Hi,

I forgot to specify the following: everything in my garden is about two years old, most of it is on Dr. Huey rootstock, with the exception of Glamis Castle, which has been transplanted twice, and is about 6 years old. Most of what I have acquired in last month is own root except for Gertrude Jekyll. All roses planted in my garden have only been here for 2 years.

Las Vegas receives 70+ days of temperatures above 100 degrees averaging around 110 in July and some days hit the low 120's. In mid July, we had a couple of 124 degree days in the city; unfortunately the forecast is based upon the temperatures at the airport which can really differ from other places.

Other than July and August, our highs/low are the following, and it is quite sunny and beautiful, but we lack rain; so it is dry. Most of the year the weather is quite lovely and fairly consistent.

Oct: 82/54
Nov: 67/47
Dec: 57/39
Jan: 58/39
Feb: 63/43
March: 70/49
April: 78/56
Early May: 87/65
Mid May - June: 91 or so/ 70 and dry

Strawberryhill,

I looked at Versigny and found it to be very beautiful; grown by and highly recommended for gardeners who endure high summer temperatures. There was something about it that made me rule it out; maybe it was the mature size that it will become. I must look it up again.

Lynn

Hi Lynn: I had 2 Pat Austins own-roots: gave one away, it could not handle 7 hours of full-sun from 8 am to 3 pm. I keep the 2nd Pat Austin in 4 hours of morning sun, still droopy when the temp. is over 80 degrees. Pat is glorious here in our constant rainy spring and fall. She hates salty chemical fertilizer, organics is best.

porkpal,

Which Austin's have you been able to successfully grow in your garden? If ever their was a test for humidity and heat, living near the Gulf Coast; I assume somewhere from the Florida panhandle to Southeast Texas ( humidity levels). If you do not mind, please provide more information, as it is likely to be a great point of reference for those in similar areas.

Lynn

Strawberryhill,

I wonder if our irrigation practices will make a difference? We irrigate a lot during the summer. We even irrigate during the winter; once a week. It is so dry here and only receive 4.5" of rain annually and it is received throughout the year.

Lynn

Strawberry, I must not have been clear, my YL is grafted and not own root.

Hi Kippy: Thanks for the info., I tamed own-root Evelyn into a 2.5' x 3' always blooming, same with own-root Radio Times ... so I'll tame own-root Young Lycidas.

Hi Lynn (desertgarden): I gave away 1st Pat Austin since I was sick of watering it everyday in hot summer. Folks complain about Pat's weak neck. Below is the best Pat can be, this is the 2nd Pat that I keep in 4 hours morning sun, with non-stop spring rain.

I'll report what Ingrid wrote about what's the best roses in dry heat: "At Barona, I thought it would be a good idea to visit there in the heat of summer and see which roses were doing well at this time of the year. For the most part the Austin roses as compared to the HT's, floribundas and shrub roses put on a poor show, either very large bushes with almost no flowers or gangly little specimens with one or two fried blooms. The following were the standouts among the Austins:

Lilian Austin (very nice bush, very floriferous)
Mary Magdalene
The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild
William Shakespeare 2000(no loss of color)
Miss Alice (small but shapely bush)
Anne Boleyn (almost white in the heat but still nice)
Sophy's Rose
Charles Darwin
Abraham Darby (had a few big blooms)

Of the modern roses the unquestionable standout for me was Yves Piaget with huge, many-petaled blooms... Others I really liked and which were blooming beautifully in the heat were Midnight Blue, A Change of Heart, The Impostor, Watercolors, Fragrant Plum, Daybreaker (beautiful shrub and lots of flowers) and Our Lady of Guadalupe." Ingrid.

*** From Straw: I have Mary Magdalene (too pricky, flowers fade to white/black in hot sun). I killed Lilian Austin since it poked me .. it has a glowing deep pink color, nice scent, nice for landscape, but not for cut-flowers. I gave away Charles Darwin since color fades to beige, needs acidic soil to bloom well. I have W.S. 2000, does best in morning sun only.

Success with Austin roses in my climate (and I've tried quite a few):

--By far, Evelyn is the best Austin rose for me. Takes little care and blooms constantly when it's not hellish hot outside.
--Molineux is a good rose for here.
--My mother has has good luck with Fair Bianca in this area.
--Abraham Darby is so so
--Golden Celebration just does not do well for me.
--The Pilgrim, planted this winter, died for no reason that I can figure out.
--The Dark Lady was good this spring but it remains to be seen if it will make it through the summer

There are others but those are the ones I recall right now.

Lynn,

I am in Fort Bend County Texas - SW of Houston. It depends what you consider to be success, but the Austins that have survived here with very minimal care are: Abraham Darby, Falstaff, Christopher Marlowe, Graham Thomas, and Teasing Georgia. I may have others but those are the ones that come to mind at the moment. I killed Pat Austin by not watering well enough while she was trying to get established. None of them retain good foliage through the summer and the blooms tend to be small during the hottest months. However this is true of many of my roses that are not Old Garden types. Also Teasing Georgia has always been more of a dark cream color than the yellow I see in the catalogues. Again, they get very little attention: no spraying, only compost and mulch for feeding and almost no watering even in drought years, so to me survival is success!

porkpal,

That is great information for folks in South and East Texas. Thank you for sharing. I believe what can also be gleaned from your info. is the varieties you listed have some heat tolerance and are fairly carefree because they survive in your garden with minimal input.

Joshtx, I believe, is definitely north of you so he gets the heat and I assume less humidity. He highly recommends Heritage; however, in comparison, I think that he is a little less laid back in his gardening approach. Could be worth a try if you like it and are searching for a new Austin; possibly a true test for the survival abilities of that rose.

Lynn

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 15:07

Hi Lynn: For my pH 7.7 heavy clay garden, plus Cantigny Rose park of 1,200 roses (alkaline loamy) ... we average 40" of rain in summer, plus 23" of snow... Austins give a great spring flush from the melted snow & rain. After that they look like what Ingrid described earlier.

The rose park's Austins shut down during hot summer, except for Eglantyne (rugosa heritage). They water their roses frequently with alkaline water. Most my Austins bloom better if I put vinegar in my pH 8 tap water to bring down to rain water (pH 5.6).

