Ruth, I planted a grafted Dream Come True this past spring, so I can't speak as to its winter hardiness yet. I did plant the graft 6" deep.

It was a slow bloomer, which could be attributed to being a young plant. It usually produced about 6 blooms per flush. The blooms, however, are very large and vibrant...a mix of sunset colors...yellow and red. I quite like the colors of the blossoms and the size of the blooms.

Blackspot is a problem here in the humid Midwest, but since I spray, the plant stayed clean. It grew to about 3' last year.

-terry

Thanks terryjean. The AARS website says it is hardy to zone 5 and z4 with protection. Hopefully that is true! Do you have any pictures?

Ruth

I didn't get any pics for some reason. It really has striking blossoms. I wish I would have grabbed the camera and snapped a few.
-terry

I had a similar experience as Terryjean with the graft planted 6 inches deep. My experience with deep graft planting is it takes the first season to get established so it doesn't perform well until the 2nd season. By then it's gone own root and has matured.
Remember the sleep, creep, leap rule which in most cases happens in my garden. Having learned gardening patience during my 70 years, I'm no longer concerned about a rose's performance until the third year.
You would think instant gratification would be important as one grows older but in my case I've learned that waiting can be gratifying also.

Thanks, Karl. Would you say that roses that win the AARS are in general good performers or is it an overrated distinction?

Ruth

"Would you say that roses that win the AARS are in general good performers or is it an overrated distinction?"

Not really.
I've had some great AARS roses and some stinkers.
Although AARS test gardens are scattered through the country and in all growing zones, I've seldom found one that performs well in all zones. They seem to be better suited for warmer and temperate growing areas, not so much for zones 5 or less.
I don't buy a rose based on a AARS rating. I wait a year or so to see how well it does in the average rose growers garden where it may be subject to some neglect.
If it still gets raves, it may be a winner then.
As with the J&P Rose of the Year and other J&P award roses, I believe the AARS award is a selling tool to sell lots of roses to unsuspecting buyers. Every year hundreds of thousands of AARS award roses are sold based only on the fact they got the award. I've read too many bad reports on them over the years to get real excited over them. Another way to tell if they are good is how long they stay in commerce. How many of those given that award in the past 5 or more years are still around?

ALL-AMERICA ROSE SELECTIONS WINNERS 1991-2008
2008
Mardi Gras
Dream Come True
2007
Rainbow Knock Out
Strike It Rich
Moondance
2006
Wild Blue Yonder
Julia Child
Tahitian Sunset
Rainbow Sorbet
2005
About Face
DayDream
Elle
Lady Elsie May
2004
Honey Perfume
Memorial Day
Day Breaker
2003
Whisper
Eureka
Hot Cocoa
Cherry Parfait
2002
Starry Night
Love & Peace
2001
Marmalade Skies
Glowing Peace
Sun Sprinkles
2000
Knock Out
Crimson Bouquet
Gemini Coral
1999
Betty Boop
Fourth of July
Candelabra
Kaleidoscope
1998
Fame!
Sunset Celebration
First Light
Opening Night
1997
Scentimental
Timeless
1996
Carefree Delight
Livin'Easy
St. Patrick
Mt. Hood
1995
Brass Band
Singin' in the Rain
1994
Secret
Carribean
Midas Touch
1993
Solitude
Sweet Inspiration
Child's Play
Rio Samba
1992
All That Jazz
Pride 'n' Joy
Brigadoon
1991
Shining Hour
Sheer Elegance
Perfect Moment
Carefree Wonder

Good to know, Karl. There seems to be no shortcut to success.

Ruth

If you go to the AARS site (rose.org), you can see a list of public gardens. All these gardens receive the winners one year ahead of time. So the 2009 winners have been there all year. If you live near one of these gardens, it's an easy way to see how the winners perform in your area.

Where is the list? All I could find was references to 23 test gardens, but no list of locations.

I've been to the garden in Buffalo, where the test roses looked bad, and Elizabeth Park, where they looked worse, and wonder what else is around.

Go to the 'Enjoying Roses' button at the top. You can find the locations by state on the left.

Here's a photo of it, but I can't comment on winter-hardiness yet since its new. The blooms are very pretty and so far, so good with health & vigor. I too am wondering how it will overwinter here in zone 4. I'll have to wait and see. Sorry I couldn't help more.

Celeste

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Very pretty picture, Celeste. Thanks for posting it. Does it have high centred form to start?

Ruth