I don’t know anything about it, except the info on Edmunds Website. I’m finally convinced that Francis Meilland is a great rose. Personally for the most part I like Meilland roses, but it seems like Kordes (I like their roses too) has made great strides in coming up with some good roses in recent years. I think there are some very good varieties in Meilland’s Romantica series, like Frederic Mistral, Auguste Renoir, and Rouge Royale that I have, plus several others that I’ve read about. I think Meilland Roses overall have great fragrance. I think it’s a good thing when there is some healthy competition among rose breeders.

Sorry, not the info you were seeking, but your question just made me think about how much I love hearing about new and potentially healthy, vigorous, hardy and fragrant roses!

Yes, Sara-Ann, competition between rose breeders greatly benefits us all. Just think, if we were still compelled to grow roses requiring the care level needed for the popular roses of the hybrid tea era, which era ended about the time Bonica and Knock Out came out (Do you agree with the era cut-off date?), how much effort it would take in spraying and winterizing roses grown in humid and colder zones.

The Kordes folks seem to be on the cutting edge with disease resistance and winter hardiness, with their many introductions that are ADR winners.

The Meilland roses, I find, are not bullet proof for diseases, but winter hardiness, bloom quality, and fragrance seem to be their strong suit.

It seems Weeks is on target, leading the pack of rose breeders for abundance and repeat bloom of their roses, but lagging behind Kordes in winter hardiness and disease resistance.

Austin has just about maintained a status quo for releasing 'variations on a theme,' of predominantly quartered, cluster blooming roses in every color roses come in. When Evelyn was introduced in the mid-1990's, it was his finest introduction until then, and has not been equalled or surpassed by any of his introductions since then, IMHO. Austin roses lag behind the others in bloom nodding & longevity, bush form, and repeat bloom.

Moses

@Moses,

Bumping this thread, though it's not that old.

I have two own-root Stiletto younglings (quarter-pot starter size) recently planted at the start of June. In just three weeks time, I already had a few blooms and they were exquisite. (I wish I would have taken photos, but I will next time, which will probably be soon - given new bud formation again).

Although it is certainly much too early to make any solid statements about the overall performance of this rose in my scorching-hot and humidity-soaked zone 8A central Mississippi summer climate, I can in the meantime decisively confirm at least one particular quality that has surprised me: Stiletto blooms appear to last a few weeks! The petals do not fall off as the rose ages (unlike a number of roses which unremarkably "shatter" within a few day's time of unfirling). I've not noticed a SINGLE petal coming loose with Stiletto, even in full sun and after being inundated with the heavy downpour of a severe thunderstorm. Instead, the petals slowly harden off, gracefully drying out (not unlike some dried rose arrangements), and finally the entire flower head shrivels up, inevitably browns, then falls off at the node-neck break ("self cleans"). Throughout this transition, in full summer heat and scolding Sun, the rose color shifts as it ages; first, opening in a voluptuous plum-red (mostly red with hints of a violet cast, reminiscent of Santa Rosa plum skin color), then turning a more decidedly bold magenta, and ending with a provacative yet aggreeable purple at the onset of its drying out as it approaches browning.

Hence, at the very least, it can be said that Stiletto demonstrates EXCEPTIONALLY stable blooms. I've not seen a rose hold on as tenaciously yet gracefully as this one [in recent memory], based upon over three dozen rose varieties currently in my collection to make that comparative assertion.

Stay tuned for additional assessments to come, and some planned posted images.

I got one from Heirloom Roses last fall, and planted it in the ground then - it wintered well, but we had a fairly mild winter, nothing extreme. This spring it has had one bud on it for at least two months, it is finally loosening up but I don't think it will ever actually open. The bush has stayed very small, a foot, maybe a foot and a half tall. I just today noticed signs of new growth on the top. I guess it's been growing roots all this time, I hope. I hope I get to see a bloom this summer.

@mossy44_z7bwa

I've had situations like that with some roses based on less than ideal seasonal timing of planting (late in the year), because you're on-point that placing a relatively young ("starter") rose in the ground right before winter (especially in more temperate zones) will more likely see it initially lag in any substantial vegetative growth. But alas - remain patient, because if you've gotten everything else dialed in (fertile soil with good drainage but consistently adequate moisture, accomplished with sound mulching practice) as well as at least 6 hours of Sun, then odds are that you'll eventually be seeing a fat and vigorously-skyward cane or two breaking through the soil from the base of the root zone.

Ahhh, the vigor and robustness of own-root roses. I have come to detest grafted roses, generally-speaking. After years of experimenting with, tediously comparing, and analyzing the long-term vitality of no less than 100 different roses around my property, I am cynically hard-pressed to support the grafting market with my hard-earned dollar, aside from the rare exceptions. But, I digress.

Even if your past winter was mild, seasonal temperature variation is not the only external stimulus that switches on/off the biologically "programmed" behavior of the rose. The annually-shifting track of the Sun across the sky, as well as cumulative daylight hours, may play a role as well.

Do keep us all notified, please. Thanks!

Bump it up. I am very interested in this rose, but cannot find much information on Houzz, which is my favorite place to search for roses besides HMF.

I first heard of this rose from a recent Meilland announcement of rose photography contest on a China social media. Many people replied that they will use Stiletto (it's called Beauty Liv in China). Based on what I found on that social media, it's both sun, shade, and rain tolerant, perform very well during hot summer, and the bloom size is around 10cm. But disease resistance might not be very good since some people complained theirs got black spot.

I saw it's current in stock in Heirloom. Looking for more information before I place the order.

@mossy44_z7bwa so beautiful! Even the aged blooms look pretty!

How is the disease resistance? I don't have any full sun location left now. Will have to plant it in a place with morning shade and afternoon sun. I have had roses having bad mildew in that location.

Sorry KJ, I don't know about that, Stiletto went to live with my daughter. It just didn't ring any bells for me.