I forgot to put sulfur in the planting hole of Charles Darwin and it was stingy the 1st year, My W.S. 2000, Pat Austin, Queen of Sweden, Golden Cel., and Wise Portia do best in partial shade and morning sun. Pat Austin blooms fry no matter how much water given, if NOT in partial shade. See below Pat Austin that I gave away:

This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 15:37

Since no one from the Pacific North West has chimed in...here I come.
Golden Celebration- planted 6/2012. 8 hrs sun per day. Just finished its second bloom cycle. lovely large blooms, 6' tall by 3 wide - light scent. No BS so far. Healthy.
Abraham Darby - planted ~5/2009. 6 hrs sun per day. Just entering its 3rd bloom flush - bloom machine. Light apricot blooms 4' tall by 4' wide, light scent, No BS. Healthy. Fountain shape.
Mary Magdalene - planted June 2012 - 2 different bushes in 2 different locations. Both are extremely wimpy. Beautiful petal ping huge blossoms. Each allowed one bloom a season. The rest are removed to encourage bush growth. Not working so far.
Gertrude Jekyl - planted 7/09 - 2 different bushes in 2 locations. One full sun one 8 hrs of sun. Both are covered with hundreds of blooms each spring. Extremely fragrant. Both get some kind of crud in the spring if June is rainey. Like this year. Leaves then drop and new ones grow. No affect on vigor. Some blooms until first frost.
Crown Princess Margarett - planted 7/09. Two different bushes in different locations. The rest of info same as Gallopping Gertie except less fragrance.
Jude the Obscure- planted 7/09. Sunshine 6 hours per day. The ruffled petals are lovely. Such a delicate looking rose. Just entering its second flush. Bush size is 3' by 3'. Took a while to settle in.
Prospero - planted 8/12. Taking its time to settle in so no comment.
I fertilize with horse manure and occasionally alfalfa pellets. Those roses who are not doing well get a manure tea bath at least 2x per year. That's where I put things like Epsom salt, chicken manure, kelp, molasses, and fish trimmings that have brewed in h2o for a week. They probably grow due to the smell alone.

Jeannie2009, lol.

Oh my, that is some concoction you brew:)

I had started researching the benefits of kelp meal, became side tracked, and never finished.

It appears that Austin's are pretty happy in the PNW, but somehow I am not surprised.

Okay, I must ask... the manure tea bath.. what is the protocol for it? Fish trimmings???

Lynn

Strawberryhill,

I looked at my order for Austin's. I have already ordered Harlow Carr, Munstead Wood and Young Lycidas. I had to rule Pat Austin out because it will just be too small for the area, which takes me back to Crown Princess Margareta or Crepuscule; a non-Austin. I began experimenting with Austin's about 12 years ago and I must say it took a lot of trial and error to figure out what to do so they would survive from July - August, early September. It is those two and a half or three months out of an approximate 9 month growing season that make or break roses here.

Fortunately most have not required 6 hours of full sun here. I give that amount of sun and then some to Glamis Castle because unfortunately, she is going to a new home or bye bye in a couple of months.

Sometime this week I must add Crown Princess Margareta to my order or search for a Crepuscule.

Lynn

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 18:30

Crepuscule does very well for me (Gulf Coast). She Has grown explosively, keeps her leaves and blooms repeatedly.

There was a thread of the 5 roses that one HATE, Cynthia with hundreds of roses, alkaline loamy soil, dry Midwest region, listed Harlow Carr as her most hated rose. While researching on that rose, I came across others who hate that rose for small blooms and nasty prickles.

I stupidly bought roses that people reported traits that I don't like ... but I forgot and read Austin catalog instead. In the HMF comment section, someone deleted the 1st negative report on Harlow Carr, but another person wrote:

"I agree....absolutely covered in thorns! First year in the ground and growth is very vigorous, twiggy, full to the ground, and constantly covered with clusters of perfect small 2" pink fragrant flowers. I am disappointed with the bloom size though, and flowers blow fast. No disease at all--sprayed only once--and that makes it a keeper. Too flimsy and thorny for vase use.
9-09 Updated...We had a very humid, rainy August and this rose did blackspot/defoliate despite spraying. I may not keep HC because of the thorn issue....the canes and branches snag eachother and bunch up with any breeze or wind. You can't get near the bush without getting super-prickeled...it's not worth it.
12-2011---Must be sprayed --- and I couldn't take the unbelievable prickles anymore----gone".

***** From Strawberry: The Austin prickles were not bad 1st year, I didn't notice them on own-root Mary Magdalene and Radio Times. Now in their 3rd year, their prickles get larger, and I HATE THEM. I can't cut any for the vase without getting poked in my fingers ... prickles are all the way up to the bloom. I can't sniff them on the bush either! It becomes dangerous pruning them, and a nuisance to pick up the branches. Thank God they are small as own-root in zone 5a.

But if I find roses that smell better than both, I kill both.

This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Sun, Aug 11, 13 at 21:20

Strawberryhill, it s so dry that during my 12 years of gardening here, I believe I have seen black spot once. It is aphids and spider mites that I have to deal with. I just ignore the bites the leaf cutter beetles take out of my leaves. I wanted a medium pink bush that would not become too large and it needed to compliment a Bishops Castle, the OGR's in the area, and be heat tolerant of course for July and August . I was pulling my hair out, and selected this rose primarily based upon size, color, and out of frustration. I just was not able to find another pink rose for that area.

Hi Desert Garden..
ok this is my idea of what should go into manure tea:
I use a 100 gallon horse trough. Put in what I happen to have on hand:
chicken manure from neighbor who has...chickens.
1/2 a jar of molasses
2-3 cups of Epsom salts
some old alfalfa which is stringy and not good for the horses
its salmon season..so when I clean them up outside..the scales, fins, etc goes in the trough
kelp...from the shore...rinse well to get off the salt...chop a bit...into the brew.
Fill with water cover with plywood and let stand in sunny spot for a week.
Drain off liquid into pails and pour on roses. It really works. If this stuff doesn't get your bushes growing nothing will. The residue goes to the compost pile. Keep in mind that I live in a rural area and the tea and compost are far from people...smelly stuff.
I believe that this brew provides the trace nutrients which commercial fertilizers miss. NPK are important, but so is calcium, magnesium, etc. Since it rains a lot in the winter and we have glacial rock for soil, many necessary nutrients are washed away annually.
Just my method and I'm sure there are many others which work better for others.

I live about 70 miles east of San Francisco. The climate here is bone dry all summer, no rain, and almost no humidity, and this summer has been very hot. I am completely no-spray, and I've been pretty lazy this year - only mulched and fertilized in March.

Mary Rose, in her 5th year now was spectacular in spring. In summer she has done much of nothing.

2 Young Lycidas', about 2 years old each. They are heavenly. They have produced throughout the heat, the flowers are beautiful, dark purplish, and heavenly fragranced. I'm seriously in love with this rose.

Princess Alexandra of Kent is in her 2nd year, and may have even surpassed Young Lycidas in her performance. Her flowers are huge (for DA's), and stunning. Not much for fragrance, but I'm really impressed with her.

CPM and Teasing Georgia are both over 3 years old now, and have done very little here. May be my fault of not pampering them more and they probably need more water than I'm giving them. Flowers are very pretty when they have them. They've been quite stingy about producing flowers though.

Christopher Marlow and The Mayflower are only a year old (but bought as 2 year plants), and I've been quite happy with both. Neither has any fragrance to speak of, both are fairly small flowered, but both have flowers most of the time.

Others (about 6 more varieties) also than 2 years old, are just too early to say anything about. Except Sharifa Asma whose fragrance is heaven. And Munstead Wood who I think will be wonderful - the spring flowers were gorgeous.

