What is your favorite David Austin/English Rose?

Joshua Tree, CA(Zone 8b)

My question to all you rose lovers is: What is you favorite David Austin/ English rose? These are my newest obsession. And all that I have ordered are budding! I have Loves Promise , Abraham Darby, The Prince. I want "The Nun" next , and "Cardinal de Richelieu" and "Redoute", I could just make a bed of that one and sleep on them! Also, I like "The Pilgrim", "Fair Bianca", and William Shakespeare.

If you havent seen these , go to: http://www.davidaustinroses.com

Your in for real treat! And order a catalog. Its a keeper.

Panama, NY(Zone 5a)

HI,
I just have two: Graham Thomas and Othello and I love both of them, especially GT, but then, I'll put up with a lot from a rose that some others apparently don't like black spot and rampant growth and prickles. I've heard that GT can be a climber, but in my garden it stays at a reasonable 2 - 3 feet. Othello does get out of hand occasionally throwing up very tall canes, but I am the "mad pruner" so it isn't much of a problem!
Kathleen

Wigan, Landcashire, United Kingdom

Well i quite like Sweet Juliet, love the colour, but for smell its Othello.

(Zone 9a)

I have Graham Thomas, English Garden and L.D. Braithwaite. My GT is a climber--I've been trying to keep the poor thing pruned back into a shrub, having only recently read it can get quite large depending on growing conditions. This year I'm letting her have free reign. Love the butter-yellow blossoms.

English Garden is very petite in my garden. Her blooms are beautiful, but shatter to quickly--1-2 days.

Braithewaite barely hanging on....doesn't seem to like growing here.

Troy, VA(Zone 7a)

Graham Thomas for me! Grew 8 x 8 feet in two years!

Panama, NY(Zone 5a)

louisa, WHAT WERE YOU FEEDING IT?????????????

Troy, VA(Zone 7a)

I don't know....lol. Just the usual rose stuff. I think it had a really great place in the garden and the soil was good in the Tidewater area, also being so close to the sea we didn't get much frost (not that frost hurts)! It was protected from the intense heat of the day. The same thing happened with the viburnum. Shot up nearly 8 feet in two years!

Joshua Tree, CA(Zone 8b)

Louisa, Wow, that must be some great soil there. And like you said , a microclimate.
Bloomer, I have move my roses around to what I felt was a better spot for that bush. It works. Might try it. Or pot it and protect it until it goes dormant.Then move it. I just moved a bush ,Queen Elizabeth, First she had way too much shade, and the branches were reaching for the sun , then I put her in a out of the way spot. Is it just me or do roses get lonely?! Well I moved her into a group and a good source of water/sun/soil. If she doesnt make it this time. I dont know what to do. She is 9 , and I havent gotten more than 5 little flowers. So maybe 3 is the magic # . Plus I will give her a few years to get going.
Dont you just love the names David Austin gives the roses? Hope some of you will post some pictures , of these beauties! And post here at Daves ,I plan on taking some too.
Let me share a secret too. Epsom Salts in the transplant hole a Tablespoon or more helps the shock and heals the disturbed roots. I see the difference. I use it on all my transplanted plants. More vigorous growth too.

Troy, VA(Zone 7a)

Michelle, Thanks for your tips and experience with the resiting of the Queen mum! Did you cut it back before you moved it? Roses hate wet feet and sometimes this is the reason they fail.

Joshua Tree, CA(Zone 8b)

Loisa, Here in the Desert we dont get the wet feet problem.The last spot was probably too dry.
Yes cut it way back. I cut her down to a foot and a half. And it makes it easier to move the rose without you getting hurt too. I cant wait to finally see what this rose bush can do. It what it is supposed to look like. 9 Years!!

(Zone 9a)

Michelle
I started my QE from some cuttings a friend gave me years ago. Now I have them everywhere! Must be a dozen of them around the property.

The ones that do the best (here) are on the east side of the house, so get afternoon shade. I fertilize w/ cow manure in winter and spray w/baking soda for BS. The plants grow 8-10 ft. tall in a season! I have to prune them back hard.

I was looking at my GT yesterday and yes, I am going to have to move her. I think I may try to pillar her.

