Name your healthiest roses and the zone/climate

For me, quite a few roses listed by others as healthy in their areas are heavily affected by blackspot for the better part of the growing season. Climate and growing conditions aren’t the only disease-promoting factors when it comes to problems like blackspot–pathogen strain diversity has a huge impact, too.

Stefan

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Is it okay to include pinks? It’s not too hard to come by a fairly healthy (ho-hum) pink…

Caldwell pink (pink pet) has never shown a spot of disease, neither in SE Louisiana, nor now in Central Texas. (Seems hopelessly sterile, alas.) Another pink stalwart that is highly fertile and quite healthy for me is Carefree Beauty. I am guaranteed more OP seeds from her than I want. (Washed-out PANK is the norm…)

Getting deeper in color, Kordes’ Kardinal Kolorscape is both drought tolerant and quite healthy and pollen fertile (acts like a triploid imo). Miracle on the Hudson has shown good health and some tolerance to part shade, and seems quite fertile. Though not overly drought-tolerant, Ivor’s Rose (Flamenco Rosita) thus far impresses me too, as much for being both a red and a fragrant seedling of (ho-hum pink…) Bonica. Haven’t yet seen any seed set tho.

The only established mauve that has firmly earned a place in my yard to date is Quicksilver. Have young plants of Purple Skyliner and Vineyard song – too soon to evaluate, but am cautiously hopeful.

Currently, my best yellows are Carefree Sunshine (reluctant to set hips, but quite drought tolerant and healthy) and Sunny Sky (whicked thorny and not overly floriferous.) Peach drift can spot some, but is a good and slightly fragrant landscape rose. (I really need deeper yellows in my stock.)

That list ignores the near-species roses that would double the quantity of roses I might deem healthy.

To my observation Carefree Beauty can get evident blackspot in my area, especially in humid autumn.

After a few humid days I found ‘Coral Drift’, ‘Peach Drift’ and ‘Sweet Drift’ get slight blackspot without losing leaves. ‘Knock Out’ and its offsprings (‘Cherry Bonica’, ‘Sweet Sprint’ and ‘Yueding’) in the same garden are completely spotless.

And, in arid, alkaline heat, Carefree Beauty has never met a mildew outbreak it didn’t adore.

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Good to know. Here, Carefree Beauty was one of the first roses to earn the Earthkind designation, and I too have been impressed, as was, I presume, Wm. Radler. (It is a grandparent of K.O.)
I had forgotten, Kim, you had said it got that strange western fungal disorder you Californians gripe about. :wink:

Updated: I carefully observed the plants in the rose garden, ALL varieties I mentioned in this comment get some degree of blackspot, including Knock Out. They are very resistant, but NOT totally immune,

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Perhaps the Carefree Beauty I observed is Carefree Wonder. The latter is very prone to blackspot in my area.

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Curious as to which of Buck’s roses folks feel outperform Carefree Beauty?