I don't grow the Lad, but the worst thing I can say about Abe is that he balls sometimes. Other than that, he's a very consistently good performer in my garden. BS is rare, and he shakes it off and blooms in spite of it. Don't see how you can go wrong with him (just don't let the thorns nip you!).

Maurizio, I was so happy to see your reply to my question. Thank you for the details of the top five, and your listing of the other five, all of which have been copied into my garden journal. I'm so glad that you've lately been a more steady visitor to the forum, not only for the gratification of seeing pictures of your wonderful garden, but also for your invaluable knowledge and, last but not least, your personality.

Grazie,

Ingrid

GOLDEN CELEBRATION blackspots badly in the Mid-Atlantic, which is why I've held off trying him.

CHARLOTTE comes close to being the perfect yellow rose. David Austin considers her an improved Graham Thomas, and I tend to agree. Good repeat bloom, good disease resistance, good vigor, good hardiness, graceful growth habit and gorgous clear yellow blooms. She only has two faults. First, the light Tea rose fragrance fails to thrill and Second, the flowers shatter quickly upon opening.

Image of Charlotte by Aprille-z9-CA at the Rose Gallery
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Patrick----I live in the same zone as Lisa---(near Princeton N.J.) and I love Abe----I don't mind thorns if there is a space between them.
He makes a lovely cut flower--he looks really pink in this picture
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Florence

molineux - That's a gorgeous picture of Aprille's Charlotte. Thanks for posting. I'm going to add her to my mail-order list for next year. Golden Celebration looks nice too. But I'm after a very light yellowish rose, and Charlotte seems to meet this criteria.

I am such a huge fan of all David Austin Roses. It's truly a passion of mine. Currently in my garden I have Heathcliff, Glamis Castle, Queen of Sweden, Golden Celebration and Abraham Darby. Given that- my favorite of all are two of them: Golden Celebration and Abraham Darby! I say that, but now I just went out and bought two more! Lady of Shalott, and Munstead Wood! They will be complimenting my Abraham Darby on the very sunny side of the house.

If you get the Abraham, make sure you give him LOTS of breathing room. It is a huge rose- and it will get crowded quickly if there is not at least a good 2-3 feet of circumference around it. Also, after a heavy rain, make sure that you give it a little shake to get as much rain off of it as possible. It can get prone to mildew or blackspot more than most roses- I think just because it can get packed into a garden. FYI- It grows fairly quickly, and you will need to find ways for it to be constantly stabilized. I have mine up next to a large fence- and garden twine is the way I keep mine up. I have even seen people get them to grow up an arbor- which I think is beautiful.

Nik, not to state the obvious, but being that I live in the rainy Pacific Northwest and mild climate that might have something to do with it. ;)

Don'tcha think??

OH and your Abe is gorgeous!! It's also not crowded with other plants as I stated in my original post.

Suzanne, I have a 12 month growing season here and that plant receives adequate water. If I had left him unpruned he would have been double the size by now.

How thorny is Aby? Is it as thorny as munstead wood? Thanks.

Nik how blessed you are! Here they started blooming in May. (Early for this year). Hopefully I will get blooms through October. Yes, I keep my Abe pruned too. He grows very fast!!

Sophia mine is very thorny. Yes, Probably more than MW.

MW has dense prickles. No way you can hold a cane and not get stung. Abe's thorns are larger but well spaced. Very dissimilar.

Abraham Darby, Evelyn, and Jude the Obscure are always listed as top favorites of Austin's roses for fragrance. Why does David Austin focus instead on the "myrrh" fragrance instead of these fruity fragrances? Other than Abe, Evelyn and Jude, is there only Windermere with that fragrance?

Nik, your Abe is beautiful.

What a great thread. I have Abe on an arch -- or try to. He is a bit hard to train. My only cavil is that his flowers are so large they tend to upstage the subdued, smaller-flowered old roses I also grow. In spring Abe's blooms are a brilliant apricot, but in summer a pastel pink. It might be more tasteful if the color sequence were reversed, but I'm not knocking it. it's a great show at any time.

What great timing to revive this thread. With all the darkness happening right now in the country, and looking outside to the dead of winter, it revives my HOPE for the future! OH to have my roses back again! SOON Grasshopper!! VERY SOON!! ;)

I have both Abe and A Shropshire Lad. Abe blooms constantly. ASL blooms never! Abe is grafted and ASL is own root and came as a tiny band. They are both 7ft or so. They both are green and healthy. I hope ASL will bloom more but Ive heard it is more of a once bloomer with perhaps a little sporadic bloom after the first. I have a feeling that ASL might want colder winters than I can provide here in FL. Abe loves the heat. Abe is never greyish pink but a lovely rich peachy pink and sometimes a very apricot!