Hi Lynn: Francis Blaise is a small-pink bush, low-thorn, compact, that gives me twice more bloom than my heavy producer (Evelyn). Francis Blaise bloomed during last year 100 degrees drought. Liv Tyler is compact, but big thorns that point downward, no poking so far.

Most of my 15 own-root Austins are in their 3rd year, I don't spray. My soil is alkaline clay, pH 7.7. No black spots, except Eglantyne (Rugosa heritage hates my alkaline clay), and Radio Times (moved recently, put too much sulfur in the hole). Radio Times was clean prior to the move.

Christopher Marlowe scent increases in his 3rd year, unique lemon scent, quite strong. Mary Magdalene likes my alkaline clay, scent is wonderful like frankincense if I don't lower the pH. One time I put acid fertilizer on Mary M. and the scent was gone, I have to scrape off the fertilizer and water profusely with my pH 8 tap water to get the scent back.

Here is how I feel about my DA roses in my garden which gets no winter cold, a dry summer with some punishing hot dry winds in late summer/fall.

Everything seems to have a good spring flush after 4 or 5 years in the ground. Most have a few repeats after that but Many want to be octopus plants and not want to rebloom. They all need more water to repeat flower than my other kinds of roses need. French bred roses with the many petals and cupped shapes have an easier time reblooming here.

Best reblooming DAs out of the ones I tried so far-

Ambridge Rose - Just the best here. Changes color depending on the weather and blooms all year long.

Charlotte - A good handsome plant that reblooms when you keep the old flowers cut off

The Shepehrdess- Just as good as Charlotte but a shorter plant

Tamora- A good short plant and no long arms ever

Scepter'd Isle- Took a while, but now a very good rebloomer, throws out long wide arms and blooms on the ends and then later on short wood coming up off the arms.

The next best bloomers

Abe Darby- This rose own root is a low fountain for me and a semi climber on Dr. Huey. It will rust if you don't keep the foliage dry. In late fall the old leaves rust anyway. This rose has some of the best scented flowers and the most beautiful colors. My semi climber is tied up on a trellis to keep the long arms off the path. On my favorite perfumed roses list for it's fruity sweet scent.

Shakespeare 2000- Too alkaline here for an own root but own roots grew well potted up. The own root potted ones bloomed more than the Dr. Huey ones but eventually my Dr. Huey one in the ground is doing better as he ages. This rose is a flopper. I had two do poorly when I let them sprawl but this third one is tied up to a support and is making a nice plant at last. It wants water to bloom.

St. Cecelia- Almost as pretty as Kathryn Morely but blooms more often. A tall bush but no octopus canes as an own root. Not constantly blooming but a nice amount when she does repeat.

Mary rose and her sports- This rose hates my soil but is a nice rose own root in a pot and repeats as long as you never let the soil go dry.

Heritage- I like this rose best own root and you can keep it cut short or let it build into a semi climber. It has smooth canes and lemony scented flowers. You have to keep watering this plant or it will stop blooming. Some versions of this are better than others so if you get a dud, keep shopping until you get a good one.

Sharifa Asma- This rose wasn't the best bloomer but it did bloom pretty well without extra water. The blended color in late day light was outstanding. It just never wowed me in the shape like some of the others did although it did have a pleasant honey scent to the perfume. It never grew out of proportion. I know this is some people's favorite, maybe I didn't plant it in the right spot.

Stingy bloomers here-

I keep these because they are outstanding in some way and I'm happy to wait around for the eventual flowers ( but they all have a good spring bloom)

Kathryn Morely- One of my favorites for color and shape. My ideal wedding photo rose. This rose is so lovely and blooms in sprays. It's a tall plant. Cutting it down never made it rebloom for me. As it got older, it would put out flowers when we got cooler weather and just a few here and there whenever it felt like it. It remains green and disease free. A good privacy screen.

Huntington rose- This is more like a climber and has a high quality sweet perfume to go along with the fantastic flower shape. It blooms now and again. My neighbors almost killed it with roundup and I was so mad about that. When it blooms, the blooms are perfect. I wonder if this rose would do better spread out on a trellis or a fence.

Jude the Obscure- This one it just depends on the weather as to how it reblooms and some years are better than others. If it only spring bloomed, I would still have it because there is no other rose that smells like it and the scent can be changeable but always amazing. I put it on my top 5 list of great perfumed roses.

Othello- This guy will take his time to bloom and he is a thorny octopus. He is as stingy as Kathryn with a nice spring bloom. But....the flowers are the best. Wonderful color and shape and strong delicious perfume. Every now and then in the summer, he blooms and I remember why he's here. I put another one in morning sun and he likes it better there. Still an octopus, but I'm bending the arms down to see if I get flowers along them. Very large and thorny plant.

Thank you, Kittymoonbeam, for your input on Austins in alkaline clay. I agree with all you wrote. W.S. 2000 was wimpy as own-root the 1st year, until I moved him to 4 hours of morning sun, and fixed the soil to be more acidic. Weak-neck and thin-stemmed Austin bloom better with added potassium. I save all my banana peels for the droopy ones like Pat Austin and W.S. 2000.

Crown Princess Magareta is vigorous and can take chemicals (potassium sulfate, salt index 43). But other hot-sun-sensitive Austins prefer banana peels, zero salt.

Jeannie2009, Your tea makes perfect sense to me.
I have used manure, alfalfa pellets, and epsom salt regularly in previous gardens. Broken up alfalfa pellets and epsom salt have been placed in my current garden during mid February. I have been researching and reading great things about kelp meal, and Strawberryhill recommends the use of molasses too. I have yet to research molasses in terms of my garden's specifics and am still awaiting my soil testing results.

In regards to the stench, I would place it in a large plastic trash can for a week covered. It will smell; but it is only a week....and will be placed in the most neutral place hoping to stifle the odor from spreading.

How much water and manure do you tend to use? I am trying to glean the consistency of the mix.

Thank you for the information.

I live on Long Island (NY), where summers are humid and winters can be severe. Blackspot is rampant here and most roses defoliate almost completely if I don't spray. Going into the winter, they are less healthy, and then I get a lot of die back, which is pruned in the spring. After some of our recent harsh winters (and not spraying), most of my roses are not as large as they used to be.

I grow a number of Austins. Here, I find that Heritage and LIllian Austin do quite well, even without spraying. My next best performers without spray include Scepter'd Isle, Pat Austin, Jude the Obscure, Sharifa Asma, William Shakespeare 2000, John Clare and Sophy's Rose. Golden Celebration and Abe Darby put on a nice show at first, then become ugly, barren looking plants the rest of the season. With little attention the last few years, the following Austins died: Molineux, Pretty Jessica, The Prince. Ambridge Rose is less than 12 inches tall.

