I have grown these ones.
Botzaris ...one of the best
Queen of Denmark...another excellent one
Ispahan...very good but it will become a monster if your soil is rich, mine went 8 feet
Gypsy Boy...I had to get rid of this one because it can become a very wide monster of a rose bush, but lots of flowers
Erinnerung an Brod...a must have if only for the colour
Belle Amour...a tall and lank bush, very hardy
Skyrocket ...tall and the arches over, good red colour
Empress Josephine...flowers to me are fluffy looking. Lots of them because the canes tend to arch over

I have Queen of Denmark and Belle Amour. Both are completely cane hardy for me. BA, as said above, is tall and lank and is a good choice for a back of the border location. Koningen is justly considered one of the finest of all roses. Do consider more albas, some of the most satisfactory of all hardy roses, IMHO. The bushes look quite nice, except for BA, when out of bloom and are so vigorous that you can use them for trellises for vining annuals, even morning glory, which smothers most competition, with little or no damage to the bush.

Top notch roses: 'Konigen von Danemark', 'Botzaris' and 'Belle Amour'. These three are exceptional cultivars and should be grown in every collection, IMO. Special emphasis on the first two, but I love 'Belle Amour' for its unique and intense Myrrh scent.

Sold and grown mainly because of its name and associated romantic notions: 'Empress Josephine'. I could live without this one; almost no fragrance, weedy, disorganized growth habit, blooms turn bad in wet weather, and a bloom style I regard as unsophisticated (muddled, disorganized petal configuration.)

Thank you all for your replies! It is helping me a great deal. It is just the kind of info I was looking for.

So I have decided to eliminate Gypsy Boy and Empress Josephine. I will keep Belle Amour and put it in the back. That is very useful information because the Palatine site says it is only 3.5-4'.

Nastarana, thanks for the tip regarding more albas. So I have chosen two more albas to replace the 2 rejected roses:
Félicité Parmentier
Rosa Alba Semi Plena

Thanks again.

Hi Muriel

Regarding cold hardiness, you've already heard from nastarana in zone 5 that any of your Albas should be fine to overwinter in the ground, as would other Gallicas and cold-hardy roses. I can attest to the cold hardiness of Lavender Lassie and Erinnerung an Brod in my dry zone 5, and by that hardiness I mean mostly cane hardy with some die back at the tips but not bad. Lavender Lassie I'd actually trim back a little more firmly, kind of like an Austin, once it's well established (mostly to encourage more bloom and laterals). Mine doesn't bloom nearly as frequently or as profusely as reported in other zone 5 areas, but since mine is in part shade, that might account for it. For me, I wouldn't plant it again, but it's unoffensive and weaves around other plants where it is.

Erinnerung an Brod is mostly a once-bloomer for me, but I agree that the color is to die for. Since you're planting some other spring bloomers, you might plan on this area making a real impact in the spring, and then enjoying the greenery or other types of plantings in the rest of the year.

Cynthia

I have quite a few of the roses on your list. Ispahan is the only one that can freeze in a bad winter. Perhaps not to the ground but far down enough to flower very little. It has happened three times since 1996, the last time the winter of 2011/2012.

Hi. I'm in Zone 7 so I don't experience the winter dieback that you get but the Geschwind roses get HUGE here on multiflora. I do have the nasty heat an humidity though! I planted Orden and Schonste bare root last year and they are now putting out 13ft. canes. The blooms were very pretty, if sparse, but it was the first year.
I was disappointed in LL for some reason I thought she would rebloom. (four year old own root). She bloomed in a pretty flush and then defoliated and that was the end of that. No repeat. But she is still youngish, I guess. I took her out of her prime spot and put her into a large pot with a bit more shade.
If you are interested in HMs I think there are much better ones out there. In fact, I've read that LL is usually classified with the HMs but more like a shrub than an HM...
Susan

Thank you all for your help!! It has been a crash course in OGR's over the past week. I needed to place my order by today and pulled it off last night. Then I received word that Belle Amour and Ispahan just sold out (perhaps a good thing regarding Ispahan, as mariannese pointed out it is not very hardy). So I replaced them with Apothecary's Rose and Mme Hardy.

I had also added Tausendschön to the order, which includes some floribundas as well.

Been reading the amazing blog (kansasgardenmusings) that one member here has. That's where I caught word about Mme. Hardy.

So I will be learning lots about the roses next summer and will be better educated regarding what to order for next year. And I will be able to order earlier next year. So many I wanted were sold out!

So thanks again for all your help. I will report back so that others can learn from my successes and failures. I am an experienced gardener but knew little of OGR's. Only had Harrison's Yellow and Tuscany Superb in my last garden. Both were to die for!!

What, may I ask, was on your wish list that was already sold out?

Well_rooted,

May I ask where in BC you are as zone 5 isn't common lol.

Hehe, yeah some sell out fast or so I, too, have learned. I am still hunting for Ghislaine de Feligonde.

Have a great day

SCG

Welcome Well Rooted! You will find this a wonderful place for learning as well as enabling what likely will become an addiction! I too was an experienced gardener with little knowledge of the OGRs...I have found my passion in life!
I second Trospero in asking what was sold out from your wish list and also, what FBs did you order?
Susan

Thank you for the kind welcome Susan. I can see that you all a very good at building enthusiasm here. Actually, I noted it long ago!

Tropsero, I didn't have a real wish list...at least not yet. I noted some gorgeous colours under the Sold Out sign on the Palatine site and would have loved to have investigated further, but not knowing more made it a little easier to wait till next year. However I am finding that the colour of the Gallicas is right up my alley! And they are hardier than others. Hippolyte is one that sold out and looks great in the picture...But I almost always do a lot of research before I choose a rose.

I am not at home right now so will get back to you with the FB list on Saturday. However I can tell you that I have had Tamora on my wish list for years. I see that Hortico has it (along with affordable shipping rates) so I am very tempted to pick it up, along with Lillian Austin, Pretty Jessica, Molineux (becauses they are non nodders) and Golden Celebration....just because..... (had it before).

Will further introduce myself on Saturday or next week. Got kids coming home for the holidays.

Thank you for the kind welcome Susan. I can see that you all a very good at building enthusiasm here. Actually, I noted it long ago!

Tropsero, I didn't have a real wish list...at least not yet. I noted some gorgeous colours under the Sold Out sign on the Palatine site and would have loved to have investigated further, but not knowing more made it a little easier to wait till next year. However I am finding that the colour of the Gallicas is right up my alley! And they are hardier than others. Hippolyte is one that sold out and looks great in the picture...But I almost always do a lot of research before I choose a rose.

I am not at home right now so will get back to you with the FB list on Saturday. However I can tell you that I have had Tamora on my wish list for years. I see that Hortico has it (along with affordable shipping rates) so I am very tempted to pick it up, along with Lillian Austin, Pretty Jessica, Molineux (becauses they are non nodders) and Golden Celebration....just because..... (had it before).

Will further introduce myself on Saturday or next week. Got kids coming home for the holidays.