I find that this rose balls and browns badly--most of the time. Perhaps in California it doesn't do that, but it does in the Ohio valley.

An extremely vigorous plant with excellent resilience to BS and balling. In my environment, I can easily get up to 3 inches of rain in one day, and Hawkeye Belle is quite a trooper, not giving in to the weather. A very strong, sweet strawberry-like fruity fragrance is refreshing, and loved by those who don't care for the standard 'old rose' fragrance. Similar fragrance as Belinda's Dream but even stronger. Very easy to care for, and holds its bloom for up to 5 days before shattering. Nice burgundy tinted foliage and stems when emerging, changing to a lustrous deep green. Seems to appreciate a lot of water, and gets more vigorous in our wet season. Definitely a floribunda, as it usually has up to 7 buds open at once (see photos).

This has been my first season with this rose, and I'm so disappointed. Almost every flower (and it has produced quite a few) has turned brown and rotted, either before or after opening. And it's not even a particularly damp year. Further, in the very few flowers which were not spoiled I have not been able to detect too much fragrance. I wanted to try Hawkeye Belle because it is supposed to withstand cold winters such as we have, but it seems it would only be suitable in a dry, rainless climate like California.