Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
shellfleur

Olga and LoriElf: questions about disease resistance

shellfleur
15 years ago

Hi Olga and Lori, this year I have not sprayed my roses with any sort of fungicide...I've gone completely nonspray. As you might imagine, many of my 100+ roses are a BS mess. Many are leafless and sad looking. The fact that I have been lax in my watering schedule has not helped them either.

The reason for this post is to ask you to please list for me the roses that you have found to be most disease resistant. I'm interested in rugosas, once bloomers ...I'm open to any suggestions. I don't like the look of bald roses (I can handle some spots and some leaf loss) and am planning to replace them with other more disease resistant varieties. I'd even be interested to hear your experience with knockout roses (I know...NOT this forum!).

If you have the time to help me, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks and hope your gardens are doing beautifully! Shelley

Comments (16)

  • rjlinva
    15 years ago

    Shelley,

    I had gotten a list of the most disease resistant roses from Olga a while back, and, I ordered almost all of them on her list. Whatever Olga says can be taken as dogma.

    I'm not too far from Olga and Lori, and I grow totally no spray. I can suggest some roses that are really disease resistant for me. Also, Knockouts are wonderful in my opinion. I have the original, pink, blushing, double, and rainbow.

    Some Roses I absolutely love which seem to love my yard

    The Bishop
    Hippolyte
    Alice Vena
    White Cap
    Roseraie d l'Hay
    Polareis
    Sir Thomas Lipton
    Russeliana
    Chevy Chase
    Barbier and Barbierlike wichurana Ramblers (Alberic Barbier, Leontine Gervaise,Paul Transon)
    Henri Martin
    Sydonie
    Salet
    Jenny Duval
    Charles de Mills
    Duc de Guiche
    Daybreak
    Ghislaine de Feligonde
    Communis
    Complicata
    Clair Matin
    Konigen von Danemark
    Felicite Parmentier
    Danae
    Cornelia
    Nur Mahal

    Most of the gallicas hold most of their leaves and are simply wonderful. Olga got me hooked on them.

    The albas seem to do pretty well.

    Pemberton Hybrid Musks do well for me.

    I hope this helps somewhat.

    Robert

  • olga_6b
    15 years ago

    Robert, you made me blush :)

    Shelley,
    Some really bullet proof or nearly bullet proof roses for me are:

    Knock Outs
    Darlow's Enigma
    r. Hugonis
    Canary Bird
    Cantabrigiensis
    r Primula
    Dorenbos Selection
    Mary Queen of Scotts
    Spinosissma Double White
    Polareis
    Alberic Barbier
    KOnigin von Danemark
    Ispahan
    Alice Vena
    Deny Duval
    Tuscanu Superb
    Quadra
    Alba Semiplena
    Alba Maxima
    The Bishop
    Roseraie d l'Hay
    Henri Martin
    Charles de Mills
    Duc de Guiche
    Marianne
    r. Palustris
    r.Virginiana

    Quitness (more disease then roses above, but still looks good and keep most of its leaves)
    Earth Song (The same comment as above)
    Dublin Bay (the same comment as above)
    Illusion (the same comment as above)
    Constance Spry (the same comment as above)
    Home Run ((the same comment as above)

    There are many more gallicas, as Robert mentioned, that are beautiful and resistant. Albas are a mixed bag and Damasks with the exception of Ispahan are not resistant in my garden. There are some very healthy mosses too.
    This is just a quick responce, for sure I forgot some.
    I am picky and don't consider roses with considerable leaf loss resistant even if they continue to bloom and keep their vigor. So very often my opinion will very from other people.

    Good luck.
    Olga

  • shellfleur
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Robert and Olga, thank you both so much. I will use your lists to help me make better choices. I really appreciate all your knowledge and experience. Thanks for being so helpful. Shelley

  • lori_elf z6b MD
    15 years ago

    My conditions are identical to Olga's and we grow many of the same rose varieties. Unlike Robert, howerever, the hybrid musks have been a mixed bag without spray. The best ones in terms of resistance are Darlow's Enigma and then Lyda and Buff Beauty not quite as good. Ones that defoliate a lot, sometimes totally, in my garden are Cornelia, Felicia and Lavender Lassie. In the middle with half or more defoliation are Ballerina and Kathleen of the ones I've grown.

