I'll be planting several roses in my small Philadelphia yard next spring as I try to establish my garden, which is less than a year old. I would like to try a couple of Gallicas, specifically Rosa Mundi and Rosa Gallica Officianalis. My back yard is in an open northeastern exposure which gets full sun most of the day. The floribundas, polyanthas, and one HT I planted this past spring have done well. I am new to gardening in this zone, so I'd appreciate any feedback on how Gallicas perform here. Is there anything special I should know? Are those of you in this zone successful with Gallicas?

I'd also like to try an Austin or two...or three...in another section of the same backyard. Since the garden is rather diminutive I'm looking for Austins which stay on the small side so they don't overwhelm the space. I'm considering Molineux and Jude the Obscure- are there others you can recommend? I have several pinks and whites already, so I'd like some yellows.

Also, my front yard is a challenge. It is a full southwestern exposure but canopied by large street sycamores
late spring through fall. From around October through early April it is full sun. I guess I would characterize it as dappled shade during most of the growing season. Would hybrid musks stand a chance in this front area? I am going a little rose crazy so if there's any possibility I can plant in the front yard as well, I would love to.

Thanks for your patience with this long post, and in advance for your help.
-Maeve

Sorry, can't help you with the others.

Good luck,

Kate

Gallicas are wonderful roses and 'Rosa Mundi' is one of my favorites. Gallica roses sucker, so give them space to grow. Over time they will colonize a spot and that is part of their appeal. Mix them in with other perennials such as iris, daylilies, or catmint and let them work their way around the perennials. A spot colonized by Gallica roses makes a beautiful display.

Really - no hybrid musks will grow in partial shade? My front yard is crying :-(

-Maeve

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3B8DkGw8c0

I enthusiastically recommend Paul's videos to you!

Is there a particularly tolerant HM that might be a good bet to try?

Thanks very much for your recommendation, York Rose! I went on to watch several more of Paul Zimmerman's videos and found them interesting and helpful - particularly the one on pillar-training.
-Maeve

I’m relatively new to OGRs I have about 25 most are in their 1st season. Listed are one’s that I’ve had for at least 2 full seasons. Except as noted, none have any winter kill at all and look well with once per month spraying for BS:
Archduke Charles – a nice little rose, little being the operative word. I don’t know how people get them to be big.
Souvenir de la Malmaison – healthy, vigorous.
Sombreuil, Climber – it’s big. Get’s BS (or what looks like it to me) but looks ok. It’s thorny, not for the faint-hearted.
Louis XIV – short, a good little guy.
Cramoisi Superieur – hasn’t done well for me, I keep hoping.
Frau Karl Druschki – has many good qualities, but good rebloom isn’t one of them.
Field of the Woods – It’s done well for me, it’s still hard to see behind James Galway but soon it will be big enough.

Austins I have a lot more experience. Currently I have
The Squire – up until recently an excellent shrub. It’s only drawback is it get more BS than I would like. It’s not done well the last 2 yrs, I can’t figure out why.
The Dark Lady – sp’ed this year, too much BS and in summer the red turns magenta. But it is a good bloomer.
James Galway – never any disease, minor winter kill, THORNLESS. The only negative (and that is subjective) is it’s not a good rebloomer. It has a great spring display, this one is more OGR than modern.
Heritage – probably my favorite Austin and is thornless.
Crocus Rose – Most years gets BS but grows fast enough for it not to show. This year it didn’t get any despite less spraying. Maybe it’s the Daconil I haven’t used it for awhile.
Abe Darby – get’s more BS than I would like but I really like the peach color so I put up with it.
Winchester Catherdral and Mary Rose – I haven’t grown them for awhile so I don’t remember exactly much about them, but I kind of miss them, esp WC, so I guess they did OK for me.

Gone and to be forgotten:
Golden Celebration – didn’t like anything about it.
Lillian Austin – nice except it got too much BS.

Traviata is listed as a HT but really has the habit of a good Austin. It’s a really good shrub, gets big, and so does it’s thorns.

I’m hoping my branching into OGRs works better than when I tried HT’s. I still have a few, and I really like and want to keep most of the ones left, but there are so many dogs out there I’m not sure I would do it over again.

Good luck with yours

Here’s some more that have done really well for me with minimal care. For me minimal care means heavy fertilizing in April/May with a combo of Rose Tone and a fast acting chemical fertilizer, once/month spraying, no dead-heading and absolutely no winter protection.

Red Knock Out – to me it’s more pink, that’s my only complaint. I know some think they are over used but having one doesn’t hurt.
Europeana
John Paul II – the ONLY white HT that I haven’t killed and I’ve tried most of them. This one is in it’s third year and seems pretty happy. The happier he is the less happy my Queen Elizabeth is, she’s been in a severe decline the last 2 yrs; maybe there’s a correlation. She’ll be gone in a couple weeks.

These are in their first year but are doing exceptionally well and since they are winter hardy I suspect they will make it thru winter well, I have others but they’re just OK so I won’t go into them.:
Alba Semi-Plena
Henri Martin (Old Red Moss)
Winter Sunset – Buck Rose
Buff Beauty
Cadenza - Buck Rose
Ducher –
Belinda’s dream.

Most of the Austins will need some kind of fungicide treatment. Heritage is nice, but it gets large here, over 6' tall.

Send me an e-mail. There are many fine Consulting Rosarians in the Philly area, and several give garden tours during the growing season with conditions similar to the ones you list.

Gallicas are very well adapted to your climate. If you don't want a thicket of suckers, buy grafted plants from Pickering Nurseries and set the graft just above grade level.