This year, my renewed interest in gardening has resulted in me giving my roses lots of attention: watering, feeding and spraying fungicide. These are the Austin roses that have performed very well this season: my grafted Abe Darby, Jude, Golden Celebration, Scepter'd Isle, LIllian Austin. Actually, Scepter'd Isle has blown me away with it's constancy of blooms. I have decided to move Sharifa Asma to a location where it will receive more care, as this rose has amazing potential.

In my (fairly limited) experience, grafted Austins tend to do better in my garden than own root. They have been more vigorous. That vigor allows them to put on more growth during the season so that when there is die back from winter, come spring...there is still some rose left. From now on, I will likely buy only grafted Austins. And I am going to start with Evelyn. I have drooled over pictures of her for years and the recent descriptions of her scent on the forums have me curious. So, next spring, I plan to get a bare root Evelyn and give her a premier spot. I can't wait!!

Thanks for the nice thread! Shelley

We haven't had many folks chiming in from cold zones, but the short version of my response is that Austins in my zone are a lot like Kate describes. Really, for me Austins are generally trouble free and hardy in zone 5 without disease problems. They seem to like my weather - love the heat in the summer and don't mind the cold winters, and show appreciation for as much water as they can get but survive the drought fine (just don't bloom). I really expected them to be fussy-pants roses for me, but except for an annoying tendency to have hidden canker I have to trim back in spring (DON'T assume those healthy looking canes are really healthy in zone 5 - the Generous Gardener often needs 6' of cane pruned back) they are among my most idiot-proof bushes, right after Lim Easy Elegance and Kordes roses. I have way better luck with own-root than grafted roses, and virtually the only roses that have died have been grafted from DA roses. The only wimps I can think of have been Othello, Prospero, and Jubilee Celebration, but I bet you anything they'd do fine own-root from someone else.

Oh, and before I get to the list, I am no-spray (except maybe Liquid Fence), I winter protect most everything but the Austins survive regardless, and I'm dry and hot in summer, cold in winter, with deep watering every 1-2 weeks. None of the Austins blackspot very much for me, though some HTs will defoliate the only Austin that might for me is Pat Austin and it's perfectly fine at recovering from that.

Also, as Strawberry mentioned, the one and only rose I've ever shovel pruned was Harlow Carr, not because of its prickles (I've long since gotten immune to that) but because I didn't like the flowers or bush habit. The blooms were tiny and looked like mums, and the bush had scruffy twiggy arms that looked bare even when full of leaves. Granted, this was in its first 3 years, and others further west have loved it, so it may do much better in your desert conditions. It's not a bad rose, but it didn't look anything like the pictures and is much smaller bloom than other Austins for me.

Sorry for the length of this, but I grow a lot of Austins - feel free to ask for more specifics if your eyes glaze over at this kind of list like mine do (smile):

Cynthia

Climbers for me:
Crown Princess Margareta: constantly putting out spaghetti-thin arms that I finally wised up and wound around an obelisk. Now it blooms profusely in June and fall but not much between. Very hardy and easy to train as a climber
Teasing Georgia (grafted): absolutely tip hardy and 6 years old, freestanding at around 8 feet of drooping canes, would love to climb on something if I get around to it, 2 of them rebloom all summer, one in part shade and one in part shade AND a zone 4 pocket! - what's not to love?
The Generous Gardener: not really a climber but it happened to be planted under my main arch in the backyard and reaches up into the arch when it blooms (maybe 6-8 feet). This one is mostly a once-bloomer for me, with some sporadic fall bloom, and it's notorious for needing trimming down with hidden canker from winter kill, but bouncing back with a vengeance. I wouldn't replant it if it died, but it serves its purpose in spring and is hidden by EarthSong the rest of the summer after it blooms.

Bloom taller than I can reach (I’m 5'9") if I let them but not quite climbers because they’re upright growth for me, good rebloom, hardy & healthy:
Carding Mill (grafted): have two of these, one in my zone 4 pocket and it blooms reliably though not all that profusely
Queen of Sweden (grafted): have two of these, the one in my zone 6 pocket is much larger and better blooming than the one in my zone 4 pocket that took ages to established, though planted at the same time. Very tall and narrow
Scepter’d Isle: huge and blooms all summer in my prime zone 6 pocket, and it shows me the difference in Austins that get enough water. During the drought it was right by the faucet and got all the extra run-off, and it was only one of maybe 5 roses that bloomed midsummer.
The Alnwick Rose: should be comparable to SI above, but in more part-shade locations and it blooms off and on in the summer, without the bonus water and only weekly rain/sprinkler when needed
Heritage: huge and broad in a part-shade location - at least 7' by 5' wide if I let it, frequent bloomer and trouble free in shade, tip hardy for me, benefits from a serious height prune mid-year but doesn’t put out octopus arms per se
Spirit of Freedom: not actually higher than I can reach (probably 5-6') but would be taller if it weren’t in part shade. Blooms off & on but not as exciting without the extra water

Molineux: in its fifth year and has increased its frequency and volume of bloom each year. Now reliably reblooms most of the summer, and is 4'X4' in a hot sun reflected heat environment

Pat Austin: right next to Molineux and also in 5th year, but not as frequent a bloom or as large. Might get up to 4' tall but narrow and not bushy. I think this one gets more BS than most of my Austins.

Sharifa Asma: stays shortish and round, maybe 3.5' tall and wide, in the same bed as Molineux and PA above, blooms more than PA but a little less than M, also 5 years old

Benjamin Britten: this one is five years old and TINY - maybe 2 feet - pale pink instead of coral, and probably mislabeled

Eglantine: like BB, this one is five years old and TINY - maybe 2 feet - white instead of pale pink, and probably mislabeled (from the same source)

Happy Child: now 5 years old and a very small band to start with. Thought I’d never see blooms, but it now blooms off and on all summer. Not a favorite but stays short (3-4') and not a problem child

Pretty Jessica (grafted on multiflora): has stayed 3-4 feet as advertised but not all that frequent a bloomer in decent sun, nice blooms and healthy so again not a problem

Tamora (grafted): 5 years old in my zone 4 pocket, part sun, and it is reliably hardy, but I keep waiting for mine to even approach the brilliance of Harryshoe's plant. Nice flowers when you get them, but I suspect it wants more sun than it'll get, since I only move plants if they REALLLY annoy me. This one might get a little BS for me.

