The sale bin is where I always go first. I got Wildeve, The Prince, Cottage Rose, Portmeiron, Tradescant from the sale bin - still in pots, but blooming and very healthy. I really like Chireno [its a little community outside Nacogdoches, Tx. Used to go fox hunting by horseback there] Its going into its 2nd year, planted next to a fence with almost all day full sun and its doing very well. Noticed lots of buds on it the other day. I plan to put The Prince in an area where it gets protection from hot afternoon sun. Charlotte is in a bed out in full hot all day sun, tho is starting to get a little protection from a crepe myrtle. I noticed today that it is full of blooms that even the recent rains haven't hurt - it doesn't seem to ball. I have had Summer Honey - didn't perform that well for me, but that doesn't mean it wont for you. The others you bought are new for me too.....but they all look healthy and the other Austins I have planted are doing well. I have James Galway and Scepter d'Isle in full all day sun - they are great. Both are simply covered in big fat buds now.

What did you get from the retail greenhouses? I know you didn't leave Chamblees without getting some of those! By the way, were the greenhouses in full bloom? I want to make another trip up there - I was there when nothing was blooming. What a great place!

Judith

Yes, the Prince is going to get crispy but I suspect if you grow it under dappled shade or where it receives only early morning sun it will be allright AND bloom satisfactorily. Of course it won't bloom much in the high summer heat. I have my doubts though about its growth performance as an own root as its performance as a grafted plant is nothing to write home about. You don't get much powdery mildew in Texas, do you? This rose attracts mildew like a magnet.

Here's a picture of our Tradescant last summer (it was planted last spring as a bare root from David Austin).

https://www.facebook.com/HumptyDumptyHouse

By the way, our Tradescant grew like a racehorse runs, winding around and around and racing for the top of its arbor like Jack's beanstock; it reached the top within months. If you plan to grow it as a shrub rather than a climber, you might not want it at the front of a bed. Then again, some have reported that their Tradescants stay small, and since yours is own root and ours is grafted, their growth may vary a good bit.

jannike

Hi Judith - thanks do much good the detailed answer. I'm delighted to hear the positive review on Charlotte in particular. And there is a shady spot where I _might_ be able to squeeze in The Prince...

Re the retail greenhouses: yes, swimming in blooms! Go soon!

We actually didn't buy any full price roses. We went looking for a Coretta Scott King for my dad, and a Rosarium Utersen for me, but didn't care for them so much when we saw them in the petal, so to speak. Maybe that was unfair on the CSK, but she was doing that hybrid tea thing where the petals get flushed with fluorescent orangey-pink that is simultaneously garish yet bleached out. I hate that. From pictures online, she's better behaved when established, but I just couldn't give her as a gift looking like that. And RU was a much more vibrant, Tropicana-like shade of coral than I really like.

Hi Nik - normally, no PM at all, though we're having a wet year this year, so I'm being to grasp what folks in the Pacific NW have to deal with. Even my usually immaculate SDLM has PM this year.

Thanks for posting that lovely picture of Tradescant, and all the info, Jannike! I have a slight preference for Trad over Charlotte, so I'm willing to giving it a trial in the front of the bed and see if it octopuses. I'm not a big Facebooker, but if I can figure out my password, I'll head over there and give you a "like" :-)

I have The Prince out in the hot Nevada sun and it has done fine. The blooms do dry out when they get old, but they still look pretty with their dark purple color.

We also have bone dry summers and temps of 90s-100s, but not for as long as TX and definitely not the humidity. I love The Prince and moved him about a month ago to a sunnier spot, with some afternoon shade. I have a monstrous snowball bush that was shading The Prince out as the snowball grew larger with no inclination to quit growing.
Jannicke, I love your Tradescant and its bloom form. Your photos are always beautiful. Thanks for trying to get a photo of St Cecilia for me.
Here's a photo of The Prince, which is actually darker than the photo shows.
Diane

Congratulations, Plectrudis! You've got quite a haul for nothing but the extremely reasonable price of an Austin at Chamblee's invested in the whole lot! Nothing like experimenting a little! I'm jealous that you live within driving distance!

I've grown all four Austins you mention, and Charlotte is indeed likely to be the one happiest in full sun. Mine stays quite small in our hot summers - no more than the 3.5' you mention in the best of years - so the size is a good fit. Mine doesn't rebloom particularly often however, so I'm glad it's not in prime real estate. The Prince would be my choice for showy blooms and better rebloom, but it you get drought it might crisp or sulk on you. Mine reblooms surprisingly well in part shade and keeps that lovely dusky purplish color. Tradescant would be possible I guess in the front of the bed if you let it weave around other roses on each side of it. Mine wanted to be 2-3 feet high and 8 feet wide in the front of my bed, with the classic long gangly Austin arms, so I finally got tired of it and moved it to the back of the bed. NOW of course, it's a tidy compact 2-3' ball with no spread at all, which of course means it's invisible. Go figure.

Portmeiron is, well, fine I guess. It doesn't have the luscious form of Diane's photo of Prince which makes me swoon over Austins, nor the lush non-stop bloom of roses like Scepter'd Isle. It's just pink and fairly compact, sort of an accountant in a world of opera stars. Mine lasted a year or two then faded, and I haven't thought about replacing it since I can barely remember what the blooms looked like. For the price, it's a steal, and a good plant to put in an out-of-the-way spot where it can surprise you now and then. I probably wouldn't put it in prime real estate, but it's a trouble-free rose as such things go.

Have fun with this dilemma

Cynthia

That is THE best way to spend $2.50... wowza! Congrats on the wonderful finds!

Ha! I understand that... at work we have to share our "happy" at the end of our department meetings... mine is often about new roses! They just kind of smile and nod not quite understanding why I'd be so excited about a new plant!