Of that group, I only have Perdita and Teasing Georgia. Teasing Georgia is a very large, beautiful, thorny plant. The blooms are spectacular. I don't get much re-bloom in California. Maybe your climate would be different.

I have a young (planted April 2010 from a gallon) Perdita. It is a Spectacular rose! It blooms a ton; its foliage is clean as a whistle; the flowers are beautiful. One of the best roses in the garden. Get Perdita...get lots of them! You won't be disappointed.

When I lived in the Dallas area, I grew Queen Nefertiti. It grew in full all day sun, and was exposed to all the wind that came our way as well. It did get a fair amount of blackspot (and I did not spray), but I loved the flowers. The color was rather changeable, and the flowers were at their best (in my opinion) in the fall when they almost seemed to glow on cloudy days.

I had a friend who used to grow Perdita in Plano. It has been over ten years since we both lived there, but I don't remember that black spot was a problem for her. She also did not spray, and she had much higher expectations from her roses than I did from mine. Perdita was one of her favorites.

Constance Spry is a oncer. Lilac rose a bit naff - I dug it up. He took English Garden off his main list so presumably has some health problems. Got no idea what Queen Nefertiti is - it must be a US only or a different name. My favourites on there are Teasing Georgia and Falstaff - but both will be big for you I would think. I also really like Princess Anne which is new for you this year, that is a much more compact well behaved plant. Your list is of a lot of the earlier ones, they have got better since then.

caldonbeck, thanks from across the pond. these are available locally, 2 gallons. DA USA is not far, but, other than the ones they grow container-wise (which i have), i have to buy bare rooted. and it is getting a bit late for that. CS is off for shame of only once blooming! I hear Falstaff is not too generous with the rebloom. I'll see about finding PA next year. What are some of your favorites? ( or favourites...:) )

plantlover, good to know about the fall color for QN, it is a pretty flower...and that Perdita was one of your neighbors fav's. that is a strong vote, too.

TG, i wouldn't think our climates would be THAT different, despite the distance...so low rebloom is not in TG's favor, and huge and thorny....not necessary either! love that additional vote for Perdita. "blooms a ton and clean as a whistle"...music to my ears.

at this point, a strike on TG and CS. more research needed on Falstaff and QN....but, i am learning i don't need EVERY rose!!

or, do I?

Thank you, Jerome, for your recommendation of Perdita. I'm in love with its picture in David Austin's catalog. I hope that the color is the same if planted in my alkaline clay, pH 7.7.

I have Fair Bianca, Falstaff, Teasing Georgia and Perdita.

Teasing Georgia will get huge and need support. It gets a fantastic spring and fall flush with sporadic blooms inbetween. It does bet BS, but not that badly.

Fair Bianca is a small bush with nice white blooms that are usually in clusters. It has a myrrh scent, which is a bit unusual. Doesn't usually blackspot.

Perdita is a nice rose. I have her in a bad spot in my yard so I don't appreciate her enough.

Falstaff has a beautiful bloom, but is a bit stingy about putting them out. Does get blackspot.

My favourite is The Pilgrim. I have found that soft lemon yellows are not too plentiful in the rose world. I like lemon yellow because it goes with most other rose colours. In my PNW garden, the Pilgrim grows tall and upright and blooms very well. Gets a little BS but I don't spray. I believe it is Austins only lemon coloured rose?
Lilac Rose looks like many of his other pink roses and is rather cheap with it's repeat.

Queen Nefertiti has lovely blooms but my plant was very gangly and thorny. It was a young rose but other young roses such as Sophie's Rose were bushy from the beginning. The thorns were rather vicious too. I no longer have this rose.

Ingrid

I grow three on your list... Constance Spry is wonderful and very healthy but doesn't rebloom, and it's a big climber. I love Teasing Georgia and it reblooms very well here. Big plant, but can be kept in bounds with pruning. I wouldn't scratch it off your list.

Prospero is a little runt... less than 2' tall, but I still like it for the dark red fragrant blooms.

Reds that do better for me than Prospero are William Shakespeare 2000 and Munstead Woods.

You also should sneak Sharifa Asma on your list -- flowers and scent are amazing!

If I had any space left, I'd investigate Crown PRincess Margareta and Tam o'Shanter (those two should be very healthy, if they live up to their hype), and Wedgwood Rose--all fairly new offerings.

I have Lady of Shalott newly planted in my garden--love those crazy shades of color! She's a fairly recent offering also and supposed to be very disease-resistant.

And if you don't have one or more of Austin's dark reds, get one. Shakespeare 2000 is terrific, for instance.

Wish I had more space--I could easily order another dozen Austins. : )

Kate

It strikes me from reading your list that you've chosen a lot of the older-ish austins. Some of the older ones are some of the best ones, but I do think he has improved with the focus on healthy plants over the last decade and I think you might want to consider some of the new varieties as health seems to be of particular importance to you.

I've grown a lot of Austins over the past several years, but not many on your list. One that I am really interested in is Lilac Rose which I saw growing in David Austin's gardens. I'd never paid it any attention but there was something incredibly attractive about its dusty Victorian look that I found really charming and seductive. Has a good scent too. I've never grown it so can't say much about it, but it's one of those roses that is in the back of my mind and one I might try one day.

Enjoy your choices!
robert

the list is the inventory of a nursery i drove an hour (each way) to visit, today. Unfortunately, they were sold out of all DA's except Heritage, which I have. The list IS old, as these were all own root roses. But, regardless of me not being able to cash in this wealth of knowledge you have all offered me, I DO have selections for next year.

And, I was out in the garden trying to figure out where to put what I have, so, not all for nothing.

Thank you all for responding, and I hope these insights can be shared by others...some real keepers on here!

The ones I grow are Fair Bianca, The Pilgrim and Queen Nefertiti.

The Pilgrim is still a very young plant, so I can't comment on much except that I chose it because, like lynnette said, it is a soft yellow and that seems rare. Most other yellows are either mixed or much brighter. Also, it is supposed to be quite an upright rose (which worked for me).

Fair Bianca - Makes a compact bush, only 2-3 ft tall. One of my most care-free roses - very hardy, and very healthy. Pink buds which mature into white flowers, generally in clusters, and it does have that myrr fragrance. Smells like black licorice, fairly strong. If you don't like that scent, then this rose might not be for you but if you don't mind it, this is a really easy rose to grow.

Queen Nefertiti - I was desperate to get this one because of the name :) It is one of DA's older varieties and he was going to discontinue it because there were newer ones that he thought were better. I love the colour. I agree with plantloverkat that the colour can be changeable and they do seem to glow on cloudy days, especially later in the summer. That's a great description :) It also makes a compact bush, not quite as small as Fair Bianca. Mine is around 3 ft tall. This one is fairly thorny and I don't get much scent from it. Mine tends to look more creamy in colour than some pictures I've seen online which make it look a lot more pink ...

I would second the suggestion for Sharifa Asma as well. It is a larger bush with beautiful light pink flowers and an absolutely intoxicating scent.