Tradescant: 5 years old, long gangly arms that didn't fit at all in the front bed where I had it so I moved it to the back of the bed and of COURSE it then stopped blooming much at all for the past three years (see why being lazy is such a benefit?) - lovely dark pink/purple blooms when I can get them

The Dark Lady (grafted): 6 years old, hanging out where I should have left Tradescant, also wider than it is tall - maybe 3-4' tall with canes that stretch out a total of 6 feet (but loose enough not to fill up that space). Happiest rambling around more bushy and frequently blooming roses

William Shakespeare 2000 (grafted): my largest dark "purple" Austin, 6 years old in prime sun location it used to bloom off & on all summer but is getting shaded out a bit by other plants. Still blooms throughout the summer and is maybe 4-5' tall and 3-4' wide

Crocus Rose: 4 years old in part shade and I can only recall a few blooms here and there. Nice form and hardy, but stays short in that location (below 3'). Probably would be taller in more sun

The Alexandra Rose: arrived as a mistake from a mail order 6 years ago, and only keeps her garden space because she rambles around others with loose flexible canes without causing problems. I forget she's there and she mostly blooms in spring and fall, definitely not the rose that got me to love singles (credit goes to Paul Ecke & Watercolors there)

Too young to bloom much or know their mature size but reliably hardy over at least one winter & healthy:
Darcy Bussell - REALLY like the color of blooms on this one in part shade and it has the dark "pink/purple" classic Austin color on a (so far) 2-3' plant.
The Prince - very near Darcy Bussell in part shade and same habit, but 3 years old and not as frequent a bloomer
Graham Thomas, also Charles Darwin - on its 3rd year in prime location and has started putting out periodic blooms all summer, maybe 3-4 feet so far
Mary Rose - in its third year and starting to bloom a bit off and on, about 3-4' tall so far
Pegasus - handled my zone 4 pocket just fine for 2 winters, some blooms this summer
Abraham Darby
Golden Celebration
Jude the Obscure
Lady of Shalott
Portmeiron
The Mayflower
Gertrude Jekyll
Anne Boleyn

Nipptress and Shellflur

Thank you so much for chiming in. I believe that gardeners in cold climates on this forum can glean a lot from the information presented by you both:)

I have one question for you if you do not mind:
1. How would you describe your soil including whether or not it is acidic or alkaline?

In my case, I have loamy clay that has been amended for about 8 years with compost and leaves. Under conditions with enough water, I can scratch with my fingers to replace bulbs I've dug up by mistake down to about a foot, but in drought like now I have trouble getting a shovel in more than a few inches. It's pretty alkaline soil, but not as bad as out west, since roses grafted on multiflora don't die on me (mostly).

Cynthia

DesertGarden, my soil is pretty decent. It's easy to dig, a bit sandy so the drainage is good. I amend with organics: soil from our compost pile, bagged manure, mulch on the top. My soil tends toward acidic. At least, I think so because all of my hydrangeas are bright blue. Lol

Thank you all for contributing:) I believe that anyone who is searching for the best Austin's to grow in their area, should be able to use the information provided in this thread as a good point of reference.

You all are the best!!!

Lynn

I stumbled upon this info. from the Rose Magazine and thought I would add it to this thread. These are recommended Austin's for the PNW.

" From the perspective of a typical rose gardener there are ten which have stood up to the rigorous elements of the Pacific Northwest: Sweet Juliet, Othello, Abraham Darby, Heritage, Graham Thomas, Pat Austin, Pegasus, Golden Celebration, The Ambridge Rose and Constance Spry. These roses are tough".

Lynn

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Thu, Aug 15, 13 at 1:19

Chiming in from lower Zone 8b near Charleston SC, where winters are mild and summers days and nights are hot and humid...

I've grown a few Austins over the past 13 years. I spray fungicide every other week. My definition of black spot magnet is a bush that gets the spot even with regular spray.

Among the best:

Teasing Georgia -- black spot resistant, huge bush, major bloom in spring and a smaller flush in fall. I grew TG as no-spray for most of the season. By late August, it would have some black spot, however it did not defoliate. It was slow to grow for the first 2 years, but after that, it was very vigorous.

The Generous Gardener -- black spot resistant, very vigorous climber, big spring flush of bloom, sporadic bloom in summer and fall.

The Dark Lady -- small bush, lots of bloom, quick repeat on the blooms, blackspot resistant. The blooms are big fat cupcakes.

Abraham Darby -- large bush, no black spot with regular spray, good repeat bloom

Tamora -- blackspot resistant, good repeat bloom, small bush

Gertrude Jekyll -- Dramatic spring bloom, very few in fall. Wonderful fragrance. Bush grows tall, upright. The thorniest rose in my garden.

Crown Princess Margareta -- Black spot-resistant. Good repeat bloom. Vigorous, but not an octopus-type.

Evelyn -- A prima dona, but the blooms are to die for. The bush is tall and gangly, but all is forgiven when it blooms.

Other Austins:

Jude the Obscure -- I've had this in the garden twice -- 2003-5 and 2010-present, all own root bushes. The bushes have been slow to develop into full shrubs. Fragrant blooms.

Pat Austin -- so-so. The bush is spindly and the blooms are too heavy for their stems and hang their heads.

Charity -- Blackspot magnet. Wants to be an enormous bush. Sends up long canes. Heavy spring bloom, occasional bloom through summer and fall.

Anne Boleyn -- Spindly bush, stingy with the bloom.

Fair Bianca -- Love the flat-face white blooms and the licorice fragrance. Wish the bush were more vigorous.

Shropshire Lad -- For such a big fat bush, it's stingy with the bloom. Not many in the spring, even less in the fall. Fortunately it develops into a good looking shrub -- which makes up for its lack of bloom.

Krista_4 how do you maintain your Alnwick rose? Mine isn't doing so well. Last spring it only bloomed for about a week, and didn't emit too much fragrance.

What a fun thread! I have a weakness for Austins because of their wonderful scent. I don't spray, and surprisingly, all my Austins have been clean here with very pretty, glossy foliage. This is in contrast to other roses in the garden which get black spot and PM. Here in the SF bay (mid-peninsula area) I have:

Lady Emma Hamilton - this is my favourite rose!! Gorgeous colour and amazing, fruity scent. Love, love this rose. Stays small and compact.

Sharifa Asma - doesn't bloom much for me and doesn't like strong sunlight (fries) so was moved to part shade. Scent is very good though

Strawberry Hill - Usually has 1-2 blooms most of the time. I didn't like the myrrh in the beginning, but now I do. Very pretty leaves, so even when it isn't in bloom, it looks nice.

Charles Darwin - bleaches out which is a bummer, but has a heavenly lemon scent.

Evelyn - Wonderful flowers, amazing scent. Tall and stands up to the heat. Usually has 1-2 blooms.

Crown Princess Margareta - doesn't seem to like too much sun. Flowers fry all the time in the current SW exposure, so i think I need to move it. This is the 3rd year I've had it and it has stayed small. Don't know whether because of hot location.

A Shropshire Lad - I had this in part shade, but didn't do anything. Then I dug it up and put it in the pot ghetto when I was moving plants. To my surprise, it has done really really well. Lots of flowers (more sun) and scrumptious ones too. Beautiful, graceful form. Mine could easily be a climber but looks good as a tall shrub too. This is the only Austin which has shown slight signs of PM, but I just sprayed hard with water and so far it has overcome it.

I love the Austins because they are so beautiful and romantic and smell so good. Although they don't rebloom as well as my other roses, I really appreciate the flowers when I do get them.

