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A Good Report Card for Pretty Jessica

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

10 years ago

I received this rose from Vintage in October 2011 and I must say this (hot) spring I'm quite impressed with her. After a slow start she's shot up and now has a bloom or two and quite a few buds, much better than last year. The blooms seem to have much more substance now and are holding up well to the heat. There hasn't been any sign of disease on this rose and overall I'm very pleased with its performance. I thought this rose might be better suited to cooler climates but I'm happy to see it's performing well in my demanding heat-retaining garden. I don't know how the roses stand it; after five minutes out there at 10 am I had to beat a hasty retreat.

Ingrid

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Comments (5)

dublinbay z6 (KS)
10 years ago
My Pretty Jessica had to take about 3 years before it started really producing blooms and lots of them. Slow-starter, but very reliable once it gets going--and I think those must be the most fully-packed buds in my garden!

Kate
sara_ann-z6bok
10 years ago
Ingrid - It is a very pretty rose, glad to know yours is doing good. Would love to see pictures.
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I didn't mean to critize Ingrid. I was fortunate to be able to find Pretty Jessica last year. I know a lot of folks are looking for it. It is a good post. The truth is I have, in the right mood, fessed up for expensive shipping on a rose I couldn't live without. I did it with Alfred Colomb when I could only find it at a west coast nursery. It arrived well packaged and healthy but in 2 years hasn't given me a single bloom. So it also makes sense for other reasons to maybe order from places within a similiar climate. OK, now back to Ingrid's topic, sorry for the hijack. Nancy
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Celeste enabled me BIG TIME about this rose on another forum, but I haven't been able to find that forum again! I was looking for a small pink shrub rose with really good fragrance, at least a decent amount of bloom, and very disease resistant. The info that this darling has few thorns just won me over completely! I adore the English rose look, too! Abraham Darby is the rose that roped me into roses in the first place! I've placed an order for several of these babies, and am looking forward to seeing how they do here in Oklahoma. Thanks, Celeste!
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Two very different roses that look nothing alike (other than being pink). In Maryland, USDA Zone 6b, with red clay acidic soil: BELINDA'S DREAM (Shrub, 1988) is a big rose with disease resistant soft blue-green foliage. Growth habit is bushy and full to 5 feet unless pruned twice a year. Canes have some thorns but is still easily handled without having to worry about pricking yourself. High centered buds open into very full (40+ petals) medium warm (Pepto-Bismal) pink blossoms that smell like carnations, and last a long time in a vase. Grows great on its own roots in a wide climatic range but is especially suited for warm climates like Southern Texas. IMHO best pink rose for the beginner. PRETTY JESSICA (English, 1983) is much more petite with the plant topping out at 3 feet. Foliage isn't as disease resistant to black spot. Canes are nearly thornless; a smooth lady. Blossoms are drop dead gorgeous and sinfully fragrant. Buds are very full and round opening into quartered flowers with perfect petal placement. Outer petals are lavender blushed a rich lilac pink in the center. Needs a little coddling to get established own root, but once it gets going can be one of the most beautiful roses in the garden. A top notch rose for containers or the front of flower borders. Grows especially well in the Mid-Atlantic and northwards. Image of Belinda's Dream posted by april-h-o-z6-Nashville at the Clematis combos thread. Image of Pretty Jessica posted by kristin-flower-4a at the Favorite David Austin roses thread.
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Comments (33)
SHARIFA ASMA is a fantastic rose (IMHO David Austin's best pink) that can be grown over a wider climatic range, but her flowers do look different. Sharifa is lighter and the pink is warmer in tone. The flower form is also not as "tight". In my Mid-Atlantic garden AUSjess, which I've nicknamed "Free Jessica" because David Austin holds the rights ON THE NAME, has deeply cupped to globular flowers that are lilac to lavender on the outer petals, blushed a deeper cherry pink in the middle. I have Sharifa on the west side of my house, which is dominated by bright, Easter-egg-like pastels. FREE JESSICA is in a flower bed in the front (North-East), which has a cool color theme (lilac-pinks, lavender, blue, ivory, glistening white, and silvery gray). Sharifa is also a bigger rose in my Temperate zone 6b climate. In M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D. a well cared for Sharifa Asma is capable of reaching 4-5 feet in all directions. Don't believe me? Just ask Olga. She has pictures. FREE JESSICA stays put at approximately two feet. Paul, I'm sorry AUSjess was such a dog in your Pacific Northwest garden. For East-coast rosarians in zones 4/5/6, she is a very beautiful and much appreciated rose. In my garden her only fault is a propensity for blackspot, which IS controllable with spraying. Patrick
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fogrose
10 years ago
I've really wanted this rose but with my dreadful track record with Austins I'm still hesitant.

I had gone as far as ordering a 5 gallon from Rogue Valley figuring if it was that mature it might help but it turned out there really wasn't one available.

Glad it's doing well for you Ingrid.

Diane
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Original Author
10 years ago
Diane, our conditions are so different that I wouldn't presume to recommend this rose, but of the ones I've grown (and also failed with), PJ has surpassed even good roses such as Bishop's Castle, Potter and More and Sophy's Rose in that its thick leaves seem, so far it least, to be immune to disease. If you like pink, cupped and fragrant Austins, this might be one to consider.

I'll take pictures when more of the buds have matured into flowers.

Ingrid
Tessiess, SoCal Inland, 9b, 1272' elev
10 years ago
I've had Pretty Jessica for a good 20 years. No disease in all that time. However, she does not bloom very much. Never has. Her flowers are lovely when she produces them, but that is usually one light flush in the spring, with maybe a few scattered flowers the rest of the year. Not a single one thus far this year. I suspect she craves a lot more groceries than she receives from this stingy gardener. I did recently plant a fairly garden tolerant ceanothus near her (a groundcover one named Diamond Heights), which may eventually give her a little extra nitrogen (it's a nitrogen fixer), but we shall see.

Melissa

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