Glad you took care of that potential horror! I don't have anything to offer about the non performing new roses, I don't recall ever seeing that (aside from an occasional attempted rescue of a bagged rose). I've had one Austin from Chamblee's achieve some size- Tess of the d'Urbervilles that I lost to RRD, so I got another one from them this spring. Molineaux that I got from them several years ago has been like you describe- it is only slightly larger now than when I received it.
I'm also tempted to try my hand at budding onto multiflora rootstocks- nothing to lose, and lots to gain!
I found a forgotten rose a couple of days ago, Dortmund was growing in a bed I used to use as a nursery bed and holding spot for things I wasn't ready to permanently place in the garden. That bed is a mess and has been overtaken by Johnson grass. I had completely forgotten about poor little Dortmund! Still hanging in there, so I dug it and moved it to a new bed I'm working on. It didn't have many roots, but has managed not to wilt. It has a cane about 30" long with a couple of buds- I should probably cut it back, but until it wilts I think I'll leave it.
