I grow Charles Darwin, Queen Nefertiti and Queen of Bath on their own roots. They're all young plants and so I can't say too much about them yet. I've had Queen of Bath the longest. Although it's a very small rose it's been a very good bloomer, with beautiful and fragrant flowers. The blooms on the other two are equally lovely and I look forward to seeing how they perform in a few more years. I like the fact that these roses don't take a lot of space and thus are great for small cottage garden-like areas. Sophy's Rose is also turning out to be very satisfactory but I don't think it's one of the early ones.

Ingrid

I've never really been "into" the Austin roses because in the early days, there were so few differences between them and every single one of them faded to beige in a day in my old mid desert garden. I do still grow English Elegance, Lucetta, Belle Story because they are just good landscape plants and I enjoy them. The garden I have "inherited" has Graham Thomas (DEFINITELY NOT one of my favorites), Pretty Jessica (BADLY virused), Charles Austin and Yellow Charles Austin, Heritage, Sharifa Asma (very pretty flower, OGR looking foliage, rather attractive with its paisley foliage), The Pilgrim (HUGE with too little bloom for the plant size) and two of the reds which are definitely the weak point of all of his roses. Now, if one of them was The Squire, I could live with it because that was like an older HT grown own root, but these are shy bloomers and addicted to every foliage problem there is. I don't know which they are as there are no tags and they aren't distinctive enough to differentiate them from all the others. In clients' gardens, I have Golden Celebration which is about to bite the dust with its stable mate Ballerina (which has already gone to the dump), Heritage and Abraham Darby (which won't be replaced with another when it finally bites the dust).

I have many early Austins in my garden, and some of them are very good garden roses still .
'William Shakespeare' and 'Tradescant' had proven to be the best dark crimson/purple in this group. 'The Reeve' is a good, little rose with dark pink, peony-like flowers.
'Emanuel' is perfect even in hotter days, and smells wonderfully.
'Heritage', 'Ambridge Rose', 'Radio Times' and 'Sharifa Asma' are very good too.

Just bought 'Bredon' and 'Sir Edward Elgar', I would love to have 'Fair Bianca', 'Troilus', and 'Prospero'.

I have the 'Mayor of Casterbridge' rose. It gave me a really nice spring flush but that was it. Hoping there's a fall flush. I can't detect much fragrance on MOC. However it's a very healthy rose and has this upright growth habit - the canes want to reach the sky.

My Perdita rose has died. The flowers were quite nice though.

I got rid of Heritage ages ago because of RMV. Silly of me, because I'm sure all my other roses have this virus and they're still growing. I admit I am quite angry because I pay a lot of money on roses - and what do I get in return? A rose that happens to be infected with a virus. Who ever is responsible should really pull up their socks otherwise they will see their potential customers turning away from rose growing.

Last fall, I put in a garden that contains older Austin roses almost exclusively. I am a rescuer, and I couldn't bear the thought that these roses were disappearing ... most of them at Mr. Austin's insistence. As of now, the garden contains 36 varieties, with 8 more coming from Vintage next month. For the list of roses, the plan, and photos of the finished garden with the newly planted roses, click on the link below to go to my blog.

I am really excited about this garden. Almost all of these roses are babies, planted from one-gallon pots having been grown up from bands. Check with me this summer and fall to see how each of them has performed. I expect that I should be able to report on most of them by then.

Connie

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden of English Roses

Bow Bells one of the almost forgotten Austins that is really lovely, blooms non stop and is more resitant to BS than many others. I love Belle Story too a lot.
Sharifa Asma, Radio Times, Ambridge - at least they get mentioned and people still grow them.
Olga

I grow Charles Darwin, own root, in a very large pot on my front porch with southern sun. He is covered with blooms, gets some blackspot, but not too much. I never spray. He would probably be more impressive if he weren't parked next to a Julia Child in the same size pot. JC is more floriferous, more vigorous, deeper yellow, more fragrant (though CD is no slouch!) and has much healthier and more vibrant leaves. Oh well. Both named for two of my personal heros.

Before I realized that gophers would eat every rose root they could find I killed (or they did) Perdita.

This is a really interesting question, great post kittymoonbeam! I like to hear about the earlier Austins and how they are doing. I am with Connie and think, that is is important that the ones that are doing well don't get forgotten.

In my garden I am growing Pretty Jessica, which produces amazingly beautiful, fragrant, pink, cup-shaped rose flowers. PJ is small and therefore very suited for the front of a border, which is rare for an Austin rose.

I got 2 Charles Darwin last year, but they are too small to judge about them, yet. I have seen this rose blooming in a friend's garden, though, and I was blown away by the beauty of the yellow color. It is very muted and not garish at all yellow.

