English Rose, Austin Rose 'Jude the Obscure'

I've had this rose about 7 years in zone 5a. Some winters I have some winter dieback. It has only gotten about 6 feet tall, so it isn't w...Read Morehat I hoped for as a climber, but I would never get rid of it--the fragrance is so wonderful. I give it little care-no spraying, little fertilizer, and have not had any serious disease or pest problems. When it gets a little attention, it gives 3 flushes with a few sporadic blooms between.

I have Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) growing near my Austin roses, which I have found that the Japanese beetles seem to prefer ove...Read Morer the roses.

As for aphids, they seem to gravitate in droves to Swamp Milkweed (Asclepia incarnata), also sparing the nearby roses.

Planted this last year(2011) as a memorium to my dearly departed Grandmother. Came as a bare root from David Austen. I was in a lot of pa...Read Morein from sciatica when I planted this rose and was not able to dig as deep or as wide as recommended. However, I did plant in a raised bed with amended clay.

I was pleasantly surprised by my first year blooms. (I planted in late February here in North Texas). my grandmother's birthday was May 5th and I was hoping for a few blooms on her birthday. I was not disappointed for too long. My first year bare root put out her first bloom in late May. The scent was tropical and intoxicating.
The awful 2011Texas drought soon ruined her blooming. But whilst it lasted it was great. Looking forward to bigger blooms and a bushier plant this year.
A definite yes for North Texas.

The appearance of these flowers is gorgeous, almost double-peony like, and large, usually 4-5" in diameter when moderately open. But the...Read More fragrance...I have never smelled anything so lovely in my life. Not remotely hybrid-tea smelling...old rose...with some myrrh maybe? A little citrus maybe? *Divine.* Foliage is a gorgeous dark green, teensy blue undertone, and new growth is reddish-bronze. LOVE it.

That said, mine has struggled a bit to establish. Planted two years ago, it has only had three or so blossoms at a time, with not a ton of repeat. And the aphids love it. And the Japanese beetles love it. It's not just yummy to humans, apparently. :-/

This year, however, it's third, I am cautiously optimistic - I have more blooms that ever just waiting to burst forth (10-15) and it is finally at about 2.5' x 1.5' (D.A. says it will be 4' x 4' at maturity). I'd grow it for one bloom a year, however - it is just that good.

According to David Austin's 2009 Handbook of Roses, they named this rose after the character in Thomas Hardy's novel of the same name.

This rose was the highlight of all the roses I grew this
past year. Being a first timer with roses you learn fast,
mostly f...Read Morerom your mistakes but occassionaly you find a
rose that is perfect. I fed it Mills magic fertilizer and off it went! I had it along the east/south facing
exposure and slightly under the eves of the house so when
it rained it missed most of the beautiful roses. I would have
to agree with one of the reviewers that it is a short lived
rose and rain will make it stay balled up but once it gets
itself established I'm sure there will be many flowers of
all different stages of opening. I couldn't believe a rose
could smell this delicious and that is my major reason for
giving it such a high mark. When you put your face in this
beauty it makes your day, I even had neighbors come over
and smell these and they said the same thing, they've never
had smelled a rose so beautiful and unusal smelling, I
hope it last for years, but I will put more in the yard as I
find them.

This Austin rose has one of the best fragrances of all the Austins. It's got a sweet, juicy, grapefruit scent that's just luscious! I l...Read Moreove the soft color of this rose and it does very well in my zone5 garden.

This is a rose with probably the best fragrance of any I've ever stuck my nose into. The ONLY reason that I'm rating it as neutral is th...Read Moreat the blooms shatter FAR too soon. It lasts such a short time that it's hardly worth cutting them for a vase. I love the rich creamy color, and the plant is quite healthy, but I like the blooms to stay the course!