Btw, I'd like to give a shout out to a non-antique rose which has been a complete trooper in my garden! Bronze Star is a gorgeous, orange rose with frilly petals and a luscious scent. And it blooms and blooms and blooms! No blackspot or PM either in my no-spray garden. Looks wonderful planted with blue delphiniums and lime zinnias.

Pootpoot, I use organic fertilizers and topdressings. I lightly rake the soil with both long handle and hand rakes. I love Alnwick, one of my best rebloomers.

For me, here in hot, relatively low-humidity Dallas:

Heritage - vigorous, tall-growing. Very nice scent. Not thornless, but very low-thorned compared to the average rose. Blooms don't last long, but are very nice. Self-cleaning plant. Blooms go from perfect to gone in a beautiful flash, with no need to deadhead.

Golden Celebration - one of the most beautiful bloom colors to me and I really like the cupped form of this one. Some black spot, but not terrible. Scent to die for. A must have rose for me.

Pretty Jessica - yep, I like it, lol.

Randy

Here in the high desert/transitional grassland of Albuquerque, I've never been impressed with the Austins at the ABQ rose garden. They are planted in part shade, and the petals are always fried. The best looking one isn't labelled. That being said...

Gertrude Jekyll - grown by a friend, and well loved by him. Blooms well for one flush, not really reblooming. His is over 12 feet tall and a wicked thorny monster.

Winchester Cathedral (own root) - Did well in a pot, but not growing over 1' tall (photo). Flowers dirty pinkish fading to white (sometimes white on opening in certain weather) just before petals fall. Did better in ground but then I moved, so don't know what happened.

Fair Bianca (own root) - never grew more than a spindly 18" tall in ground after 3 years and richly prepared soil, 2-3 flushes in the summer of only a few flowers each bush. Holds onto deadheads. I yanked that puppy.

William Shakespeare 2000 (own root) - too soon to tell yet, new this year, but so far seems to want to grow in a swamp in partial shade. Sulks without WET soil, and leaves turn yellow in full sun. Flowers last only a day or two once opened, then petals fry and drop.

But I keep hoping...

Lynn, I live in a mostly similar to you situation. inland sw18 z9-10 alkaline clay, chaparral-ish.

I've had really good luck with James Galway (big healthy bush taller than me!).... and Jude the Obscure, William Shakespeare 2000 and Carding Mill have also done pretty well for me. (pretty well meaning = haven't died, have grown some, look healthy and bloom a lot.) All are from DA grafted.

Another Pacific Nor'wester here..

I actually extended my Austin collection recently, but they're bands so I won't attest to those varieties' hardiness or growth habits...the only one that seems to be wimpy is Perdita, but it may just need time.

The large, established Austins I have are only 4, and I count one giant horse of a spring band among them:

Jude the Obscure: grafted on Dr. Huey, nice habit, blooms a lot and smells amazing but....for some reason it just does very little for me. It gets a touch of PM, but never gets overrun with it and I don't spray a lot. I just get tired of the nodding, the refusal to open if it's foggy, and the almost immediate shattering. I also don't really like the color until it turns peachy. I really want to love this rose...I only kind of "like" it.

Jubilee Celebration: grafted on Dr. Huey and virused straight from DA...but it grows and blooms its fool head off!!!! If it didn't have such a weird habit with canes straight up, and canes flopping down...it would be in top contention for my favorite. It constantly has blooms and buds all over it and they're huge and gorgeous...but they nod terribly in soite of being fairly long-lived.. Nice raspberry fragrance but not overwhelming...highly disease resistant.

James Galway: own root from Heirloom, I have this one in a big half-barrel. I planted it the first week of April and it's nearly 5' tall now, with all kinds of canes going up and arching over. Blooms quite a bit, not real smelly and no vase life..but unbelievably charming. I just love it. This one has also been highly disease resistant.

Lady Emma Hamilton: my favorite. Grafted on Dr. Huey, I grow it in a pot. It makes a perfectly-rounded little shrub but needs sprayed or else it looks ratty. It blooms in flushes, but when it does it's unreal and I like the scent as much as JTO and the flower much more.

PM and cercospora or anthracnose are much more of a problem here than BS, at least in my micro climate. I've also seen some suspected downy mildew. Although none of them are 100% immune, I find the Austins are in the top tier of overall health and vigor in my yard. I just get tired of the nodding and shattering, my chief complaint with them. I like to go to a nursery nearby that stocks probably 50-60 of DA's varieties and see how they look outside the catalog. Some of them have absolutely awful growth habits that I could see needing a lot of work on the part of the gardener to turn them into something attractive. All the blooms are gorgeous, though.

I am successfully growing Eglantyne in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada! Frigid winters, hot, wet summers. American zone 4b, she should not be doing well but she is surviving and just a little black spot even without spraying as I should. I cut her back to the ground - completely - every few years to keep her in check. The canes get to be about 4 feet tall, and I have blooms from spring until after the first frost. It is not unusual for a blossom to freeze on the bush. Lovely classic rose scent, and so many petals. I have it planted in my back garden, which is somewhat protected, and make sure it stays covered with snow until the spring. That is the only winter protection except for a little cocoa husk mulch that I keep on it year round. I break some rules, but have experimented and the rose is happy.

So far this season the end of July Pat Austin No bs & Munstead wood no bs a little on Eglantine & Pretty Jessica. It's been an odd Summer so many roses that areusually dropping their leaves are in great shape

First, let me say that I'm in central Italy, not the USA.

Normally, at the end of July we would expect that our temperatures should be at least 30 - 35 degrees C or more (85 - 95 F) from mid-June until the end of August with no rain since, at least, the beginning of June until the end of August.

However, this year is like no other. Last winter wasn't cold, it rained constantly until mid-May and it's now raining three or four times a week at the end of July - absolutely unheard of - it's raining as I write this, and today our top temperature was 21 degrees! So, how has this affected my roses? Well, blackspot is the major problem.

My rose garden is only two years old. The first two Austins I planted were a St. Swithun climbing rose against the south-facing stone wall of the house and a Golden Celebration planted in full sun. These were both 2 year old grafted plants.

For me, 'full sun' means that in Summer sunrise is between 5:30 and 6:00 am and sunset is about 8:30 - 9:00 pm. There is no shade for any of my roses (apart from the one against the South-facing stone wall) - they're in 'full sun' all day.

St. Swithun has almost reached the top of the 4 metre (13 feet) South facing stone wall of the house. It was planted in mid-May 2012. Despite its location the pale pink blooms are prolific from April until November. It really doesn't seem to stop blooming until very late November. The perfume of the blooms is wonderful (I like the myrrh fragrance) and it is a healthy plant, apart from some BS problems with our ridiculously humid weather this year. The flowers do not fade, even though they are a pale pink. However, it has the most hideous prickles of any of my roses. They really are vicious and I have to wear leather gauntlets when dealing with it. The other negative comment I have about St. Swithun is that the blooms don't fall off the plant when they've finished flowering - they stay there, dead, brown and ugly! I have to use a broom to knock them off. Because of the height of the rose I've had to spend a fortune on a ladder that's tall enough for me to take my life into my hands and prune it!

