I haven't grown Sophy, but from the pics in the catalog, I can easily list a couple significant differences. Sophy has big full double blooms; John has more delicate semi-double blooms. Sophy is a much fuller, rounder bush (though some posters complain about her occasional octopi arms); John is much more upright--kinda vase-shaped. Not sure of the size of Sophy, but John gets about 3.5 feet tall. John reblooms a lot and is fairly good on disease-resistance. Don't know how Sophy rates on those traits.

John's bloom are a medium rich pink--rather bright.

I really like my John Clare, but it doesn't look at all like the "typical" Austin. Sophy is closer to what most people think an Austin rose should look.

Hope that helps.

Kate

I made a post about Sophys rose in June. It was an ICU patient in my garden. Never seen a rose with worse disease resistance than that one... 4 diseases at the same time and on all 3 of the roses!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sophys Rose worst Austin ever!

A lot of disease resistance is dependent on where you are growing the rose. My Sophy's Rose is my least demanding DA.
Very early in life she had a touch of mildew but that's gone and she's becoming more like a thicket every day and pumps out those lovely blooms for a full twelve months.

Sue

In my garden Sophie's Rose is a winner. Both John Clare and Sophie are good roses it just depends on if you'd like a semi double with a rather airy growth habit or a fuller flower on a rounded bush.

I love Sophy's Rose. Not disease prone in my yard where most everything else is. The only thing missing is fragrance.

I have both, 2 Sophy's and 4 JC. By far, JC is the superior rose in my deep Southern garden. I actually bought 2 JC's but when I planted them, there were 2 separate plants in each pot. JC is a single bloom with prominent stamens, slight fragrance, nice foliage and very floriferous habit. He likes to be cut back. The blooms last 2 days when cut. Sophy doesn't bloom as heavily, has litte fragrance and just doesn't excite me at all. I bought Sophy on the recommendation of a fellow roser but she has not impressed me in any way and I am SP'ing her and giving her to a friend who will take anything. Buff

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New...but nothing but healthy foliage thus far.

I grow both of these roses and have for three years. Both bloom almost constantly, much more than most of my other Austins. Neither have much fragrance. I prefer the blooms of Sophy's Rose to John Clare. I don't consider John Clare's semi-double blooms anything special but I definitely appreciate him in my garden during those times when nothing else is blooming. He got rather tall at the end of this season, shooting up to about 5 feet. Sophy's Rose has blooms that look more like dahlias to me. They are a darker, deeper pink with many petals. They do not look typical of other Austin Roses, to me, they look more modern. Still, I find them beautiful and appreciate their frequency. Neither of these two roses are anywhere near my favorites, however, I value both for their reliable, constant color and bloom. I do spray and find them both to be more disease resistant than other Austins. HOpe this helps, Shelley

Thanks, all, this has been very helpful. Sounds like John Clare would work better for the spot. But I thought he was supposed to be fairly short, not 5 feet.

redsox,
Did you choose between John Clare and Sophy's rose?

I've never grown John Clare but have had Sophy's Rose for some years. I always enjoyed it, no disease and big, beautiful flowers. With the drought I now have bushes with no new growth and no flowers. Nada. It's a shame because I've watered this rose abundantly, but it apparently knows the difference between water from a hose and rain water. I've already discarded the weaker of the two bushes but still have hope that the one left will go back to its old blooming self.

Ingrid

I never chose either of them. Granted, this was 7 years ago and I barely remember what I had for lunch. Okay, it was penne pasta.

But in any case, I think it may have been when I opted for Wm. Shakespeare, the older one, for a narrow spot.

We are not really adding any more roses because the deer just have their way with them now and it is no fun to put all of that work in and come out with inconsistent results.