All things considered, just plant it, treat it as if it is going to be spectacular, talk to it daily (See that compost pile? PERFORM!) and hope for the best. Your situation might just be exactly what he wants. If not, you can always hack him out and find another home for him later. Kim

hehe Kim

We have an avocado tree, one of those ones we grew from a pit and it survived... (not grafted so should have never touched dirt)

After 15 years in the ground, my guy brought his magic chainsaw to trim a few other fruit trees...Last one was that avo. But after mom saw the limb pile, she decided we could wait a bit to trim it. First time the tree ever had a flower on it let alone fruit... It has lots of flowers this year...but that will not save it from the saw in the fall (we know the fruit is not all that now)

I've visited David Austin's garden in England several times, and they have examples of most of their climbing roses growing somewhere in the garden. Shropshire Lad is easily one of the best, in my opinion. It has beautiful colours and a very good scent. I have received a new one bare root in January, so haven't personal experience growing it, but it is one of his better known roses and there are many fans. Give it a try and see how it does for you, and if it doesn't work out, dig it up and give it to someone else.

The blooms are beautiful. The growth is vigorous. Disease resistance is less than perfect. The only complaint that I could make is that rebloom is not very good. I don't consider planting it a mistake.

I found 'A Shropsire Lad' to be pretty good as far as disease goes. (without spraying, mine loses about half its foliage, which is quite a bit better than most Austins) It has good vigor and will make a massive plant in your climate. However, I wouldn't buy it again because it blooms well in spring, but is quite stingy for the rest of the growing season. FYI this isn't really a climber, rather it is a very tall shrub, so training it is going to require some effort. In other words, growth is quite stiff and upright, and canes are not very lax at all, compared to most "true climbers".

It's not a mistake. It's experience. :)

Thank you so much everyone!! I think I'll go ahead and plant it and see how it does. Last year I planted Madame Alfred Carriere and it did quite poorly the first year, but now it's extremely vigorous with lots of buds. So maybe I'll give ASL a chance for a few years.

Of course, the difficulty with limited space is that there are so many other roses that I want to acquire... ;)

@blendguy - You seen it on the arch at DA too. Makes me soo tempte every time I see it. Similar flowers to Abe Darby

He's sooooo gorgeous! I don't have him because I was going for the most blooms the most of the time, but he's pretty enough to get, regardless, imho.

well you will never know till you try it out. At least, if it is hateful, you can get rid of it and plant another. I tend to feel quite emotionally attached to my plants, having nurtured them for years and a plant has to be very horrible indeed to actually get rid of it (much like pets and relatives, one is often stuck with them). The decision to make do is easier where rose replant syndrome is an issue: I have to think very carefully indeed about choices and more often than not, conclude there is nothing to be done but to grow it the best you can.

Rabbit, roses generally do not climb and get to what you invision it to be as a "mature" rose for about 3 years. It probably won't be all that impressive in it's 1st year, but will improve in the 2nd and 3rd year. It's no different than planting a tree and then expecting it to be 50ft tall by the end of the year like it is in the photo. It takes time.

You know, so much of a roses performance has to do with location that I'd plant it and let it go for at least 3 full years and then decide how it's done for you. You already have it so there isn't anything to lose by trying it out. And if it turns out to be not so good you'll have plenty of time to pick out one you like better.

Thanks again for the encouragement, everyone! Today I planted "A Shropshire Lad" in my raised bed against an 8 foot trellis, though it sounds like it won't necessarily need to be tied. I was surprised when I took the plant out of the container that it seemed to be a bare root plant that the nursery had potted on. Still, it was very healthy with lots of new buds and leaves.

