Really need to know about where you live. Some area's of the U.S. are more prone to mildew then others. Haven't grown it up here in Ga., but dealt with it in S.E.Fl. It never had any mildew problems down there. First Prize is a Hybrid Tea. There are a ton of pink floribunda's out there that are pretty much disease free. It all depends on what you want.

I don't see it on my plant. I've had it 20 years.

Powdery mildew is rampant in coastal California but not anywhere else I've been. I had First Prize - which BTW is a terrible rose although its' occasional blooms have perfect HT form - in CT and never saw a speck of PM on it. In z6b CT First Prize didn't bloom well, had trouble opening and was weak. Here in CA who knows but I would avoid it on general principles.

It can have massive, beautifully formed flowers on occasion. It got its name, First Prize, as it was pretty much an exhibition rose. Each decade has its exhibition queen. The 1970's was First Prize. The climbing sport isn't a great plant, but better than the bush and can have even more massive, exhibition quality flowers than the bush. It's quite prickly, very prone to mildew (as are many of its offspring), liable to rust where that's an issue and known to black spot fairly easily when grown where the strains it has no resistance to proliferate. But, why shouldn't it be expected to be a fungus magnet? The variety was introduced 44 years ago when spraying regularly was the rule, and J&P, its introducer, frequently released exhibition type blooms on so-so plants. Where it's happy, it can be stunning. Kim

I have tried this beauty several times. It does not do well for me. Mine performs like Henry 's . So pretty.

grambu,

First Prize is a highly recommended rose for my area. It is very lovely and heat tolerant. Ive grown it in two different gardens here, and it was clean, but due to the aridness, there is less disease pressures like black spot and mildew. YMMV.

Lynn

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Sat, Jan 11, 14 at 23:47

As others have mentioned, First Prize is a good show rose when the flowers are right. In fact, it was the top show rose in the country for 17 years and was only dethroned by Touch of Class when it got going. I have had reasonably good luck with it in the Midwest, but it is winter-tender and needs extra protection from the cold.

I was given this rose as a gift and loved it. We live in southern indiana and it was only a foot or so tall. I planted it in full sun and put my egg shells and coffee grounds on it daily but no special soil or other care. It grew within a couple years to a strong, constant producer of healthy flowers. We moved and I'm currently trying to find a replacement. I did not cover it or do anything special during cold weather. No issues with mildew.