Hall of Shame Roses

Simon, forgot to mention I have 'Souvenir de Claudius Pernet' growing here as a result of being sent some budwood. The plants are destined for Margaret and Rustons. Surprising it has not been a big blackspot problem since I have had it. Possibly it's offspring suffer blackspot worse than this parent. It's reputation frightens everyone away from growing it but here it is just like the average HT

It is a much better performer than AMADEUS and some other HT's

That's good to hear. Black spot apparently isn't much of a problem at Renmark, so overall it should do well, and historically it's very significant in rose-breeding.

So far by far the worst performed that we have tried is bloody "White Iceberg".

It simply will not grow for us. The neighbour up the hill gree them fine but ours did not grow. When we went to Tas. they were everywhere and probably competed with the dog rose for the "weed" champoin of the island.

People have them growing in the middle of lawns (ie no garden beds) and even houses that the owners appear to struggle to afford to eat have gloriious Iceburgs.

But in saying that Blanch Fluer when it flowers and White Ensign kills Iceburg for beauty of a white flower (at our place anyway).

I visited my local rose nursery with all the PBR HT roses listed on a wonderful catalogue with perfect pictures. When I ask " How good is its health here in Sydney ". They reply by mentioning how well they have done at the Rose Trial Gardens. Roses that perform well way down south are Blackspot Magnets here and the further north you travel the worse the problem becomes.

The rose trial gardens should be at Coffs Harbour or the Queensland border to guage how well they will perform in most of the gardens in Coastal Australia where the greater population resides.
Margaret mentions that Rustons do not get Blackspot so how unsuitable to have a trial garden in that climate.

No wonder buying roses from a catalogue or rose cultivation details on tags is a complete waste of time

They mention Australian bred Govenor Macquarie is very healthy and doesn't get Blackspot. Well I bought it bare root at $21.95 because it is Australian bred and I want to keep the dream alive. Secondly if their advertising blurb is somewhere close to the truth.

Will advise how well this rose performs at a later date.

It should be noted also that a rose that does well in QLD or Sydney may not do well further south. I would like to see multiple rose trial gardens run by each of the various state rose societies. Maybe then we can start to get a better picture of what grows where.

Ruston's doesn't have the trial ground; as far as I know "the" trial ground for new releases (imports and Oz-breds) is the one in the Adelaide Botanical Gardens. Having a trial ground in each state sounds good but could work out pricey for the breeder. I can't buy having "the" trial ground in a place that we know doesn't suit roses, though; better for people in subtropical and tropical areas to go predominantly for plants that suit their district. I have no mysticism about roses. They're just one option among many. I can't believe the people O/S who grow roses that they say need spraying every week (woe to the planet!).
Among roses, I agree with Ozeboy that there are better options than HTs if you want a plant that looks good in the garden most of the year. I think I'm down to three "modern" HTs - Baroness Rothschild and two Oz-breds; I have some 1930s and pre-1920s HTs that have stood the test of time, but I don't prune them in the ugly style set up for the English winter and the showbench.

Have you ever grown 'La France'... this one fascinates me...

Yes the trial ground is in Adelaide Botanical Gardens (see links section.. there is a link to their website). I have spoken with the previous trial grounds secretary who said the other states were offered to make a trial ground but they did not respond... so it went to Adelaide by default almost.

I think the better option, as far as testing roses goes, for breeders is to have a network of trusted friends in different places and come up with their own set of criteria against which their roses are 'judged'. I can trial roses in a cool temperate climate here... Damo in Goulburn, Bruce in Sydney... Gary in QLD... I mean we have the makings of a trial network here already. The only thing we wouldn't have is that medal to put on our tags when we start marketting

I haven't grown La France, but I have a foundling which is almost certainly its paler sport, Mlle Augustine Guinoisseau. Lemonade-scented. It does quite well on its own roots in my Ring garden, although that gets soggy and frosty in winter. Fairly low-growing.

Our La France was consigned to the fire heap after 2 years wit little growth and hardly any flowers. It was a scale magnet and the few leaves it had soon fell off wit intense BS.

No a very good rose for us.

Margaret wrote:
Among roses, I agree with Ozeboy that there are better options than HTs if you want a plant that looks good in the garden most of the year. I think I'm down to three "modern" HTs - Baroness Rothschild and two Oz-breds;

You may try some David Austin's English roses, that I've found to be really good in Australia.
- Teasing Georgia
- Jubilee Celebration (an amazing offspring of Golden Celebration)
- Leander
- Pegasus
- Moulineux
- William Morris
- Abraham Darby
- Tess d'Ubervilles
Not sure if you have tried any of these before. I've tried many DAs, but whenever I plant these, or wherever I do it (I've tried southern Europe, WA and VIC), they perform really well and are trouble-free.

Teasing Georgia is one of my favs, also Golden Celebration

Rose Petal wrote:Teasing Georgia is one of my favs, also Golden Celebration

Ah yes, and The Ambridge Rose too. She's just great, and can be used as a HT substitute anytime, anywhere. Stands against the heat much better than Scepter'd Isle and has somewhat mellower myrrh scent mixed with vanilla and/or Heliotrope aromas.

That is a newbie to me

Rose Petal wrote:That is a newbie to me

The growth is upright and slightly wider than a normal HT, and grows up to some 1.6 m. You see from the pictures that it has HT-like foliage and growth. If you plant two, they'll mingle and produce an outstanding shrub that will knock people's socks off.
Highly recommended. I couldn't live without it.

When I had Woburn Abbey, it did really well. I also had 2 German Shepherds and unfortunately they managed to destroy it! I will have to get it again.