I would never have guessed that the roots appeared to be pruned. Is this normal? I have bought many plants from this nursery in Petaluma before and they have all been very healthy, but I wasn't sure about the pruned root system... Never having planted a bare root rose before, I tried to do what I read and make a mound of soil on which to put the roots on, like a teepee. But I don't think I did a good job and as I was filling it in, was a bit worried that I left some space (and air) between the roots and soil. Do you think it will be ok or do I need to redo it? Thanks again for all your wisdom ;)

I planted my Shropshire Lad as a bare root rose in late February and haven't gotten any blooms. Does anyone know if this is a 2nd year bloomer?

Roses take time to develop and can be temperamental...especially as a bare root. I had a young Evelyn rose in a pot and in it's first year, it didn't do a whole lot and only gave me a few blooms on long canes. That rose in it's 2nd and 3rd years is now a solid upright 4x3ft shrub full of flower power. The roots need to develop. There may be an entire year where you get nothing as a young rose or bare root rose...quite the case with my Baron Girod de L'Ain, however this year, it's a bit more vigourous and has a dozen buds or so and is performing much more nicer.

oh yeah, the potting up bare roots thingy - nurseries really should state what their practice is because there is nothing so discouraging as tipping out a plant to find every bit of soil (and all the new little feeder roots) just fall off. Still, it only happens to you once before you get wise to that trick.

Thank you...I thought that it might take some time to get flowers. I have had a great experience with it even though it hasn't flowered yet :)

Update: Thanks again for all your encouragement. I'm really happy that A Shropshire Lad has survived the transplant and produced two trusses of beautiful (exquisite!) blush coloured roses that smell heavenly. I bought the plant without ever having seen it in bloom (it was dormant) and ended up putting it in a part shade location on a wall next to an apple tree. I've found that David Austin roses can't seem to take the heat in my California microclimate.

ASL is a beautiful rose -- I really hope that it continues to flower! Will try to post some pix, although I'm sadly not very tech-savvy...

I have some shy DA bloomers too but I can honestly say that the reblooming has been much improved with age. No big repeat show but more flowers here and there through the year. I love them so much whenever they come it's like a gift. The spring display just gets better every year. I say give your laddie a chance to shine.

I find the Jolly Green Giants tend to do better own root both in terms of growth habit and repeat bloom. For example everybody warned me about GRAHAM THOMAS but he hasn't been rambunctious. This is his second year and he is still a rather small plant. The same goes for The Pilgrim. I have three and all of them are manageable climbers with decent repeat. So if ASL gets too massive/stingy try rooting a cutting and see how it does. ASL is also nearly thornless, which IMHO is highly desirable.

@rathersmallbunny can you give us an update on this rose? I live in Sacramento and am thinking about picking one up.

Oh my, that a beautiful rose....

Wow, @oldrosarian those are terrific pictures! I can only imagine that the plant itself is even more beautiful - you've done a wonderful job! Is your ASL in part shade or full sun?

Unfortunately @TinaBuell here in N. California my ASL has not done that well. It's now been almost 4 years and it's still limping along. It's planted along the same trellis as Madame Albert Carriere (though with plenty of space between them) and while MAC has taken off like gangbusters, poor ASL is still small and scraggly. It tends to rust easily, but I'm still keeping it in hopes that it will get stronger.

I do think that the Austin roses need more water, and as California has been in drought, I've had to ration my roses, trying to water them deeply but less often. Still, of all my Austin roses ASL has had the most trouble. It is definitely getting better with age, but in my garden, I would rank Lady Emma Hamilton, Strawberry Hill, Evelyn, Charles Darwin and CPM all better in terms of growth, bloom, and vigor. Sharifa Asma has also struggled for me. A pink old rose that I really like (not an Austin) is Grandmother's Hat. Beautiful, fragrant, carefree repeat bloomer. I'd like to get another one if I had the space.

Hope that helps, and so great to hear about everyone's experiences! :)

ASL has been a, mostly flowerless, chlorotic giant in my Med, alkaline conditions. When it was in a pot it was just a mostly flowerless giant. I'm glad it seems to be good in other conditions or gardens.

