Alas she didn't grow well for me and too much blackspot. Glad she works for you.

Diane

I suspect this rose likes dry heat. At the Barona Casino Gertrude was a very large plant draped over a fence and had quite a few blooms. I didn't mention her because frankly she's not a favorite of mine. However, she does look lovely in jovy's beautiful photo.

Ingrid

GJ was one of the 1st roses I planted. Her blooms were pretty but the bush was not healthy and her thorniness finally made my decision to sp her. As a rule, DA roses are not good choices here in northeast Louisiana. The survivors are Abe and John Clare. A tree form (accidentally) Molineaux in a pot is hanging on by a thread.

I don't know why my GJ has done so well for me here. It is not supposed to do well in central LA. Mine is thriving though. Can't explain it, but am happy to report it. I kept mine very hard pruned for the first two years, then this year put up a rebar tee-pee for it and it has already grown 7 feet tall.

I didn't even have to dig mine up to get rid of it, it died from chronic defoliation. (Blackspot) I don't miss it.

jovy, I just have to jump in and say that I am very happy to see another Gertrude Jekyll lover here on the forum and I am glad that this rose is doing well for you, even though it is not supposed to climate-wise :-)!

It is not supposed to do well in my climate either and that is why I didn't buy one, but I have seen a specimen that did very well here and I am now determined to get one and try and see for myself. Roses can surprise you sometimes very positively, so I just hope for the best.

I was growing this rose in Germany, when I lived there a couple of years ago and it was the most wonderful rose you can think of. Great color, beautiful flowers and the fragrance is unmatched in my opinion!

Hope your's going to do well for you in the future!

Gertrude Jekyll is one of my favorites for color and fragance. Mine is repeat blooming, as well. The blooms are a little smaller, but the fragrance is still awesome!

GERTRUDE JEKYLL is one of those roses that I both love and hate. Love the rose pink color, classic OGR flower form, intoxicating fragrance, and superb vigor. Hate the black spot prone foliage, evil thorns and unreliable repeat bloom. If I had acreage in which to garden then I probably would have this rose just for the fragrance alone (it is the most strongly fragrant rose that I've smelled to date), but my urban lot is too small for a black spot disaster that only blooms in the spring.

RADIO TIMES (English, 1994) has a similar "look" but is a better plant for the Mid-Atlantic region.

Image of Radio Times by DrHuey at Hortiplex.

I am afraid I gave up on galloping gert. Got too big, scant repeat bloom, and sucked up too much water. It might be a good part of a cutting garden. I did notice that the flowers last about a week in a vase.

I do love Radio Times, despite it's disease prone nature and need for TLC. The scent is not so powerful as GJ, but, for me, much more subtle and complex. Repeat bloom is excellent.

i.m.h.o.,"Gertude Jekyll" appears healthy enough to be grown with organic type sprays only, where powdery mildew is the primary fungal threat and where blackspot is only a mild to mildly-moderate problem, as it is grown in Berkeleys' Public Rose garden in California, where several plants grow up the sides of the tennis court fence, to more than 7 feet tall, and appear quite healthy. Berkeley is in a cool microclimate, and has summer drought, so b.spot can't spread much,then.
G.J. is one of the few Austin roses that has Old Garden Rose ancestry on both pollen and seed sides, being bred from
seed: Wife of Bath which has Gallica (Belle Isis) as a parent.
X Pollen parent, "Comte de Chambord" a Portland rose.
There are plenty of pink H.P.s that are as fragrant as G.J. to my nose.
Luxrosa

Radio Times seems more resistant to blackspot than the average Austin rose, so not hard to grow in the eastern half of the country (as opposed to in CA where disease problems are different). The fragrance has been inconsistent for me, but at times it is extraordinary-- dizzying.

I am another who lost patience with Gertrude's bad habits.

Gertie, along with most of my other roses, is a leafless wonder now, but I trained her along a railing and this is what she looked like earlier.

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She's a keeper for me for the damask fragrance and the fact that I can get a few more flowers out of her in July and Sept if I cut her back by 1/2 after the first flush.

I am hoping to get Yolande d' Aragon next spring and look forward to comparing fragrances.

Lois in PA

Gertrude, like many Austins, seems to thrive in our Northern Michigan zone 5. I'm in love with her fragrance, her double shaded pink, and her bloom form. She doesn't get huge here like in warmer climates. She's one of my favorites.

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A beautiful rose that always reminds me of a reblooming Blairii 2

I also grow Comte de Chambord - a parent of Gertrude Jekyll. I see similarities in terms of fragrance and bloom form, although the Comte has more of a single tone of pink, and Gertrude has that wonderful deeper pink in the center. Two great roses.

I guess location is everything with roses. I got my GJ as a rash impulsive buy. Had no plan of where to put her, but even with neglect, she thrived. I consider her one of my "bullet proof" plants. She's a tough little rose, and blooms constantly.