Abe in Pink mood

Abe in Apricot mood

Sultry jasmine, those are such sumptuous Abe blooms. I'm so glad I saw this revived thread. I've decided to get Abe this spring after years of dithering. I can't wait! Diane

Congrats Diane! I just know you will grow Abe to its full-out breathtaking potential just like all the rest of the stunners in your yard! You won't be sorry. I am thinking of getting 4 or so more Abe's because it blooms so well here and always brightens up my day :) Ya gotta stick with what works lol.

Wow, thanks, sultry. I totally agree--stick with what works! You must have lots of room to get four more Abe's. I wish I had that option. I do have four Evelyn's and won't give them up. Diane

I think I'm going to replace my own root Abe with a grafted one, he just doesn't bloom much

Sultry, do you have other DA's that bloom as well as Abe?

Hi humble5, Pat Austin is really my number 1 blooming Austin and Abe is second lol. I dont think any rose can out perform Pat in my yard. Pat is orange and blooms pretty much every day of the year. I have 2 Pat's and I would not ever be without them. Check out Daisy in crete's photos of her here http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1628544/pat-austin-in-a-pot?n=13. I got Pat after seeing how gorgeous she was in Daisy's yard lol.

Lichfield Angel and Lilian Austin run close 2nds to Abe Darby as far as good bloomers. Teasing Georgia and Munstead Wood bloom very well as does Lady of Shallot (they bloom in flushes). Other good ones are Sharifa Asma and Jude the Obscure (both very fragrant), Olivia seems promising because she has bloomed very well and I only just got her at the end of this past summer. I have lots of other Austins but some are own root and came as small bands so I'm giving them more time before deciding whether they will be good bloomers or not.

I've noticed some Austins really do improve a lot as they age. The first year I had Crown Princess Margareta, for example, she hardly bloomed whatsoever. Then last spring she started blooming in nice flushes with a lot of flowers and her form became very double pand had way more petals and she was much oranger. The first year it was loose flowers and real dull ugly coloring. I thought it was the wrong rose. I think some just need to mature and settle in.

I agree, sultry, and I'm happy to read about your Crown Princess Margareta. She's the other rose I'll definitely be growing this spring. I've had lots of Austins that take their time to get going, so I'll be patient. Diane

Ohh Pat is just beautiful! Thank you Sultry for answering my question. I agree about having patience but I've had own root Abe for 5 years and he doesn't bloom much

I've leaned toward own root in general, and we'll see how my first Abe Darby does. I just planted it from Heirloom. If grafted do bloom more, maybe I am making a bad choice. I see I'll have to give the own root some time. I thought if own root live longer, that might be better, if they do well own root.

Getting ready to order AD from ARE. Will let you all know how he works in zone 7B.

I think your Abe will do fine, Kelli. I ordered an own root Abe from ARE last spring. I was very unhappy to receive an Abe whose leaves had been stripped (as Sheila probably remembers). This was probably due to Idaho's strict plant importation rules. Nevertheless, I cruelly nicknamed Abe "Twig Darby". Well, little Abe showed me. He had his leaves back in a few weeks, and then began producing beautiful blooms when he was a foot high and just a little baby. He never went dormant over this last winter, still has fresh green leaves, and looks like he grew a few inches, too. I have high hopes for this rose, and I'll bet your rose will do well, too. Diane

Baby Abe and a couple of his blooms from last summer

Yayyyy Abey baby! ♡♡ I ordered 2 more this year so I will have 3 Abes now :)

Diane, do you have Princess Charlene de Monaco yet? She is also supposed to resemble Abe except the petals seem a litle more ruffled. I got one and then ordered 2 more which should be here today.

Did you get Crown Princess Margareta? How did she work out?

~Sjn

I had an Abe from J&P when they were selling Austins years ago. It was one of my best roses. I had to dig it up when there was construction in my yard. I had it in a pot for 2 years. I finally planted it and it had all these buds on it. Well we had a bad windstorm and it was knocked down and I didn't see it until it was too late. I now have one on Fortuniana and I am hoping it gets huge. It already has one bit candelabra cane.

Buford,

That is sooo annoying when wind or something does damage to a new rose! Reminds me of last year when I just got William Shakespeare 2000. It was doing so great putting out flowers and buds, not long after I got it. Well one day a tree fell on it right outta the blue! It was in a pot, luckily and it kinda bounced and slid to the side, I'm guessing. It took off half the rose and smashed the other half. It has been making a slow comeback. I dug a new bed and put him in the ground. Hopefully he will be blooming again soon. I'm really shocked its still alive.

Kelli, congrats on your new purchases. I ordered Molineux this year too. It will be new to me. Your new enterance area will be pretty!