BTW---I have a Lady Banks that I bought 3 years ago which has not done much at all.....no blooms, very little growth. Well, checked her yesterday and SURPRISE!...she's blooming! More than that, she's a white (supposed to have been a yellow). And the fragrance is to die for. I'm SO excited!

I only have 2 David Austin roses...Graham Thomas and Winchester Cathedral. I posted a photo of the WC on the photo forum...it had a very beautiful pink rose amidst all the soft white ones last year. Really a surprise. I want to get a lot more, especially Othello and William Shakespeare. Those will be the next two.

Joshua Tree, CA(Zone 8b)

I notice that temperatures affect rose color. In the middle of my Iceberg are a few pale pink blooms. And if a rose is still establishing itself the color wont be at its fullest range until it is finally happy. Bloomer, Does the lady banks rose have a slight yellow color? Or is it downright white? I wonder if it will turn yellow later. Does it bloom with tons of flowers like I have seen in the picture? I have considered getting it. Do you have it on a latice?
I dont know if anyone has heard this but , If you get a totally different colored rose , off a sucker, it could be the rose trying to revert to its parent rose. Cut the rose off at the base. You have eliminated the problem. But keep your eyes out for any more. I understand any varigated plant will will try to revert to a solid color. If you keep cutting them out you can control it.

Bloomer , also , do you get a lot of roses off the Queen?
Too, I use cow manure, rose food(w/out systemic poison)
And Grits posted a method that alternates those two fertilizing methods, and then fish emulsion.
Desert flowers like minerals.So that is something to keep in mind in your native garden coming up. You can find them in the plants of the southwest and high country garden nurseries I recommended .You can buy trace minerals for your plants. I think that the roses probably lose minerals through evaporation, in heat. The fish emulsion is probably a good mineral source. Crushed egg shells/ commercial bone meal.
Bloomer , too, lavendar is great in your area. It takes a beating , with minimal water. Next year. I will have Lavendar Otto Quasti, Spanish Lavendar seed to share. I love that one.

Olive Branch, MS(Zone 7b)

My favorite English rose would have to be Mary Rose. WInchester Cathedral is a sport of Mary Rose, and you'll occasionally have a portion of it revert back.

Sport's are different from suckers. Sports come from the top, grafted portion of the plant, and involve the plant spontaneously mutating to another color, or perhaps number of petals. Sports are desirable, especially if they are stable, because that means that you have a new variety of plant, and if it's never been found before, and is a really nice one, you get to name it, patent it, and sell it. Brilliant Pink Iceberg is a sport of Iceberg that you may see in the nursery centers this year. It;s a bright pink "handpainted" looking rose, whereas Iceberg is solid white--and has a pinkish tinge in cool weather.

Suckers originate from the rootstock of a grafted plant, and are undesirable. In cold climates, it may be difficult to see where a new shoot emerging from the base of the plant is coming from, and so if it appears to differ significantly from the rose that you are growing, you need to dig down to the bud union and find out if it is coming from that, or from below that. If it is a sucker originating from the rootstock, you need to tear it off, not cut it off. Cutting it off leaves latent budeyes that may sprout later. Tearing it off will hopefully rip off those latent budeyes, and you won't have a sucker from that spot again.

Kathleen, GT is known for being "leggy" in a warm climate. My Graham Thomas was about 12'H x10'W, and extremely succeptible to BS. He was also a stingy bloomer, even when used as a climber with the canes trained horizontally. Away he went. Golden Celebration is much better behaved for a yellow. More disease resistant, and although it was about 6'x6' last year during it's first year in my garden, it was covered several times with blooms, versus GT's occasional rebloom after a spring flush.

Michele, do you have the gradniflora Queen Elizabeth, or her climbing sport, Cl. Queen Elizabeth? Cl. Queen Elizabeth is one of the more notorous members in rosedom for never really blooming. If she blooms at all, it is on old wood, and I had one for 5 years, and let it get 15'H and never pruned it, and after 5 years, she only gave me 7 blooms that spring. She was shovelpruned for something more agreeable. Plain QE is also notorous for being a bit finickly in the garden if you prune her too severely. She likes to be tall, and doesn't really bloom well unless she gets 6+ feet. I've had mine since 1976, and I only cut her back to around 4' at the most severe. She stays happy and full of blooms most of the summer. By the end of the season, she can be 8' tall or more, depending on the rainfall.

