CdC is not a David Austin rose, it's an OGR. DA just sells it on it's site. It is very fragrant. I have it, but I'm in zone 7, so I'm not sure how cold hardy it is. I think you may be better off with some roses that people in your zone can recommend that are fragrant and cold hardy.

The link below is for the HMF listing for this rose.

The Swedish Rose Society recommends it for northern Sweden so it might be more cold hardly.

BUT, rather than buy from David Austin who probably has it grafted to a root that is likely to have trouble, Burling offers is and so does Rogue Valley. You could find out if it is a budded rose from Burlington or own root. If it is own root, it would come back true if the root survived a cold winter. Best thing about Burling is the price is much lower. They are bands and you would probably have to grow them out but ask how quick this rose gets established and if it is a good winter, maybe smaller plants are okay.

Here is a link that might be useful: HMF

I grow a number of Portlands, including the noble Comte. I have found, oddly, that, for me in zone 5, upstate NY, the Portland tribe grows much better on own roots than it does on rootstock, whether multiflora or Dr. Huey. Bloom is better and there is much less disease on the ownroot Portlands. The Portland tribe, also sometimes called Damask Perpetuals, are perfectly hardy, with the possible exception of Rose de Rescht; the Comte is completely cane hardy for me. They do need good rich soil and a good fertilizer regimen for best performance. I consider them some of the most satisfactory of all roses to grow when they are happy. Based on my experiences, I would think you might look for an own root source. The Comte is not (yet) rare. I think it might be available from High Country Roses, and Northland Rosarium, in addition to the other sources mentioned. I like those two because the plants are grown in a climate similar to mine, and don't need acclimatizing.

Ok, I take it that own root is better than grafted?

Grafted from David Austin would likely be on Dr Huey who may not survive your cold temps. Also, should the cold kill what would be above the graft, with an own root plant it can come back from the roots and not be red dr huey

Portlands (aka Damask Perpetuals) would be a good place to start looking for cold-hardy repeat-blooming fragrant roses. Some of the Hybrid Perpetuals which lean toward Portlands in growth/habit would be good, as well as some of the Bourbons. Also, look at 'Stanwell Perpetual'.

But do consider throwing in a few once-blooming roses as seasonal focal points. For example, the inside corner of the fence would look wonderful with a long-caned Damask draping over it. Or perhaps even 'Gros Choux d'Hollande' (I think that's hardy enough for your area).

When the rose gains some size, you can then plant a Type 3 Clematis near its base, which will use the rose as its trellis and offer color when the rose has finished blooming. Type 3s bloom on new wood, and so can be pruned down near to the ground each year -- a plus where Winters are severe, and top growth may get killed off, anyway.

:-)

~Christopher

For what it's worth, I've tried twice to overwinter Comte de Chambord here in zone 5 Nebraska, and it has wimped out with no signs of life whatsoever in spring. I'm a zone pusher and have discovered many roses that are rated zone 6 or 7 that do fine here, so it might work out for you against the odds, but for me it was consistently not hardy.

On the other hand, I've found that virtually all the David Austin roses are hardy for me and pretty reliable in zone 5. If you're looking for a rose to grow consistently across that fence for contrast, you could really "pop" with a dark rose like Munstead Wood or Darcey Bussell, or an apricot like Lady of Shalott, or have more subtlety with a pink-apricot like Tamora or Pretty Jessica. All of these should stay relatively compact, within the height of that fence, in our zone.

As for own-root vs. grafted, that's always a point of discussion for folks in cold zones. I'm in agreement with Kippy that I prefer own-root roses, since if (when) many of them freeze to the ground they will come back as the original rose you planted not a grafted rootstock. You can discourage this if you buy a grafted rose by planting the graft (the knobby place where the branching pretty rose is connected to the stock) at least 2 inches below the soil, but it isn't always reliable. Even if I do that, I find the roses that like my zone will go own-root after a while when buried. Still, there are posters here in cold zones who distinctly prefer grafted roses so that they put on more growth and have more mature root systems before winter to help survival, so it can be a trial and error system.

You've gotten some great ideas from all the posters about options to try, but I would be cautious about Comte de Chambord except as an experiment (always in favor of those in cold zones - you never know!).

Cynthia

I was wondering about the different colors. Now that I am thinking, I wonder if the Comte would get big enough at 2-3ft.?

I wanted to do something similar to this, if I can work with different color themes, that would be awesome too. Except unlike in this pic, I want to have the roses on the outside of the fence, not inside.

I have a first year plant that I got from Pickering, so grafted on Multiflora. Can't speak to winter hardiness yet. In my garden, first year growth is 3-4'. Looks like it would like to grow bigger! It has had much better repeat than other Portlands and I think it rivals the performance of many David Austin roses (for vigor, fragrance, repeat, form and substance of the bloom).

Mine died too. Try Gertrude Jekyll, a hardy Austin rose with Comte de Chambord in its background. I have also had success with a grafted thorness Reine des Violettes from Home Depot (buried bud union 3"), Jacques Cartier and Rose de Rescht.

