I cannot speak for the breeders, but I think Orange Sensation has some unique things to offer the garden even today. I think sometimes an orange flower of some sort set against dark green foliage will bring much cheer to the garden - especially after a long, gray winter. Orange is a color quite common to flowers of tropical plants and annuals, but if one lives in a cold place and doesn't want to have to plant marigolds each spring, Orange Sensation can be a good plant for bringing bright color to the garden. As a polyantha, I would expect it to bloom for a good portion of the growing season, tolerate zone 4 or 5 winters, and need nothing but a light annual pruning and a touch of fertilizer. Bear in mind that it was bred in a time and place where cold-hardy orange roses would have been pretty hard to find. I'm sure that If I lived in a warm and sunny part of CA today and could choose from all the plants in the world, this would seem an unimportant rose and a negligible plant. But even in places like the one I live now (zone 7), I am tempted by it. A bit.

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Thanks, John. Appalachian Rose Nursery has been added to HMF.