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Suggestions for a David Austin Pink?

15 years ago

I'm putting in a new garden, and would like to plant a row of David Austin pink roses. I'm having lots of trouble choosing which variety - decisions, decisions!!

I would be most grateful for your advice on what flowers the most abundantly and for the longest time. I've been looking at John Clare, Portmeirion, Mary Rose, Sharifa Asma, Heritage, Pretty Jessica, plus all the others. I would prefer a mid to bright pink, but my main preference is lots of flowers over a long flowering season.

Please help - I'm fairly new to rose gardening and would be most appreciative of any suggestions.

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Comments (5)

funnelweb
15 years ago
LynneinP.... D.A,s "Sophies Rose" is a good, tough, fairly prolific flowerer in my area (Tweed Coast, NSW) but tends to be a bit towards a (full double) red. To be quite honest the best flowerer I've ever seen, and have, is from the French based producer, Meiland; his 'Seduction' - It simply never stops. However, with a flowerer like that your twice weekly deadheading can become a bit of a chore; and it goes on allmost all year round. But don't forget to give it a bit a chook man., blood 'n bone, and dolomite lime twice yearly.
LynneinPerth
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for your advice, Funnelweb. I went out to the Melville Rose Nursery in Carmel today and bought a row of standard Seductions. I'm going to plant John Clare between them. I also got some climbing roses - I'm going to have 3 arches, so I bought 2 each of Lamarque, Zephirine Drouhin and Kathleen Harrop. I bought some Angel Face roses - just love the bloom and the fragrance. I'm going to have a mixed cottagey bed as well, so chose Windermere, Molineux, Abraham Darby, My Hero and one other (forgotten its name). I also chose lots of other plants, including lavender, African box, agapanthus. I'm going to get nemesia, salvia, and penstemons as well. It's going to look great, once I get through all the planting! Thanks again for your help.
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Well, I certainly backed myself into a corner by suggesting a hedge row of pink Austins about 4x3. That is a common height of a lot of his roses, but wouldn't you know it--I don't grow many pink ones that size. Do study his catalog--I know he has a number of them. My best 4x3 Austin for a hedgerow is Queen of Sweden--but it is a lighter pink with a hint of apricot. It is somewhat upright--which Austin seems to think is best for making a hedgerow. Great rose in all respects. I also grow Austin's Mayflower--reliable, hardy, would make a good hedge--but the blooms are more modest--it doesn't have that lush look many want from their Austins. If I had more room available, what I'd like to plant is Gentle Hermione. Someone posted some pics of it on this forum gallery recently, and those blooms were gorgeous! It seems to be a healthy and bloomeriferous rose and is 4x3--but it is a paler pink with a fuller pink center. Don't know if that pink is bright enough for you. Lady of Megginch meets the above criteria and is a deep rich pink, but if you might make do with a somewhat shorter hedge--say 3.5x2.5, the rich warm pink rose I'd love to get is Princess Alexandra of Kent. That bloom is absolutely beautiful in the photos. That gives you some choices--all excellent possibilitities in my opinion. If you spend more time browsing the David Austin site, you may find others that also meet your criteria. All the ones I listed have good disease-resistance--an important qualification for me. Kate
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If you want a fluffy pink, have you considered Princess Alexandra of Kent? She's about 3.5 x 2.5 and, according to David Austin, has a "delicious fresh tea fragrance with aspects of lemon and blackcurrants." Princess Alexandra of Kent I wouldn't know since I do not grow her, but if I had any space left open, I would definitely plant her in my garden. Austin adds that she is highly fragrant and very healthy also and "ideal for pots and containers." Really BIG blooms, I'm told. Kate
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Three years later, I still think Munstead Wood is at the top with Golden Celebration right behind. Tamora, The Prince, Boscobel are close runners up. They are all blooming right now, though the blooms burn up fairly quickly. But then we've been in the 100sF half this summer, and 90s for the remainder. Now we've got wind and smoke to contend with. Small wildfires all around. The wind blows the smoke in, the temp drops a few degrees, then wind blows the smoke out, and temps rise almost instantly. It's kind of funny. So, a bit hotter is quite good, but it's a lot hotter and not so good. Pluses are a fantastic spring flush and no fungal disease and few insects in our dry climate. But, we only get 10 inches of precip in a year, so expensive irrigation with a drip system is necessary, and lots of hand watering of pots. And, water is expensive because unless you're a farmer or a business in an irrigation district, or have your own well for household use out of town, you have to use town water for irrigation which is $$. And we do have a wonderful system of snow melt in the mountains, rivers, reservoirs and dams in place. Plus clean hydroelectric power. The towns around here have artesian wells and hot springs to draw from. I don't know where I'd pick for a perfect rose growing region--maybe San Jose, California or western Oregon. Diane
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triciac
14 years ago
Hi Lynne, We are very slow to answer on this site nowadays, sorry about that, used to be so good. Your selection of roses should look superb by now, I should think they are flowering. You must put some pictures of your garden on the Gallery for us to see and wonder over. I love Seduction. Was one of my favourites but not enough space in my tiny garden now One of my friends in Perth had/has a standard Seduction, with multi grafts, can't remember exactly how many but it was a sight to see.
bunny668
13 years ago
hi Lynne I'm in Perth too and started my rose addiction with DA pinks from Melville nursery. I highly recommend princess Alexandra of Kent she blooms repeatedly and has large cupped blooms. although my Mary rose and sir Edward Edgar are continually blooming the flowers are small. I'm hoping it's just because they are newish plants. another lovely pink very fragrant is the forget me not (it's not a DA..hybrid tea I think). that one also loves our weather here and is gorgeous but it grows tall around 1.5m. good luck with your roses!
funnelweb
13 years ago
Be interested to see how Angel Face goes over there Lynne, I tried it a few years ago in Sydney, it wasn't a big rose, but it did no good; I thought maybe it was the summer humidity down there that troubled it. Looks like you've got a lot of work there and please, when it all blooms some pics would be nice. By the way, I love those W.A. natives, the Banksias and eremophylas especially, I've got a number of them in my natives section. Good luck with it all, Lynne.

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