Rose List
Roses have always presented a challenge to the gardener. The first thoughts that enter most peoples minds when roses are mentioned are those of disease and insect problems, winter kill and a general sense of high maintenance. These concerns are well placed due to the fact that rose breeders, for the better part of the last century, have placed most emphasis on a perfect flower at the expense of the plant.
Many rose varieties unfortunately are high maintenance, but in the last few decades there has been an emergence of new hardier varieties and a re-emergence and better availability of the tough old varieties from more than a century past. These tougher, hardier roses are better for the average gardener and maybe, more importantly, the potentially brutal winters in this area.
One important rose issue is that of own root vs. grafted. Roses that are grafted are usually not as cold hardy as the roots they are spliced onto. Own root roses have extremely cold hardy tops which regrow true to type even if they die back to the base. They are also longer lived due to lack of bud incompatibility, and there are no unwanted suckers sprouting from an alien rootstock.
Most of the hardiest roses I can think of are also considered shrub roses (as opposed to hybrid Tea or Grandiflora). A shrub rose can be loosely defined as a rose with a more irregular, bushy habit and within the category there are many different sizes from 3' to 8' tall, and habits from dense to loose and open.
One of the best species of roses for northern gardeners is the Rosa Rugosa, a native of northern China and Japan. Many of the Rugosa varieties such as; Sir Thomas Lipton, Therese Bugnet, Hansa, F.J. Grootendorst, and Blanc Bouble de Coubert, will survive in zone 3. Blackspot and Mildew rarely show up on these coarse textured, fragrant centurions.
Rosa spinosissima is another tough species originally found in Scotland and bred over the years to yield many single and double flowered varieties. It was crossed with Persian Yellow giving rise eventually to Harrisons Yellow (the actual Yellow Rose of Texas), which I see growing as huge bushes in many farm yards all around Lansing. One thing is certain of this variety - it doesn't die back from the cold. Stanwell Perpetual is another variety with blush pink blooms that continue until frost.
The Explorer series of roses was initiated at the Ottawa experiment station in 1961 and bear the names of famous Canadian explorers. This series offers a combination of disease resistence, extreme hardiness and repeat blooming characteristics. Many of the varieties involve the Rugosa and spinosissima roses in their parentage. The more popular ones are Henry Hudson, Jens Munk, John Cabot, Charles Albanel, and Champlain.
Another great collection of hardy own root roses is the David Austin series of shrub roses. while I have noticed Blackspot and Mildew on all of them, it's never as bad as on the Hybrid Teas. Many of them have multiply double, cabbage like blooms with potent fragrance. Graham Thomas, Heritage, Mary Rose, The Squire, and Abraham Darby are the most popular ones.
Carefree roses such as the Carefree Wonder, Carefree Delight and Carefree Beauty, although very similar to one another in size and color, are very cold hardy and disease resistant. The Carefree Beauty in my Genoa, N.Y. garden rarely dies back even a few inches over the winter. Other sure bets for our northern gardens are Meidilands, Alchymist, Bonica, Rubrifolia, and Simplicitys.
There really are so many low maintenance, acutely hardy roses with such stunningly beautiful attributes that no one should fear rose gardening. You just have to shake the long held misconception that roses equal hard work and frustration. With the varieties above you should only have to do some light pruning and fertilizing once in a while and the rest of your time can be spent enjoying the garden.
