Which valley do you live in in East Tennessee? Some of our valley have red clay that's acidic and it is not a good soil for most roses grafted on Dr. Huey rootstock.

If you want to talk soils and rootstock, I live outside of Knoxville. Contact me at a b peck at att.net (no spaces and @.

I'm one zone further north than you, so I don't know how helpful my comments will be, but I do grow Peter Mayle and it does fine here. Gets lots of later afternoon hot sunshine from the west and doesn't seem particularly bothered by it. It has some BS problems at times, but not real bad. What it does have that can't be duplicated is really big fat full blooms of the hottest pink you can imagine. Absolute show off when it blooms. Other than that, it is a somewhat narrower and taller HT than most of my others.

I also grow Chrysler Imperial. Can't say it thrives in my garden but it blooms regularly -- lovely dark red blooms. It needs some help with BS, but is not real bad in that respect. Mine stays on the smaller side--not sure why.

If you want to check out some dark red shorter Austins instead, consider Darcy Bussell, Sophy's Rose, or (if you want a more red with purple overtones) my favorite Munstead Wood. All those Austins are about 3x2.5, are disease- resistant, and gorgeous. Austins grow fine in my zone 6 Kansas.

Hope that helps.

Kate

Thanks, Ann! I've sent an email your way.

Kate, that was helpful. For me, Peter would be getting a little shade. I wonder how that would affect performance and color? Other than that, PM sounds like it might be a good fit. Also, thanks for the Austin suggestions. I've always assumed they wouldn't grow well here. They're all lovely and Munstead Wood is really nice. Hmm, more roses to ponder...

I grow Grand Dame, Peter Mayle and Rouge Royale from your list. I quit trying to grow Chrysler Imperial years ago. I love its scent, but it just isn't a happy rose here (I'm between Huntsville and Birmingham). I do spray, but still couldn't keep it healthy. For me, Firefighter is the closest red to Chrysler Imperial that I can grow successfully here. Its scent is just as strong, its almost constantly in bloom, flowers last a long time and don't fry too badly in our hot sun. I love Rouge Royale, too, but its form is quite different from Chyrsler Imperial and the blooms aren't nearly as long lasting cut or on the bush as Firefighter for me. I love Peter Mayle's huge blooms and great scent, but it doesn't bloom too much here once the summer really heats up. The blooms I do get are gorgeous and last forever cut, though. Grand Dame is VERY heat tolerant and blooms a lot here...huge flushes with just a short break in between. Blooms last a long time and never crisp or fry in my climate. Scent is a strong, wafting, old rose fragrance. Form is very old fashioned and the blooms do nod...I love that about it, but some people don't care for nodding. It is a huge bush, and I have to support it as its canes are not yet strong enough to hold all those blooms up. It seems to have better than average disease resistance here. Below is a bush shot of Grand Dame...you can see where some of the canes have broken free of their support and are pretty much laying on the ground.

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and a close up of Grand Dame's blooms

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I was just looking at a bloom of Munstead Wood this morning and thinking how much it resembles Barcelona.

Can Peter Mayle take some shade? I don't really know--except to say that mine get shade all morning--the sun doesn't hit them until about 1:00--but then it is sun all the rest of the day. I sometimes think they would like it better if there were some shade for relief from that late afternoon sun--a killer heat in Kansas!

Oh hoovb--everytime I see a pic of Munstead Wood, my heart goes pitter-pat, pitter-pat! Those dark velvet tones just about knock me over. Love that plant!

Kate

Thanks, Pat and hoovb, for your gorgeous photos and Kate and Cynthia for sharing your experience. I think I know what I'm going to do and then I change my mind again.

Pat, your experience is very helpful. I like GD better after seeing the whole bush when in bloom and hearing that the fragrance is so strong. If it can handle heat and humidity that well, it sounds like a serious contender. The old-fashioned nodding look sells it for me even though I don't think that American Beauty blooms nod like that. But to be honest, it was a very long time ago. Oddly, the thing I remember best is their fragrance and this rose sounds like it has plenty of it.

Cynthia, I was afraid that VF would be similar to the other hybrid teas in preferences and disease resistance. None of the ones I've tried here have ever been happy. However, your description of the Austins make them worth considering. Also, I really like FD/Barcelona and would love to use it somewhere, even if I don't grow it in this bed. I was hoping it would grow better for me than the other hybrid teas and it sounds like it may. Maybe I should buy one of each? My husband will love this idea.

Hoovb, that picture very nearly made my decision for me! Wow!

Right now, I'm thinking I will go for Grande Dame and either FD or one of those Austins. But I have changed my mind three times in the last two days so it could happen again. Thanks, everyone, for your help.