Good luck to you! I agree with you that the English roses include some varieties that when optimally grown are as beautiful as any roses in existence.

Good luck Sara-Ann. I stopped growing Austins a while back ago when I noticed they took up a large amount of space. Their scent is to die for most of the time and I love how hardy they can be.

I am having pretty good luck with my Austins so far. This is the first year with them and they are all in large pots. Some do want to become monsters lol and I have pushed the pots up against wire fencing or trellis for those ones. I think the key with the Austins is to find which ones will work in your particular conditions. I did a lot of research before I got mine but then I also went ahead and got some others just because I was a sucker for their beauty lol! I guess you've got to take a few chances :) Here are a few of the ones I ordered this year.

Teasing Georgia is a winner here. Lots of blooms. She likes to climb I recently moved her to a trellis near our garden swing DH is going to make a new trellis that is much wider tho because she is very thorny.

Abe Darby has done pretty well here so far. Lots of blooms and no more black spot than the rest lol.

Lady of Shalott is definitely huge here. Sometimes more orange and sometimes a little pinker in my yard. Nonetheless she is gorgeous. About 8ft before I cut her down to 6ft I moved her pot and put her on a wire fence and espaliered her canes and she put up laterals that bloomed. I just cut the laterals back so not doing much right now. Here is an earlier photo in her pinker form. Flower, semi open bud, and side views.

...I'm still madly in love with 'Thomas a Becket'.... this would not be for everyone.... coarse, thorny,... wild... species looking growth habit... and I would feel sure I could get this rose to 10 foot as a climber, it seems prepared to go up and up if wanted...

..I'm going to try it own root, so I took a cutting.... it's a prolific bloomer/re-bloomer and produces buds at the end of every new shoot.....like a wayward male, but controllable...

10th August '15... north facing site, no sun until 4 pm....

Lady Emma Hamilton, but she disliked me. I now <3 The Lark Ascending. And always, Belle Story (who didn't like me much either).

I've often said I think Austin roses were created in order to be photographed! Alternate name: The Completely Photogenic Rose.

My first swoon-worthy choice is completely predictable--

Munstead Wood--I've about worn out this photo!

Ok--let's see if I can find some less showcased photos.

Jubilee Celebration--one of Austin's loveliest.

Lady of Shalott in an orange-golden apricot mood.

Anne Boleyn--delicate

Molineux, also in an apricot mood.

Queen of Sweden--soft powderpuff pink

The Pilgrim--another delicate beauty

Pretty Jessica--the complexity of that center is amazing!

By the way, Ingrid, those are gorgeous bouquets!

And Sultry, Lady of Shalott and Pat Austin--love those colors!

Marlorena, Thomas is always so handsome.

Kate

Thanks everyone for showing your beautiful pictures. Ingrid, those bouquets are gorgeous! Love everyone's roses, thanks again!

The DA catalogue started my rose fixation. I actually took it to the hospital with me, a few years ago when I had minor surgery. I found just looking at the photos and reading the descriptions calming and soothing ...

Then I started buying, and planting them.

At this point I'm not sure if I want any Austins for next year. Darcey Bussell and Munstead Wood have been very successful, Molineux and Carding Mill a little less so, and Tamora of course starts popping out blooms in February and hasn't quit yet (of course it was 80 today in zone 10a/20, and no rain in sight). I have three Tamoras, all going into their third year, but they haven't exactly grown into one bush yet as DA said they would (and I measured ex-act-ly 18 inches between each plant). Queen of Sweden also did better this year.

Thank you, I think, for confirming that Lady of Shalott is too big for my allocated space. 'Charles Darwin' had first blooms in the high 90's. I was shocked it did not keel over and instead got prettier until I was keeling over from his luminous beauty. Never expected an ocher_ish bloom to become this.

Charles Darwin - September, 2015

Sultry Jasmine Nights:

You couldn't be more spot on about their performance in Florida. I have had better luck with my Austins than I have with most of my HTs. My Pat Austin is also an AMAZING performer here. Mine's about 2 years old and gets to be about 4feet tall so far.

The Shepherdess is also extremely prolific and always in bloom or in bud stage. She's a very well behaved bush staying at about 3.5 feet tall and wide.

I made a whole bed of Austins recently and they are slowly taking off. I've had great luck with Heritage and Darcy Bussel and my Evelyn is one of my best bloomers albeit she 8 feet tall and more of a climber in the way she wants to grow.

Her blooms are unsurpassed in my garden. She has the largest most perfectly formed (old fashioned formed) blooms and she never balls and rarely, if ever, produces a deformed bloom. She's just the cat's pajamas!