    For the damasks, I agree with Ispahan being great and I would add Leda to the list of not defoliating although sometimes getting some cruddy leaves, which are outgrown by fall. Portland rose Marchessa Bocella (Jacques Cartier) is great but Rose de Resht, Marie de St. Jean and Indigo get some crud but are otherwise healthy and floriferous. Repeating mosses are much like the portlands in the middle including Salet, mouselline, Rene d'Anjou (the best rebloomer), and Soupert et Notting. Nuits de Young does not repeat but is quite healthy.

    I'd add the alba Great Maiden's Blush to the list of totally bullet-proof roses (along with Konigen von Danemark and Maxima), and all my gallicas (Olga does not list Rosa Mundi, Belle de Crecy and Duchesse de Montebello which are among my favorites in addition to the ones she has). Centifolia Blanchfleur is very good and gallica-like.

  • bbinpa
    15 years ago

    Shelly, I'm a little closer to New York and further north than Olga. I can verify the disease resistance of Earth Song, Queen of Denmark, Tuscany Supurb, Roserie d la Hay, Russeliana, Ghislaine Felligonda, Duc de Guiche, r. Hugonis and Cornelia. I grow all of these and in this MY first year of no spray, they are clean or nearly so.

    I beg to differ on Felicite Parmentier and Danae. FP lost all her leaves and is presently growing them back. Danae (I have 2) is badly BSed and trying to replace its leaves.

    I can add to the Buck roses with Folksinger (I have 2). This one mildews, but it is recovering-all on its own and blooming extremely well. Prairie Harvest is clean. Carefree Beauty is passably clean. Winter Sunset is also fairly clean.

    I have 2 Kordes that are also keepers so far: Lion's Rose and Floral Fairy Tale aka Sangerhausen Jubilee. Both are nearly clean. If it weren't for rose midge I think the first would be in full bloom. As it is, there are some blooms.

    Also, my Buff Beauty is doing very well in the disease department-a keeper for me.

    Surprisingly, Heritage-the DA rose, is nearly clean--go figure????

    In the polyantha department, I will keep Marie Pavie because she is just now showing BS stress and seems to be recovering. She is also HUGE, so she can hide her illness well.

    Belle sans Flatterie, a Gallica is whistle clean and Cameaiux is only slightly tarnished with BS. Leda, a Damask has lost most of her Damask crud and has replaced it with new green growth.

    Rugosas not mentioned, r. rugosa rubra, Marie Bugnet and Charles Albernal are all free of ugliness. However, my MB and CA both have RMV but this year have not displayed their mosaic patterns as much. The good Fru Dagmar is absolutely lovely.

    Canadian Explorer-Alexander McKenzie is disease free, but sadly this one has poor rebloom even if sprayed.

    Pioneer-Thomas Affleck is just now showing BS but is blooming up a storm and recovering quickly. Meir y Teran is mostly clean.

    Duchess de Brabant and Lady Hillingdon are somewhat BSed, but not enough to get rid of them. Plus they have continued to bloom. The China Le Vesuve (i think) is fairly clean and blooming.

    MISC: Lady Angela is clean as is Mike's Old Fashioned Pink aka Bon Chance.

    I think that is it for my garden. Hope it helps.

    Barbara

  • olga_6b
    15 years ago

    Oh, How could I forget Rosa Mundi, Apthecary rose, Belle de Crecy and Belle Isis. Thank you Lori for reminding me.
    Reine d'Anjoy for me gets at least 30% leaf loss and Great Maiden Blush as well as Felicite Parmentier get even more BS.
    Olga

  • shellfleur
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Lori and Barbara, thanks!!!!! Your information is so appreciated.

    Barbara, I have also found my Heritage (5 years old) to be completely clean.

    Also completely clean of BS so far are: Lillian Austin (I think that Lillian is a bulletproof blooming machine and I appreciate it more each season), Constance Spry, Ispahan, Aloha, Lavendar Lassie, Autumn Sunset, Theresa Bugnet, Carefree Beauty, Sally Holmes, Belle de Crecy, Belle Sans Flatterie, and strangely...YolandeD'Aragon, Paul Neyron, MIP and Zepherine Drouhin.

