I'm far from your zone but in the summer heat the blooms collapsed even though it had partial shade. When we moved it to an even more shady location this spring it developed mildew, blackspot and rust. I hope someone with more local experience can advise you because many people love this rose. The blooms are gorgeous but they also didn't last long in the vase, another negative factor for me.

Ingrid

I'd say no. There are many better Austins than Abe for colder areas. Also, if rust is at all a problem in your area or garden, then most definately give him a wide berth. Abe is very, very prone to rust.

You want both! In my garden Constance Spry has just finished her yearly "can't touch this" display of 10' x 10' solid bloom. Now Abe is picking up the slack with his follow-up performance. Can you squeeze 'em onto the same stage?

I have been contemplating Abe. Does anyone know if he has problems with thrips?

Extremely beautiful, fragrance is wonderful, production is very good.

Disease resistance is where it falls down.

I would not call it "pale pink". It is an apricot blend, sometimes pink depending on the weather, but mostly it is an apricot blend.

Abe is ok in my garden. No particular disease problems. Dies to the ground in the winter. Repeat is so so.

Abe Darby is a gorgeous rose, color is pink/apricot where Constance Spry is all pink. I have two and they have never had rust but do get blackspot. But still I wouldn't be without it.

Constance Spry can be grown as a climber in the north. So she can get much taller than Abe, unless you are tenacious in pruning after bloom. Abe gets winterkilled pretty far back, and for me grows to 4-5 feet in a season.

I'm leaning a bit away from Abraham Darby at this point. If I can grow Constance Spry as a climber here (I had read in the north it would be more a shrub than a climber)- I have the perfect spot for her. I've never dealt with rust before but have come toe to toe with blackspot...and lost. I guess my main problem is that I don't really have the perfect spot for it. The areas where that size rose would go are a little less than ideal (one's in a back corner kind of hidden away and the other gets a little less than ideal sun and is where our snow from the driveway gets piled near).

I may have just talked myself out of it.

We don't get rust in Wisconsin, just blackspot. I've never had real mildew problems either - only mild cases that cleared up when the weather changed.

Once bloomers can be very nice here. They bloom before the japanese beetles come and are often hardy enough that they get much larger than modern roses and therefore have many more blooms. But you don't really want to be piling snow on them since you'll break a lot of canes.

There are hardier austins,

but none have the scent of Abe...

There are also less Disease prone austins..

But none have THE scent of ABE!

I wish I could grow one like Olga has in her yard though!

It has apricot tones, mixed with pink and cream at times..

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Silverkelt

ooh la la, love the pics!

zaphod, Constance Spry can be very much a climber in the north. I have two growing up and over my 7 1/2 foot arbor. Even that high needs to be pruned back after bloom to keep the whole shebang from eventually topping from heaviness. But she is a once-bloomer. Abe will repeat all summer/fall.