I got this from Jackson & Perkins this year (2021) as a new intro. While mine is a creamier color and less yellow than I was expecting, the blooms are MASSIVE. Absolutely, showstoppingly gigantic. Mine have taken forever to open up despite ~80+ temps this week. The scent is light...nothing to write home about. My only complaint is that the form is weird. If it had a more formal high-center when opening it would be over-the-top. I'm not a huge fan of the somewhat jumbled, old-fashioned rose look it has when open, but they're still gorgeous. As of right now (no report on disease resistance as of yet), I highly recommend this one.

New addition this year that I've been extremely pleased with. It doesn't have the high-centered exhibition form, but the color simply glows in the garden. It's extremely eye-catching. It has been very clean with no blackspot issues so far. It also has a nice fragrance. Definitely recommended.

I got both Chantilly Cream and it's sister plant, Larger Than Life, this year. Chantilly Cream was way less "creamy" and way more yellow than I was expecting. I was expecting something maybe slightly more yellow than Shirley's Bouquet, but more often than not it was very yellow. That said, it has been a good rose. I prefer it's sibling more though. CC does have an interesting shape about it.

I recently picked up this rose from a local nursery carrying Weeks Roses. I didn't have any interest in the rose from the promo photos I'd seen last year from Weeks and had only visited the nursery last year before the plants were in bloom. However, when at the nursery a couple of weeks ago and seeing the roses in bloom, I stopped and thought, "What a gorgeous and interesting rose!" To my surprise when checking out the tag, it was Smokin' Hot. In a way, the coloring of the orange is more in the vein of Tropicana to me. The "purple smoke" overlay isn't that strong, and I think describing it with a purple smokey overlay is a detriment to the rose. What IS interesting is that it has this vibrant, but unique, orange with a white reverse and white eye. If you judge it more like as if you crossed Tropicana with Love, you'll appreciate it more...I think. The blooms aren't that large, again reminding me of Love. The scent is light, but the blooms are very eye catching. We will see how it does in the Houston heat and humidity.

April 2017 Update: It's not even that hot yet, and the blooms on Smokin' Hot fry and get crispy already. The bush has been VERY vigorous, but the poor flowers don't take the heat at all. It actually may be the worst rose I have about getting fried in the sun. It's worse that Twilight Zone and as bad or worse than Flirtatious. But, it's such a pretty color when it hasn't been scorched!

1/10/19 Update: Very vigorous reaching almost 7 1/2 feet here in Houston. Kept pumping out flowers even in the worst heat even though they don't do well in the heat. A stunner in the spring and fall. I'd call hybrid tea a stretch as the flowers are a little on the small side for that IMO, but an outstanding rose.