If you want an Austin about the height of the fence, consider Princess Anne. She is about 3 x 2 and, according to the Austin description, "Remarkably resistant to disease. It flowers over a long period and in large clusters; the individual blooms opening in succession. " Those strike me as particularly good traits for what you want to do. The roses would be quite conspicuous to anyone passing by, so you want good bloomers that don't have BS problems.

Supposedly most Austins are hardy in Zone 5. I notice at helpmefind.com that one of the posters of images is from the Czech republic which he claims is in Zone 5.

Princess Anne ordered from David Austin will probably be grafted on Dr. Huey. I'm of the school of thought that says grafted roses are fine in Zone 5--the graft gives them some extra vigor and gets them ready sooner for the cold winter. Just make sure you bury the graft 4-6 inches deep to protect it from the cold winters.

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: Princess Anne at

CdeC had wretched BS in VA. I exiled him (he lives in a garden that gets sprayed now). He's a lovely rose and extremely fragrant but he needs a regular fungicide regimen (I don't spray).

I've had CdC (own root) in my z4 western WI garden for many years & it comes thru winter well here. At the most, I may lose the top 50% of the canes to winter kill but it recovers fast & thrives for me. It is reasonably disease resistant for me but I've found that the spider mites can be a problem in hot, dry summers. One of the best repeat blooming OGR's I've found for cold climate gardening.

Another suggestion....take a look at the Bailey's Easy Elegance roses for your choices. I used to live in Green Bay & I know some people that work with the roses at the Green Bay Botanical Garden, they've had real good luck with the EE roses. Take a look at 'Kashmir', 'Music Box', 'Champagne Wishes', 'High Voltage', 'Sunrise-Sunset', etc. All are real disease resistant & come thru the winter well.

If you want the old fashioned bloom form, look at the Kordes Fairytale series. Palatine has some of those, and I think Chamblees might as well. They get mostly rave reviews online, and seem, from I have read, to be far more disease resistant than the English roses..

I will have to check out these different varieties. Oy, I am going to get so ovewhelmed! lol!! I really love the strong fragrant roses. Do you know if a darker red rose would work better than a pink, as suggested above?

As far as black spot, I heard you can spray with a concoction of dish soap & baking soda. I know this had worked well for me in preventing powdery mildew on my monarda (even better than the suggested milk or seaweed). Does it fare well to prevent black spot too?

I wouldn't plant GERTRUDE JEKYLL because it is a poor repeater. BARONNE PREVOST is very similar in color and form but is a better performer. It should also be fully hardy in zone 5 and grows well on its own roots.

If you're thinking of red, I think the Easy Elegance rose Kashmir would work really well here. First of all, hardy to zone 4b. It's a deep red, very eye catching, and always in bloom with flowers that last a long time and also last in a vase. I have never seen an own root rose grow so vigorously. The growth is bushy and balanced. It has unusually dark, lush foliage that begins mahogany and ages to a deep green. I can't say enough good things about this rose - but the one drawback is that it's not very fragrant. If you'd consider a mix of roses, Kashmir's growth habit and foliage (which is rather matte) would harmonize well with many old roses or DA varieties.

Your "dish soap & baking soda" mix is some variation of something called Cornell mixture and similar to an organic fungicide called "Green Cure". I use GC for powdery mildew & it works well on powdery mildew, but it doesn't do much if anything for black spot control.

If you have major blackspot problems, you will have to spray periodically with a fungicide--or have leafless bare sticks instead of bushy roses. For what you want your roses to do--right out there where everybody passing by can view them--you need the most blackspot resistant roses you can find--and you still may need to spray a fungicide occasionally, depending on the weather, to keep them looking good.

Kate

Hi tacotac, I used the same exact photo as my inspiration for my front yard fence area. I went with the DA Mayflower, pictured here on the inside of the fence. It has done very well this (its first) summer. Fragrant, repeat bloomer. This picture is from sometime in July and it still has blooms and buds going today. I obviously can't speak to its winter hardiness yet, but I'm very happy with its performance so far. According to the DA site, it is supposed to be completely resistant to blackspot, which I have found to be true this year.

Oh, and please ignore the weeds and the shoddiness of the fence. Yours appears to be in much better shape!

This post was edited by Arlene_82 on Wed, Oct 8, 14 at 11:44

You know I have been thinking about that. Like what if I can alternate, like have half the roses be a darker pink/red, more for flowers, and the other half be a pink fragrant antique rose?
Best of both worlds?

Sounds good to me. Why don't you alternate Munstead Wood (dark purple/burgundy red) and Princess Anne (pink) or Boscobel (apricot pink)--they are all quite good on bs resistance and good on rebloom. And all about 3 x 2.

If you can hold out for an extra year, Austin's new Olivia Rose Austin may be available in America. She is a fantastic beauty. You can see her on the English David Austin site.

kate

What a beautiful fence! Roses will look wonderful growing there! David Austin's Harlow Carr is probably very winter hardy. Young David Austin favors it in his own yard.