Lot of people loves that rose. I ordered one last year but I am very disappointed. I probably got a bad plant.

Anyone have both Maria Shriver and Pope John Paul II? PJPII is gorgeous...does anyone know how they compare?

Well, if there is an Armstrongs Gardens Nursery up there, they are offering it in their pre-order catalog. Some people had some not so good experiences with preordering though.

- Hershi

I Ii ve in Louisville, KY. Zone 6. I love white roses and have both Maria and PPJ. In my my novice opinion, I strongly prefer PPJ. A wonderful rose, always in bloom,scent to die for and beautiful form. Maria is very pretty but does not bloom as often as PPJ. I will keep Maria as she is just two years old, but I will add another PPJ next spring. I know just where too!! Lesley

Our experience with Armstrong Garden Center pre-ordering was extremely negative. Just the mention of them gets DH started.

Jeri

I have goth PPJ and MS. Of the two, PPJ is more floriferous, while MS is a bit on the stingy side, with one or two blooms per cycle being the norm. Both are fairly disease resistant here in Southern California, but that means nothing elsewhere. For someone in the PNW, Just Joey was a blooming fool in Vancouver, but only produced one bloom a month in Socal. Both roses have extraodinary scents although they are quite dissimilar. PPJ has the classic rose damask scent in spades; it literally knocks you out. MS is more in the myrrh scent range. Rosarians comparing them at Rose HIls picked PPJ as more aromatic. However, in terms of form, there is no comparison and it is all in MS favor. FWIW. JimD

I have both and I prefer PJP. I am planning to shovel prune MS. She is stingy, doesn't handle the heat well--her blooms are very small with the heat if she gives you any.

On the other hand, PJP has more substance and has already presented me with more blooms than MS this year--it is a new plant and MS is three years old!