Jane, I had JFK in my previous garden and liked it a lot. But I have to say it was not a vigorous rose and the ability to repeat was not that great either.

However, I loved the flowers! They are starting out as a greenish bud, which I find especially charming and exquisite. If I remember correctly it had a nice scent. Over all a very elegant rose, but a diva in my opinion!

Good advice from Henry.

You should take a look at Moondance. It blooms well and has a nice fruity scent. The flowers are white with a bit a yellow in the center.

Ditto Henry on JFK. JFK is not for this part of the country, IMHO. I was happy when Dr. Huey suckered on it...

Consider Bolero (Bolero 2000), check out its hardiness in your area though. Or another PJP II.

Well it looks like Pope John is going to make a repeat performance. It was a good performer last year and is going great guns putting out foliage now. The scent is Heavenly. Really. This is one white rose that, to us, is very highly scented. Last year my husband would go out every morning and bury his nose in a bloom. LOL

Thanks for the info on JFK. I wish they had done better by this rose when breeding it.

We used to grow JFK back on Long Island and it was okayish,though not exceptional.It's a pretty good smeller and the blooms are beautiful but neither given in abundance nor reliable in quality.

We had,and still have,good luck with K A Viktoria.It's a classic old Hybrid Tea with lots of petals,a good fragrance,and a general sturdy constitution.It isn't widely available,though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria

JFK was a picky guy for me, also. He perked up when I planted Marilyn Monroe next to him, but it was short lived for both of them. Bolero is a shorty in my zone. I love white roses and find them very difficult in zone5. My new attempts this year are Claire Austin, Summer Memories, White Majesty, and Canadian White Star. PJP actually made it thru the winter here, which is unusual.

"JFK was a picky guy for me, also. He perked up when I planted Marilyn Monroe next to him, but it was short lived for both of them."

LOLROF!!! Very very clever. Thanks for the laugh.

I will look into Moondance too.

JFK died young in my yard, as in real life...we don't have the same climate, but I also like Moondance, and Crystalline.
Laura

JFK the man had Addison's Disease and actually received the last rites of the Catholic church three times. I gave the last rites to JFK the rose only once.

I vote for a second PJP.I have moondance, then got pjp. When I had the opportunity to get a second for $5 I jumped on it.I have 2 of only 3 roses and one of those is a climber over a arbor.

and Crystalline was more of a little shrubby thing...for me

Henry, you are a hoot. Poor JFK a man who survived PT109 deserved a better rose than this.

I'm going with PJP and will probably try to find a place to put another Veteran's Honor. Unlike many here, for me, it is intensely fragrant.

Thanks for another laugh and more info.

Moondance would be my pick

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden Blog

I will say,in contrast to our prior plant and location,I've been basically satisfied with the JFK we have now.Seems to handle the heat okay,though giving it one of the cooler areas of the garden probably doesn't hurt.Still doesn't give a plethora of blooms,but the flowers it does provide are usually quite nice.

Anyway,PJP and VH seem like an excellent combo to me.

JFK is not hardy and would need winter protection in your garden. No guarantee even then.
I'm with janegael and think he should have had a better roses named for him.

In california, JFK does not do well, so if you have hot summers, I would think the same for your area. One that is good here is Honor, but I don't know its hardiness. It is so beautiful it is one of my few impulse buys, so that is saying a lot.

I live in Western NY, and JFK does well for me. It's very hardy. My plant is around 8-10 years old. However, it does stay small and doesnt bloom as much as I would like. But it does get very beautiful, perfectly formed, long lasting blooms. It's quite healthy, just not prolific for me. Someone mentioned Bolero, which is very prolific, repeats well, is very healthy, but is even smaller than JFK. It has old fashioned flowers, not HT form like JFK. One white rose that I would recommend to anyone is Whisper. Very vigorous and easy to grow. More prolific than JFK, however the flower form isn't as perfect and they don't last as long. You can't have it all!

My Garden Party outlasted and outbloomed my JFK. Plus it's one of my favorite fragrant roses. It might be listed as a blush rose but for me it was nearly white.

Ok...so now I want another JFK...I am beyond help.

Another Garden Party fan! We came across GP as a 1.99 body bag from a now defunct drug store.A dozen years later and I'd say we've gotten our money's worth and then some. :)

Ivory Tower(Pickering now carries it)is another very fragrant white family rose that has performed exceedingly well over time here.

Susan4952, don't give up on JFK. I had tried JFK twice several years ago but gave up trying to grow it. However, I decided to give it another chance and I'm glad I did. Mine bloomed like crazy last year, it made the Blue Girl jealous with its strong fragrance. However, I thought I had lost mine because it and Sundowner were really slow to leaf out. You might want to try a different location. Also, I use worm casting as a fertilizer and my roses really seem to like it.

I love garden party too but it didn't survive the winter. Will probably give it another chance when there is an opening.

Susan, how do you apply your worm castings? I bought some on sale and am not quite sure what to do with them.

janegael,

It depends on the size of your roses. I use 1/2 cup on the smaller roses and a full cup on the bigger ones. Just sprinkle it and work into the soil. Also, if you have used coffee ground, sprinkle (about a handful) with the worm casting. How often you use it depends on your soil type. I have clay soil so I use it once a year and supplement it when the the roses start blooming. That's why I think I'll checkout the mushroom stuff this year, this way I don't have lug bags of mushroom compost.

I have the climbing version of Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria. A very beautiful rose, and very fragrant. But PJPII is a winner, too.

Although mori's Garden Party croaked, it is generally considered a hardier-than-average white HT. It's a great performer and a very beautiful rose. Not for the California mildew belt, though.

Michaelg,

Garden party isn't white, its yellow and pink.

Where I am Garden Party is first white in the spring often tinged pink when the nights are still cool and later it is a lovely pale lavender sometimes tinged pink and even yellow. No bloom is the same. I have even seen it white, pink and yellow almost like Peace. I don't know why it varies so but it does. It has great form and many years ago it was a big show rose. In fact I have a beautiful large cut glass vase that I won with Garden Party for newcomer best in show (called the queen in rose show parlance) at the Connecticut Rose Society spring rose show almost 20 years ago.

henryinct,

I think your right might have something with certain areas. In my area I have never seen white GP but then again, most HT roses in my area don't start blooming until middle of May. The reason I got in the first place was it reminded me of my Chicago Peace that died after five years thanks to a really late frost.