Hybrid Tea Rose 'Chrysler Imperial'

A friend has had a Chrysler Imperial in front of her home on a fairly busy street in a semi-industrial area of New York City. It's been t...Read Morehere for a couple of decades and is doing great.

Pros:
- Great in the heat
- Very blackspot resistant
- Very fragrant

Cons
- A bit suscepti...Read Moreble to powdery mildew
- Flowers open fairly quickly
- Color washes out (from deep red to a dusty purple sheen)

Neutral
- The bush doesn't spread much and grows straight up...fairly compact for a HT

I live in north Cal, here the summer is hot and dry, so I really need Roses which have certain Drought tolerance yet able to withstand th...Read Moree hot sun in my area.

A few things I like about this rose:
1) it is drought tolerant (better than my Double Delight rose, whose buds show sign of wilt if not watered in ~7 days). I found it is OK for me to water it in every 10 days or even longer , which I considered as quite impressive for a rose, in north Cal's hot summer. (Actually, I have not see any indication that I should water it ever since it was in the ground, but I water it regularly anyway just to promote growth).
2) It has rather short with good looking compact shape. It is about 4 to 5 feet in height, and it do not spread out as much as my Double Delight roses.
3) It have many buds on it and I almost always have a few flowers opening. I am convenience that it will have 40+ buds once in its matured form.
4) Its flower is really fragrant. To my nose, the fragrance is as strong as Rose Mr. Lincoln and slightly stronger than my Double Delight Rose.
5) In my hot/dry weather, I barely notice any black spot or willow on it. I think it's disease resistance >= Double Delight roses, which show certain sign of black spot.

Here are things make it less from perfect:
a) The blooming time for each flower is not as long as on Double Delight. On average, I am getting 3- 4 days blooming period for each bud;
b) The flower color indeed turn blue in the hot, which is less pretty than a true red Rose under heat;
c) I found the bloom can survive up to ~85F. Above that, the bud will show sign of burning (dry out before complete open).

Overall, of the many Roses I have tried, I feel Rose Chrysler Imperial is the best one suitable for hot/dry areas, with limited space requirement. My #2 Rose will be Double Delight, which is closely as good but need more space for its spread and slightly increased watering frequency.

This rose has been growing in my backyard in Santa Clara, CA for many years (>10 years) and is almost 8 feet tall. Its fragrance is what ...Read Morea traditional rose smell should be. One cut flower in a vase is enough to fill a room. Note that this flower will not last long in a vase, it is not meant to. It is prone to black spot. I remove all the diseased leaves when this happens. Enjoy the fragrance and the colour. It will bloom profusely from spring through fall.