I grow this rose but what I know is probably not germane to your zone. It doesn't seem to get very large or tall although the blooms are huge. It tolerates summer heat very well and is free of disease for ME. I love it and really hope yours does well for you. Hopefully they wouldn't offer it in your zone if it won't grow there.

Ingrid

I hated this rose! To me, the color was garish iand it got BS all the time.

same zone as zyperiris and love love loved that rose. Had it in sidewalk bed. Beautiful blooms! Bit of BS but didn't mind it, because it was gorgeous. Where did u find it on an impulse buy? I would like 2 or 10 more.

I have that bush, love the flowers. The blooms don't look like much as buds, but when they open they are so pretty. I transplanted the bush last summer, so it is still not it's full size, but it's about 3' x 3' at this time. For me, it gets a lot of mildew.

I'm not in your zone.

Mine died over the first winter. Most Romanticas don't do well in zone 5. Winter protect.

It cracks me up what different opinions we all have!

Yes. It is very pretty in flower, which it doesn't produce in any abundance. It grows about 4X2.5' here in Ontario. It is highly susceptible to BS in mid summer and powdery mildew in late summer. It is not at all hardy in any respect, so the bud will need to be planted 2-4" below the soil and it will need protection, a good microclimate spot in the garden, or a good amount of snowfall to cover it in winter.

Also, if bought at a local garden center, then your rose is most likely imported from the U.S. and is on Dr. Huey understock, which is the wrong undestock for almost all of Canada. You need plants on multiflora understock or hardier, vigorous varieties that are on their own-roots.

The life expectancy of roses in our climate that are on Dr. Huey understock is approx. 2-4 years. Beyond this, they are either dead or have declined so poorly as to not being worth their spot in the garden.

The fragrance is lovely.

Ingrid VC,

..."Hopefully they wouldn't offer it in your zone if it won't grow there..."

I so wish this were indeed the case. However, the HD, Lowe's and even other big box stores like Canadian Tire up here, pretty much sell the same unsuitable roses that they would in warmer areas of the U.S. Wrong roses for our climate, wrong rootstocks and just wrong in general. Tis a shame really and it puts so many people off of growing roses here.

Thank you for all replies and opinions - it is funny how opinions can vary so much, probably having to do with different growing zones.

Morden Man - thank you for all the specifics you gave. I'm also in Ontario, around Toronto, so your size predictions etc are very useful to me. I did buy from a garden center so I hope the rootstock holds up...I know I will have to winter protect. 4x2.5 is actually perfect for the spot I had in mind, along a walkway so that you can smell it walking by :)

And yes, lots of big box stores and even some nurseries around here sell plants that aren't hardy or aren't suitable with no warning at all. Its very unfortunate. The same day I bought this rose, I heard staff in a local nursery ASSURING this woman that the big sky echinaceas were completely hardy to this area. Anyone around here knows that the new big sky series is variable at best, and overpriced annuals most of the time...it is misleading and really unfortunate as it does turn people off gardening a lot, when they have bad experiences with flowers/roses that really aren't their own fault at all (except possible for a lack of research!).

Anyways, thank you again for all opinions, I appreciate it a lot :) I am looking forward to the blooms, and hoping to ward off diseases!

How is your Yves doing?

Gorgeous rose gorgeous fragrance. Lucky you.

Ingrid_CA zone 9... (or anyone else still on this thread)... are you still growing this rose? How is it doing? I would love to hear an update on its growth habit and how it behaves in your garden.