I have not had any luck with own root Blue Girl. And Lagerfeld did not impress me either. However I planted Charles de Gaulle and Poseiden (grafted) from Palatine roses and they are both excellent. I have some nice photos of both.

poseiden

Poseidon is known as Novalis here and it is really popular and healthy. I think it is a floribunda, not a tea rose though. I have seen it several places and it is always very upright, tall stems, shiny foliage. It is a big bush, no scent though.

Blue Moon is known as Mainzer Fastnacht here and is very popular. It is often sold out. I don't know much about it, but as it remains popular given its age sure is a good sign.

Royal Amethyst is a must have.

Thanks everyone. Birdwoman, those are lovely pictures of Charles de Gaulle and Poseidon. Ninkasi - Poseidon and Blue Moon sound like good roses. German bred roses usually do good for me. Ken - Last night it dawned on me that I had planted a Royal Amethyst, guess I forgot about it, because it hasn't really bloomed, but looks healthy. I realize not every rose blooms good the first year. Glad to know it's a good one for you.

Paradise was my favorite but I lost her this winter. I replaced her with Lady X but so far I haven't been too impressed with that one. It might be because it's still a new plant but all the necks are weak so the blooms hang down. Paradise always held her blooms high! I will probably replace Paradise next spring.

I have Neptune and love the blooms, but mine doesn't bloom much. It is very fragrant. I need to give it more time to establish. The pictures and input on Poseidon and Charles de Galle are very positive. Palatine is one of my favorite vendors to purchase roses.

My hardiest and best blooming lavenders are Poseidon (hands down the best), Neptune, and Blue Girl. The latter fades fairly quickly but it established well and blooms quite frequently. Barbra Streisand has lovely blooms but she has a reputation as a diva, just like the original it's named after. I'm looking forward to replacing my Love Song that didn't survive the winter, and Blue Moon looks to have finally survived in my zone 6 pocket. It's not a zone 5 rose, which is surprising from Kordes.

I've also had good luck from Nimbus and Pillow Talk in the haunting grey-lavender range, but in some zones they are disease prone.
Cynthia

Barbra has the reputation of being extremely susceptible to blackspot.

Got rid of Neptune, very few flowers, and very long repeat.
Twice in a blue moon is very nice, I love it. Upright grower, lots of flowers and great fragrance..

Here is a link that might be useful: wisconsin roses

Thanks for the all the good suggestions everyone. Sounds like Poseidon is a good one, even though it's a floribunda, another one won't hurt. Kind of mixed reviews on Neptune, I really do like it though. Steve, thanks for suggesting Twice In a Blue Moon, sounds like a good one. Cynthia and Michael, thanks for the info on Barbra. I was also wondering if anyone has Sterling Silver? Seil, that picture is gorgeous, as usual.

I decided to look up info on Twice in a Blue Moon and found it to be Fryer rose. Paradise was also mentioned in this thread. I recently posted a photo of a different Fryer rose on the Rose Gallery. The subject was: "Your best bloomer right now?". The name of the rose is Let's Celebrate purchased from Palatine Roses. If you go to Help Me Find make sure it's the Fryer Let's Celebrate. Apparently there is another rose with the same name . Anyway, after posting the photo, someone commented it looked like Paradise. This is what I wrote about Let's Celebrate: "Let's Celebrate has bloomed non-stop all summer. I mean a day has not gone by where there were less than 18 flowers on this plant. I purchased it from Palatine Roses and planted this Spring." I'll try and post a photo again now. - Margie, Long Island

I have the same problem with Neptune - not a very good bloomer - and a lot of the blooms don't open very prettily.

I really, really, really like Nicole Carol Miller. The repeat is incredibly fast and there are tons of blooms that last a very long time. The scent is fantastic.

Here is a flower shot.
Carol

Here is a bush shot.
You should get this rose. It has twice as many buds now as it did flowers in this picture.
Carol

Since you mentioned Sterling Silver, you might want to take a good hard look at Stainless Steel. I've been growing this beauty for a long time. Blooms are exceptional and have a scent that is really nice. Good long cutting stems. Healthy foliage. One of those roses you always want in your garden "just because".

Thanks birdwoman, Carol and Ken - All three of those sound like great roses. Nicole Carol Miller is one I was already considering. I'll have to check them all out.

Just went out and counted, and Nicole Carole Miller has SIXTY-FOUR buds waiting to pop!!! That is phenomenal for a modern rose here. Might be even better where you are. Amazing rose.
Carol

Carol, that is amazing! I think some of your roses are making up for lost time! Thanks so much for letting me know that.

I struggle a bit to make these colours work in flowerbeds, but Blue Moon has lots of fragrance, very light and fresh. It has strong healthy growth and gives lots of flowers. Easy to grow as long as it gets a bit of compost and firtilizer.

Poseidon is awesome for me. It looks vintagey to me. Blooms last forever and are gorgeous. Mine gets about 4 1/2 ft tall and prob 21/2-3 ft wide. I've just cut mine way back bc I mistakingly planted it towards the front of my bed.

Taoseeker - Glad to know your Blue Moon does so good for you, I think it and Blue Girl are both worth considering. Prettypetals I think I'm convinced to give Poseidon a try.

There's a lavender rose that I had forgotten about, but came across it yesterday, Azure Sea. On HMF didn't look like it had the best rating, but it's a very pretty rose. Has anyone had experience with it?

Looks like there are plenty of good ones to choose from, just curious about that one.

I do love the mauve, lavender, purple color group. Heirloom has performed the best here of the 20 or so I have grown.

{{gwi:246271}}

Thanks harryshoe - You have some gorgeous roses, including your Heirloom. It's one I've considered. It seems to be such a good bloomer, which is a plus.