Lady Banks Rose is a species rose, rosa banksia, for the white, or rosa banksia lutea for the yellow. The yellow is only hardy to zone 7, and the white is more tender, and is hardy to zone 8. The yellow version is unscented, but the white's scent is described as "violet". I think a bit of baby powerder and peony, to my nose.

This message was edited Saturday, Mar 17th 4:29 PM

Joshua Tree, CA(Zone 8b)

Sunflower, Thankyou for the information ,on the suckers, and sports. I did not know that. I beleive the Queen Elizabeth is a Grandiflora. I do beleive it is my fault she has had such a hard time. Too much shade, and not enough water. This location I put her in is Ideal. And I appreciate you giving me her behavior. I have pruned her too much . Like my hybrid teas. Do I just dead head? So I will give her lots of room and stop cutting on the poor thing.And talk nice to her . hee hee hee . Ill just go out there and have a good talk with her. And we will come to a understanding!
I really hate to fail! So I shouldnt prune her anymore this year at all. This is why I love Daves Garden. For years, I have asked and asked away , nurseries, and gardeners I have run into, about this rose. And no luck. (you know that blank look?) This is the first time I have been able to find out anything, about her. Thanks so much Sunflower and EVERYONE ! Michele

(Zone 9a)

Michelle,
As Sunflower said, the white LB is the species, and I've read, more rare...at least in the retail trade. She mostly sulked the past 2 years..this is the first year she's bloomed. She would be about 3' tall if the cottontail bunnies hadn't nibbled her! Bad Bunnies!!!

My Mom lives North of Houston (I live due South) and she and her neighbor both have the yellow LB. They are magnificent specimens - fountain shaped (free-standing) and at least 15' in diameter. Covered w/blooms but no fragrance.

Funny you mentioned lavender--I have 3 pots in the coldframe. I had tried growing it before, but drowned them, not realizing they like dry soil. Never entered my mind they are Mediterranean plants--duh!

Bloomer


Panama, NY(Zone 5a)

Sunflower, it must be the cold weather here. GT blooms like crazy early and then has a reliable rebloom through the summer. The latest I've taken buds was in early November. I'll get a photo this spring, after 4 years it is about 2 1/2 feet high and a scant foot and a half across. I think I prefer it this way - I have rugosas and ramblers and one particular spinosissima that grow and spread way beyond acceptable ranges. The Othello likes to shoot canes up about six foot, but they aren't sturdy. I'm thinking that a pillar will be in order this year. I have one for a Reine Victoria (that's what I'm calling her anyway, until someone tells me different), both bush and pillar are flat out on the ground right now, but will be upright when the snow goes - - -

Kathleen

Belmont, CA(Zone 10a)

Michelle,
I have Austin's 'Tamora', which I love. It blooms all summer and is only about 2 1/2 - 3' tall - I keep two in pots on my patio. The flowers are a beautiful rich apricot color, smell great, and it gets hardly any disease.
I also grow 'Cardinal de Richelieu', but it an old gallica (perhaps a gallica hybrid), not an Austin rose. It blooms once in the spring, but the blossoms are a beautiful purple that ages to a dusky purple-grey. I love it in my perennial border.
I haven't heard of 'Loves Promise'- is it a new Austin? What do the flowers look like?
Thanks!
- Michelle

Joshua Tree, CA(Zone 8b)

I love the Cardinal de Richelieu, I want to get that one in the future.What does it smell like. Loves Promise is deep red, ruffles, with a rasberry scent. And the bare root is doing extremley well. This has been an excellent year for all the new roses.

Wigan, Landcashire, United Kingdom

Before you buy the Cardinal look at Cardinal Hume which is very similar but repeat flowers and is easier to look after.

Aliso Viejo, CA(Zone 10a)

Favorite English Rose? TOUGH question!