Golden Celebration is, perhaps, my favourite DA rose. My grafted version is about 1.5 metres high with a diameter that is at least the same as its height. It is covered in blooms all Summer long and is normally disease free but, this year it has some BS. The fragrance of Golden Celebration is the most pleasing to me.

Other DA roses I have -

A hedge of Queen of Sweden roses (100 plants) - the most healthy of all my DA roses. Planted bare root in January 2013, they now form a hedge about 1.2 - 1.5 metres in height that flower constantly from the end of April until November. A delightful myrrh fragrance. I can't think of anything negative about the Queen of Sweden.

An own-root Teasing Georgia bought in May 2013 in a 2.5 litre pot which is now over 1 metre tall and perhaps 1.5 metres in diameter. It has flowered constantly since mid April. At the moment it has some black spot, but it is smothered in blooms. I find its fragrance very elusive.

An own-root Golden Celebration, also bought in May 2013 in a 2.5 litre pot which is not as vigorous as Teasing Georgia but is healthy and floriferous.

A 2 year old grafted Lichfield Angel, planted in June 2013, mid-Summer (never a good idea - but it was a gift). It is already a 1.5 metre tall x 1.5 metre diameter plant covered in enormous blooms. For me the only negative about this plant is the lack of any fragrance - at least, I can't detect any.

A grafted Wildeve - I love the bloom form - but I should have paid more attention to the catalogue where it said that it shared many characteristics of a ground-cover rose. Mine is much wider than it is tall but it, too, is covered in the most beautiful pale pink roses with a lovely perfume.

A Shropshire Lad - a mistake. I didn't realise that I had bought the climbing version. This too, is a 2 year old grafted plant that I've spent all spring/summer trying to convince to become a shrub rose. I believe I'm fighting a losing battle. It's also a complete BS magnet. I've also noticed that my Shropshire Lad flowers don't seem to bear any resemblance to others I've seen. Don't quite know what went wrong here. I can't detect any fragrance.

Sharifa Asma x 2 - bought as own-root plants in 2.5 litre pots in May 2014. Replanted into larger pots a month ago they've both doubled in size and are now covered in buds. I just wonder whether I can keep them small enough to grow in 50 cm pots? Very healthy foliage and delightful perfume.

Evelyn - another gift - about a six weeks ago. I've replanted it into a larger pot until I can decide where it should be planted. At present, the foliage doesn't look great and it seems to have some fungal infection so I've sprayed with an anti-fungal spray to see if I can control it.

Sorry for such a long post … I forgot to say that I have extremely alkaline, very heavy clay - pH 8 soil - which, in its natural state varies between yellow and blue/grey in colour. Truly hideous. I have amended it heavily with anything and everything I can find - kilos of coffee grounds from my local bar, dozens of plastic bags of oak leaves (which I collect in early Spring an let rot down for 12 months), truck loads of rotted horse manure. Something must be working because the roses are all growing like crazy.

Cheers
Tricia

I will try posting this again. Hopefully my computer will cooperate. I live in central CA where it gets hot, hot, hot. We have been over 105 degrees every day for probably the past month to two months. We sometimes get to 115. I have cool and sometimes foggy (for weeks on end) weather in the winter. Right now we are getting monsoon rains with the 108 degree temps. Oh joy!

I have clay, awful soil that I amend with organic fertilizer, worm castings, compost, etc. I have to mulch heavily in order to preserve water and try to keep the plant roots cool. I only garden organically and don't get black spot, PM, and will get aphids and white fly (but haven't this year for some strange reason). Now that I have typed this, I will jinx myself and get all sorts of pestulance! I am only "allowed" to water twice a week due to the drought (normally it would be three times a week in the summer). Winter, I am not allowed to water at all. We get about 12-13 inches of rain a year in a good year (and we haven't had that for quite a while)

Newer Austins tend to do well in this type of weather. I grow Brother Cadfael (easy to start on its own root but likes a bit of afternoon shade, and my two year old plant I started from a cutting is now over 6 feet tall). I love this rose and have had the mother plant for at least 14 years or so.

Sherifa Asma (the flowers, though stingy after the first flush are something to behold--what a beautiful rose, stays about 3--4 feet),

Peach Blossom (gets very large here--over 6 feet so I treat it like a climber), always has some blooms on it after the first flush. A beauty!

Munstead Wood--does great, beautiful, flowers in the heat

Pretty Jessica--beautiful as well and flowers in this heat

Ambridge Rose--smells like sugar free cherry bubble gum, does well in the heat but doesn't produce many blooms until it cools down again

Evelyn--gets to be a monster, stingy after the first bloom and is reverting back to root stock. Will be shovel pruned this year (sigh), sent is to die for

Jude the Obscure (and about to get more obscure in my garden)--gets to be a monster, stingy with blooms all the time, leaf burns and leaf drops in the heat, will be shovel pruned as I am fed up with him

Mary Web--own root, hard to find, does OK, stays somewhat small for an Austin (about 3-4 feet) but won't bloom in the heat

Emilia--stays tiny (about a foot if that), sulks in the heat, stingy bloom, leaf drop in the heat, but it has the same name as my great grandmother so I am very sentimental about this plant and fight to keep it alive.

Princess Alexandra of Kent--does well in the heat, flowers in the heat, absolutely beautiful, but tends to throw long canes

I find that most of the Austins I have, if they have a bit of afternoon shade, tend to do much better in this heat that currently feels like it will never end. It is now 5:30 in the morning, temp has not dropped below 84 degrees, thunder and lightening and rain where I live. Hour commute to work should be loads of fun today!

Since desertgarden specifically mentions posters from Italy, I'll throw in my 2 cents.
I am still with- holding judgement about Austins. This year, James Galway gave me a wonderful, long spring flush,and it's foliage is perfect. But we DID get an unusual amount of rain. The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild gave a good flush, too,and clearly deeply appreciated all the work I did on it's soil (which was formerly too shallow),but it is now defoliated (as are several of my roses, not just Austins). JG is only putting out a few dwarfed blooms now; TIMF instead has some nice ones,but re-bloom isn't a priority with me; I consider it normal for roses to go a bit dormant in summer.I get around TIMF's lanky habit by supporting it on a rebar tripod. Darcy Bussell has been very nice; Crown Princess Margareta has rather impressed me with it's ability to hang in there in spite of terrible soil...none get the cushy treatment that would optimize them, probably. I also have Falstaff, The Dark Lady, Gertrude Jeckyll,The Prince, Young Lycidas, Tam O'Shanter and the old Wisley. All of these are either too young or in excessively poor conditions for me to be able to judge fairly as of yet.

