Does the general public even know if it's a KO or a True Bloom?

Here in GW, there are peeps who come here to YAK about roses on a forum.

Then you have the majority who shop at big box stores

I suppose the enthusients/hobbyist grower would know there are different cultivars but to what percentage of the masses is it's just a rose and what color do I pick up;

I love my Ping Lim roses so when i saw these at Home Depot, I got s True Sincerity. It’s only been in the ground gor a month, but so far the foliage is very healthy and it is starting to set buds. Time will tell, but I don’t see the big marketing push that we saw with Knockouts and building a brand takes a lot if marketing work so it is hard to see them surpassing the Knockouts.

I am so biased against knockouts that I find myself giving other Rad roses a pass even though they look like they have potential - like Orchid Romance.

I never heard of True Bloom and I understand anything popular gets hate also but I really like my double pink knockout. I'm not biased because I got my rose bug before I knew Knockouts were "mainstream" and bought 1 with my 1st 30 rosebushes. My 1st 30 include many of my favorites incl my dbl pink knockout! I have 100-200 rosebushes. Took this pic today but it's nearing the end of a bloom cycle so many are old. As an attractive landscaping shrub it's wonderful. Not a cut flower.

NO!

I like the Kleenex analogy, Ben. ;-)

It's not that KO is a bad rose. On the contrary. But folks who know anything about roses are beyond burned-out on them, and with good reason. (I'm with you, Markay. I think I subconsciously snub anything with the association of KO. ...And don't even get my started on Star Roses and the "utilty patent" they slapped on "Petit".)

It blows my mind that folks who don't seem to open their eyes very often are still saying, "Oh, look at that pretty shrub. I wonder what it is," and landscapers who seemingly self-lobotomized years ago still use KO's so heavy-handedly. The ubiquity certainly provides the stepping stones for RRD to spread to every suburban home in America.

I dare say that KO has surpassed Dr. Huey as America's most ubiquitous rose cultivar. ;-)

I do feel there are more attractive and comparably healthy plants out there, though admittedly few can check *all* the boxes for health, bloom power, color and drought resistance on an own-root rose. (Honestly, I prefer KO's grandparent Carefree Beauty to the pink KO, and I think Radler's Carefree Sunshine may be superior to his Sunny KO. In my climate, Kardinal Kolorscape has *much* more attractive foliage than KO, though its deep velvety blossoms do suffer under the Texas Deathstar. I haven't planted out Miracle on the Hudson to compare it, but I think it too might prove a better plant for me...)

K.O. has been a cash-cow for Star Rose, and even though the patent should have expired years ago, they are still getting good money for the KO series . They will milk it for eternity if they can, and no other brand will be able to compete on the same level in view of the reputation and power behind the KO brand.

But enough about the Star Juggernaut. Please tell me about your experiences with Ping Lim's new offerings! I've looked at them, but haven't found adequate info. Also, I saw for the first time a new line of offerings in honor of Loretta Scott King that looked quite healthy at Lowes, and about which I know nothing