Not in Athens, but I know roses grow well there. We have mostly clay soil, so a change from Florida if you have sandy soil. UGA in Athens has a test garden with no spray roses. It would probably be worth it to go see it to see what will grow well in your yard. Some people from the Athens area belong to our Rose Society. I've seen some of their gardens and they are wonderful.

I had really hard clay when I first moved here, but with amending and adding alfalfa, the soil has changed dramatically. It's good soil to work with if you have patience.

Listen to buford. When I moved up here in 08 from S.E FL., the biggest change for me was the soil. Once you get that figured out, roses up in this part of the state grow large with larger blooms in the spring and fall. You also have to watch out for ice storms during the winter. Snow is good. Ice is not. Over all, I enjoy growing roses up here compared to FL.

I expected a soil change. I can't resist digging in the dirt even on vacation. So I did a little on vacation in the GA mnts. I didn't know if the entire state was clay though. How about bug and disease issues?