My neighbor wants a rose, but it will be planted in an organic
garden. It is a sunny warm spot (for Seattle), but I think disease
resistance is a must. What is a source for disease resistant roses
for our climate? Also, does growing clematis on a climbing rose limit its disease
resistance?
The reason that clematis and rose make good companions has to do with the
rose providing the structure the clematis needs, and the pairing allowing
for interesting combinations of color and shape, rather than one
providing disease resistance to the other.
Generally, the most disease-resistant roses are species roses, but there
are additional choices.
This list from Pacific Northwest Pest managment Handbook lists resistant roses.
This article from Washington State University Extension is entitled “Disease-Resistant Roses for the Puget Sound Area.”
There are several excellent books on growing roses in our area:
North Coast Roses : For the Maritime Northwest Gardener by Rhonda Massingham Hart (Seattle : Sasquatch Books, c1993)
Jackson & Perkins Beautiful Roses Made Easy : Northwestern Edition by Teri
Dunn & Ciscoe Morris. (Nashville, Tenn. : Cool Springs Press, 2004)
Roses for the Pacific Northwest by Christine Allen (Vancouver : Steller Press, 1999)
Roses for Washington and Oregon by Brad Jalbert, Laura Peters (Edmonton : Lone Pine Pub., 2003)
Roses for the Inland Northwest. Washington State University Extension ; [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, [2004])
This book is a comprehensive guide to combining clematis and roses:
The Rose and the Clematis As Good Companions by John Howells ; photographs
by the author ; flower arrangements by Ola Howells (Woodbridge : Garden Art Press, 1996)
All of these titles are available in the Miller Library.