Jeff, thank you for warning other rose gardeners that this is not a strong smelling rose...Scent is actually between moderate and fair. In the U.K. it only has a fair rating in terms of fragrance. There is indeed fragrance but it is definitely on the weak side- a scale of 4 out of 10. I had two Special Occasion roses. Interestingly Special Occasion is indeed a zone tender rose, yet it is one of the last roses to bloom in a zone 5 garden. Isn't that something, lol!

However in an all organics garden, BS resistance is about 6 on a scale of 10 in its first growing year. Not too bad, but not that great either. Spring and summer was decent, but fall was quite a mess. Color is indeed fantastic. Note as an own root baby band, Special Occasion blooms are very lovely, but almost never achieve the spiral HT form. The petals are soft and ruffled yet very evenly placed (definitely not blowsy). Had the rabbits not killed my two bands, I might have been able to comment more on the BS resistance as it matured as a rose.

I purchased one plant of Special Occasion last winter on the recommendation of a few reference books. I was not disappointed. The plant grows vigorously and has been in bloom without stop from late April until now (December 28th). In fact, as I write this, I have a vase of five exhibition quality flowers of the most lovely glowing coppery pink. This is a testament to the roses qualities, not my skills as a grower. I have only two small complaints -- the canes are studded with prickles, and the flowers have only a modest fruity fragrance. Also, if you're looking for gi-normous flowers, this isn't for you; the blooms are typically 4" in diameter. If, however, you are looking for a lovely coppery-orange-pink rose that is in constant flower all year with disease free growth and well behaved growth, this is your rose. It beats the pants off Just Joey in all departments except fragrance and perhaps size. I am not, however, obsessed with bloom size. To quote someone whose name escapes me, when commenting on the enormous size of the blooms in Peace 'if I wanted a cabbage, I'd plant a cabbage."

Available from Palatine Roses as well.