Roses have a reputation here for being fussy, and most of it was earned by the wrong roses being planted in the wrong places thirty years ago.
The ones that struggle are the high-bred hybrid teas — grafted, thirsty, prone to every leaf disease going, and needing to be hilled up and protected every winter to survive one. They can be grown here by somebody who enjoys growing them. They are a bad recommendation for anybody who does not.
The ones that work are the shrub and landscape roses bred for cold and for disease resistance, growing on their own roots rather than grafted. On their own roots matters more than it sounds: if a hard winter kills the top, the plant comes back as itself rather than as the rootstock. Those roses tolerate this soil, flower for months rather than weeks, and ask for about as much attention as any other flowering shrub.
Three things decide whether a rose does well here regardless of which one it is. Full sun — six hours minimum, and east-facing is better than west because the foliage dries early. Water at the base rather than over the top, because wet leaves overnight is how leaf disease starts. And air moving through the plant, which is a spacing decision made at install, not a pruning problem solved later.
