PlantFiles: Hybrid Tea Rose
Rosa 'Stainless Steel'

I like the odd color of this one. I needed something that wouldn't clash with my house color (an odd blue) so my flowers are mostly white, blue or lavender. I didn't know when I was siting it that I had a thrips infestation nearby. They took a month or two but they found it. Univ. of CA's IPM says "For example, western flower thrips damage to roses is less of a problem in cultivars with sepals that remain tightly wrapped around the bud until just before blooms open." You should know that Stainless Steel does NOT do this. The sepals open before the bloom.

Still, my impression so far is that this hybrid tea is no more work to care for than most. If you're okay with the work that goes into roses, this is a nice unusual rose with glossy foliage.

Rose guides indicate that this variety does not do well in the hot, humid South (where I live). In defiance of the rules, mine is blooming nicely even while being strangled and suffocated by the Sweet Autumn Clematis that has engulfed it. The photo I submitted was taken in mid August (when even the people here are wilting).