Hello,

I am putting in a waterless (no water once-established) garden east of Los Angeles, which includes roses. This is the first summer to subject the plants to 'waterless' conditions. Our last rain was in May. Plants were selected for heat tolerance, desiccation tolerance, and the ability to grow in winter.

The roses selected are 'Crown Princess Margareta', 'Old Blush', 'Mrs. B. R. Cant', 'Le Vesuve', 'Graham Thomas', and 'Evelyn'. They are proving resistant to the common local problem of sunscald. 'Crown Princess Margareta' has maintained better foliage than the other roses, who developed brown leaf edges after experiencing a couple of months of drought. Also, 'Mrs. B. R. Cant' and 'Le Vesuve' defoliated in July. MBRC has an attractive branch structure, and actually looks OK IMO. However, most people would prefer roses that remained evergreen under the summer drought.

Although we are a couple of months out from the fall rains, so far CPM appears to be the best choice for a waterless garden in Los Angeles. This is due to it's healthy evergreen foliage under drought. Of course your mileage may vary. David Austin's nursery isn't disclosing the complete parentage, but it looks like the plant is a hybrid with a cluster flowered noisette.

Hoping you can have a rose garden that truly thrives,

Nate

Edit on 12/13/2019: Crown Princess Margareta developed unattractive dried leaves in late summer/fall and was removed.