...that flowers mostly continuously, or has lots of flushes.

'Molineux'.

I saw a pic of a mass planting of Queen of Sweden--just gorgeous! However, since Queen is a somewhat narrow upright bush, you would have to order a few more and plant them a little closer together.

Q of S has a lovely light pinkish bloom--touch of apricot in there. It seems to be very disease-resistant.

But Molineux would be a nice choice also.

Kate

Sanju, You should give your location. DA's perform very differently in differing regions of the US. None of them take heat that well (hence their English breeding) and very few are disease resistant. That's not what Austin is selecting for in his breeding program.

Hoovb, I have ordered three Molineux for another spot in the back yard so I was hoping for a different variety for the front. It is however, great to hear that it is a good variety, can't wait for it :-)

Kate, I haven't heard of Queen of Sweden here, perhaps it is a new variety? It takes most roses 4-5 years to get here, and some of them never arrive here at all. We only got Munstead Wood this year and Summer Song last year.

Amanda, I live in Melbourne, Australia. The weather here is quite pleasant in the Spring and Autumn, but very dry and hot in the summers. Winters are never freezing (roses don't need any protection), but quite cold (lowest 5 degrees). Most of our roses flower 8-9 months and some start earlier, so the flowering season is about 10 months in a year. I do have trouble with flowers frying up in the summer, but in spring and autumn they are at their best. Thanks,
Sanju

Sanju, the best Austin rose I have for hot, dry summers is Carding Mill. It's apricot, has a very nice bush habit and blooms throughout the summer when most roses just give up. Others on the forum have also mentioned that this rose is really great in the heat. However, there is very little fragrance. I visited a public rose garden last August when it was beyond hot and the Austins that were blooming and thriving were The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild, Mary Magdalene, Miss Alice, Anne Boleyn, Sophy's Rose, Charles Darwin and Lillian Austin. A non-Austin rose that had huge, gorgeous bloom in the heat was Yves Piaget, which I subsequently bought. It doesn't have as nice a bush but the flowers are wonderful.

Have fun choosing!

Ingrid

I have some Austins, but it's hard saying which ones you might want. I know quite a people plant William Shakespeare 2000 together with other ones simply because of it rather peculiar growth habit. That might become somewhat of a hassle for you though as it's best described as 3'x4' in terms of growth. WS2000's petals hold up better in the heat though as it has thicker petals than most of my Austins. Pretty Jessica would be a very nice upright rose that is no more than 3' tall and relatively thornless, however I am not completely sure how it would handle the intense sun in Australia.

Knowing your zone would be helpful.

In any case, Molineux is great for mass planting due to bloom production and disease resistance. It is not cane hardy however.

Other solid choices include The Mayflower and Wild Edric. Both of which are very cane hardy and disease resistant and bloom, repeat well.

Sanju, none of the roses I mentioned are new but perhaps just not available to you. Yves Piaget is part of the Romantica series of roses by a French breeder. That rose has also been around for a good number of years.

I tend to think that Wild Edric was meant for a cooler climate and don't know if it will do well for you, since it's part rugosa.

Ingrid

I saw 'Harlow Carr' yesterday--wow! Covered with flowers, and very, very fragrant. It's a short grower though. Another one to consider.

Yves Piaget is not new at all but it isn't an Austin it is a Romantica by Meilland. I don't find the bush that attractive and my plant didn't bloom that often. However the floribunda Bolero, also a Romantica rose is very fragrant, blooms a lot and it has beautiful foliage - if you don't mind white flowers.

But you could have a mass planting of SDLMs (Souvenir de la Malmaisons) or Souvenir de St' Anns' in case you don't insist on Austins.

The most blooming Austin I have is Tamora. It has full sun and the size is about 4x4.

Thanks, everyone, lots of interesting roses to consider now. Hoovb, it is very frustrating that Harlow Carr is also not available here. The Mayflower is available, so I will consider that one. I have already ordered Tamora for a different spot this year, will see how it does for me. I might just wait till mid-season (dec) and order the Austin that does best, though I would have loved to try a different one. The ones I've ordered this year are:

3 Molineuxs
1 Pretty Jessica
1 Tamora
1 Prospero
1 The Prince
1 Munstead Wood
I am planning to pick up Jubilee Celeb, Pat Austin and Sharifa Asma later this year, since they are easily available close to my house.

Ceterum, Bolero also is not available here. I can't believe we are so slow to get things here in Aus. I have ordered SDLM this year and will see if it balls or not, if it is alright, i will consider that.

Ingrid, I liked the look of Miss Alice and Mary Magdalene. Just can't make up my mind.

Thanks for all the advice, it is really appreciated.

Sanju

Septer'd Isles was a great performer for me in SE Florida and is now a great performer in the N.GA.Mts. Always in bloom with a great, different, scent. Healthy as any rose I have seen.

Is Sharifa a good repeat bloomer? I have had a bad plant, probably virused, so it was difficult to form a judgment. I just got another own root one that already looks better though smaller. Oh boy if that rose is a good bloomer I have no doubt which Austin I would choose for mass planting in a climate where disease is not a problem. One sniff of the blooms is enough for me to conclude. Although Sharifa as a plant is among the better austins here in blackspot and botrytis inferno in terms of disease, too.

'Yves Piaget' is also known as 'Queen Adelaide' in Australia. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Most Austin roses that I've tried growing don't repeat that well. The Delbard roses, on the other hand are excellent repeaters and suit our climate. Unfortunately, they lack the scent and the old-garden look compare to the Austins roses. However, most Austin roses are better disease resistant than the Delbards.

I used to grow Heritage, and it was a great repeater but Heritage looses its petals quickly - which could be a good or a bad thing.

