Hybrid Tea Rose 'Veterans' Honor'

I planted this Bush in honor of my father 20 years ago. It has been moved a few times but has always been in full sun with proper care. T...Read Morehe roses are beautiful with a great scent and last a long time. The problems I have is that the big blooms always droop because the stem can’t support them and they only have one halfway decent bloom cycle. I would shovel prune it if it didn’t have such scentimental value to me.

Love the beautiful big blooms, but the leaves have become covered in black spot, to a much greater extent than my other roses. Not sure w...Read Morehat I am doing wrong ??

I love that this bold red velvety and very strong rose was developed to honor veterans. My Veterans Honor rose was probably planted in th...Read Moree wrong part of my yard. Through no fault of it's own, it has grown into two very tall stems more than 6 feet high against a pillar in a part of my yard that only gets really good sun before my trees leaf out in Spring and watered only when it rains. It is very healthy, no leaf spot, but has never bloomed. There are lots of thorns on it which I think,symbolizes the warrior nature of our American soldiers. The strong velvety red blooms are huge and the stems are strong. One of the "spikes" is tied to a metal wrought iron gazebo, but the other "spike", over 6 feet tall, is standing free and tall. Its amazing that it hasn't fallen over just from the weight of the stem! As soon as the weather warms a little it will be moved to an area that gets more sun and closer to the drip line of my back porch roof, and where I can take better care of it. I will prune the two "spikes" and hope it bushes out and produce blooms. In my yard I have beds dedicated to deceased relatives/ancestors, one of which is for my Polish ancestors who immigrated to the US in 1913 and joined the military the very day they were eligible to join after a required 5 year wait. My uncle, the only son ever born to my family that emmigrated here, died on Anzio Beachhead at 24 years old on the worst day of that famous battle, and is honored in my gardens with this rose.

I have tried this rose several times. It does have large red blooms, and they are fragrant. They are well-formed and long-lasting.
...Read More>
This is just about the most vigorously-growing rose I have ever tried, with the possible exception of Grand Amore.

But it is tender. Even buried in ground, I have trouble getting one through even a singe winter. Last winter we had milder than usual temperatures, and my Veterans' Honor survived with difficulty, even though it was boxed up and buried in ground. If this winter is average or worse, I expect it to be dead in the spring.

I rate this rose as neutral because it has so many good qualities, but is so hard to get through a Wisconsin winter. If you live in a milder climate, this might be a good choice, but up here on the frozen tundra, I would recommend Grand Amore, Liebeszauber, or even old Ingrid Bergmann for a red hybrid tea. All are much more hardy than Veterans' Honor.