You know I can't pick just one, so here are some:

Ambridge Rose
Charlotte
Jude the Obscure
The Countryman

and of course...

Constance Spry which is about to bloom beautifully here in California. I dumped a bunch of ice at her feet this winter so this has what has spurred the great number of buds this year, I think. Worth a try if you're in a warm climate. Many of the old roses (and their hybrids) require a cold period in the winter that those of us in the west and south can't give them naturally. I did this with my peonies too. The white one (Duchesse de Nemours??) has sooo many buds...It's going to be a beautiful spring!

Mike

Valparaiso, IN

If you have a lot of lavender or purple in your garden, (who doesn't) try "Pat Austin". It is a lovely pastel orangey color and mixes wonderfully with oranges and purples. The color is amazing and she does fine in my Zone 5 too!

Joshua Tree, CA(Zone 8b)

Sempleya, Jude the Obscure, that sounds interesting. What is it like. Micky, I have seen Pat Austin. It is very nice.

Aliso Viejo, CA(Zone 10a)

Michele,

Jude the Obscure is a globular shaped flower that is semidouble and incurved. Sometimes you can see the stamens inside. It is bred from Windrush and Abraham Darby so should be fairly hardy (at least zone 5). It has had almost no disease problems and is one of the most fragrant and beautiful flowers I know. Most of the time it's a nice apricot shade, but other times it can be yellowish.

Mike

Joshua Tree, CA(Zone 8b)

Sempleya,Sounds wonderful. I will have to see it. I have noticed Salmon color is a near impossible color to find. There is a small older maintianed rose garden , aways from here.(Victorville CA) There are many different salmon shades in it. And it made me search out this color , for my garden. There are no names, posted in the garden I mention. So I am at a loss to find anything. I havent searched too intensely I just noticed it is an absent color in the modern hybrids.

Aliso Viejo, CA(Zone 10a)

Not in hybrid teas. You will find all shades of gaudy salmon in them. Monsters.

Mike

Franklin, MI(Zone 6a)

Favorite David Austin Roses:
Golden Celebration (more resistant and bigger than GT)
St. Swithin
Heritage
Prince
Mary Rose
Abraham Darby
Geoffery Hamilton
Evelyn
Mistress Quickly
Fishermans Friend (don't have this one yet!)

Least Favorite:
Grahmn Thomas
L.D. Braithwait

Other Favorites:
William "Billy" Baffin
Sunsprite
Garden Party
Carefree Beauty
All that Jazz
Queen Elizabeth
Rosa Glouca

North Vancouver, BC(Zone 8a)

Well, my goodness.........I can't believe I didn't get in on this thread! My favourite two, number one,.......Shropshire Lad, and secondly.........Charles Austin....Elaine

Thumbnail by Roselaine
Lindale, TX(Zone 8a)

Graham Thomas, which is climbing on the front fence and blooming now.

Atlanta, IN(Zone 5a)

I've got Evelyn
L D Braithwaite
Gertrude Jeckyll
Mary Rose
Winchester Cathedral
Charlotte

My Favorite hands down is the Evelyn! Big cupped roses that smell heavenly.

Franklin, MI(Zone 6a)

Wow! Never realized that David Austin's roses were so popular! Guess my favorites are just the ones I have, since they have survived a newby to roses! LOL Is one a Newby after 5 years, or does it take longer to get rid of the "stigma"? LOL ;)

For thoses who love Evelyn (and that includes me), she was named for Crabtree & Evelyn and is their signature scent! She is pictured below.

Thumbnail by springlover
Atlanta, IN(Zone 5a)

You've been doing roses longer then I have, maybe it depends on how many you have before you're no longer considered a novice...lol

There are some ladies here a DG with MULTITUDES, so compared to them I guess we are still the students.

