I live in MA zone 5b/6a. We've had two successive very wet springs and that may be part of the problem for some of the roses I've been growing. Over the last eight years or so, here's the success/failures I've had:

The Fairy - great til this year, has some disease now

Hybrid musks - most have fizzled or look really bad. Felicity is OK, some disease

Winchester Cathedral - not that hardy, some disease

Constance Spry - very hardy, no disease

R. glauca - very hardy, no disease

R. hugonis - very hardy, no disease (ten days of sheer beauty in May)

Therese Bugnet - very hardy, no disease

Linda Campbell - very hardy, very little disease

Royal Bonica - dieback so stays small, no disease

William Baffin - big disappointment! Very hardy but has looked absolutely terrible last two years with disease.

So, if I'd like to improve my rose growing but stay organic - are there roses I can add that will look great (like T. Bugnet, Linda Campbell) with no work? If I stick to those recommended in the FAQ for organic growing, would that do it? I just don't want to bother with spraying! But I'll start cleaning up in the fall if you tell me to.

I haven't been fertilizing (I know, bad again) what would you recommend? Again, I really want to keep it simple. I've been seeing references to "alfalfa tea" but no real recipe. Is this the Holy Grail of rose fertilization? Or, just more compost as topdressing?

Someone on another rose forum here recommended I stick to hybrid rugosas, like Linda Campbell. Thoughts appreciated here. LC seems great with no suckers yet (it's been in 3-4 years) and I really want to avoid suckering roses. I could deal with one that suckers a little, but I used to have R. rugosa itself at another house - what a pain. I saw this one called Moore's Striped Rugosa which looked truly beautiful, not sure where I can find it though.

As you can see I'm in need of advice. Any is gratefully appreciated.

Frances

That said, there are few roses that don't rquire some help to look good all summer, but I don't mind a little disease as the summer nears end.

It's surprising to hear about Bill (we're on intimate terms). He is usually a loveable monster.

I too am experiencing a little mildew, in my case, on the Fairy.

Others you might consider in a Zone 5 environment are:

Bonica
Westerland
Morden Blush
Frau Dagmar Hastrup (or any other Rugosa)
Erfurt
Eutin
many species or near species

The link will give you others' opinions and the results of overwintering from several gardens in Z 5.

Hope it helps,

Steve.