Hybrid Tea Rose 'Sunstruck'

On the one hand, this plant grows and blooms reliably in my area. However, it is consistently much, much lighter-colored than I expected....Read More It's been blooming April through now (September), but I have not yet seen the beautiful, rich color, pattern, and shape that I bought this for. The image of the mature bloom posted by someone else here, where it's nearly white, exactly matches what mine look like most of the time. Perhaps it's because Fresno is very hot for most of the flowering season, but the great color that was advertised for this rose has not been my reality. I will be moving it out of the sunset-tone rose garden and into the backyard pastel area.

In my opinion this rose has one of the most beautiful blooms that exists, especially in the fall when the temperatures are cooler and the...Read More colors are richer -- all yellow and orange with patterns on the reverse side of the petals. The blooms are large and classically formed; they spiral open the way a hybrid tea should. As with many roses, the blooms are most colorful and attractive just when they open, and then fade to paler hues thereafter. This one is best picked just as it is opening, to get the best color.

The growth habit is somewhat leggy, as with a traditional hybrid tea. Because of this it does not throw too many blooms at once, with one or two being typical, if you want to make a bouquet, you need several of this variety or some other roses in the yellow/orange spectrum. Warning for pickers: the stems are very thorny.

This rose is not as hardy as some other hybrid teas. If I remember correctly, I had one die from the winter a few years ago, and immediately replaced it, because I like it so much. So it would be better in a warmer climate than I have in NE Wisconsin. But it surely is beautiful here. Thumbs up.