According to one of the reps from David Austin, Harlow Carr will not be release here in Australia since it didn't perform well in the trial beds. What a shame! I really like the look of Harlow Carr.

I was told that Munstead Wood is a poor repeater.

I was at a gardening nursery the other day, and Darcey Bussell looks great - big blooms.

The Alnwick rose - good repeater, but the scent is not always present.
Jude the Obscure - great for its fragrance, and looks great when you mass plant them.

It's true that Austin are thirsty plants - they require regular watering to bloom well.

Could someone comment on Eglantyne and the Ambridge rose. Are they great repeaters???

My advice for you is to visit a rose garden to see which David Austin roses you like. The me, The Mayflower looks plain and ordinary.

The Austin roses that I am SOOOO looking forward to are:
- Young Lucidas
- Claire Austin
- Princess Alexandra of Kent.

I will definitely mass plant all three when they are avaliable. I love the look of those roses and I have a bed already saved up for those roses.

Jimmy, thanks for your comments. I will check out Queen Adelaide, I think it is available here in Aus. Darcey Bussell does look lovely in the pictures,I might consider that for my mass-planting. I like the Alnwick rose as well, but it looks similar to Gertrude Jekyll, so I thought I would try for something different. I am disappointed to hear that Munstead Wood does not repeat well in Aus :-( I will still try it since I have changed my order about 5 times and the nursery will be irritated if I call again. I have ordered from Rankins Direct 6 Delbards this year, hope they do well for me. I agree that they repeat almost continuously (I only have Alfred Sisley) at the moment, but I am onto the Austin bug big-time, I love the look of their flowers. I love most colours of roses, but whites and creams are not as much my favourites, perhaps thats why I haven't tried Jude as yet.

Anyway, thank you for all your comments and I will definitely consider Sharifa Asma, The Mayflower, Sceptre d'Isle, Tamora, Miss Alice, Mary Magdalene, SDLM, Darcey Bussell or The Alnwick rose.

Sanju

Well not all Delbards lack disease resistance. I live in a very disease prone very humid) climate, and Chartreuse de Parme practically disease free here, has Austin type petal packed flowers, shiny foliage and deliciously fragrant. IMHO, a dry climate as yours it would have zero disease.
Pretty good repeater too. It would look good in mass planting as well as a cut flower (last longer than the Austins).

Wow, Ceterum, that seems a great idea. My Alfred Sisley as well is very disease free, so it probably depends on the individual rose rather than the breeder. I have ordered one Chartruse this year, will see how it goes and then might order that in for the mass planting as well. In any case, I am planning to get these roses later this year, not order it in right now since I've already ordered all my mail-order ones this year. Thanks.
Sanju

Evelyn is one Austin that really impressed me. I also have the Delbard rose Madame Bovary which is very vigorous and thorny. Madame Figaro died over the winter but France Info survived. I also have some Generosa roses (which Martha Stewart likes) including Madame Paul Massad and Jardins de Viels Maisons. The only Romantica to survive in my garden is Bolero.

Sanju,

From the list you've mentioned, I can warmly suggest Jubilee Celebration. It's the best from the list for this climate type. It will repeat well, and produce lots of blooms till May in Melbourne. But it's a big one: goes in back of the border.

Pat Austin ... It will get burned in January/February. It has big, gentle petals, and somewhat fragile. First flush is lovely, but when the heat hits 40 C in few days, it looks .. well .. :-( Also, petals will drop within 4-5 days from opening, no matter what weather. Be careful.

Sharifa Asma is not too bad, but there are much better English roses suitable for this climate. Try Miss Alice instead: it grows better, and is overall a much better rose.

Munstead Wood is a new rose this year, and it reminds of WS2000. However, sources say it behaves a bit better than WS2000, has a neater form and it's not as notorious in shooting long canes as WS2000 does in this climate. But it does shoot long canes nevertheless.
JumboJimmy, we cannot still ascertain is Munstead Wood poor repeater or not; not yet. Many factors contribute to that and I don't always trust what nurseries say, because there roses live in somewhat extreme conditions compared to our gardens.

Sanju, if you like myrrh scent, I'd avoid mishy-mushy Tamora and plant Ambridge Rose. That's one of the best English roses ever for this climate too. Period. It's strong, healthy and reliable, blooms first and ends last.

Mayflower is fantastic, but makes great sense to plant few of them for best effect which then reminds of a thicket of Gallicas.

All in all, very few roses from DA's Old Rose Hybrids group are fit for Australia. St Swithun is one of them. It's big, but it's an amazing rose. It has a very strong myrrh scent.

Leander group, however, and Hybrid Musks Group are much better overall because they have scents that activate better in warm climates, petals that are not too thin, shallower flower shapes that won't burn in the sun. And all are strong growers.

Another great one for Australia is Teasing Georgia. William Morris too. Pegasus has the most powerful tea scent, but tends to sleep later in season. Crown Princess Margareta is lovely and will grow big.

However, they're all, as you can see, bigger ones.

This season I've seen a new Strawberry Hill, and it looks very, very promising. I felt very tempted! Tea Clipper and Port Sunlight are other two to check as well.

But then again, when in Australia, why not try Australian-bred roses? They'll always perform better than any other rose because they're drought tolerant. Mostly single and semidouble but with a specific, unique charm. In my garden Lorraine Lee shines and is in bloom throughout the year, and Nancy Hayward I bought last year grew several 4m long canes in 8 months, although I was watering it only once a week.

I'm also trying to get the best of both English roses and Australian roses and in my small trial beds I already have some new hybrids that look more than promising; some are like English roses in flower shape, but are more prolific, grow stronger, will be better cut flowers (flowers don'r wither as readily), have less thorns and are hardy as Australians. And they smell really nice too.