For the record, I've grown Abe on Dr. Huey and own root here in Portland. He's proven a vigorous and very remontant rose either way. He does get BS and rust in my no spray garden, darn it, but he hasn't died from either...yet. The longer hotter summers have knocked back his diseases a bit, but I'd rather experience our "old normal" weather patterns. He's a great pillar rose if you can handle the wretched thorns. A purple or blue clematis hides a multitude of defoliating evils.

If you have a short growing season and can find her, try Marianne. Her blooms are equally fragrant and gorgeous, but she's a much better plant, especially in high disease pressure areas. Marianne is a once-bloomer and a descendent of Abe. Carol

Sultry, never trust what I say in these threads-ha. I did not get Princesse Charlene, though I'm still debating it, and my favorite local nursery carries her--so it's very tempting. They also carry Crown Princess Margareta which I also didn't get. Instead, I went off on a tangent and acquired Rouge Royale, now residing in a temporary slot, and another Munstead Wood to add to a wine red/purple bed in space that was freed up by Princess Al of K when she went bye bye. This year, I'm adding a Twilight Zone to that bed. There's already an Ebb Tide there. Maybe a few Lauren's Dark Grape poppies would round out the over the top purple effect. I am an old lady so red and purple are fine by me. I may never take photos of the whole thing, though. Diane

Hey, Diane, there were red and purple long before the combo was assigned to old ladies. Go for it!

Cath

Red and purple are my two favorite colors! Carol

I think the crimson reds(as in NO orange tones) look great with purples! I haven’t tried it myself yet, but the more I see it, the more I like it!

No Princess Charlene, yet? Tall and narrow, but my favorite for cutting. I NEVER buy two of anything, just not enough space and I want to try as many roses as I can. I made an exception for PCDM. I need more of everyone’s favorite blooms! Every time family asks me for some roses for a special occasion, they always say, “Is that ONE rose blooming, right now? You know the one I’m talking about. The prettiest one in the bouquet you gave me last time.” It’s always PCDM they’re talking about:) Her cut blooms are irresistible to all who see and smell her. Now I figure I’ll have twice as many blooms as last year....

Diane; My dear “bonus daughter”, Sarah, is about to order some roses. She’s torn between Ebb Tide and Twilight Zone. I mistakenly told her it was Twilight Zone, you grew. Is it Ebb Tide that is near Julia Child in your photos? It looks to be so dark and truly purple. She’s in such a hot climate, Bakersfield, CA, and we want the one least likely to “fuchsia out” in the heat. I’ll do a search as well, but I’d love your opinion since you’re hot and dry, and grow such fabulous roses.

Sorry I went OT, here. I do grow Abe Darby, and love the blooms. He wants to be a giant monster, though. In my dry climate he DEMANDS plentiful water. I slacked off on the watering in November, and Abe broke out in the most spectacular orange colored rust, ever! There really isn’t any other word to describe that rust. It was such a brilliant orange, it could hurt your eyes looking at it! It was almost pruning time, so I cut him down to the ground and make sure he gets extra water, now. BTW, the half opened blooms of Abraham Darby and Princess Charlene de Monaco can look amazingly alike. Sometimes I can hardly tell them apart until they open further. Lisa

Funny you guys are talking about Red and Purples. The second flowerbed I just put in, I decided to do it in deep reds and purples. I really think there will also be magenta in it because in hot weather that's what my deep reds and purples do whether I like it or not! I initially chose dark red because that is what my grandmother loved. She just passed away right before this past Christmas (2017). She was 100! She was aways had big rose gardens and edible gardens/trees and a few other flowers like iris, gladiolas, ranunculas, and cannas.

Here is what I put in this new red/purple/ and probably magenta flowerbed thus far...

*Roses

-2 Munstead woods

-Mr Lincoln

-Oklahoma

-Tess d Uberville

-Ebb Tide

-Young Lycidas

-William Shakespeare 2000

-2 Angel Face

-Princess Anne *might or might not remove her depending on how she fits in when they all start blooming.

*Other plants so far (trying to stay in purple, blue, and crimson theme)

- Rose of Sharon (blue chiffon)

- Salvia Amistad, salvia Black &Blue

-Hollyhocks Nigra x2

-red caladium bulbs

I might put in some Lily of the Nile & red salvia (anyone know if there is a burgandy colored Savia?)

Also gonna try and find some deep red dahlias..its hard to know the true colors of these flowers when you have only seen them online etc lol. I want some deep red with large flowers.

I also have a Lavender Veranda rose I got on clearance last fall..I'm not sure if this rose will be blooming too pink to add to the red/purple bed. Its barely bloomed since I got it. It was in bad shape so I cut it back hard and its doing a lot better now.

I dont know what else to add lol.

