I love ROUGE ROYALE because it is a top notch cut flower. As you can see from the images the quartered flower form is utter perfection. Never is a petal out of place. The blooms are also H-U-G-E! I've seen flowers that were the size of my outstretched hand. Amazing. The color is phenomenal: a rich ruby red that doesn't "blue" like so many other dark red Hybrid Teas. Then there is the petal texture: velvety on the top with a satiny reverse. Absolutely, positively gorgeous. Petals are also stiff with substance. Properly conditioned cut flowers will easily last a week in a vase. Loooooooong straight, strong stems. And don't get me started on the fragrance: intense and complex, rivaling such classics as General Jacqueminot and Souvenir du Docteur Jamain. The burgundy turned dark green leathery foliage is a perfect foil for the sumptuous flowers and the bush has a nice shape to boot. Trust me folks, this is THE true red reproduction rose we've all been looking for. If I had the room I'd grow five of these smoldering beauties.

Some background info about the 'Royal Knight': It was found in Canada by J.C. bakker & Sons from St. Catherines, Ontario. It was introduced by the Vermeulen Nursery. Dennis, let me explain to your comments: Most of the time I do my home work very well before I put the info on this forum. Both cases you mentioned has nothing to do with a language thing. Picea pungens 'Thuem' is the right spelling we must use. It's a U.S. selection and was found by Mr. Thuem. Pinus bungeana 'Diamant' was found as a witches' broom at the Diamant Nursery in Duisburg, Germany. It has nothing to do with diamand... The thing is that a plant will get a name by the founder and this name must be used. A lot of German selections do have a German cultivar name and a most of these were translated in English cultivar names which was a very big mistake to do and confusions were born. Also a lot of old Latin names were translated in commercial names which also makes a lot of confusions. I hope I helped you with this info and make clear things up for you. Cheers. Edwin.

I'm mostly looking for something that will be a good rose for my zone/area... and just be an awesome rose I will probably be planting it by a 4 foot high fence or along a wall I guess I'm just looking for people to tell me what roses they like/don't like & why.. or recommendations!

Lovely pictures of your roses, Sara-Ann! I have tried to grow Double Delight 5 times now in my zone 5 yard, including in the fussy-pants tea protected section, and it never survives for me. Zone 6 must be its limit. Moses, FWIW I haven't tried Rouge Royal as many times but in 2 or 3 tries it hasn't survived. I put in in the supposed zone 6 part of my yard but I think it was toward the cold side of that bed so I'll give it one more try. Still, I think zone 6 protected at the outside would be its limits. Most of the other Romanticas are borderline at best in zone 5, the exception being Leonardo da Vinci who blooms like a champ and overwinters with some or all of his cane. Traviata is a much more reliably hardy Romantica red in my yard. It puts out a couple of blooms at a time, but you're right that it's a typical HT bloom pattern. Cynthia