This thread brings back memories. I was planning a vacation to take my Mom along the Hudson River and through the Catskill Mountains in September of that year. I still grow Bishop's Castle, and love it. It's about 3 feet tall, good repeat and wonderfully fragrant blooms. From 2009: The Alnwick Rose and Bishop's Castle Another pic of Alnwick and Bishop's Castle The lower part of Kaaterskill Falls in the Catskill Mountains, A view of the Hudson River

Nanadoll is right. Those heights listed were in cold winter zones where roses freeze each winter. For Calif. I would add 1-2 feet. Another factor is how hard you prune. A friend takes her roses down to 8-10 inches!!! I don't. Eglantyne here is pruned yearly to about 2 ft. and when blooms are cut the stems are longer than needed, to shape the bush (a little off season prune). I've also read that rootstock affects growth. Of course water, soil & fertilizer. I think the important thing about Austins for a new grower is to know the ones on that list are the Austins of a more manageable size on a small city lot. The 10 x 10ft. monsters are wonderful. You just have to have fewer of them unless you've got space. Or you have to be severe in pruning, which may lessen bloom. My 'Evelyn' & 'Abraham Darby' will rapidly grow a cane that is 8 ft. long. It's often referred to as "octopus" canes. So far 'Eglantyne' and Symphony have never done that. Nor 'Heritage' (which grows taller than those). Keep looking for bush pictures and you will see the difference in the smaller Austins on that list and the truly big ones.

My BC is 2 years old. It didn't seem to grow much last year and I kept it disbudded. This year - it is putting out lots of new growth and covered with blooms. I am starting to see why it is so well thought of. Another I like is Princess Anne. Same thing, its first year just sort of treaded water. Now, lots of growth and blooms. Guess its really true - first year they sleep, next year they creep, third year they leap. England's Rose is another nice one - tho its not gotten as big as the above two. It sure wants to bloom a lot - I think once it gets bigger, it is really going to be a bloom producer. I plan to put a couple of shovelfuls of manure compost on them - this seems to really make them take off. Judith

Lol! Oh that's funny about the pee! Maybe not so horrible if it was your own pee- just don't do it in the garden, one may unintentionally get stung somewhere else! rotfl... I had heard urine was good for fertilizing acidic plants like gardenias too. I remember people used to advise peeing on jellyfish stings and there was a lot of public peeing down at the beaches lol. It was on the news too. Then the scientists said, no urine didnt work for jellyfish. Who knows why, maybe because too many people peeing in public lol. Vaporvac, thats intersting about the nettles losing potency after cooking. I wish the nettles would stay in the wild here! We had a lot of untypical rain this winter. It seems like when we have cool wet springs, it much worse for nettles. At least once the temps start heating up good, the nettles die out till next spring.