I grow the Dark Lady in my Chicago-area zone 5 garden and absolutely love it. She enjoys some afternoon shade (in fact she is surprisingly shade tolerant), and suffers if she is in full, blasting-hot sun all day. It is true that the necks are a bit floppy, but that is easily fixed by feeding her banana peels in the spring. I grow 18 rose varieties and this is my favorite, with astounding blooms and a gorgeous scent. She is prone to black spot, and will defoliate a bit, but is so beautiful I don't care. The fall display is particularly impressive and the blooms turn a gorgeous purple in cool weather. Sh would enjoy some winter protection, but I don't provide it and she always come back. Feed her heavily and water deeply a minimum of twice a week for best performance. Do NOT over-prune this bush as that is the fastest way to kill her -- tip pruning and removal of dead wood is all that is required, or tolerated.

This is one amazing rose! I planted it last year so it is still a little bush less than two feet high. Right now it has thirteen buds and I picked one blossom which smells wonderful. I am so gratified because I have had some David Austin roses which were a little fussy to get going. There are no foliage diseases in spite of some rain and Winter weather.