well hey, mamagnome, not commenting on your choice but just to welcome you here and reassure you that your post, in comparison to some (I am a major offender) was a lesson in brevity. Feel free to ramble (we all do) as much or as long as you wish.

The best red rose I grow, by far, is Quadra. It's a beast, and will require a lot of space, and a trellis, but is pretty much a plant it and forget it rose. The biggest problem is going to be finding it.

L. D. Braithwaite is going to require a spray program. I am assuming that is going to be an issue. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on that. It is also going to require a grafted plant. Own-root Austins do not do well around here. Almost all of the suppliers usually recommended here sell own-root plants, so ignore that.

Most people in New England like to get their roses from Pickering in Ontario. They have a three plant minimum, though, which can get difficult.

When it comes to disease resistance and hardiness claims, stick with advice from east of the Appalachians. Advice from the midwest isn't necessarily appropriate, and will only confuse you. Because the climate is different, they can get away with a lot of stuff we can't.

I garden in 6b, and don't have any comments on LD because I don't grow it. However, may I suggest Lasting Love Hybrid tea? She is absolutely loaded with blooms in my garden, very healthy, and smells fantastic. The flowers also last long on the bush and in a vase.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lasting Love

Hello!
I am from a 6a/5b zone in the northwest.
I think roses, as long as they are planted in a sunny enough spot (6+ hours direct sun a day), given enough deep water (slow, long) and fed a few times a year are actually easy as anything to grow. I find vegetables harder, personally. Roses will live and grow in a wide variety of soils- but will be amazing in some better soils. Our rosarium uses some kind of turbo soil as anything i get from them grows like a weed in those pots and throws out blooms abundantly on teeny plants. Im too lazy to do more than use potted soil or add compost and then fertilize. I never make up any fancy dirt mixes-- and mine do just fine blooming lots!! though they could be crazy amazing if i did, i suppose.

If you only want a couple of plants- just pick those you really like or hear good things about. Plant them deep (the graft below ground) or plan to colLar and mulch. I don't spray much, and stick to organic (milk/baking soda soap and water for mildew, or insect soaps occasionally). Once in a while you'll get a problem going that you may have to make a decision to spray with a stronger systemic, but i'd cross that bridge when it comes and not set out to spray until you absolutely have to. I actually remove the rare rose or 2 that get sick/unhealthy often or dont bloom enough and then buy something else. Bareroots and bands are cheap. Chemicals arent free. When you have winter die back anyway, it's an easy decision on a sickly plant.

I also grow austins own root and grafted and honestly i cant see the difference between own and grafted- it All depends on the rose. My worst is grafted, but the second worst is own root. My grafted golden celebration is practically a once bloomer, and my own root scepter d'isle blooms tons, non stop and gets massive quickly. But that's how those plants roll on any root.

As for LD braithwait. I dont have him but i do have william shakespeare 2000 and like him very much. C He's young yet but a very strong bloomer. Like LD braithwait, his bloom is medium sized (compared to Big bloom roses such as grandifloras/hybrid i.e. lasting love, oklahoma or stephens big purple, ldB blooms are smaller.). I also have seen other red austins like munstead wood and tradescant and liked them too. Tradescant had great scent and wasnt so pink as my WS2000).
Austin roses like these 3 reds can have unusual plant shapes sometimes (often shorter and sprawling compared to the red hybrid teas). They are still wonderful.

My last suggestion will probably be disagreed on by some- but i'd wait till next spring and get bareroots because i always get bugs (thrips!) when i bring home a potted plant and it's such a pain to correct.
Most potted roses were a bareroot in spring that the nursery planted in a pot and grew in their nursery for 2 months. If they dont spray constantly those greenhouses get buggy! At this time in the season, if you are set on buying it potted, try to check for thrips or signs of leaf loss.

Good luck.

Thank you so much everyone!! I have lots to look into, I really appreciate all of the advice, I need as much as I can get :) Now I need to go research this new wealth of information! I love GW

Tradescant is a dark red vigorous Austin.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tradescant

I have LD Braithwaite and Tradescant. My LD is 5 years old and my Tradescant is 13 years old. I love my Tradescant. I just logged in today to scout around about getting rid of my LD or giving him one more year. He is VERY susceptible to blackspot, and he doesn't have the heavenly smell of my other Austin roses. (I have five varieties.) I vote for Tradescant or Tess of d'Urbervilles, Dark Lady, or Shakepspeare. They are beautiful and smell divine.

cheers,
Norabelle

I've had many of the other Austin reds, as well as LD--my favorites are Munstead Wood and William Shakespeare, also have Falstaff but he isn't as fragrant (Munstead and Will both smell superb).

LD isn't a favorite of mine--I shoveled mine years ago--I found LD much more BS prone than the others and no scent to speak of, also a much more bright red.

LD is definitely out! Thanks so much for the great leads, I know I will find the perfect rose thanks to all of you nice folks :)

I, too, have had great success with Munstead Wood.

{{gwi:301022}}

Probably, the most success I have had with any Austin Rose.

Not a lick of Black Spot even though a Blackspot ridden Sharifa Asma is just a couple feet away.

I planted my Munstead Wood last year, but this year, I decided that I needed to move it.

I did my best, but figured I wouldn't get any bloom this year, as the plant recoved from the move.

Well, Munstead Wood has defied my expectations. She recovered from the move, and has gone on to give me some very nice blooms this year. And that's with no fertilization.

I expect that I'll continue to get periodic blooming this year until frost, ... but I can't wait till next year.

aegis! WOW your Munstead Wood is beautiful! That is probably what I will go for, but I have a feeling this is going to start another gardening obsession, roses have always been my favorite :)

Munstead Wood is doing really well for me. I planted it from a bare root this spring (from Pickering), and it has already put out a whole bunch of flowers. Lovely form and a delicious smell.

Do yourself a favor, go with Munstead Wood. Also, buy 2 or 3 plants of it. Plant 12" apart (2) or 20" apart in triangle (3) for an unbeleavable effect.

I have 75 of David Austin roses, I love red, however I have no luck the dark lady and william shakespeare 2000 develop so much disease. I just bought LD Braithwaite hoping this rose is deferent. Any opinion or advice? I'd love to hear it.

It does well for me, in fact is one of my favorites. It gets less blackspot than most of my others, and almost always has blooms on it, and is not bothered by rain. I do wish it had more fragrance, though.

I'm asking for recommendations for a shrub rose to plant in a new sun bed in my Chicago backyard. I've stayed away from roses after some failures but gardener's hope springs eternal so I'm trying again, after having good luck last year with two Austin roses, Munstead Wood and Wisley.
I'm looking for a 4-5 foot repeat blooming fragrant rose, pink or red. Our worst issue here is powdery mildew and we have a lesser problem with black spot.
The protected fenced-in yard probably qualifies as zone 6 but we just had temps down to -15 F, the lowest in many years.
I'd appreciate the benefit of your experience.

Just so you know, Pickering Nurseries in Ontario has Munstead Wood, Quadra, and The Dark Lady. I've also been considering Bakarole, which is a dark red hybrid tea, but I haven't grown it before so can't comment further. Pickering sells grafted roses, not own root.

My sympathies for your loss. I think your living memorial is a lovely gesture, and will hopefully provide you some comfort as well as good memories of your friend.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pickering