Also, thankyou for the pic of my favorite Evelyn, I can't wait to see mine in bloom. I felt like trying to smell my computer screen when I enlarged the image, but I would have only sucked up some dust in my nose. I guess I'll have to wait to sniff the real thing. ~G

Gardiner, ME(Zone 5a)

To springlover in Michagan......what zone are You in ? are You protecting them during the winter ?
Brigitte

Franklin, MI(Zone 6a)

Eglantyne: I'm in zone 6...just north of Deeetroit in the 'burbs. Not close to the water, so I have the roses mulched every winter with composed alfalfa manure. My "manure" source gets it from throughbred horse farms nearby, and those "fillies" aren't fed anything but the best! LOLLOL, so don't have to worry about "weed seeds"!
During the growing months I have made alfalfa tea from pellets and sprinkled pellets around my flower beds. I didn't see any great improvement with those methods tho.
I have instructions from the rosarian that planted them initially (since I knew nothing about roses at the time) regarding feeding, mold/mildew issues, bugs etc...It was quite a rigorous spray regime. If anyone would like the "method" I'll post it.
Below is Heritage, another of my favorites

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Franklin, MI(Zone 6a)

Ladies and gentleman rose lovers:
I don't usually have a lot of time to spend on this computer lately, so just wanted to put a bunch of stuff in one reply, if you don't mind my ramblings.
I have a Queen Elizabeth and love it too. I'll enter a pic at the bottom, but have had no problems with her except the Japanese Beetle love her too...UGGGGH Because of those critters, this year I used the Bayer systemic system, and will try the black spot etc. system next.
All my roses are on the east side of the house and recieve no less than 8 hours of sun a day. We had 3 huge willows in that yard, and they all had ant problems and were weak, so had to be removed. That is where my rose beds are now. I planted L.D. Braithwaite in one bed, but he hated it...don't know if it was remaining tree roots that killed it or not, but I believe so.
Before transplanting ANY rose or plant, I use the "Good Start" transplant fertilizer. If I have a bare root rose, I soak it at least overnight in a solution of 1 capful to 2 gals. of water, and use that water when filling in the hole. I don't sprinkle Epsom salts in the hole, but rather put it around the rose after filling and let it slowing leach in to the roots. Great results with that. I'm afraid I killed a couple roses with kindness with using kelp meal and alfalfa in the planting hole so now it's just the transplant stuff for me! LOL
Murpheys Oil soap instead of dish soap....learned that the oil soap kills the aphids by causing them diarehhea and they poop themselves to death! TAAAADAAA! LOLOLOL
This year is the first year that I have cut my roses wayyyyy back to about 18", and they don't seem to like it much. NOT going to do it again next spring!
The pic below shows the roses I have against my deck. The railing is about 6 feet off the ground, so that will give you an idea how big the plants are. Besides QE, the "orange" ones are All that Jazz and the pink is Carefree Beauty shrub. All of them bloom consistently thru the summer/fall.
Well, if anyone has any questions, I'll try to get by and answer asap.
Thanks for this wonderful site and will look forward to hearing from you later!

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Newcastle, ON(Zone 5a)

Thanks for the great info..
There is nothing like hands on experience.

I am new to roses and can't wait till I get some lush bloom on my roses this year.

Gardiner, ME(Zone 5a)

My alltime favorit David Austin is is "Eglantyne"...that's why I am using this name.It was also my mother's favorit before she passed away.
*******
The Rose of medium height,soft pretty pink .It has a good disease resistance and the scent is WONDERFUL like an antique garden rose,
Brigitte

Moab, UT(Zone 6b)

I already posted this in photos but it's an illustration of what happens when you give up on "tearing off" the rootstock suckers. The tropicana in the middle was my pride, love the fragrance, and she survives so I win - I guess.

My CL QE never gives me many blooms and I'm so glad to learn that it's not something I'm doing or not doing. If that's her habit, I'll quit fussing. This is being a very helpful thread.
Maye some roses shouldn't be turned into "climbers?".

Springlover, If my Queens ever looked that good I'd be delighted. You must spend a lot of dusky evenings on that porch. and thanks for the Murphy's tip.

Thumbnail by BloomsWithaView
Bridgman, MI(Zone 5a)

I knew I shouldn't have read this thread, now I JUST GOTTA get myself an Evelyn! I agree with the one who said that you could almost smell her picture on the puter screen. She is gorgeous!!

Gardiner, ME(Zone 5a)

This is my favorit David Austin rose Eglantyne,
Brigitte

Thumbnail by Eglantyne

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