    One DA that BS some but blooms almost continuously (so that it looks great with some underplanting) is Scepter'D Isle. Other roses that are almost entirely clean of BS are Parade (and I have this one in a shadier than desirable spot and it doesn't have great air flow around it), the climber Rhonda, Portlandia, John Clare.

    Hope my list helps too. Shelley

  • bbinpa
    15 years ago

    You bet, Shelly! I'm always looking for disease resistant/free roses. I will print this posting and study it more. Thank you all!
    Barbara

  • shellfleur
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Oops, there is one rose I forgot to mention that I have found to be quite disease resistant: Belinda's Dream.

    I have 3 of them and what I have found to be true is that their location has greatly impacted their resistance to disease. The first two are 4 years old and are planted as specimens with nothing else around them but sunshine. It is mid August and they do not have a spot on them, not one. Even in the past years when i sprayed, due to their inconvenient location, they received minimal spraying and both were always clean.

    My other Belinda's Dream is planted in an overcrowded bed bordered by a stockade fence. It definitely gets some blackspot. However, the leaves it lost earlier in the season are growing back ...maybe 25 - 30% defoliation. The reliable big puffy blooms it produces are worth it but I am thinking about relocating it to a better spot.

    Just my experience for whatever it is worth...Shelley

  • shellfleur
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Hello, for whatever it is worth, here is an update on the disease resistance factor on my roses. I was able to spend a lot of time in my gardens this weekend and here's what I found:
    Heritage does have BS, but much less than most other roses and is not defoliated at all.
    MIP and Zepherine Drouin also now have some minor BS. Clair Matin and Viking Queen completedly defoliated from BS. So has Frederic Mistral. Most all the roses look pretty bad. I felt discouraged and did not know where to start to make things look better. I think that next year i will just have to acquire more disease resistant roses to replace many of the ones i currently grow. That in itself feel pretty terrible since i'm so fond of my roses. It also feels overwhelming but if i do a little at a time, it shouldn't be so bad.

    One bright note: I checked a rose that is practically hidden in the garden (a Buck....Golden Unicorn) and was happy to see that it has no blackspot, the foliage looks great and it is getting ready to bloom again. This spring, Golden Unicorn will be relocated to a much better and more worthy space. And two of my chinas (Cramoisi S and Mme Franciska Kruger) have almost completely regrown their leaves after defoliating...they actually look pretty good right now.

    Also, for the first time i checked out all the knockout roses and plan to use a few next year for punches of reliable color.

    Thanks for listening, Shelley

  • olga_6b
    15 years ago

    Shelly, This is good for you. Here Golden Unicorn, Lillian Austin, as well as Belinda's Dream all get significant BS. GU defoliates completely.
    Olga

  • shellfleur
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks Olga, yes, there is some good news. My Belinda's Dreams have always been backbone roses for me...especially 2 of them...they just always look great. I hope that it is not what you have found...that the first year of nonspray does not always tell the truth. Maybe next year Belinda's Dream will not look so good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though.

  • shellfleur
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Olga, would you please tell me more about Quadra. I recently ordered it from High Country Roses and I'm wondering about placement for it. Could it grow big enough to cover an archway or does it strictly get to only about 6 ft? Does it have any scent? How is its rebloom?
    Thanks, Shelley

    Also, based on your recommendations and Lori's, Robert's and Barbara's, I have also ordered the following roses: KOnigin von Danemark, tuscany Superb, Jen's Munk, Hunter and two Buck Roses (AppleJack and Prairie Harvest) because they seem to do pretty well here.

  • shellfleur
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Oops, I made a mistake...I did not order Hunter, I ordered Rosa Gallica Officinalis. I'm pretty excited about my order overall. If anyone has any comments or advice, please share. Thanks again, Shelley

  • olga_6b
    15 years ago

    Quadra is BIG. It definitely should cover an arch. I wonder where this 6 feet is coming from. It was bigger then that in its first year. Probably 10-12 or even bigger easily.
    It has excellent repeat and lovely bloom shape, but no fragrance to my nose at all. This is the only bad thing about this rose. The dark red color stays red all the time (no blue).
    Olga

  • shellfleur
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Olga, that is perfect. Quadra sounds like a great choice to cover my huge white arch. Thanks