One that hasn't been mentioned is Shi-Un. It is a good variety and blooms a lot. Mine, however came down with rosette, but it can look like this.

{{gwi:322339}}

Another one that does well for me is Chantilly Lace, although I don't know who will have it for sale now.

{{gwi:322340}}

I will also add my vote for this next one, Twice in a Blue Moon. It can look like this in cooler weather.

{{gwi:322341}}

Very nice picture of Twice in a Blue Moon. How's the bloom production, BS, vaselife, etc.?

A thread that started almost exactly two years ago on the topic and garnered 97 responses is linked below. I hope it is helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quest for a good lavender

Sara, I grow Azure Sea also, a good rose too..
Kentucky, Twice in a blue Moon throws lots of blooms and repeats fairly quickly, wonderful fragrance also....

CHARLES DE GAULLE is a gorgeous one. Bloom repeat is decent, but the plant tends to grow pretty short, at least for me.
{{gwi:322342}}

FRAGRANT PLUM is a really good one. Good repeat and gorgeous mauvey-lavender blooms
{{gwi:322344}}

If you can find LILA VIDRI (formerly know as LEILA VERDE) she's a gorgeous pure lavender that grows nicely and blooms pretty well.
{{gwi:322346}}

ROYAL AMETHYST is a gorgeous rose, but for me not a great repeater.
{{gwi:322348}}

STAINLESS STEEL is a another beautiful lavender, but as you can see is susceptible to thrips. Not a real great repeater, but the blooms are long-lasting
{{gwi:322349}}

SILVERADO is a gorgeous pale lavender with a whitish reverse, and decent repeat. But it fries big-time in the heat.
{{gwi:322350}}

ENGLISH PERFUME is a beautiful ruffled rose, altho I don't get that strong of a fragrance. And as you can see, it's also prone to thrips. But the blooms are just so beautiful, and repeat pretty well.
{{gwi:322351}}

I've had LOVE SONG for a couple seasons now, and it's a pretty good repeater and has beautiful lavender blooms.
{{gwi:322352}}

I love NEPTUNE. Decent repeat and these drop-dead gorgeous blooms that last a long time and turn more and more blue as they age. Nice and tall too... like about 5ft.
{{gwi:322353}}

NICOLE CAROL MILLER is really lovely. Not a real great repeater. But the blooms are different from most lavenders. They often tend to nod from the weight of the blooms.
{{gwi:322354}}

Thank you bustopher and Beth for the beautiful pictures. There are more lavender roses than I thought, and some lovely ones indeed. I had forgotten about Shi-un, and Chantilly Lace, both very pretty and English Perfume, I've admired it before. Beth, I knew you had one I was trying to think of, that's the one, thanks.

I read every lavender thread on the Roses Forum and from what I've seen POSEIDON isn't very fragrant. NEPTUNE only does well grafted. More than one person has said CHARLES DE GAULLE has slow repeat. LAGERFELD is very "silvery" (i.e. gray) and opens into formless mature flowers. BARBARA STREISAND is a disease prone Diva. LILA VIDRI is impossible to find (although it is currently sold out at Rogue Valley Roses)...

The lavender roses that seem to get the best reviews are BLUEBERRY HILL and HEIRLOOM (even though both get black spot without spraying). To me Blueberry Hill has a wonderful fragrance but for others not-so-much. However, nobody quibbles over Heirloom's intense perfume.

Personally I love LAGERFELD for its "blueness", intense perfume and vigor. But I agree about the flowers opening formless. Looks great in bud though. I just wish the flowers had more petals.

I'm dying to try ESCAPADE and WILD BLUE YONDER, and would love to read your views on PARADISE FOUND and TWICE IN A BLUE MOON.

What is it about these modern mauves that drive rosarians crazy with desire?

Molineux -- nice summary, with perfect cloror coding to boot. Now I know all I need to know about mordern mauves..

Just in case you wanted to try it out, Escapade is on the rose sale list on heirlooms website til ...........Monday. :)

I love, love, love Paradise Found!!! The fragrance is indescribable for me - but is my favorite. This is my #1 rose!!!

Here's a pic which you may have seen.
Carol

Here's another one.
Carol

Wow! That paradise found rose is to die for!!!!! I wonder if I can find one?

Paradise Found looks like a beautiful rose. I think Regan Nursery has it listed for 2015, they ship very healthy bareroot roses. Northland Rosarium listed it for 2014.

Thanks Sara-Ann. It will definitely be a rose I will add to my wish list. That list seems to grow and grow! :-)

I've posted this pic before but here's my CDG and I love him. Blooms well in the desert. Repeat has been very good.

And Neptune...

GASP!!! Those images are incredible! PARADISE FOUND has just been short-listed. I may also pick up Charles de Gaulle in the spring. Can't hurt to try both own root and see what happens, although i have no idea where to put them.

Jim, which do you like best, CdG or Neptune and why?

If I had to pick just one (hope that never happens), it would be CDG. For me, the color and form are ideal. It also photographs beautifully. Fragrance on almost any rose is hard to detect in the desert. Your actual mileage may vary...

CHARLES DE GAULLE is indeed a wonderful rose. For me, it was promising, but hardly worth the effort as an own-root plant. I've found it to perform very well, however, on Dr Huey. It's one that I'd really like to try on Fortuniana.

LILA VIDRI is another one that I've found to be superior as a grafted plant. I think it's classified as an HT, but in my experience it performs more like a Floribunda,

ROYAL AMETHYST is a workhorse rose for me. It had a broad, rather than tall, growth habit, and blooms from the base to the top with good repeat even in my heat. The individual blooms, though, are unremarkable here. This is one that gives lots of color, but, IMO, is best viewed from a distance.