I am also 5B and have a number of Austins...none of the ones on your list though. I have heard good things about Brother Cadfael. The ones I do have that qualify for your requirements are:

Pretty Jessica (very hardy and no BS so far)
Gentle Hermione (also very hardy and no BS - planted last year and this year she's putting out a ton of flowers)
Queen of Sweden (like Teflon when it comes to BS)
Princess Alexandra of Kent (prettiest warm pink color I've seen - I think it has fairly unique coloring)

I can't speak to their repeat or mature bloom size as mine are all own-root and still on the young side. So far I'm very impressed with the bloom size on Pretty Jessica for such a young plant.

I have Brother Cadfael. Big, healthy bush withe large, very cupped blooms with a great scent.

I'd highly recommend Eglantyne over Brother Cadfael. Hardier, better bloom form and fragrance and significantly better repeat. It is very similiar to Mary Rose in growth and many other respects, but the blooms are of much more substance. I still think it is one of the best Austins.

Mary Rose and Geoff Hamilton both do very well in zone 5 gardens and are beautiful roses. Mary Rose is the more prolific bloomer and faster repeater of the two.

Huntington Rose, a.k.a. Alan Titchmarsh tends to droop and flop everywhere and its disease resistance could be better. There are many better varieties.

The only one on your list that I have is Mary rose and it's relatively unexciting in my yard. Blooms some, but doesn't stand out even among other roses, much less other Austins. One that I grow that meets your requirements and is among my best pink rebloomers is Scepter'd Isle. The scent is more myrrh than some of the Austins, but otherwise it's a reliable and pretty tall pink double cupped bloomer. Queen of Sweden is bullet proof and a narrow tall plant, but doesn't rebloom quite as often for me as Scepter'd Isle.

Basically I've found that the Austins are almost all nicely hardy in zone 5, so you have the luxury of choosing a bush and flowering habit that you like.

Cynthia

Thanks for your replies. I do not have any issues with David Austins with respect to my zone which is actually closer to a US zone 4. (I'm in Canada). I do have 3 David Austins which is a bit of disappointment only because I wanted pink blooms and somehow turned out incorrectly labeled when they were purchased from a seasonal garden centre... long story short, I learned my lesson and will buy them from a rose supplier this time around. David Austins (not own root) do very well in Ontario, for as long as the root graft union is protected.

I had forgotten about the Eglantyn and so thanks for pointing out the plant. I wanted old fashioned style, large cupped and repeat blooms. Scepter'd Isle is not something I have heard of (for David Austins) and I'll look it up.

In anycase, thanks for the pointers. i will look up every one of your recommendations.

Mary Rose and Huntington rose are good choices. Huntington blooms a lot. Most Austin roses do not have huge blooms. Other pink Austins that might be of interest are Gertrude Jekyll, Sharifa Asma and Gentle Hermione. Madame Bovary (Delbard) has large pink blooms. If you can go apricot, Evelyn is good. Prairie Breeze is a Buck rose with large pink blooms.

I just planted Scepter'd Isle this spring and it is blooming nicely--lovely delicate bloom, but a bit on the small side. However, it does look like it will bloom in clusters, so probably the somewhat smaller bloom size won't be so noticeable when there are 6 blooming in that cluster.

If I had more room, I'd get Princess Alexandria of Kent--supposed to be gorgeous, BIG blooms--and excellent re-bloom and disease-resistance.

Queen of Sweden is a beautiful rose (and excellent disease-resistance), but rather slow to re-bloom in my garden.

Kate

Brother Cadfael is a beautiful rose with large cupped shaped blooms, very fragrant.

I think Bishop's Castle has better fragrance than Mary Rose, and lovelier blooms.

Eglantyne is a fantastic rose, blooms smell like rosewater.

SI is a strong myrrh fragrance. She gets to about 10-12 ft. In Chicago. Mine is 7 yrs old. Nice healthy rose with minimal dieback. Very little disease. Blooms typically 3-4 inches across. They were smaller this year. I grow it as a mannerly climber. She grows happily close to Don Juan .

My PAK is between flushes right now. Love this rose. Second year MUCH better than first. Almost got shovel pruned but really perked up.

Of the ones you listed I grow The Huntington Rose and I used to grow Geoff Hamilton.

The Huntington Rose is very suseptible to blackspot, but has beautiful blooms. It also has the notorious "octopus canes" that so many Austin roses are known for :(

Geoff Hamilton, I traded away because he was not vigorous here AT ALL! After 3 years he was still in a one gallon pot. He went to Texas (I believe) where the weather is not as humid, and the blackspot pressure is lower. He was ownroot, so maybe buying it grafted, as you mentioned, would make the difference in terms of vigor.

However....I would recommend The Dark Lady and Queen of Sweden. Both have really nice shape and beautiful blooms.

Tammy

This post was edited by TNY78 on Wed, Jun 19, 13 at 22:53

Thanks everyone. I was so pumped with all the ideas that I have now expanded my selections and will consider maybe one more flower -- and this time perhaps something that is yellow Maybe a Charles Charwin or Charlotte or a Graham Thomas.

The local supplier here has unfortunately a limited choice for David Austins and that is perhaps due to marketability or what had survived last year's winter. Still David Austins do very well in my zone. The roses here have to be grafted onto hardy root stocks and this helps them thrive in my climate. We just have to bury the graft union to 2-3 inches below ground and the plant comes up vigorous and with big blooms.

Anyway, due to the limitations -- there is no Eglantyn or Queen of Sweden being offered in the current season. But let's see what happens in Sept.

Ianna