Oops, my bad. I don't know where I got JFK from, duh. But I've also had Full Sail in the past and it was another one that balled frequently in high humidities. The blooms were lovely when they did open but you couldn't count on it. It seemed like JFK just never opened! Honor was another one that had trouble opening. That's why I say PJPII. It always seems to open no matter how damp it is! You know another thing I recall is that a lot of these whites will spot badly from rain and the Pope doesn't do that either. It just has really substantial petals that hold up well in all weather conditions.

I didn't participate in the first survey, but want to bring up an old (1910) HT: 'Mme. Jules Bouche'. This Tea-like HT is extremely easy and good in my Mediterranean conditions: Zone 8 temperatures, dry warm summers, wet mild winters. It has extremely lovely blooms, white with a touch of honey at the center, on rather thin stems. It's fragrant and sturdy on its own roots, is a tough and frugal rose, gets a little mildew in summer but isn't bothered by it. It builds up in time to a substantial bush: I don't think hard pruning would suit it. I don't know if this is the kind of rose you're looking for, or how it would do in your climate, but think it worth mentioning since so there don't seem to be any perfect white Hybrid Teas. Melissa P.S. Oops, I went back and re-read your message and saw you want a PURE white HT. This post was edited by melissa_thefarm on Thu, Feb 13, 14 at 1:57

Full Sail had some beautiful blooms but it's a bit winter tender and can ball in high humidities. Honor was good for a quicker rebloom and better hardiness. And she was in partial shade. JFK will not open in any humidity and prefers heat. Pope John Paul II was gorgeous, smelled great and always opened. It wasn't very vigorous though and didn't winter great. At the moment I don't have any whites. They don't seem to like my winters or humidities. I'd like to try Randy Scott but he's hard to find.

How lovely to do this for your aunt! You're wise to be strategic about how much work the rose would be and how much bloom there is for the effort. Tomatoes produce a very tangible and profuse benefit for the efforts involved, but sometimes there is a slow return on a rose. Of the three you mention being locally available, by far JFK is the hardiest for me. Neither Honor nor Full Sail has even pretended to overwinter for me in zone 5, thought Seil has had luck with them in zone 6. Sometimes roses that are at their limit of hardiness for your zones may be the ones that fade after a few years. I also don't find that PJPII is a strongly growing rose in any form (grafted or own root). Bolero and Paloma Blanca and Polar Express are all much more reliable bloomers as well as hardy roses for me, and I like the idea of Polar Express. Another rose that you might be able to find at a local store is Snowdrift, which is an Easy Elegance rose. This one is hardy in my zone 4 pocket of the yard and has now in its second year BURST into incredible bloom. I've seen very nice rebloom in other years so I think it would make a steady source of flowers for her, but it's not the best of cutting roses. However, the blooms are fully double and they start out looking cupped as the Austins do. It's also rock solid clean as far as blackspot goes, which is a huge issue for you in NJ. Mine is about 4' tall and wide, which may not fit in her space. Polar Express takes up less real estate and would be as resistant to disease I think for you. Roses Unlimited sells most if not all of these and their gallon-sized roses often come with blooms already on them, but they do take some settling in as opposed to big nursery pots of roses. Do let us know what you decide! Cynthia