Would it be so terribly wrong to try Glamis Castle again

10 years ago

So far, I've killed it only once, which, if you use the number of times I've killed over Pope John Paul II, is almost a success.

But seriously....is this just silly. I've mostly given up on Austins as most SoCal gardeners are likely to do, but I do have some that seem to do ok for me, and this one is *so pretty*. And it mightn't get too big.

(Especially since I'm likely to kill it off again.)

Sigh.

I keep looking at Clotilde Soupert, but she looks like the dainty type who will be miserable and demand constant special treatment.

What do you think?

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Comments (8)

buford
10 years ago
I have two, in pots, and they stay small. It's a very nice rose. It gets blackspot here, but you should not have that problem.
seil zone 6b MI
10 years ago
Not wrong at all! If you love it go for it!
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Yes, that's the goal, but it doesn't have to be the permanent fix. If a branch starts growing off the main trunk, you can train THAT one to a vertical position and later cut the trunk off just above the new leader. You can use any branch that occurs from now forward as the new leader. If no appropriate branch occurs, you always have the existing one to fall back on. Also, training a branch to a vertical position means it will get much more of the tree's energy than it would if it was closer to horizontal. Cut off the small branch stub, but leave the stub that's a remnant of the old trunk to use as a tie-off point. Tie (wire) the top branch to the trunk stub and gradually tighten it over time until it's vertical. See the end of the wire that's twisted together in the picture above? When I grasp that with a pair of pliers and twist, it shortens the wire and moves the smaller branch closer to the branch that's leaning to it's right. The brass rod between the 2 trunks is because the trunk on the right wasn't strong enough to bend the trunk with the gray cushioning on it. The rod makes it so the trunk I wanted to bend to the right is actually now having to resist BOTH trunks, which it can't do, so it's bending to the right. To promote more leaf production, just keep the plant healthy and give it as much light as you can, or as much as it will tolerate. Use a very fast-draining soil and fertilize the heck out of it during peak growth months - not so much in the months that it wants to rest. Al
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Prospero does best in my garden. Christopher Marlow, Jubilee Celebration, Heritage and English Garden are relatively trouble free and William Shakespeare2000 is better than average. Sharifa Ashma gets blackspot but does not defoliate and does not look so bad as Gamis Castle or Tamora and it is worth having for its perfume. I do not have it but intend to get Crocus rose because it supposedly has better than average disease resistance. Some of the new Austins are said to be bs resistant (like The Generous gardener) but I do not have any of them, so I do not have first hand experience with them. I have Abraham Darby though it gets blackspot, but not so badly as GC and AD also balls terribly in wet weather but again the fragrance makes it worth keeping it. However, if you are inland, you may fare better depending where you garden. The Raleigh-Durham area is drier in the summer than the coastal region while if you are closer to the mountains you get more rain and more moisture means more blackspot in susceptible varieties - so it all depends on your location.
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Comments (25)
A diaper pail, Ingrid? That is too funny. Someone else on Gardenweb posted that Gentle Hermione smelled like baby poop. I decided to give that rose a wide berth. Perhaps they are related? Some years ago I went to the Huntington and smelled many of the roses in bloom. I made comments on some that stood out, particularly good or bad. Now I have never smelled, by itself, myrrh, but there were Austins which were described as having that scent and I tended not to like them. I wrote the label "stinks" by these Austins: Mary Rose, Symphony, and Fair Bianca. While I particularly liked the scents of Gertrude Jekyll, Pretty Jessica, Admired Miranda, and The Countryman. Some other roses also received the "stinks" designation: Enfant de France, Katherine Zeimet, and Boule de Niege. Boule de Niege didn't have the same stinkiness as the others however. To me it had the unpleasant aroma of sweaty gym shoes. Such a pretty thing though, and it received so many high praises from others that I thought surely I was mistaken. So I bought it at a Huntington plant sale and brought it home. Grew beautifully in my garden, with lots of leaves and many charming white, moderately-sized flowers. But alas, the stinky gym shoe fragrance is what this plant produced. I learned it was best only to admire from a distance and to avoid taking a whiff. Noxzema as a matchmaker? Who knew! Melissa
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Fungicide spraying is preventative, not curative. You have to spray BEFORE it gets bad. After about ten years of growing GC, I would note the following: 1. GC is quite vulnerable to black spot, as mine gets it here where black spot is pretty uncommon and mild, while 95% of my other roses never show a spot. 2. GC doesn't like hard pruning, so take off as little as you can. It forms a nicely shaped plant without much correction needed, just deadhead to keep it blooming. 3. GC has truly nasty prickles--I never go near it without gloves.
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kittymoonbeam
10 years ago
My neighbors have 3 and with the neglect that they suffer, they still keep blooming and living. Of course, if they would water regularly, the plants would be so much better but sometimes it goes through long periods of drought and still keeps living. I'm sure they never feed or mulch it. After a watering or a rain, it flowers.

Try Clotilde in a pot where you can water from the base. She's an easy rose to grow but don't get the buds or flowers wet or they won't open or will look browned. As long as you do this, you will have beautiful little pink bon bons all year. I think the foliage is very pretty too.

I always thought she would excel as a standard.
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
10 years ago
Dry weather did not help Clothilde open here. I got rid of mine. The flowers just never opened in any weather.

I have a garden full of Austins, they do great. 'Glamis Castle' does very well, mine is 10+ years old and 5' tall, but I recommend 'Bolero', the 2004 Romantica floribunda, which is even better, a lot better, actually.

It does matter if you are So Cal coastal or inland. Quite a lot of difference in heat and humidity between one and the other.
DrPekeMom
Original Author
10 years ago
I live in West Adams, which is just west of Downtown LA, and I've never been clear on whether that is inland or coastal. I live in a neighborhood that is calld "Mid-City" even. :)

I do have trouble with blackspot now and then when I get too ambitious with the water.

Maybe I'll try again. I'm bad with things in pots and having to water them, and you just can't forget too long here as even succulents will give up and die.
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
10 years ago
Since Glamis Castle is one of the few roses I love to hate, I would second hoovb's suggestion of Bolero, a very superior and beautiful rose. GC has truly vicious thorns, the bush form is nothing to write home about and the "scent" has been likened to that of a diaper pail.

If you like pink and very fragrant, Bishop's Castle has done very well for me in my inland location. Deep pink and not fragrant but very tough and disease-free is Sophy's Rose. One of my favorites which you'd have to buy online is the old Austin, Potter and Moore, available at Rogue Valley Nursery.

Ingrid
DrPekeMom
Original Author
10 years ago
All right, I have ordered Bolero instead, and told Glamis Castle to eat cake. I never got to the point where scent was an issue, given its early demise. Scent is important to me, and I'd never heard the diaper pail issue. Thanks everybody!

I've also made the decision to move Lagerfeld and give him a chance in the back bed and to replace him with Bouquet Parfait, given that I don't think Lagerfeld is getting enough light.

Here's a picture of Perfume Tiger this morning--it made me happy.
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
10 years ago
The West Adams district would be Sunset Zone 22, so a coastal influence most (85%) of the time. Ideal for roses. Enjoy!

There are drip-kits for watering containers that you can hook up to a timer. They may or may not be helpful for your particular situation, but something to consider.

Would it be so terribly wrong to try Glamis Castle again

Comments (8)

buford

seil zone 6b MI

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Would it be so terribly wrong to try Glamis Castle again

Comments (8)

buford

seil zone 6b MI

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kittymoonbeam

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23

DrPekeMomOriginal Author

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

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DrPekeMom
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