Another one that I grow which seems to be more rare is Cymbaline. This rose is also still young, but seems to be an upright grower. The blooms are a dove-gray pink which I love, love, love. Very elegant and exquisite.

Christina

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Garden Dreams

I only have a few Austins, newer ones. About 15 years ago, I didn't grow any roses at all until I saw a picture of Heritage in a catalog. I gradually found the "real" old roses. My first Heritage needed to be shovel-pruned but I just ordered another for old-times' sake.

Maureen

I am amused that some people are referring to 'Charles Darwin' as one of the "older" Austins: it was introduced in 2001.

I haven't bought a new Austin in several years, as I have found most of them to be a huge disappointment. They often fade too fast, bloom too sparingly after first flush, and have terrible problems with disease. I'm pretty much done with them. (although I am sure some of them are excellent roses in certain regions)

Belle Story, Dapple Dawn, Graham Thomas, Yellow Buttons, Lucetta, Fisherman's Friend, Lillian Austin, Francine Austin, Tamora, The Alexandra Rose, The Herbalist, Yellow Charles Austin, The Prince, and at least one other whose name I can't remember.

All on their own root.
They are all doing just fine. The Prince and Fisherman's Friend are both a bit puny, but I think that's the nature of the beasts, where they are in my yard, etc.

All of them are performing just fine, but I can't imagine adding any of the new Austins. For some reason they all run together in my mind and seem a bit boring.

About 20 ago I gave the early Austin red rose Chianti to my brother-iub-law. It is so early it is once blooming! It is still growing in his garden - the one bush is now a huge hedge along a garden wall. In the Spring when it blooms you literally cannot see the leaves - only the large, dark red to wine red blossoms. It is about 6 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Where he lives it is warm and dry, and I have never heard him complain of disease on this rose.

Jackie

I just noticed I said Queen of Bath instead of Wife of Bath. Don't know what I was thinking!!!

Ingrid

I grow Bow Bells, Graham S Thomas, Heritage and Othello, who are all fairly old, I think. Is Teasing Georgia early? I grow and love her.

I love Abraham Darby, too, but I need a new one because he was eaten by Blush Rambler and Evangeline down by my woods :D :D

Is The Pilgrim early? I really liked him, too, but mine was virused and I haven't ever replaced him.

Another old one I really like is Hero. Well, I had Huntingdon's Hero and can vouch that she's a beauty. The scent is the kind I love.

I ditched a lot of the older ones because they were too puny here. I wish The Prince had grown better; really great color.

We grew a good many older Austin roses -- many when they weren't that old --LOL--
But the greater % of them proved not to be good choices for our tricksy coastal climate. Either they had disease problems, or were poor bloomers, or or or ...
The few Austins that did well here, are still here -- Cymbaline and Prospero -- Golden Celebration is REALLY good here, and The Dark Lady is mostly disease-resistant (late rust on old leaves).
Their real crime, for us, is that they demand a lot of water to survive and bloom.

Jeri
Coastal Ventura Co.,
SoCal

I show these yeaars for the Austin's that I have

Abraham Darby 1985
Fair Bianca 1982
Graham Thomas 1983
Heritage, Mary Rose, Perdita, Tamora 1983
Tradescant 1994
Teasing Georgia 1998

I have Bow Bells (1991) but only since August, and I'm so happy to hear Olga's good words! So far she's extremely healthy. I just got Lilian Austin (1973). She's supposed to be healthy here, too, and I can vouch for her beauty.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

The earliest one I had was 'Wife of Bath' (1969). I loved it, but it had downy mildew so bad I dug it out. Would like to have another, non-downy mildewed copy. It would die back badly if pruned, so I would just take out old canes instead. It was really good about producing new basals. Very nice rose.

The other relative oldies I have are 'Cressida' and 'Mary Rose', both 1983, and 'Prospero', 1982. Are they really that "early"? 'Prospero' not the most attractive plant, but nice reliable bloomer.

'Mary Rose another victim of downy mildew. 'Cressida' is a tough thorny beast with somewhat asymmetrical, wonderful flowers.

{{gwi:227142}}

I grow The Pilgrim. Love the beautiful yellow flowers when it gives me any, which is seldom. Grows like Jack in the Beanstalk! May replace this plant with another yellow which will hopefully be more generous of bloom.

Has anyone grown Buttercup (1998) or Windflower (1997)? They both look appealing in pictures on Help Me Find although I've never seen either. Buttercup reminds me of daffodils a bit.

I grow SO many of them, mostly because they were most readily available when I was filling up my rose garden. Now I've run out of room and haven't been able to acquire many newer Austins. Some are better than others, some maybe will get shovel pruned someday to make room for a new Austin, and some I just love. Like Abe Darby, Jude the Obscure, Ambridge Rose, Constance Spry, Mary Rose, Teasing Georgia, The Dark Lady, and Chianti. And also Redoute and Winchester Cathedral. Well, that's actually most of them. No wonder I haven't had the heart to shovel prune any of them--I like them too much even though they're "old".