I've grown Austins in S.E. Florida & have continued up here on the east face of the smokies, in N.E. GA when I retired in late 2008. All the Austins I grew in Fl. were on fortuniana root stock and flourished. In Fl. I sprayed regularly as I do up here for black spot. All of my Austins in my present garden are on their 3rd year or longer. I brought one with me. It was a newly grafted Secpter' d Isle. Let me go through my list.
LADY EMMA HAMILTON(Dr Huey)---the only one I consider a total waste. Ugly, scroungy bush that won't grow. Ugly foliage and the blooms never grabbed my attention (what few of them that it has given me). It will be pulled this fall.
PRINCESS ALEXANDRA OF KENT(Dr Huey)---Big beautiful blooms with a great scent. Long canes with healthy foliage. After each long cane blooms, I take that cane back 3/4 of length of the cane. This bush really needs to be planted in close groups of 2 or 3 to make a big bushy bush. I'll be adding 2 more close to it this coming spring. One of my favorites.
ABRAHAM DARBY(Dr Huey)---My current bush is on Dr. Huey root stock and does OK. But I grew this rose in Fl. on Fortuniana root stock and it performed much better. I like big bushy bush's. For me right now most of the blooms are very nice with a good scent. The bush is very healthy but doesn't grow like I'm use to. I will be replacing it with another AD on Fortuniana root stock. (Yes, Fortuniana roses do VERY well up here)
SCEPTER'D ISLE( fortuniana)--- This is the bush I brought with me from Fl. Big healthy bushy bush that produces tons of beautiful pink blooms in sprays all summer long. A different but nice scent. It has won it's share of awards at different rose shows for me both in Fl. and in GA. The bee's love this rose.
CARDING MILL (own root)---Nice healthy full bush about 4x4 that produces very nice big blooms that have a great scent. It gets better year by year. I like it a lot.
MOLINEUX(own root)---Planted next to Carding Mill. A little more upright but bushy and full. Produces tons of yellow brushed in orange blooms. Not a lot of scent but I really like the blooms. So do all the neighbors. One of the first ones they always go to.
CROCUS (own root)---Planted next to Molineux. A little shorter then the other two but very full and bushy. It almost got the ax because the first two years I had it, it hardly bloomed. This year it made up for those first two years. Tons of beautiful cream buds that open to medium size white blooms. Very nice contrast along the front of the porch.
(The front porch bed has Pink Knock Out, Carding Mill, Molineux, Crocus and Marchesa Boccella)
LADY OF SHALOTT (own root)---Very nice full bush that blooms all season long. Throws off long canes near the end of summer but get cut back with no harm to the bush. Really nice soft orange blooms cover the bush all the time. From what I can tell, this is a must have bush almost anywhere in the States.
THE WEDGEWOOD ROSE (Dr Huey)---This is another one that almost got the ax. First 2 years in the ground it was a twiggy, awkward bush that wasn't really that nice to look at. This year it has filled in nicely and has produced tons of beautiful soft pink blooms that look almost like silk flowers. Beautiful!!! I'll keep this bush as a large shrub. Really liking this bush now.
MUNSTEAD WOOD (Dr Huey)---This bush was a keeper from the get go. Blooms, foliage, nice bushy bush. BUT, it is well armed with some vicious thorns that will grab you in a big hurry if you're not careful. One of the best Austins on the market. If you like deep red/purple blooms, this is a must have. Fantastic blooms and bush.

I've been reading this looooong thread with interest. August is not a good blooming time for my Austins--or for any of my other roses, for that matter. Modest exceptions are Molineux which is managing to put out some blooms and Lady of Shalott which has a few blooms, but not as much as Molineux.

My other dozen or so Austins are doing nothing--same as every August! Which reminds me--I was quite surprised to see a couple posters talk about how bloomiferous--and continuously bloomiferous--are Austin's Jubilee Celebration and Scepter'd Isle. Neither one does much of anything in my garden when it get hot. Even in better weather, neither one would qualify, in my garden at least, as a good bloomer. If anything, I'd rate them as rather poor bloomers as a whole.

Perhaps another example of location, location, location?

The few blooms I have right now are coming mostly from HTs and floribundas--and even they are not the most enthusiastic bloomers.

I always find August the most discouraging month of the year. Nothing is up to prime except my beautiful hydrangea and crepe myrtle.

Kate

Kate---My first Scepter'd Isle in Fl. was on Dr Huey. I grew it in a 10 gal. nursery pot. What a pathetic little thing it was. Twiggy and very few blooms. I grafted it to Fortuniana root stock just to see what would happen. What a difference. I couldn't beleave it. Within two years I had a huge bush with long, strong canes with 3 to 7 bloom sprays that didn't nod. It just kept getting better and fuller year after year (did the same thing to Abraham Darby with the same results). When I knew I was moving to GA. I quickly grafted a bush of Scepter'd Isle to take with me. I wasn't sure how Fortuniana root stock woud do up here in N.E. GA. Now that I know it can handle the winters up here, I'll be growing almost all my Austins on Fortuniana. I'll be doing Abraham Darby and Munstead Wood for sure next spring. Maybe even Princess Alexandra of Kent. (Hum, I've got a couple of HT's on Dr Huey that just might find their way on to fortuniana just to see what happens)

In in Massachusetts, zone 6a. Have limited experience with roses in general and with David Austins too. I did have 'Golden Celebration' for 5 years and shovel pruned it last fall. It was an annual battle with blackspot. I do admit to not really having had a handle on the best rose care practices when I first got the rose, so that may have contributed. I do grow organically and never use any spray.

I planned on adding Munstead Wood this spring, but they were out, so, based on positive reviews, I bought Brother Cadfael, bare root, instead. It's growing well. It had some initial foliage issues, but after cutting those off and allowing the shrub to grow new foliage, it is now looking very clean and healthy and is blooming well for it's size. I'm not finding a lot of fragrance at all, which is disappointing, but I am finding all of my roses are a little lacking in fragrance this year. So I am holding out for next year to see if that will change at all.

Thanks for the further info on Scepter'd Isle, Ken. Since I'm not about to learn how to graft, I guess I won't be able to make myself a "better" Scepter'd Isle.

I can somewhat parallel your experience, however. When I ordered several roses grafted on multiflora from Palatine, I was surprised at how much more vigorous and floriferous the roses were.

Makes one wonder why the rose industry (in USA, at least) turned so whole-heartedly to Dr. Huey instead. Obviously, there were other choices available.

The one thing I don't understand is why some gardeners are so insistent on getting own root Austins. I have several and they lack vigor compared to Austins on Dr. Huey or on multi-flora.

Kate

Kate, I suspect the own-root Austins work best in warm climates with a long growing season. It seems to inhibit some of the octopus-like tendencies that some of the roses exhibit in places like California. The long growing season enables them to put on enough growth to do well, and Gregg Lowery from Vintage has mentioned that it expends energy in more flowers instead of growing endless branches that flop everywhere. I don't have enough Austins to test that theory, but certainly Potter and Moore, one of my favorites, has remained a small dainty bush with very good rebloom. It will probably take some time before the final word is in on that question.

Ingrid