I wish I could tell you where you can find a "good" clone of Peace. I don't know what is causing your malformed blooms but I don't think it's due to a bad clone though. Most of the people who say the variety has deteriorated say the blooms are just very pale compared to the old ones, not malformed. I do know that my Peace has had terrible, ugly blooms this season as well but in previous years they were lovely so maybe it's just the weird weather.

A new plant is often going to perform oddly compared to mature, established plants of the same variety. Unusual weather will very often change the appearance and performance of them greatly. Split centers, what you described as cleaved in half, are possible with virtually any rose, though some are far more inclined to produce them. Kordes Perfecta was/is infamous for them. Odd coloring is usually weather related. Give it a chance to mature. Cutting or pinching the buds off as they form to encourage it to grow instead of blooming for a while will help it to mature more quickly.

As for deteriorated clones of roses, often viruses can inhibit performance. The only ways you will know for sure would be to have the plant tested or watch for obvious symptoms. Waiting for it to demonstrate them can take many years, or it could happen this year. If you want the "cleanest" plant of the rose, guaranteed, you need to buy cuttings from UC Davis Foundation Plant Services and root them or bud them to virus cleaned root stock. At least then, you know they have been treated tested for Rose Mosaic Virus. That doesn't mean it can't have any number of other viruses, but at least you will have one free of THAT particular family of viruses. Even then, weird weather and an immature plant will likely produce oddly appearing flowers. Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: Foundation Plant Services

Hi Josh: Fifteen years ago, I grew Peace ... always perfect blooms in my last garden of acidic clay. The neighbors complimented on that rose. In the Antique Roses forum, in the thread on OGRs for high heat, I traced French Romanticas and Meilland roses to their need for high calcium in the soil. Peace is the parent of many Meilland and French roses.

Comte de Chambord is known for malforming of its bloom. When I grew Comte in a pot, I put gypsum (calcium citrate), and every bloom was perfect. Same with planted in the ground, my soil is limestone clay, high in calcium.

If your Peace is grafted, it's possible that the bud-union is damaged in some way, which interferes with maximum water & nutrients uptake. If your Peace is own-root, shortage of calcium will interfere with normal bloom-development.

I had an own-root Jacques that was healthy but stingy ... I also found a big-fat slug in its root ball from the nursery. Slugs like calcium, and snails get their calcium for their shell from the soil. I would check the root ball to see if there's an infestation of slugs or snails, which result in your Peace not getting enough calcium for proper bloom formation.

I also wrote on the role of Calcium in preventing Balling and Botrytis in the English Roses Forum, see link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Calcium for Balling and Botrytis

I got my Peace from Edmunds 4 yrs ago. Big healthy bush that pumps out beautiful blooms. If your rose has been performing "ugly" for more then a year, I'd give it a toss and try a new one. Every once in a while you can get a dud, even from the best nurseries.