You have every reason to be excited about it. In your Pacific NW zone, NZ will almost certainly flourish. For those of us in more sultry, humid climes, however -- mmm, not so much . . .

It grows well here where it's hot, it just stops flowering. Full Sail, its white sport, is more accepting of the heat and flowers better when hot. Kim

Mine has been pretty and fragrant but black spots quite a bit, and the leaves fall off. I still enjoy the flowers when it blooms and have had it about 12 years.

Both New Zealand (btw, I don't know about you but to me it's other name Aotearoa sounds so much nicer, rolls off the tongue...) and Full Sail are on my list of must have's as well. Can anyone chime in with experience in growing these in the Midwest, zone 5? Thanks!!

This is a wonderful Hybrid Tea. I love the fragrance and blooms.

In my no-spray garden setting it gets blackspot and drops its leaves, however, it repeats well.

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I had problems with it balling and spotting.

I've only had NZ for one year, but was so happy with it last year that I got another this spring. It was said to be somewhat shade tolerant, and we have a problem with an over-reaching crepe myrtle, so I put it in the spot that the tree shades a bit in the summer. Seemed to do fine, and I don't recall any mildew. Maybe it didn't bloom as much as it could have, I don't remember.

When I pared down my HT collection from 40 to 7, New Zealand made the cut. Yes, it does suffer from black spot here and must be sprayed. However, it has great glossy foliage and nice blooms in a clear pink. It grows well and produces abundant blooms.

Heavenly scent, should be good for you zjw in a cool-summer climate. Mine disliked hot weather, much preferring daytime temperatures from about 55-70F. Probably will need fungicide from time to time.

Another aspect about NEW ZEALAND and its white sport FULL SAIL is that both roses have relatively smooth canes. Something to consider if you are like me and dislike extremely thorny roses.

Image by Sherri-z9-desert CA at Hortiplex