Well all you have to do is wait till it's 95 degrees for a few weeks. Then the bloom size will shrink :)

Honestly the Austins do droop a bit at first. But once they put on size, they are able to support their huge flowers for the most part.

Pat has always been a shy nodder for me...and she's 5 years old. Other posters have commented about the same trait with this Austin. She's such a pretty girl, too.

I grew Pat Austin in my Cornish garden, and found that she settled down to producing blooms of about two and a half to three inches across after the first flush of the season.
Her blooms did droop a lot at first, but when the smaller ones came along they hardly nodded at all.
The perfume varied in strength depending on the weather, but it was strong and delicious on warm days without a lot of wind.
Daisy

Jannorcal and I just got back from England and the rose blooms were bigger on most of the plants that we saw. Sometimes, astonishingly so. We wondered about climate, soil, fertilizer, pruning practices and rootstock as the reasons why.

That said, Austins can be big plants with huge blooms here. I told a friend who is originally from England that Austin roses grow too big and lanky for us Californians, and we feel that most of them are better suited to Britain. She laughed and said that her English friends say that Austins are bred for the American market, with oversized blooms that aren't suitable for Britain.

That said, we saw many Austin roses growing beautifully everywhere we looked during our visit.
Anita

Hmmm...'Jude' has a stunning fragrance here. In California the plants get huge, so those flowers grow their way out of the mulch pretty quickly.

I got Jude this spring, so he is also one year plant, about to bloom. First flower is opening at the moment, so far it does not promise to be cabbage size, but I will see in a couple of days. Fragrance however is there, even from half open bud, sweet old rose kind as much as I can tell. We have hot and dry weather for last few weeks though, which can explain some things.

hot and dry, you bet. my blackcurrants were practically cooking on the bushes - picking, which I usually do over a leisurely three weeks are having to be done in 3 days - did the first few bushes today for HOURS. My back stuck in a crouching position for ages. Pat A seems to be settling down some and poor old Falstaff dries out to look exactly the same as a fresh one...only crispy. I can't easily reach Jude to have a good sniff - huge clouds of orlaya and gypsophila frothing about, likely to be trampled by my large boots. I am loving Schoener's nutkana. I am not averse to large blooms on singles - oh how i wish i could grow gigantea or coopers burmese white,- and SN has vivid deep pink blooms. On the other hand, Ghislaine de Feligonde seduced me cos of the name (and you folks) but so far looks a bit mimsy, a bit feh! Very healthy and vigorous though. I love all the recommendations though, i am much more likely to try something out which has been recommended on this forum.

Do they also promise +40C in UK too for this weekend? I planned to go to glare at the roses in local rossarium, but with this weather I might actually reconsider it. Or go in a bikini, since I am quite certain there won't be anyone as crazy out there. :D

Oh I remember the horrors of blackcurrant, my parents had 20 bushes at some point, each producing a few buckets of blinkin' berries. I think I detoxed from it enough in last 7 years to be ready to plant a few shrubs myself. :D

My Jude opened today, he looks more or less same size as Constance Spry, if not even slightly smaller. Fragrance is there for me, but not overly strong and definitely not even close to intensity of Mme. Isaac Pereire for example. I am a bit more concerned about his color though, since it reminds me of caramel-gone-wrong. :D

I have Ghislaine de Feligonde too and I quite like it, but it does look a bit like an ordinary polyantha. I love Felicia probably the most from my new HMs, very delicate and elegant blossoms. Bouquet Parfait and Balerina still have to bloom though, so they still can be that #1 spot.

I Have an 9 year old Pat blooms are average 3-4 inches and some still nod after 4 years but for the most part not. I actually like the presentation. Shes my favorite rose take a look on Helpmefind roses to see some more mature Pats I also like the fragrance.

I've sometimes experienced lack/reduced fragrance on young plants. It is very common with Austins with large blooms for them to nod in first years and hold their heads up better when the bush grows stronger. Jude the Obscure always has a strong fragrance in my garden, and does not nod now.

Campanula, LOL ,I was harvesting black currants too this weekend and my back is feeling like your back :)
Olga