It is difficult to come up with a large red rose that is maintenance free. I tried to come up with some good suggestions than I chickened out. Now I decided to try. Please my recommendations for what I intend it to be. I try to list a few red rose names and let others to chime in. I assume that you want to give a big plant as a present to your father not a small band. I may be wrong assuming that. In any case, I don't think that Francis Dubreuil would fit the bill. Don't get me wrong, Francis Dubreuil is very nice and extremely fragrant but it is a small rose and takes time to get going. The flowers are small and burn even in morning sun; mine is in a pot and if I keep it in the porch protected from sun, it doesn't bloom a lot; on the other hand, placed even in morning sun the petals burn in no time. One also needs to find a good clone like Carol's is; mine is certainly not that good and several times seemed close to dying. I would not call it very blackspot resistant either. I am not sure that a man who wants a "red, fragrant rose" but is not tuned into Chinas would consider Cramoisi Superieur's blooms big enough and fragrant enough. If it could be a climber I would recommend Fields of the Wood: it is fragrant, dark red and no spray. Mine is not a great bloomer but I know that I didn't plant it in the right spot. Maybe it can be grown as a large shrub - Lisa at Countryside could advise you if it is a good idea or not. Maggie is another possibility: red (not a very dark modern red though that men tend to prefer), fragrant and grows big. Again, mine is still a baby so I don't have a good idea if it is low maintenance or not but many forum members grow it so a lot of people can give you better info on her than I can. Very fragrant dark red is Crimson Glory. I was told that it needs diligent spraying but having missed spraying last summer I can say that this rose fared much better than I expected. I am told that either Chrysler Imperial or Oklahoma is pretty healthy but I do not know which one yet. I have a lot of dark red roses but these two I am not familiar with: one of the two I planted last year but last summer was not one which could help a new rose to grow and shine; the other I will get in a week or so. I tried to make a search at Rogue Valley's website for disease resistant reds and check if they have any in 5 gallon pots - that is a very good size for a present and they ship them soiless-potless, so the shipping coast might not be so astronomical than for potted roses with dirt but the sites search engine didn't work right tonight. You can also check out Pickering's website for disease resistant red roses focusing on rebloom and fragrance. I made a quick checking on Pickering's website searching for red, disease resistant roses with strong fragrance. Here are those that came up: Royal William- HT, High Flier - climber, Red Fountain - climber, William Shakespeare 2000, Isabelle Renaissance- shrub, Hansa -shrub, Skyrocket- hybrid Musk shrub. At Palatine you can make a separate search for fragrant reds and very fragrant reds (dark purples included) but you should check the roses. If your father lives in part of Georgia where the soil isnÂt clay but sandy, You may try to get a rose grafted on fortuniana -those do grow big and flower a lot. Let me add that disease resistance depends a lot on local microclimate.

Thank you. What nice suprise. Leslie I love The wonderful color shades of your new climber . Aprille , I just love that dark red with purple. I have never seen one like that Dark lady. I have 5 Mr Lincolns this year and hopefully I will get some blooms as nice. Thank you Neicey , Carol and Judith for the ooohhs an ahhs. Can't wait!

Happy Birthday, Karl! For those of us who have been coming here for years, we know and appreciate your generosity in sharing your knowledge of growing roses. We all "Thank You" for that! May you enjoy many more years of rose growing. And, here's hoping that those nasty JB's stay away this year!! Best Wishes! Rose Here is a link that might be useful: Happy

Ann, thanks so much for the rose wisdom you spread; I've learned so much from your postings. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and as my small contribution, here is perle d'or, one of my favorite roses. Its beauty is displayed through its generosity of bloom and subtlety of color, its toughness and grace of form.