I intend on joining the ARS once I move and have gotten my bushes in the ground for the year. I did manage to do some light investigation into my district which appears to be the Colonial Rose District (I’m in Harrison County/Clarksburg, WV) however it seems the region specific districts seem very out of date of information and I’m not even sure which one is truly my local? (Huntington probably, if I had to guess, but perhaps Charleston WV?).
Roses aren’t very common from the 15 years I’ve spent in WV so far (outside of the garden in Ritter and New Vrindaban). I’m intent to grow some black spot ‘resistant’ (lol) varieties after spending 3 years making a best friend out of a rosarian/rose care professional where I currently live in central NC.
Where I am moving to has weather wetter than Washington state and is Zone 6A and this is the list I’ve cultivated so far:
Moonstone - Hybrid Tea
Over the Moon - Hybrid Tea
Papa Meilland - Hybrid Tea
St Patrick- Hybrid Tea
Princesse Charlene de Monaco - Hybrid Tea
Grande Dame - Hybrid Tea
Fragrant Plum - Hybrid Tea
About Face - Grandiflora
RK Witherspoon - Floribunda
Lynn Anderson - Hybrid Tea
Distant Drums - Floribunda
Easy Does It - Floribunda
Julia Child - Floribunda
Hot Cocoa - Floribunda
All Dressed Up - Grandiflora
Koko Loko - Floribunda
Plum Perfect - Floribunda
Arborose Quicksilver - Climbing
Regardless of my meandering in the post just looking for other people that grow in similar weather (super wet, mildly humid, cold winters and summers that top out the low 90s at worst!) and what your experiences may be growing roses especially of the varieties I’ve posted above but I’m considering recommendations as well!
I love large blooms, petals in the 20+ range, giant bushes tall and wide! And anything in the color types above. I would also like a drift or mini of some sort for my art planter. A coral maybe?
Welcome to the forum. I hope you will look up a local rose society, they usually publish a helpful newsletter applicable to your climate. I’m in the northwest corner of South Carolina and it is hot, humid with consistent rain and black spot is ever present. I spray fungicides every two weeks to keep my roses healthy. Unfortunately, most of the hybrid tea roses in your list are black spot prone. Easy Does It, Julia Child, Distant Drums and Hot Cocoa have better disease resistance. Take a look at Beverly, Belinda’s Dream, Belinda’s Blush, Sweet Spirit, Savannah, Pinkerbelle, True Bloom True Passion, My Girl, Brindabella Pink Princess, Tahitian Treasure, Eleganza Wedding Bells, Sweet Mademoiselle, Queen of Elegance, and True Bloom True Happiness. How far away are you from Charlotte, N.C.?
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I’m actually in Durham where Witherspoon Nursery is, I’ll take note of these varieties I think I’ve seen both of the Belinda’s and really liked them.
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I’m giving a talk on disease resistant roses based on the national trials next Monday evening for the Charlotte Rose Society. I was just wondering if you were close to that area. Durham is a distance away.
I’m so sorry to have missed that, it’s been a busy time with my move and all. I hope the talk was great, I have family in the Charlotte (Waxhaw, near SC) area as well so I will keep an eye out for events in that area that you may host!
As for the garden, it’s now in the ground for about 3 weeks now. West Virginia has super mild summers (except for this heat wave that is devouring the south east) so the roses don’t seem to have minded being transplanted then.
I ended up grabbing Julia Child, Distant Drums, Hot Cocoa, Koko Loko, St Patrick, Arborose Quicksilver, Fragrant Plum, Plum Perfect!
I know the St Patrick and Fragrant Plum may struggle a bit here due to your concerns Rosejoy, I’ll keep a sharp eye for spraying this year I think.
I actually just picked up a Cl. Cécile Brünner as well to run up the brick (with some assistance of course) of my front porch. I’ve not put it in the ground yet due to this heat wave but once we cool down I’ll make the transition. This bush is wild! I’ve got about a 6-10" of new growth in the container since I bought it a few days ago.
I’ve spotted 2 Japanese Beetles on my St Patrick today watering this morning so tomorrow when I make my rounds I’ll have a bucket of soapy water with me for those suckers.
I have a few more spots for roses on my tiny lot but I will probably wait until I’m a bit more settled in and comfortable with these bushes but I am still eying the Belinda’s Dream and Blush.
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Hello, friend! I am in 6b in southwest Ohio, where our summers get a bit hotter than yours, but humidity and blackspot are a continual problem. Here has been my experience with the roses on your list, as well as some winners from my own garden. My roses are in their third season. My preventive/treatment regimen is to spend a lot of my spare time picking off affected leaves, alternating between sulfur and copper spraying every couple of weeks (weather pending, because of frequent rain I don’t always maintain a strict schedule), and regular mulching at the base of the plant.
My experience with the ones from your list (not too many, I’m afraid):
Princess Charlene de Monaco: 
resistance, have really only had one or two leaves here and there
Moonstone: fair bit of blackspot, but is a young plant. Doesn’t seem bothered by it
Distant Drums: mild amount of blackspot, have lost quite a few leaves but it churns out new growth so fast that the bush still looks pretty good
Others that have done well for me in this regard:
Quietness (single most resistant rose in my garden), Buck
Cinderella Fairy Tale, Kordes
Arborose Florentina, Kordes
Tiffany
Mother of Pearl
Sunny Knockout
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EricaAOH, Welcome to the forum. We appreciate your rose disease resistance evaluations. I’m in the northwest corner of South Carolina and we battle blackspot from April till November. Moonstone and Tiffany must be sprayed here. Have you tried to grow Sweet Spirit, Wedding Bells, Pinkerbelle, True Bloom True Passion, Sitting Pretty, or Sweet Mademoiselle? All of these roses did extremely well in the national trials. Look up some more at www.TrustedRoses.com and www.americangardenroseselections.com. You should also go to www.rose.org and review the results from the American Rose Center’s International Trials.
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Hi Sheree, thank you! I agree, I do spray periodically but Tiffany does much better for me with the regimen I use than many of my other plants. I actually just purchased a Sweet Spirit, largely because of its purported resistance, even though I am unconvinced by the color. I will report back next year!
I would also say that blackspot is just something I accept as a fact of life in my zone, meaning that while I do try to be diligent about management and select reasonably resistant plants, some blackspot on a plant doesn’t ruin the whole thing for me. There are some plants that will blackspot for me that I nonetheless truly love (Louise Odier, Amazing Grace), so I feel like a certain amount of tolerance can also go a long way in our zone.
Edit: the email I received about this comment said from Sheree via ARS, but it occurs to me that maybe that’s not actually your name, rosejoy. Regardless, thank you for your comment and the welcome!
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