For those of you with experience with both the John F Kennedy and John Paul II hybrid tea rose, could you compare & contrast them for me? What you like and don't like for each of them?

Sorry you haven't received a response, cwhitt. I don't grow either one, so I can't help you. The only person with both of these roses on her plant list is @Skiekitty. Maybe she can give you some comparative info.

Oh, thank you zuzu, I keep hoping someone will know something. I think the John Paul II might smell stronger, which I would like, but I don't have much room living in a condo, and I think it might take up more room than the JFK. Also, sine the John Paul II is a new rose, I wonder how well it grows. The JFK has a longer history. I was just wondering how the 2 compared, since I have to be very choosy about what I plant due my limited space.

I do not grow JFK, but I do have John Paul. Here, at least, it is finicky, prone to disease, slow to grow, and a general disappointment. Except for the scent--which is heavenly. All that being said, I probably have it in a bad location--clay soil and only half day of sun. Plan to move it this year with the hope it will improve. My mother was Polish Catholic, so I'd like to keep it if it straightens up, but there isn't enough yard space to hang on to a poor performer for too much longer.

Sometimes gives decent blooms...


Most often looks like this...

Thanks for the info. We have clay soil here also, and I don't have much room for too many roses. I hope yours improves for you after you move it!

sorry, I don't come to ATP that much any more as I'm not doing much gardening due to health reasons. Which sucks.

My JFK happens to be a Home Depot rose and I was assured by 3 different rose people here in the Denver Metro that I just threw my money away. That was back in 2009 and my JFK goes like mad every year. He dies to the ground each year (well, technically, to the mulch level, which is 6" thick where he's at), but is usually 3-4' tall by the end of the growing season. He'll bloom about 8-12 big massive blooms which seem to hold up well. They don't yellow much, which is good, because I don't like it when they yellow out like that. Bleh. But he's almost scentless.

Paul John Paul II is a newer rose from me. He's a Weeks rose and he's a wonderful smelling bloomer. Gives me 2-3 bouquets worth every year (been in ground for about.. 4? years?). But his blooms are not as hardy as JFK and they shatter faster.

A wonderful smelling white is Pure Perfume. Another is Bolero 2004.

Toni, get well! We miss you here.

Tonight, I miss you!
Great suggestions of Bolero and Pure Perfume. Both are on my wish list. I've killed both JFK and Pope. Multiples of JFK. One of my daughters, at a very young age, told me with great seriousness that it was because it was a rose named for a dead person. I needed a rose from a live person. She picked out Tiffany as our replacement, since she had a friend named Tiffany. Sure enough, that rose grew well. Now as an adult, she has her own home, and she planted a Tiffany rose.

Cute story about a wise child.

I planted two white roses this year, so I don't have much history.. I got a standard of Bolero and a bush of Sugar Moon. Both have a good fragrance. So far, I'm liking Bolero better, although the flowers fry in too much heat. It's very floriferous.. More so than Sugar Moon so far.

My daughter's in-laws grow John Paul and are very fond of it, so I suspect it does well in California zone 9b..
The white I grew years ago that did well for me was Pascali. I don't know if it's around anymore, but it did well for me at two different houses.

I'm not too impressed with Sugar Moon. I've tried 3 times to grow it & each time it's croaked. Ice Girl, however, seems to be doing well for me. I got that one as a own-root from Roses Unlimited as a teeny sprig and she grew. She's not the biggest rose in my yard, but blooms reliably for me every year. I had Pascali and he lived for like 3 years before neglect finally took him down. :(

Jack Frost is another absolutely gorgeous white that I love, but yellows, shatters, & doesn't have the best smell. This picture was actually taken with my phone!

Very good picture!