Princess Alexandra of Kent in Full Bloom
Hoang Ton - Zone 9a
21 days ago
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pink rose(9b, FL )
21 days agoHoang Ton - Zone 9a
21 days agoRelated Discussions
Princess Alexandra of Kent?
Comments (6)So my biggest concern at the moment would be with the shape of the bloom. I'd like to not keep this many buds on the plant at this time. I'm used to roses improving with time but so far the blooms have been very dome shaped. The only other Austin own root that it could be is Sir John Betjeman which it currently matches perfectly. Thank you so much everyone for your opinions. By the time these next eleven buds open there should be one that shows at partial cupping shape or she is SJB. With HMF and Heirloom listing this as hardy to zone 2b was hoping to put it in the seriously raised bed. Fragrancenutter, I had a rose shape up one time. After four years it had till fall to get it together put the shovel it the ground by her and left it there....See MorePrincess Alexandra of Kent?
Comments (30)A very good thought indeed as I have wondered since it first bloomed if it was PA. The flower form matches PA far more than PAoK. David Austin Roses has a whole bunch of photos on the internet now. Last night I went thru many photos of both roses and I'm rather convinced that she is Princess Anne. It is the consistant flower form and color that has led me this way. But when I look at Mustbnuts last photo. She looks like mine. I would not call it's foliage glossy like the Kordes. But shinier than most Austins. Can't post a good photo at the moment as anthracnose has decimated most of the roses here. I finally sprayed. The rose is pretty and blooms up a storm. Dave if you see this may I ask what size they are this year?...See MoreI don't think this is Princess Alexandra of Kent
Comments (23)Well, Lilyfinch, APdL hasn't turned out to be a fabulous rose like Bishop's Castle, but I suspect that it is not a problem with the plant, but a problem with my climate or where it is planted. Keep in mind that roses tend to grow very slowly for me (for example Abraham Darby is still quite short for me but for many people, it can be a climber). My Alexandra, Princesse de Luxembourg is planted right next to Abe, and still has only 3 basals, and those are not well branched and only about 2 feet tall. She doesn't look much like the photo that Vaporvac posted above. She is also one of the roses that were planted at the edge of the drip zone of Vlad the Impaler (English Hawthorn), under which the roses that were planted failed to grow entirely ("the Zone of Death"). The flowers are quite large, about 4 inches across here, but I bet they would be quite a bit larger in a wetter climate like yours. To put it in perspective, the flowers are larger than Abraham Darby, and twice the size of Alnwick Castle. They are probably a little less than twice the size of Souvenir de la Malmaison that grows in the local rose garden. Her colors are a touch brighter than SdlM as well. The flower form is more structured and fuller than Sharifa Asma, and has more durable petals, many more than SdlM. Her flowers do have a worthwhile fragrance, but not as strong as Sharifa and none of the beer-like quality of SdlM. Flowers open rather flat, not cupped. She's not a "covered in flowers" type of plant, but she is not particularly stingy either. The flowering is more steady. For me, she's not overflowing with growth, but I suspect that in a lower elevation with more water and humidity (and without the overhanging Vlad) she would be a great plant. I'm going to try to pamper her a bit more this year and see if ishe takes off, now that I've removed Vlad. I think that for you, she would be worth a try if you like the flower form and color and want a rose with a more traditional fragrance than SdlM. Again, don't take my experience too seriously, because my conditions are particularly challenging, but I like her enough to keep trying to see if I can get her to grow better in my garden. From September 2018 after the huge hailstorm ripped up the leaves: click to embiggen Peter Kukielski describes it in his book as tall and arching or spreading 5-7 feet and vigorous and fragrant. I'm not saying this to try to convince you to get her, but just that my experience with her is probably not a good example. Also worth mentioning is that in his book, the photographs make her look like an HT, but in my garden, she is not very HT-like....See MoreKeep or throw away Princess Alexandra of Kent roses?
Comments (44)@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw Mine is the same with the bare legs. All the growth is at the top. I'm wondering if I didn't prune it back far enough this spring. I left it at 2ft. I may take it back to 12-15in next season. @Tangles Long I just saw the youtube video and it wow......it totally blew my mind! I've only seen pictures of this on DA's website (they've since removed it). Pictures/videos like this are the reason I planted a hedge of PAOK in the first place in 2018. My hedge is still very leggy, but it did bloom frequently this year. Until I saw that video, I started to think this kind of display isn't possible in reality. Boy, was I wrong! To top it off, @jo_pyeweed (z9 SF Bay Area)'s pictures are stunning too! I really REALLY want this type of display from PAOK, and really any rose in my garden. It's not enough to have pretty blooms any more. I want full and lush shrubs, even when they're not in bloom. I've been looking into how to make that happen, and I think it really boils down to hard pruning in warmer zones and buying grafted. I buy own root exclusively, and every picture I see of a bushy rose, it is one that is grafted. I don't think that's a coincidence, since grafted roses can offer a more uniform experience across many different conditions and rose types. For that reason, I think I may transition to deliberately growing more in pots, since soil conditions are more uniform. (Or I just need to be more patient, since I'm dealing with own root roses lol) @noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) Fragrance is the only thing that disappoints me so far with this rose. It's present, but not strong at all. I've read that it's really strong and that it takes a few years to develop it's power. I've had mine for 4 years and it's only a lite fragrance so far. Nothing really blows me away like the website and stories would suggest. I really did a nerdy ramble here haha, but this thread really speaks to many of my sentiments around growing roses. I want to look outside or walk around and see what I've seen in this thread all the time!...See MoreHoang Ton - Zone 9a
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Hoang Ton - Zone 9aOriginal Author