I'm not surprised you SL has rust issues with the rationed water. The only time Heritage did NOT have rust, mildew AND black spot was when it rained. The rest of the year, I could not keep foliage on it and any flowers not occurring during rains were gone within one day. Most Austins simply do require much more water than we're able to ethically supply in these parts now.

rathersmallbunny, I have two. One in full sun and one in afternoon shade. The one in the shade keeps the beautiful shading better than the sun area. Both have no problems with blackspot except some in late fall. Both of mine have two main flushes with no blooms in between. I get the impression that in your area, Shropshire Lad might be better in some shade.

Roses perform differently in different situations. You may have just the right spot. Give it a couple of years. You can always replace it if you decide you don't like it.

Don't even think about trying this rose if Blackspot is an issue for you.

I just now realized that the original post was nearly 3 years ago. If the OP is still around, I would enjoy hearing how this rose turned out.

I bought a own root last spring. It is in a large pot. It has grown huge but no blooms as of yet. I have it in full sun. I think its just doing the climber thing, grow grow grow...then bloom lol. The foliage looks really good though.

~Sjn

Hi @Rosefolly, OP here :) Thanks for asking - I posted an update a little further up the thread, but the short version is that my ASL has not thrived (sob!). In the 4 years since it's been planted, it's become a bit stronger and bigger, but still very stingy with flowers that wilt quickly in the hot sun, and defoliates easily due to black spot. Of all my Austins, poor ASL is usually the saddest looking one... Still, since it's been 4 years I'm letting it be for now. Maybe it will surprise me! ;)

@rathersmallbunny have you tried climbing Eden? I saw on another forum that it burns easy, but am wondering if it could take Sacramento shade?

@TinaBuell Ooh! Eden is actually on my list of want-to-haves, but was sold out at Regan's Roses a couple of years ago. I ended up getting Pearly Gates (a sport of America) instead and have to say it has been wonderful. I'm trying to grow it over our front gate and the only drawback of the beautiful flowers is that passersby often try to pick them!! Here's a shot of last year's blooms.

Planted SL three years ago and it is thriving big time. We are in planting zone 9B/10 so it gets really hot here and the sun is blinding. We get a wonderful show of blooms in the spring and then nothing until September when "spring" burst out again. The DA rose that really blooms is "Just Joey" not a climber but a joy as it flowers again and again.

@rathersmallbunny, Pearly Gates is lovely and looks a lot like my Eden! Thank you for sharing.

This is my second year with ASL. It still hasnt bloomed. It keeps growing bigger but no blooms. Its an own root from Hierloom Roses.

Will look up Pearly Gates.

I ha ASL for about three years and in those 3 years it only bloomed really well for me once in Spring and it fortunately kicked the bucket the following year due to a harsh winter ,I had a chance to buy it again year but I passed on it..there are much better roses out there tat I would rather have

Rumours that ASL does indeed bloom are overly exaggerated.

Thought I would hop on here to share my 2 cents on ASL. I have 3 along a fence in a fairly prominent area & are about 5 years old. Every summer/ fall I consider replacing, but spring comes along and I forgive him for all his shortcomings.

Very small climbers as you can see in photo as compared to many others I have. I have to spray for disease, but being in Georgia that's to be expected of most DAs. I have found if I give him more feelings I get some blooms throughout the season outside of the flushes, but nothing like a nearby hedge of Abe Darby which blooms all season in flushes.

As a side note on the Eden suggestion. Beautiful rose. Whenever it blooms for me I feel driven to go have a whiff, then I remember it doesn't have a fragrance. Sigh....

here is pic ASL today ( 3 bushes on fence, carefree celebration is in front) in mid-August. About 5-6 buds, couple flowers...Not terrible, but not a rockstar for me.

Adrianne

This has been amazing in southern UK. Pruned well along a fence in year 2, now stacks of amazing blooms in year 3. It only gets sun from lunchtime onwards, and its roots are mostly in the shade. Heaps of compost each spring & its a stunner!