Your PJPII looks amazing, it is gorgeous!

Thank You Sara-Ann and summersrhythm. It is a fine rose. I'm constantly amazed by its performance. Summersrhythm go ahead and get one. It is worth having! LOL

Nelson's sells roses on a rootstock that is the best you can get for your climate and nematode laden soil. Exhibitors wish they could grow it up North, but it won't survive the cold. Multiflora rootstocks are similar--HT bushes often start off small, but the rootstock quickly gets much bigger than Dr. Huey rootstocks.

Thanks Zack for the info. Living in an ice hole here, we have a lot sub zero days in the winter.

Yes PJP II is a great rose. Your pictures are lovely. He's my favourite white rose. Very fragrant when the temperature is cooler, very quick repeats and large crops of blooms. They last well when cut too and open slowly, keeping the high centre for a long time. No disease in my garden. This is one of the few roses that I have more than 1 bushes of, which is saying a lot given how many different ones I grow. The only possible fault is that he loses his fragrance in the dry heat of summer in zone 10 but then most roses do in that condition so he's not alone.

Zowee. Just drop dead gorgeous.

Beautiful photos! Mine is just getting ready to bloom as well. It is on fortuniana.

Those are exquisite blooms, and are about to make me a fan of white roses. Diane

I bought PJPII from Palantine and it's on Multifloria. All the roses I have from them are doing very well. I've also bought some on Fortuniana so I'm experimenting. There are some in the Atlanta area that grow HTs on fort, but I'm worried about our last two winters.

Your Pope John Paul II is beautiful! For those of you looking, check your Lowes. I found two good size potted plants in 2.5 gal pots a few weeks ago for $9 each. I planted them near my patio so that we can enjoy the scent. It is lovely!

I am fairly new to roses-how do you tell what root stock your bush is on?

Most roses sold in the USA are Dr Huey.
Most roses sold in Canada are on multiflora.
Folks selling roses on fortuniana will tell you and charge a premium price.
Specialty mail order/internet companies usually do own root---and will tell you as well.

This is an outstanding rose and yours is beautiful. I have three! Just a wonderful rose that everyone should try. lesley

Thank you, Zack.

Great rose! Yours looks so pretty. I don't think you could have too many PJPII.

Thanks guys and gals! The rose is amazing and I confess I adore it as it seems to glow even in full sun. I've always been attracted to roses with interesting names and names are a part of the romance of the plants for me.
Pope John Paul II was a religious leader whom I greatly admired along with Mother Theresa, Dr. M. L. King Jr., and the Rev. Billy Graham, so when I saw pictures of PJPII, I simply had to have it as it is a fine tribute to the late Pontiff.
Jack

When I bought my PJPII from Nelson's earlier this year Jean warned me about the same. It's simply amazing how these little sticks grow quickly. I had to beg for a Fragrant Cloud that was in a similar condition. Both are now huge and quickly getting bigger.

Enjoy your rose bush! The flowers are beautiful.

Has anyone had luck growing a PJPII in a container? And if yes, can you share the size and type of pot that worked for you? Thanks!

1. May I chime in and request updated reports on OWN ROOT PJPII, growing in colder zones? Does it survive winter without protection, eventually fill out in growth and get husky, or does it need to be grafted to perform well up here? Thanks!

I bought 9 PJPII rose trees and 1 own root from JP's the end of summer sale last year. I love the blooms, they repeated faster than my KO rose trees. :-) I grow them in pots. I am in zone 6a, I storage them in the garage for the winter months, water them once a month. You can grow PJPII in pots.

We are having a warmer winter, all the roses in my garden are pretty much without any winter dieback. My friend's PJPII are doing good in her garden too. I think she has grafted ones.

I grow my PJPII in a container for the last three years. The pots a large one, I believe its a tall 15 gallon. I had to put him in one because I was in an apartment and I'll likely keep him in it.

Those photos look super gorgeous! I got this rose bare root last fall, and I'm expecting great things from it. At the moment (mid March, when night temperatures below freezing aren't uncommon), it is one of the leafiest in my unheated greenhouse - seems very healthy.

Clearly you are neglecting that poor rose, just look at how unhappy it is! (Requisite this is the internet and people can't always tell when sarcasm is present disclaimer: Sarcasm is present.)

Gorgeous! I am kicking myself for dithering on whether or not to plant him again and now I need four and he is nowhere to be seen at the garden centers. Blah! He was all over the place three weeks ago!

Update. I've since had to move PJPII from the balcony railing to the steps and finally to my neighbor's lawn below as I could barely get up the steps LOL. Thank God, they are plant lovers and together we've created a nice container garden in that spot. My rose is grafted on to Fortuniana root-stock. This gives exceptional vigor to roses. PJPII blooms, and blooms and grows and grows. This root-stock is perfect for container roses, I have found. I purchased a Chrysler Imperial from Nelson's and before cutting in back in February, it was nearly seven feet tall and covered with dozens of blooms. In fact, I initially thought the Chrysler Imperial was the climbing form as it kept growing taller and taller. :-)

PJPII is one of my best performers and by far the best white in my garden. I have 3 of them and they are rarely without bloom. I just bought another one and put it in the best location in my yard because it deserves a top spot. Even in a less than ideal spot it has done well, so I cant wait to see this guy grow in full full sun! :)

He is also one of my best bloomers, very fragrant, healthy, laughs at heat & humidity. I love him in the evenings-he kinda glows! I have him next to Blue Girl and that part of the yard is so fragrant between the two of them. I found him at a local nursery on fortuniana for under $20

The only bad thing about him is that he is the one and only rose on my whole 4 acres that attracts those horrid saddleback stinging caterpillars. I learned what those were all about real fast lol...OMG they sting sooo bad!

OMG sultry. What are those?? EEEK

searched them up , they look like a medieval monster wearing a jacket . hope never to see them in my garden .

They are these horrid greenish brown caterpillars that hide on the backs of rose leaves. They can get on any rose but for some reason in my yard they are ONLY on PJP2 lol. I don't know why maybe he tastes good? Anyhow one day I was plucking some dead leaves off PJP2 and got a horrible sting. At first I thought it was a wasp but then the pain got worse and worse. It felt like a jellyfish sting or something it was sooo bad. My finger swelled up really bad too. I tried all kinds of stuff but vinegar and cold cold water helped the most EVENTUALLY lol. Don't let those buttheads near you. My chickens wont even eat them (darn darn).

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/medical/saddleback_caterpillar.htm

Sultry Jasmine Nights, what a diabolical caterpillar! Almost unworldly! I hope you recover completely. Was medical attention necessary?

No medical attention unless you count me being an RN lol. I've actually been stung a few times now. The first time I didn't really know what stung me and I was thinking it was a spider and was considering going to the Dr but then I went out to look really good under the leaves and saw that it was those caterpillars and researched a little to find out what they were. They aren't deadly or anything..perhaps if someone was actually allergic to them. They do hurt really bad and I am not a whimp about pain normally lol.

Don't get me wrong you guys, I don't really think PJP2 attracts them in everyones yard and you should definitely get this rose! They just like him in my yard for some reason but I still grow him. I also don't spray at all because we have a lot of endangered little green tree frogs all over the place and they love my roses. They hide in the flowers and eat bugs. No clue if they eat the Saddleback caterpillars or not. I may go ahead and use NEEM on the caterpillars if I get a big infestation of them this year. I will have to make sure to knock them off with a stick into a cup of something after I spray them to prevent the frogs from eating them full of the NEEM.