~Sjn

How about some LD Braithwaite, some red BeeBalm (make sure you contain it though, as it can be invasive but beautiful).

Thanks Suzanne! Bee balm would be great. I totally forgot about Bee Balm. I'm trying to get more plant for bees, butterflies, etc. I probably wont put in another rose into this bed unless it is short. I think I have enough tall ones and there is maybe 1 space that I could squeeze a short rose into the front on the left. I will have to see if all the other ones I put in make it okay lol. Does LD Braithwaite stay small in warm zones?

Thanks to Lisa's enabling photos of PCdM, I have two in the ground and another in a pot! With the 3 Abe Darbys I will be full of peachy apricot sherberty goodness all summer long lol!

I totally envy everyone that can griw poppies. I haven't had much luck here with them. I can get them started but they pout when they get in the garden. Perhaps the humidity..

My Crown Princess Margareta improves every year. She definitely takes her time. I almost tossed her the first year. Ugly fugly blooms like the grossest washed out orange yellow ever. Barely double and tiny. I have 2 and they both looked the same way. The next year they were much bigger and better. Last year they actually looked half decent.

I think she likes colder winters than I have. She likes to be pruned hard in early spring. She grows like a big climber here. One is climbing my fig tree. The other is espalier near the fig tree.

She is full of buds right now so hopefully they will be nice!

Last year

~Sjn

We saw our first honeybees of the season today....and the first yellow jacket (or maybe it was a wasp; it's a little early for jackets. I brushed him away so fast, I didn't get a good look.

Lisa, Twilight Zone is the rose next to Julia, though I grow three Ebb Tide roses. Ebb Tide fades a lot into various not so great shades. I think Twilight Zone holds its color much better, but Bakersfield is way hotter for longer than here--the sun will be stronger because its latitude is more southerly than way up here. So there are lots of things to think about. Your spare--I mean bonus-- daughter could try one Twilight Zone but I'd give it at least two years to show its color tendencies, and she may not want to do that. I wonder if some kind umbrella over TZ would help it keep its color.

Sultry, you have lots more space than I do--i will just have a small bed of red/purple. Have you tried red hardy hibiscus? I love Luna Red. Also there are some purplish ones, too.

Oops, dinner time. I'll be back. Diane

I'm back. Sultry, your Crown Princess Margareta is gorgeous and so stuffed with petals. Of course, Lisa keeps convincing me to get Princesse Charlene. Then I change my mind. Then she convinces me again. Poppies, annual ones at least, should be sown in place. They don't transplant well, and like some chill for good germination. So, I can see why they might falter in your climate. Diane

Sultry, it dawned on me that you probably grow every hibiscus known to man. I think I remember some of your great photos. This is my humble Luna Red. And I'm sorry for getting sidetracked from Abe Darby. I will behave from now on. Diane

Diane, your Luna Red hardy hibiscus is just gorgeous and lush! Not humble at all. She's flaunting it :p

I mainly grow the tropical hibiscus. I have to put them in the greenhouse when it freezes here.

I have had a little success with the hardy hibiscus. Some do not come back reliably (winters not cold enough). A few completely disappeared (roots) over the winter so I think something ate them lol. Some come back but dwindle away and not re-flower. Cranberry Crush did that. I am determined to keep trying though lol. Heartthrob does well here. Plum Fantasy also is reliable. This year I ordered 4 from the Burpee sale when everything was 40% off and also a discount if you bought 3 perennials. So I got another Cranberry Crush (my favorite), Berry Awesome, MARS Madness, & Starry Night (pink n white pinwheel with dark plum colored leaves). Hopefully these will do better. I'm gonna keep them in large pots so maybe the roots wont get eaten this time.

Here is Heartthrob (very dark maroon) I love the buds!

Plum Fantasy

Ooh, sultry, that Heartthrob is a heartthrob. I love it. It's a hardy hibiscus, right? I don't have the space, but I really want to try it. I can't wait to see some photos of all those new hibiscus you have ordered. I so wish I could tour your gardens. Diane

Yes, Heartthrob is a hardy type. It will probably do great in your yard. The buds are sometimes so dark they look black. It is a good bloomer. You will love it :)

Jasmin, where did you plant your Abe ? I just read Daisy thread about her ABE hates sun/heat. I just plant mine Eve of Easter.

Should I move Abe ? It has no shade.

That is why I was asking about where you plant yours...lol

Jin

Jin, I grow all my Austins in full sun. It seems to help prevent fungal issues here in Florida and I get more flowers. We have a lot of humidity here even though its hot. In general, the more humidity there is, the more direct sun plants can take. Full sun in a dry climate is much more intense than full sun in a humid climate. All my roses like as much sun as possible here.

Kelli, how did Margaret McDermott do for you?