunda, Iceberg; beautiful white; lived for years and then died.
(7) Red Peace and Chicago Peace

All of your roses sound great; have no room for any more, but might try some of them.

Hi All,
I'm reviving this great thread, having just moved to Z5 in Massachusetts. As the plant catalogs begin to roll in I was hoping that more of you would add your cold zone rose success lists/stories. So far the only roses I dare to grow are the knockouts. Thanks in advance!
PattiOh

Nostalgie is my favourite , I also like China town , and Austin-Whinchester chatedral and Gertrud Jekyll are both doing fine in my cold climate
K north of sweden

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

K,
Nostalgie is a beauty!

After much research and considering my own growing conditions I've decided to start with three of the lovely red
rosa 'William Shakespeare 2000'. If they make it, I'll add some of the others from this post. Thanks
PattiOh

Wow i guess i'm alot more cautious than everybody else. especially the people in z 4-3.. i devoted 2/3's of my garden to hardy roses. explores and hardy OGR's. And the other 1/3 to more tender ones such as Austins and a few floribundas....i like the look of 8' bush's all blooming at the same time.and knowing that most of what i grow will make thru winter.. to each there own. sounds like everybody here has nice gardens and lots of energy for growing roses.. sounds like the right place to be..i'm trying charles de mills (gallica) and mme hardy (damask) this year. whats everybody else trying this year.....mark

Hi Mark;
Just noticed this thread! I'm also trying some more tender roses this year; Evelyn, Sharifa Asma, Tamora & Crocus Rose (Austin), Louise Odier (Bourbon),Scent-sation (HT) and Julia Child (Fl), plus Jacques Cartier & Rose de Rescht (supposed to be hardy enough). Also ordered a couple more hardy roses - Empress Josephine (Gallica) and Felicite Parmentier. It was really hard to stop there, but I REALLY do not have any more room - as it is, many are already going into pots! This winter was my first trying the more tender roses - Elina and Abe Darby in the garden (and New Dawn, which was fine after last winter), and Charlotte, Graham Thomas and Royal William in pots (overwintered in shed). I have my fingers crossed that they all made it. Before today's snow storm, everything seemed to have some green cane above the snow line, so it's looking good. Now of course, they are completely buried again, which is also good! Starting off with only hardy roses is good, and gives you confidence. Now I am ready to experiment and take some chances. I'm sure that's how most cold-zoners begin pushing the limit. And then it never ends...
Judith

judith we have a few roses in common i see.. and some that are on my wish list.. the only way i can get more roses is to remove the bad preformers..which i'm starting to do this year.. i have two alba's i just love konigin von danemark and mme legras de st. germain i have a few portlands comte de chambord and rose de rescht cdc id my favourite of the two.. florabunda's are tender here at least the two i grow.. iceberg (white) and europeana (red) The explorer roses are completly hardy and usually only bloom once for me..The austins are a mixed bag here. mary rose is very hardy as well as constance spry, graham thomas does well most years.. We seem to be very mild here for 4 or 5 years then whamm we get hit with a real cold canadian winter which kills the tender roses to the snow line.. Not sure what things will be like this year.. Winter didn't till the end of january, no snow cover to speak of and really cold temps for weeks at a time.. First time this has happened here since i started growing roses 10 years ago..So i have my fingers crossed and hoping for the best....mark

Mark,
Here too winter started late January, with very cold temps; luckily, though, there was a storm just before the cold, of 20 cms, and I think all of it drifted into my backyard! Just the way the wind blew, I guess. Anyway it was a gift, because otherwise I'm sure everything would have croaked. I think every year we have to keep our fingers crossed, "cause you just never know what Mother Nature has in store. We'll both find out soon enough how they all fared.....
Judith

Pls doea anyone in Edmonton Alberta growing Sunsprite and Queen Elizabeth and Olympiad roses successfully in the ground ??

I'd like hrlp in tips to ensure they survive the winter .

Please feel free to write to me

rumioflondshaw.ca

Thanks so much

A few years ago I was at Sears garden center and discovered a rose named mardi gras. Amazed by pink/yellow/orange shades on one bloom. Wish I still had it (survived one winter with protection). Nice yellow, pink, orange shades. Of course I now have the much hardier 'campfire' rose which sort of has same colors.