Carol,
Of the list, we have/have grown:

Winchester Cathedral
Jeaven on Earth
Falstaff
Othello

Guess it depends what you're growing them for (ie; April in Paris might be great for cutting)...
Winchester Cathedral is a great white shrub for us-very floriferous...so is Heaven on Earth (have only had one season)....gorgeous apricot colors!

Falstaff took us several years before it did much (almost s/p'd it), and Othello, though its blooms are gorgeous, gets those octopus arms & if I don't prune down or train somehow, wind/rain break the canes. (I like Wm. Shakespeare 2000 much better!) It might be good to try to get them on multiflora rootstock too (Pickering/Palatine if they have them)...ours all were box roses from J&P I believe.
:0) Phyl

Winchester Cathedral - Hasn't done much for me in 3yrs
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Remember Me - One of my favorites! Grows tall and blooms a lot
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Heaven on Earth - Just got it last month
Tahitian Sunset - Not a great rebloomer so far, but when it does bloom, it's gorgeous!
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Johann Strauss - One of the best! Lots of gorgeous blooms all the time
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Falstaff - Have had it many yrs... not the best rebloomer
Janet (Austin?) - Just got it last yr, didn't do much
Prairie Joy - Don't have it
April in Paris - Was a test rose last yr; I wasn't all that impressed, but we'll see...
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Cabana - Very lovely blooms, but they fade and blow very fast and don't repeat that great
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Cary Grant - Wonderful hot orange blooms; good repeat, tall plant, very thorny!
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Miami Moon - Grows very low, maybe 2ft tall; love the ruffled blooms
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Outrageous - Another very short grower, about 2ft also; nice hot orange blooms fade to peach
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Othello - Hasn't done much for me
Ferdinand Pichard - Don't have it

Phyl - Sounds like Winchester Cathedral and Heaven on Earth would be good picks. Thanks for your help!

Beth - I really like the information regarding the low growers. They won't do well here. From your response, I will put on my short list - Johann Strauss, Remember Me, and Cary Grant.

Does Remember Me grow tall?

Keep the comments coming!

Thanks,
Carol

Carol, my REMEMBER ME was in a pot for about 8-9 yrs, and it peaked out just under 5ft, growing mostly upright. I decided the end of summer to put it in the ground, and it wasn't happy, and promptly died on me!! I think had I gotten it in the ground yrs ago, it would've grown taller. I just got a replacement a few weeks ago. Will plop it in the ground in a few weeks.

Carol,

Prairie Joy is a real winner you NEED this one. It is also seriously hardy so won't require the "pot" life or any winter protection other than the first year.

Winchester Cathedral does well in our climate. Will die back a fair bit but is crown hardy with moderate protection and more importantly is vigorous enough that with re-growth will make a respectable size. It is a sport of Mary Rose and mine (like many others) often blooms with some blooms white and some pink or even some blooms that have both colours. Some hate that I suppose but I find it an interesting quirk.

I have Ferdinand Pichard coming this spring because it has a good rep for cold zone-ers. Riku grows it, maybe he will see this post and offer an opinion.

I passed on Johann Strauss last spring and then kicked myself the rest of the summer...lol. It looks like a very good one as well.

cathy

Falstaff hasn't been one of my best Austins, but it is OK.

The growth has been compact. The blooms are a nice color.

You have email.

Falstaff(1st year with me):

Pros:
- Beautiful flowers;
- Fast grower
- lightly fragrant
- flowers last longer(4 days?) than Jude the Obscure/Heritage.
- No signs of blackspot.
- repeats Okay but not as fast as Sharifa asma/Heritage/Jude the obscure. At least Falstaff repeats better than A Shropshire Lad and Gertude Jekyll.

Cons:
- Sends out tall canes that go floppy due to the weight of the blooms. Thus, the rose bush looks very messy.

- Badly mildewed; BADLY infested with spider mites. I know disease factor isn't important to you - but beware, I've never seen a rose that is so badly infested with spider mites that when you cut the flowers and put them into a vase, you can actually see those little creatures moving around.

I do spray my rose with a fungicide.

I've just pruned this rose very deeply - couldn't stand all the messy canes and I also pulled off all the leaves.

My current Verdict:

Flowers: 9.5/10(perfect score if only it has a stronger smell)

Bush: 5/10 (He wants to be a climber instead)

Not sure if you have it already because it is not on your list but my best rebloom and quick to repeat is Day Breaker. I could not help but recomend it.
Liane

Prairie Joy is an easy choice. I also second Ferdinand Pichard although it gets big. not sure just how big in your zone.

Looks like you have a good start.

F.L.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sam says it is OK!

I have two Janets and really like the blooms which are somewhat unique for an Austin rose, but the bushes last year were really gangly so I cut them way back and will try for a more shapely shrub. Carding Mill and Bishop's Castle are two very beautiful Austins and Abraham Darby has really georgeous and fragrant blooms.

