We're in zone 4/5. This rose has a wonderful very strong fragrance! Lovely blooms! A rather heavy feeder, but well worth it.

Red Masterpiece was Jackson and Perkins' Rose of the Year for 1974, and also my favorite rose in any class for a good many decades thereafter. As the late Stirling Macoboy wrote: "where the climate suits it, there is no finer red rose."

Blooms on even first year planted bare root grafts are huge, petals have great substance, and color is very consistent. They don't show the 'blueing' of Mister Lincoln and Chrysler Imperial in cool temperatures, or lighten to deep pink in the heat. Form outside of periods of cool wet weather (the buds and opening blooms are prone to develop Botrytis infection and ball in cold and damp) is excellent exhibition. Blooms open slowly, keep their fragrance, and do not fade as they age. They are long lasting both on the plant and when cut. Fully double (35-40 petals), they are more 'refined' and 'regal' than the less reliably well formed blooms of ML and the dumpy, thinner substanced blooms of CI. No weak necks, unlike Crimson Glory and Mirandy. Note that their color is NOT the dark 'true' red of Beloved/Cesar Chavez or Black Magic. Red Masterpiece has dark red stamens, stigmas, and styles; it doesn't show the yellow center of Black Magic and Schwartze Madonna when fully open.

Fragrance (not even mentioned in the description here!) is strong true Damask, without the citrus or resinous tones present in so many other 'Damask scented' roses. It isn't as intoxicatingly powerful as it is in ML, CI, or Crimson Glory under any given set of conditions, but it is reliably present and consistent for the life of the bloom.

Healthy thriving plants send up very sturdy (but relatively slender) canes. These are dark red to purple in good sun, have relatively few thorns, and can easily reach or exceed 8 feet in height. Internodes (the sections of stem between leaflet and branch nodes) are long and branches are sparse; some would consider this a fault. The plant growth habit is narrowly vase shaped rather than stiffly upright. I find it much more pleasing than the angular, irregularly branched habit of most HTs. Because of the sparse branching, most blooms are at or near the top of the plant. Foliage is very distinctive; large, matte leathery, strongly textured, and with neatly serrated edges. It has an almost velvety grayish cast that is very different from the grayish tone of the unattractive foliage of Olympiad and some of the latter's descendants.

Like its' Chrysler Imperial ancestor, Red Masterpiece performs poorly during extended spells of cold, damp weather, or in foggy cool coastal areas. In addition to the aforementioned susceptibility to balling from Botrytis in such weather, it is prone to Powdery Mildew under these conditions.

If you grow roses in a suitable climate, and like Damask scented dark red HTs, consider growing this one. It's still a much better rose than many newer red HTs!