Tess is not very fragrant and her blooms will tend to hang down when she is small but she builds into a nice bush. Falstaff is also a nice rose, drooping blooms are not so bad when it rains because they don't fill with water like some of my hybrid perpetuals do. Falstaff's blooms actually hold up fairly well in most cases as the bush grows stronger.

Benjamin Britten is a great orangey red which holds its blooms very high and has great disease resistance after the canes get long enough to get the foliage well above the ground.

Tradescent is in the black red group and has shapely blooms.

Lance

Do you consider William Shakespeare 2000 red? Many feel this is one of DA's great creations. The three grown here are hardy, vigorous and produce fragrant blooms throughout the season.

I think this picture is courtesy of Susan - Tivoli.

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PROSPERO! PROSPERO!
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Deep red, ageing purple.
VERY fragrant.
Disease-free, and continuous-blooming in Southern CA.
Needs little attention.
Deadhead lightly. Prune minimally.
Great in a vase.
An attractive, bushy plant in the garden.

Jeri

Here's William Shakespear 2000 a few days ago.....great rose and I think a tie as the best red with......

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Darcy Bussell

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Michael

Fisherman's Friend - hardy, fragrant, free blooming. A classic crimson.

Oh gee.
Here on the SouthWest Coast, FF was a very lanky, awfully prickly rose, which rusted rather badly, unless sprayed.
Some mildew, but rust was more of a problem.
The BIGGEST problem with it, however, was the massive vegetative centers. Really big, icky "steeples."
Tho it was fragrant, that was just too much for me.
I bet it just needed an environment with more winter!

Jeri

Thanks for all the suggestions, and Lovely pics! Im afraid you guys have actually extended my list insead of narrowing it down. Lol jerijen, we certainly have winter here! There was even a dusting of SNOW a few days ago at the higer elevations near here. Fishermans Friend, from the pics ive seen, does have a lovely color though. William S. also looks nice. I saw Tess locally, thats why I was thinking of getting her. I also like her crimson coloring and deep cup shape. Do you think that shes a good preformer overall, or should I consider something else?
CMK

We love our Wm. Shakespeare 2000s. Get better every year. Falstaff is nice, but WS2000 is much better, I think. :0) Phyl

I really, really LOVE L.D. Braithwaite. He does very well with our cold winters (protected). He gets about 3 feet X 3 feet. Should get bigger in your area. The flowers are a gorgeous red, and they last a long while. I can't talk about disease resistance, because roses here don't get diseases. Very sumptuous RED - not a pink wannabe! :) Mine just has buds right now - but it has a lot! I don't notice a scent - but then scent is mostly missing from my garden - not sure why.
Carol

Can't believe no one has mentioned The Squire. I have quite a few Austins and this is a wonderful rose. Nice fragrance, too. I have and love Prospero but the plant has stayed small and the blooms are small as well. Good in a big pot or front of the bed. If you need a larger plant, The Squire doesn't fade, is as disease resistant as an Austin can be in my BS-ridden climate and is one of the better Austins as a cut flower.

The Squire
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Here's the bush beginning to bloom.
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Here on the CA coast, the principal fungal problems are mildew and rust, rather than blackspot.
The Squire can suffer from both here, if not sprayed.
But it has been very popular with exhibitors here.

Jeri

I do not have any experience with red roses but I have seen a top 10 list of DA roses, containing Tess of the d'Ubervilles.

For True Red, L.D. Braithwaite is my favorite Austin and IMO, his best red. A very good rose.

For Crimson/Red/Purple, WS2000 is easily his best to date although it can be a slow starter. However, it becomes exceptionally better every year and a lot sturdier too. By year 3, my plants are sturdy enough to hold the large and heavy blooms upright without support. It will still produce lots of of weak spindly growth too however, that I prune out to encourage more basals. This rose seems to need a lot of pruning, but it deserves it....

I love Tess!

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