Try Belinda's Dream. The flower looks like a hybrid tea when it is new. You can also look at one of the other Earthkind roses. St. Patrick is a good rose for heat but only has a very light scent.

Here is a link that might be useful: Earthkind roses

Belinda's Dream is a gorgeous rose, huge and filled with petals, and fragrant. I would also suggest a group called tea roses, which are old roses from which the hybrid teas were created. However, they're big and beautiful bushes that like the heat, bloom a lot and are tough. Even if they get some disease (which they don't in my dry heat), they're usually vigorous enough to shrug it off. They come in beautiful soft colors. Unfortunately, most of them are not terribly fragrant, but some like Duchesse de Brabant and Mme. Joseph Schwartz, are. Another group called Noisettes are also wonderful, although they often get larger. Polyanthas are smaller roses that are also quite healthy. The Chinas are also another great group for your climate. The Texas Rose Emporium is a nursery that also sells on-line. I would give them a call. Describe your situation, what you're looking for and your climate. I'm sure they can suggest some lovely roses that will work well for you. The EarthKind roses, as mentioned already, are beautiful and tough roses that were tested in Texas for their disease resistance. The Texas Rose Emporium, Chamblee's and Rogue Valley are all on-line nurseries that will carry them, and also the other roses mentioned. Good luck!

Ingrid

Chamblees Roses in Tyler is a first class nursery - their own roots run about $8.95 compared to twice that of the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, but you really get what you pay for from ARE. Huge bushes, ready to go, shipped well. Same with Chamblees, bushes are smaller but no less healthy and ready to grow for you.

Belinda's Dream was the first rose that came to mind for me too. Mine is huge and full of buds and blooms. You should consider some of the Griffin Buck roses - Chamblees has lots of these. A few of my favorites are Distant Drums [lavender/tan], Dorcas [I rank this one, a pink, right up with with Belinda], Bright Melody and Do Si Do [red], Honeysweet [interesting pinkish color - love it!], Nacogdoches/Grandma's Yellow, I like the David Austin roses too. There are so many good ones - most any rose will grow in Texas - you just need to mulch and keep them watered - that is most important esp. in this drought we are having. Check out websites for both these companies - they are top of the line. Good luck and have fun!

Thanks so much for the recommendations so far! I am definitely getting a Belinda's Dream (or 2 or 3)! I live close to Tyler, so I plan on making a day trip down to Chamblees to check them out and get some.

So, are the David Austin (English Roses) pretty resistant to the black spot? I LOVE the pictures I have seen, but don't want to be heart broken if they don't pan out. I think I will set up drip irrigation to the new roses to make sure I don't forget to water them (and also help with the black spot issue by keeping the leaves dry).

David Austin roses are no more resistant to disease than most other roses are. However, if you you read carefully the descriptions of their roses found online at the David Austin site (or in their hard copy catalog), you will notice that David Austin goes out of his way to specify which of his roses are "healthy" or "very healthy." That is how he indicates which ones are disease-resistant. I guess he doesn't want to mention anything as negative as "disease"--"healthy" sounds so much more positive, don't you think? LOL

Anyway, Austin's "healthy" roses are quite disease-resistant. If they don't say "healthy," they probably are disease-magnets.

The most "healthy" Austin's in my garden are Mayflower, Mortimer Sackler, Queen of Sweden, Pretty Jessica. Not quite as "healthy" but still reasonably disease-resistant, are Molineux, Shakespeare 2000, Jubilee Celebration.

Many of his more recent offerings are "healthier" than were some of his big hits back in earlier times when there wasn't as big a demand for disease-resistant roses.

Have fun searching for your perfect roses.

Kate

Antique Rose Emporium is a good place.

DEFINITELY go to the Antique Rose Emporium, outside Brenham, TX.
You can order from them on line, but you should be close enough to travel there, and see what they grow, and how it all does, and you will have a wonderful time.
Yes, I live in Southern California, and yes, I have been to ARE, and walked through their gardens many times.

Jeri