What would be a good replacement for Roses? I have to remove even more. I'm sick of the diseases. I could tolerate the occasional Blackspot, but not this Rose Rosette Disease!

You can get some flowers that look similar like Ranunculus and Lisianthus.

I need shrubs. I have bird feeders close by. The birds use them to sit on and escape neighborhood cats too. Removing these is awful. If you live in the eastern USA, stay away from roses. Trust me.

I like Rose of Sharon, I got my trained like a small tree but you can prune them down to 5 or 6 ft. the good thing about pruning is the flowers will be bigger.

I would check with your local native plant society - planting bird-friendly native shrubs would encourage more birds and would also be much less likely to have disease issues. Win-win. Most native plant societies have seasonal sales or can point you in the direction of a nursery that carries native plants. I have had wonderful luck with natives, and am pro-actively replacing problem plants with natives.

Camellia will give a rose type flower. Carolina Allspice ,Potentilla has a long flowering time. And Summersweet has great Fall color.

Thanks! I like all of these ideas. I may use native Winterberries. There are dwarf varieties that would work.

My mother always had a camellia bush on each side of her front porch, they were huge and always had a bird nest in there somewhere. These are evergreen and provide shelter all winter, also evergreen azaleas, Gardenia and Nandinas.
This is an azalea.

https://almostedenplants.com/s...

Thanks, Susan. I'm going to keep thinking about this a lot before I do anything. I don't want to do anything yet because the birds are so numerous right now. It's amazing how many goldfinches I have. I actually picked up one off the feeder yesterday and it didn't fly a way. I guess they know I'm the one feeding them and giving water. They don't even fly when I go out there now.

I need to get some seed for winter but they do enjoy the coneflowers. I also have a beauty berry behind garage and it has been a fast grower, I do not prune it much because no one sees it, it is just for the birds and the shrub has gotten taller than the garage. LOL. It has berries already but they are not ripe. I read that birds only eat these berries as a last resort but at least they will have something till the winterberries get bigger. Also there is a shorter Korean beautyberry that is a bit invasive, Callicarpa dichotoma . I think mine is profusion and I have no problems with it spreading, ever. 10 feet tall, but can be pruned to any size, it blooms on new wood.

Viburnum

I just dug mine up. No blooms in three years and not one berry. I did add a pollinator last fall but had to give up on that idea too because the thing gets 15 feet tall and wide, too big for the front yard.

I love Viburnum. They have these at school and they smell so good when they bloom. Maybe it depends on the variety you get, but I really like them.

It sounds like you have need of several shrubs, I'd get all different ones, offering different treats and cover for the wildlife, especially birds in your case.

Beautyberry (Callicarpa) is worth mentioning, I think. The purple berries are really cool, native, birds love to eat the berries, makes flowers although they aren't the wow-across-the-yard kind.

Osmanthus fragrans would fill your need for something wonderfully scented occasionally, more of a wafter than roses, IMHO/E. A well-placed moonvine is great for that also, where convenient for sniffing, early morning or late evening.

Confederate roses (Hibiscus mutabilis) are hardy in your zone I think, would fill your need for pruning (LOL!), though it's a one-time thing in the spring, just cut everything off and stand back quick, so the new growth doesn't whack you in the head. Please look at pics to remind you about its' girth/height before picking a spot.

Another vote for Gardenia!!

Edited because I forgot to say - the more varied your planting, the less likely any disease can wipe everything out, like the current monoculture/overculture of roses. This is also why I like to put veggie plants in various spots around the yard instead of all in one patch, when possible. Pests don't usually find all of any particular thing.

Great ideas and information. I love the smell of Gardenia and it's evergreen but I can't grow one for nothing, they always die. My mother had one five feet tall and wide and covered in white flowers every summer. I might try again, they are certainly worth a second look.

I did get a Wiegela today called 'Sonic Bloom Pink.' I really like these because they bloom repeatedly all summer. I've been watching one at the nursery, and it had blooms every single time I visited. Tomorrow a Rose bush is going to "Rose Bush Heaven" and a Wiegela is being planted! I also got a Buddleia called 'Miss Ruby.' I have been watching that one for a long time, and I like the way the plant isn't all spindly and scraggly like most other Buddleia I've seen.

I'll keep my eyes open for some of these suggested plants too. I have grown a Gardenia called 'August Beauty' before that really was amazing. It usually lasts at least a few years here. Nothing smells as good as them! I must say my 'Stained Glass' Hosta comes close though! I just wish Gardenia were hardier. There are some that claim to be very hardy compared to others, but my test plant didn't last but one season. You really have to locate them perfectly to have any luck with them. They smell so good though. I may just save a spot for one and buy a new one every year. They remind me of my Grandmother because she loved them so much.

I will check into that Wiegela because I like stuff that has a long bloom time. I must duplicate my mothers success and I know she had hers on the west side of the house and it got all the afternoon sun. Also it was near a water spout, hers was there over twenty years and it is the older variety that gets big, but I do know from experience that it was fairly easy to prune because I did prune hers every year.

That is a really nice one Clint.

Provenance may be part of the difficulty those on the fringes of hardiness have experienced before. If one digs a shrub (of any kind, not just Gardenia) from way down south and puts it in the ground at the north edge of hardiness, it's much less likely to survive than a plant propagated from material already surviving nearby. Try to find those produced locally, not trucked up from the south, when considering anything of marginal hardiness. Then I'm a firm believer in a good cover (pile) of leaves if deciduous, just a covering at the base if evergreen. Will help moderate soil temp, moisture, increase drainage after it's been there for a while. A couple large, dark-colored paver/walkway bricks on the south side by the base could help also, to warm the ground when the sun hits them.

Wish I knew what kind of Gardenia is in the yard here to give credit where credit is due. They are in almost every yard in the neighborhood, heck, in the whole area (where drainage is generally excellent, virtually instant.) Blooms heavily in early spring, then sporadically at any time, like yesterday, this one bloom showed up. The more compost, trimmed grass, general organic matter I put around the base of it, the more and more happy it looks, even growing some bigger leaves. Full, total sun. I don't prune it much, except when a part is sticking out in the path. A few years ago, I took all of the smaller branches off a bigger limb that looked sick, intending to ask DH to saw the whole thing off at the base soon. Forgot about it, and it's covered itself with great new growth by now. The best thing in this yard besides the trees, that was already here before me.

My Grandparents used to build a frame around their Gardenias and fill with straw in winter. It always worked. I can't believe I just remembered that. The memory can play tricks on ya!