Ingrid

'Othello' is NOT going to make you happy if you want good repeat bloom. It grows massively nasty canes that can exceed ten feet, but at the expense of blooms. Get 'William Shakespeare 2000' instead.

You guys really came through!! :)

Beth - Remember Me is so beautiful. I'm going to have to think on that one.

Cathy - I'm now convinced on Prairie Joy and Winchester Cathedral (I think it would look lovely with pink and white roses on the same bush!) I'm leaning towards Ferdinand Pichard. I had already decided to get Purple Tiger as my first striped rose, but maybe Ferd would be a better choice.

JumboJimmy - (love your name!) I don't usually have a problem with floppy rose branches here, because winter does such a good job of "pruning" for me. And since Falstaff has such good vigor, it might be a great choice. Also, I've never seen spider mites here, so I could take a chance on that.

Krista - I haven't checked my e-mail yet. You're not sold on Falstaff, hmmm.

Liane - I got Daybreaker last year. Hope it makes it through the winter. Love the blooms.

Iowa Jade - love those photos!! Thanks!! Ferd looks like a yes so far.

Ingrid - thanks for letting me know about Janet. Do you have any photos?

Trospero - Nix on the Othello, then. Thanks

To everyone - I can't really choose other varities that might be better, because I don't mail order.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carol

Carol, Falstaff is around two feet tall in my garden setting. It doesn't product a lot of blooms in the spring flush, and the repeat is OK but great.

The blooms do have a wonderful color to them, however.

Carol, Falstaff is around two feet tall in my garden setting. It doesn't product a lot of blooms in the spring flush, and the repeat is OK but great.

The blooms do have a wonderful color to them, however.

Carol, I found this picture of Janet from last summer. I hope you like it.

Ingrid

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Carol, I have Tahitian Sunset and love the color. Photos dont do it justice and I overlooked it until I saw it bloom at a nursery, had to have it. Its doing fine, one of my favorites. I am just adding Winchester Cathedral, Outgrageous and Miami Moon this year, dont grow any of the others. Good luck!
Judith

On your list I have:

Ferdinand Pichard - He is outstanding!

On your list I have shovel pruned:

Winchester Cathedral - very ugly foliage
Falstaff - octopus syndrome
Outrageous - not vigorous

The others I have never had...

Carol you don't have to worry about Daybreaker, its pretty winter hardy.

Othello for me right now is standing 11 feet tall and crawls from every which sides. He blooms repeatedly but not continiously. And sometimes suffers from bad cases of BS. I refuse to get rid of him cuz of his big humungus to die for smelly blooms.
I agree, William Shakespeare 2000 blooms like a blooming fool.
Another Austin you will love is Jubilee Celebration,
also blooms nonstop and smell darn good too.

Man, are you all coming through for me!!

Krista - I think I'll pass on Falstaff! Thanks.

Ingrid - Wowzers!!! What a rose!! Lovely. Doesn't look too tall for you in zone 10, so I think I'll pass. But, yeesh, talk about beautiful.

Judith - Tahitian Sunset is a beautiful rose from what I've seen on the internet. Mmmmmm.

Decobug - Looks like Ferd is a winner. It's definitely going on my list!! Thanks!

Niecy - ELEVEN FEET TALL!!!!! Do you have any pics of Othello? I would love to geth WS2000 and JC, but they're not offered here, and I don't like doing mail order.

SO ...

1. Winchester Cathedral YES
2. Remember Me maybe
3. Heaven on Earth YES
4. Tahitian Sunset MAYBE
5. Johann Strauss MAYBE
6. Falstaff NO
7. Janet MAYBE
8. Prairie Joy YES
9. April in Paris MAYBE

10. Cabana NO
11. Cary Grant MAYBE
12. Miaim Moon NO
13. Outrageous NO
14. Othello MAYBE
15. Ferdinand Pichard YES
    I'm seriously thinking about Othello, because my husband wants some large bushes - to add some presence to the yard.

Thanks so much!! Anymore thoughts are welcome.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: GardenWeb

I have tahitian sunset and HOE. Both wonderful!

For me Tahitian sunset is a fast rebloomer. Mine was an extremely large potted (busting out of it in fact) last year though so it may take time to get established for you. It is gorgeous with a great smell here and vigorous.

Sunni

Thanks everyone,

I've been sitting in the back row here taking notes :D!

I had been thinking of:

Janet,Prairie Joy & Ferdinand Pichard

this makes my mind up. I order by mail order but this far north by the time it's my turn to ship... what I want is usually gone and I'm offered either a credit or a replacement. Have had a credit from ARE for 3 years running and still waiting for paul neyron.

-Karyn

Sunni - Sounds like I need to take a chance (winter hardiness) on Tahitian Sunset and HOE.

Karyn - Isn't it wonderful having all of this expert advise!! I'm not positive about Janet yet because of winter hardiness. Hmmmm.

Carol

I had Johann Strauss and loved it until the thrips loved it more.

Kentucky rose - Johann Strauss sounds good then. I don't get thrips here either. How tall did it get for you?

Carol