Hybrid Tea Rose 'First Prize'

This is one of the most beautiful blooms I have ever seen. I planted this rose bush over ten years ago and have always enjoyed the huge b...Read Moreeautiful bloom each year. However, my bush did not grow very big at all and would only get one decent bloom on it each year, a single bloom that was always worth waiting for. I had planted it next to a red blaze climber and another climber and it was kind of lost in between. Last year, I tore out the red blaze climber and the other roses around the first prize rose and I am pleased that this year is the first year that the first prize rose bush has actually started to grow properly. I had three blooms on it early this summer and now it is getting four more. I wish I would have known that the reason it wasn't growing right was the other bushes over-shadowing it. I am very grateful that I had the sense not to tear it out too. The bush is already 4 times the size it was before and I anticipate with the increased sun that I will finally get to really enjoy this bush.

I live in north cali, bought this from my local H/D year ago and planted it ..My few street up my house.. a lady has this beauty in her...Read More garden, is real TALL & is almost 10 years old & the blooms gets BIG as dinner dish size plate ,JUST HUUGEE..NEVER seen any rose blooms get that BIG. Anyway got mine planted it..Beautiful hot pink color opens up with creamy/peach in the middle, as u see in pictures here, real beautiful bloom, only thing is lack of scent & VERY Susceptible to powdery mildew, needs to spray, Beside that great lQQking rose with HUGE blooms & well in growth!

My First Prize was one of the first roses I planted in my garden 12 years ago here in Kansas City, micro climate zone 6a to 7b. It gets t...Read Morehe same regular care as my other roses, fungicide, food, water and mulch. The plant is very skinny and tops out at 7 foot in the fall even after hard pruning in the spring. The 5 inch blooms are a nice tea rose shape, lovely pink and slightly fragrant, with very long stems (although this summer it has decided to be a grandiflora, I guess it was all of the fish emulsion this spring). Foliage dark green and healthy with regular care. BUT!! the blooms do not last and burn out quickly even in 80 degree weather. It would make a nice cutting rose. I keep trying to pull it up and replace it with Perfume Delight, then decide to wait until the first bloom is over in spring before removing it. The blooms are so beautiful that I end up letting it live. This summer will be the deciding factor.

I'm having some problem with disease control, and the bush is very slow growing. I love the size of the blooms, however, it makes the eff...Read Moreort very worthwhile. Only for gardeners who enjoy babying their roses and giving them a little extra TLC.