Cannot be grown as a no spray rose in my experience. No spray = no leaves.

ditto trospero

jimmie...which austins are you growing well no spray. And, can you tell me where you got them (grafted onto Dr. Huey? multiflora? ownroot?).

I'm trying to find some that will work in my garden.

Robert

Hey, Fair Bianca was a Black Spot disaster in my garden. The blooms were beautiful but I didn't care for the fragrance. (that's putting it nicely) I also think having all that BS caused her to stay small (very small) and pitiful looking almost all the time. She is no longer with us.

Hmm, I just went outside to do a reality check on my Fair Bianca, here in my no-spray garden. She does have a little bs, but not much. She's a small plant but a good bloomer. I actually love her scent, although realize it might not be to everybody's taste. So I would give her a "yes" vote, if you can put up with a little bs. (Incidentally, I say my garden is "no spray" because I don't use any fungicides. I DO spray with Messenger, which I do believe helps reduce the BS somewhat).

Not sounding too promising! Frances, I can put up with some BS especially from a fragrant rose. How bad is blackspot there in New Jersey? How does she hold up compared to your other roses? Most of mine have at least a bit of blackspot.

Robert, the best Austins for me that I have had for a while are:
Jude the Obscure with just a few spotted leaves (grafted, Hines Hort. Texas, so I bet Dr. H)
Heritage-one of my favorite roses (grafted, Star Roses, don't know what they use)
Fisherman's Friend/Lover's Delite-(ownroot) pegged down and seems to only get BS on the tips that go below level, very fragrant and always blooming

Disease resistance of William Shakespeare 2000 (Dr. Huey)isn't stellar for me but has been improving each season.

New this year and looking promising:

Cymbeline (you were one of the people who recommended this, I think!)-ownroot from RU, growing robustly and not a single leaf has BS so far, which is a distinction shared only by Darlow's Enigma, Double Knockout, and Wild Spice in my garden!
Carding Mill (Dr. Huey)- some blackspot but not bad at all and lots of flowers. We'll see how this one holds up with time.

Definitely needs spraying here, and a runty grower for me. However, the flowers are superb and not bothered too badly by thrips and Botrytis. Some FBs in a public garden here without spray or irrigation have been tough enough to survive several years, but don't amount to much.

Mine was a fairly small yet vigorous plant and a terrific bloomer. Although I don't usually like myrrh, I have to say that her scent was absolutely delicious and complex. She stayed fairly clean in NC (z 7b), even with irregular spray. Her disease resistance was definitely quite above average, unlike the BS prone varieties Tamora (defoliated if not very regularly sprayed), Cl. Iceberg (a total disaster and kicked out), Charles Darwin (spotted significantly even with spray), Francis Dubreuil or Wisley.

I think experiences with Fair Bianca vary quite a bit. I loved mine and will probably get another one here in England. I think you should give her a try. A sunny and well ventilated spot with good food will help.

Andrea

No spray = no leaves. A complete black spot disaster.

If you need a short, black spot resistant, rose with quartered flowers then plant Kronprinzessin Viktoria (Bourbon) instead.

I'm not sure if i'm in "blackspot country" and I'm not even sure what people mean when they talk about a non-spray garden . . . is this a chemical spray? I spray every once in a while with an organic solution, does this count as "no spray" because it is not chemical? When people spray, what do they use?

Either way, I have Fair Bianca up here near Toronto. I love this rose. I love the scent - smells less like myrr to me than others, more like black licorice :) I love the flowers, she blooms like a maniac. I moved her every year for 3 years and she never pouted, just kept blooming. Not really a runty bush either although I was warned about that before I purchased it. Small and compact, yes, but a good grower. Gets a bit of blackspot I guess each year, but not to the point where I consider it much of a problem. Keeps most of her leaves, and stays healthy looking . . . keeps blooming!

Andrea,
Tamora was a total disaster for me. Francis Dubruiel is on the possible shovel-prune list. If Fair Bianca did better than those for you, that is a good sign.

Molineux,
K.Viktoria has always looked beautiful to me. How is the fragrance? I bet I can pull up one of your fragrance lists to find the answer to that question.

Cziga,
To me no spray means even no organic sprays. Maybe others on the forum would classify it differently. The organic sprays that I have used in the past seemed to be great on powdery mildew and very ineffective against blackspot for me. Since I hardly get any powdery mildew here in my garden anyway, it just wasn't worth the time. I do love the fragrance of Fair Bianca. Reminds me of Cressida (which I loved but was a total BS disaster for me and so is gone).

I sure would like to try this one, but sounds like in my hot and humid climate that I would be inviting trouble.

Jimmiesgran, Kronprinzessin Viktoria is just a more or less cream-colored (yellower in the shade and whiter in the sun) sport of the famous Souvenir de la Malmaison. While it's pretty, I don't think it looks as superb as its pink sport parent which is the far better known rose for good reason. They are also both quite susceptible to mildew, btw. Scent is medium strength sweet baby powder, very nice, but seldom really wow. More classic and very different from Fair Bianca's intense and exotic mix. If you take this Bourbon route, go for the beautiful original and skip its paler sport.

And yes, Fair Bianca did far far better than Tamora or Francis D. (or any other of my BS magnets). She was a really good little rose in my garden. It looks though like this may all depend on your particular climate.

Let us know what you decide!

Andrea

Jimmie,

Thanks for your list. I agree on Cymbeline. I do have most of the others on your list (except Fisherman's Friend), and they are definitely not very disease resistant in my garden...in fact, I think I lost Jude the Obscure this year.

Can you post some pictures of THESE David Austin roses...full bush shots so I can get an idea of what they should be doing?

Robert

Andrea, I haven't crossed Fair Bianca off my list yet, but I think I am going to wait until a prime spot opens up. Sounds like if I am going to be successful with that one, I better make sure I site it really well.

Robert, I never feel that any of my roses could be used as an example of what something should look like! But I'll see if I can get some decent photos together to post soon.
Thanks again for chiming in with the Cymbeline recommendation. I think that one is going to turn out very well.

I'm in the position for getting a white Austin. How big is Fair Bianca's blooms and how does she compare to Winchester Cathedral and Glamis Castle?

The blooms are a little bit smaller than Glamis Castle, but more tightly formed and last a heck of a lot longer in a vase.

I have a 38 bush hedge of FB, she is a beauty!!!
I have propagated her till her head is dizzy, and handed out tons of bushes to neighbours. My neighbours never spray, and the bushes do great. For something even more disease resistant, buy Benjamin Britten - HIGHLY HIGHLY disease resistant. Tamora is an old favorite, also a descendant of Belle Isis, like FB, also extremely healthy with NO SPRAYS.

klinko,
Tamora for me was a puny thing and a complete blackspot disaster. I can't believe I gave it 6 years before finally getting out the shovel. Austins sure seem to be capricious.
I guess it depends on whether they like you or not, as someone once posted on here!

maybe they do better further north, we are up in Sault Ste. Marie here. Many of my hybrid teas were black spot disasters, and died. Austins do great up here. HT is basically an annual, replace them every spring.

Try Guinevere, looks like an Austin but not sure if it is. Nothing phases it. /Abi

aeiger, the pictures of Guinevere at helpmefind do look pretty. Do you find it fragrant?

Yes, I think Guinevere is prettier and is much healthier. I have been growing Guinevere for several years in a bad location and it has the most beautiful blooms. As far Fair Bianca,I have never seen a worse rose and hope to never see one, but I would rather see one than grow one.