"Theo Asir" wrote in message
news:00e8cfb0af891c031b20a6028b4fa274@TeraNews...
Friend of mine lives out
in the country in a well wooded
Hilly Scrubland. Zone 5.

She would love to have some
large roses. Once bloomers are fine.
She's not particularly good @ watering
or maintenance but we get atleast
50 inches of rain every year.


Theo, by large roses I am assuming you mean
roses that get large as a plant, not large blooms.
With this in mind, and the low to zero maintenance
requirement, AND the zone I would recommend
Rosa Glauca (R. rubrifolia). Single pink flowers
with alarmingly charming golden centers. Beautiful
purplish red canes. Very tough and hardy. The
foliage is also a striking purple/red colour. A really
lovely contrast. I have this one, however it is
only on its second year, so I can't make any promises
as to eventual size. But I will say that up here, and
you know that our winters are long and tough, albeit
with lots of snow cover, it suffered absolutely no winter-
kill this year. It is still a baby, but I have high hopes.
Books promise up to 14 feet, but I am going to
be a pessimist and say 6-9 feet in my climate. But
we shall see.

Remember that this is a once-bloomer, but I think the
colour of the canes and leaves are beautiful in and of
themselves. But then again, I am a desperado when it
comes to roses!
Here's a short-cut to Clara's site that might be
helpful:
http://www.helpmefind.com/sites/rrr/pl.php?n=10650

Another species rose that I am growing is Rosa Hugonis
otherwise known as Father Hugo's Rose. It is a
yellow and fern-like in its growth. What can I say, that
is what first comes to mind.
http://www.helpmefind.com/sites/rrr/pl.php?n=2717

The only other species
that I have is R. Cantabrig... something or other. Don't
know the correct spelling at this moment. Similar to
Father Hugo. Both are also still babies, but there is
little to report aside from hardiness. As you can tell,
right now R. Rubrifolia is my favourite, but the other
two did come highly recommended by experienced
rosarians in a similar cold climate.

Laura