In my climate, the Austin roses remain the absolute healthiest roses. They must like our dry air, because I know people from other regions complain about blackspot on english roses.
i was looking at the OGRs as something I could plant down by our pond to replace the forsythia that died in the heat. I would not care how large they grew in that location.
One year, i made up a wish list of roses using HMF's search criteria. I had a list of roses that were thornless, had strong scent, repeat blooming, hardy to zone 6, and disease resistant. I swore those were the only roses i would buy from then on.
Every time I get another deep scratch, i wish I had followed that list.
I'm still planting lilacs because they grow fast enough to create a barrier between my yard and the street.
I'm still buying viburnums because they have the lovely berries, but most of mine look pretty bad from the heat and drought. It looks like I did lose a few of them.
