Joey: Very good questions. Here are what I learn about own-root roses: 1) Where they are bred and the TYPE OF SOIL & weather predicts where they will be successful. Roses bred in acidic & rainy & less sun England will be successful in acidic & high rain East coast. But roses bred in alkaline & hot & sunny Southern France will be successful in alkaline clay & sunny garden. 2) How vigorous the root is? The newly bred roses ARE VERY VIGOROUS as own-roots, and can survive BOTH Pakistan 113 F hot summer and my zone 5a winter of -20 below zero. Vigorous roots are both long (at least 2 feet deep) and spreading wide. Vigorous roots are also THICK to store water in dry summer/winter. Dee-lish can die to the crown, but the root is so deep that it can go for 1 month without watering, either through a cold & dry winter or hot summer. Dee-lish has a climber as a parent (Graham Thomas). If a rose is bred with a climber in its genetics, it will have deeper root. 3) It's the selection of the fittest. In breeding roses, there will be many seeds ... and only the fittest seed sprout up to be the most vigorous root or to be disease-resistant. The other dozen to 100 seeds either don't germinate, or sprout some wimpy plants that black-spot & less petals, or can only bloom once a year. This answer your question directly, breed roses in your cold zone and see which seed can sprout in extreme cold temp., and which seed has the deepest root to survive the winter. English roses, bred in a colder climate than France: most have climber-heritage or Old Garden Roses' genetics, and English roses are actually favored by hot climate folks in Pakistan due to the vigor of their roots. Deeper root = more weather resistant. I hang out in Facebook Fragrant Rose Lovers group, where most Pakistan posters are. English roses are favored in both extreme hot and extreme cold climate due to the toughness of their roots to survive long periods of drought.

Hi Okatie, I think this is a great post - so much so that I've kept coming back to check for the answers. Since there've been none, I was wondering if you'd consider posting it in the tomato forum - link below. I'd start the thread there myself but I don't want to steal it from you. I'm happy enough checking back. Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Forum

My Pink Knockout rose is blooming fairly well and has tripled in size since I planted it early this spring. It gets maybe an hour of direct sunlight early in the morning, then another hour in the early afternoon. The shade is open and airy, though - there is the corner of the house abt 5' away to the west and a huge, high-canopied maple about 15' to the east. It doesn't have that classic rose shape but the color is snappy and livens up my shade garden. I plan on getting more next year.

UGH...Lipstick...forget about it!! I've had a heck of a time find lipstick colors I like. I honestly think after having kids, my lip color has changed...maybe a little more pigment in them...which is fine but I think that has really thrown me off when trying colors. I try and try every time I go to the mall...but nothing floats my boat once I get outside in the light and see how it really looks. Banished to chapstick and Carmex for now LOL