Constance Spry and Chianti are still my favorite Austins.
Olga

I love Constance Spry too. It doesn't bother me that she is only a once-bloomer. I also grow Heritage, Prospero, Abe Darby, and Sharifa Asma among the older ones. Heritage is one of my favorites and almost constantly blooming and better than average health.

"May replace this plant with another yellow which will hopefully be more generous of bloom."

*** Think about 'Golden Celebration,' or 'Buff Beauty.'
'Reve d'Or' is more amber-pink-creme, but is the more generous.
And in your inland area, 'Crepuscule,' but it may be at its best budded.
For us, at the Ventura Co, SoCal coast, 'Prospero' is the best-blooming Austin we've grown. Virtually never without at least some bloom -- but it needs to be treated like a China.

Jeri

I've given serious thought to growing Constance Spry if I ever figure out the right place. Not only is it a once bloomer, but it is also a big, big rose. It needs a large space where it can spread out and make a statement, but not be a disappointment when the bloom is done. I thought I had a place for it, then discovered it was almost solid bedrock when I started to dig. Didn't like to do that to a plant, so I gave it away. If I ever find the right spot I'll try again.

My oldest existing Austin is Propsero (1982). I grow half a dozen middle period Austins, Jude the Obscure (1989), Sharifa Asma (1989), Brother Cadfael (1990), The Prince (1990), Golden Celebration (1992), and Molyneaux (1994). Of the more recent introductions, I grow two, Malvern Hills (2000) and Munstead Wood (2007). I've grown a number of others over the years. Some disappointed, some became diseased, and some died.

Rosefolly

I've seen most of the Austin roses from the 1960's and 1970's and would grow "Dove" and "The Prioress" 1969, for it is a rose of divine simplicity. There is also a collection of early Austin roses at the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, in the Shrub section, where I've spent some time in silent adoration.
I haven't yet added any Austins to my collection, this year all of my small rose budget is going towards purchasing Old Garden Roses that I have longed for, for the longest time.

Lux.

"but it needs to be treated like a China."

Jeri, I believe you've said this before, and I asked you before, what do you mean, but now I've forgotten your answer. :((

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

I have many old Austins, probably most of them. Thay have a certain charm. I'm a saver like Connie. Austins seem to like my soil and climate. I can count on them here.

hoovb, that photo of 'Cressida' is amazing! What an exceptional and beautiful coloration, reminds me of peach ice creme (why do I always have to think about eating, even when it comes to roses?). I love the slightly crinkly petals. Thank you for posting it!

Christina

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Garden Dreams

Heritage and Sharifa are two of the healthiest and bloomiest roses in my garden. I've been looking for a couple of years for Rose Marie, which is the white sport of Heritage, but DA seems to have terminated it with extreme prejudice. And now I don't have room for it, alas.
Does anyone have a theory about why some of these roses have been abandoned by their originator? Could it be because DA recently "categorized" their roses -- Old Rose, English Musk, Leader Group (even though ole Leader himself has pretty much disappeared), etc., and some of our old faves just didn't really fit?

I got Leander last year from Pickering when I thought a gopher had killed my existing one. It came back with hard pruning, so now I have two. My DH Tom fell in love with Leander at Mendocino Rose's garden so we must have it. And Vintage carries a number of the older out-of-patent Austins. Heirloom Roses in Oregon used to carry a great number of them, but I notice that they no longer do. I have wondered if Austin pressured them into dropping them, but I don't actually know if this is the case.

I agree that Sharifa Asma is an exceptionally healthy rose, at least here in my area. It is also wonderfully fragrant. Early in my garden here I grew Heritage, and I don't actually know why I don't any more. I bought three that day, The Pilgrim, Heritage, and Graham Thomas. GT died and I did not like The Pilgrim, but I don't remember why I don't have Heritage any more.

Rosefolly

Thanks for the suggestions Jeri. The pictures of your Golden Celebration covered in blooms gives me hope.;) I want yellow! More, more yellow. All I have is The Pilgrim, the stingy thing. Have to bite the bullet and shovel prune.

Prospero is a great idea. I need to get that rose again. I had it for years and it was very, very beautiful. Stayed diminutive and had the most perfect flowers of gorgeous dark color, loaded with fragrance. But due to my stupidity it died.:( Nothing wrong with it or unhealthy that being WATERED won't cure. Stupid human. The sprinkler that watered Prospero was broken (clogged completely) thru a whole SoCal summer and blockhead me didn't notice. Prospero died.