Huntington rose is a great rose for our climate too. If you have not tried it, you should definitely give her a shot. Tamora is lovely and a quick repeater although she does black spot often. She stays a good compact size too. I don't have her in the best spot however, so maybe you'd have better luck with disease than I do.

I've found keeping them in large pots helps keep them in check somewhat in terms of growth. My Claire Austin has done very well in a large pot and blooms a ton (on her own roots too). She's only about 3 feet tall so far and always blooming. I don't know how old she is because I bought her as a bare root and she was the biggest bare root rose I'd ever seen EVER. She looked like she could easily have been a 4-5 year old plant before they sent her to me.

I am absolutely in love with Belle Story, although mine is somewhat struggling right now (on dr. Huey). I moved her to a pot from the ground, but I'm thinking of ordering another one and getting a fresh start. Trying to keep a rose healthy is easier than trying to nurse one back to health in our climate, and I just cant get enough of her.

I'm going to try lady of shallot and Lady Emma Hamilton next season. I haven't had much luck with Jude The Obscure, have you? I'm thinking of ordering this one on its own roots next year as well.

Have you ever seen this David Austin video Sara Ann?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41x4qZXe_3c

Thank you Jim, I just watched the video, very lovely!

I watched several of the DA rose garden videos, and loved them until my brain overloaded with the beauty, and I had to take a break! Jim, thanks for posting the link. Diane

And don't forget some of the non Austins that still have that beautiful form. Traviata and Pink Traviata, Eden, Dames De Chennonceau, comtess de provence (aka Liv Tyler) Bolero, Colette and Nahema are all excellent roses that should not be overlooked. :)

Thank you, SoFL, I appreciate your suggestions. I have been admiring Eden, Liv Tyler and Colette for awhile now.

Thanks for all the beautiful, dramatic pictures of various Austins. When happy and grown well, the Austins can really be very spectacular. If I had to pick absolutely only one it would still be the old standby, Abraham Darby, which did not do well for me at all. Second would be Thomas a Becket - love the color and so many blooms.

SoFL, I haven't forgotten the non-Austins. In fact, I grew Pink Traviata for a few years, but gave up on her because of her non blooming and growth. What are your secrets to growing her? I wouldn't mind trying to grow PT again some day. I also grow Abbaye de Cluny and Colette which is one of my favorite roses, though she doesn't bloom as much as I'd like. She is one tough rose. For years, I have wanted to grow Nahema, but I don't have the space just now. Diane

Colette in 2014. She's now made up and over the arch with a little more to go on the downside.

A partial shot of Colette in 2015

Colette

Diane, gorgeous pictures, what a beautiful rose!

wow, your Colette is beautiful. I think Pink Traviata must just like alot of heat and humidity. LOL Whenever a rose does well for me I assume its because its a rose that likes heat. Not all do well for me down here but some I know like the heat because the come alive in June and July. Dames De Chennonceau is one of these that blooms a bit all year round but goes crazy in the summer heat. Same with Easy Does It. The hotter it gets the happier they seem. I'm thinking Pink Traviata is one of those who likes the abusive heat here in S.Fl LOL

Same with Nahema, ALTHOUGH, I hear she does well everywhere. So some roses are just good like that.

Del bards in particular seem to like the warmth as they come from france wich is warmer than England or Germany. I seem to have good luck with those. But some Austins do well for me too. :) Its all trail and error isnt it?

Colette is gorgeous, and how nice to see beautiful roses in front of a marvelous house. The two go so well together.

That Colette is beautiful (and that name is also beautiful, I don't think about it often)!

There are so many beautiful roses photographed and shown in this thread which I have revisited over and over. Thanks Sara for starting it all. And thanks everyone for the nice words about Colette. She is lovely, but so trouble free for me. For those in cold climates, I particularly recommend her. and, Ingrid, your bouquet of pink roses is just stunning. I can't keep my eyes off it. Diane

Yep, they are pretty darn beautiful!

ABRAHAM DARBY

BIBI MAIZOON

JANET

MAID MARION

MARY ROSE

REDOUTE

SUMMER SONG

Wow Beth, those are gorgeous!

I love Janet. Don't think it made it to here ,though.

Beth, there you go tempting me with Summer Song. I would love to have that rose since it seems to do well in our climate. What a beautiful and different color. Too bad it is not available. Diane, your Collette is amazingly beautiful. What a wonderful entry into your garden and house.

Everyone's pictures are gorgeous! Yes, DA roses are swoonable if that is such a word.

Brother Cadfael

I'd forgotten about these pictures and not all the roses are still with me.

Harlow Carr - frizzled in the heat but I wish I'd kept it longer

Janet was in too hot a spot and I so regret not moving it. It just dwindled away.

Mustbenuts, I love your Sharifa Asma, and since I will be SP- ing St Cecilia, I will now have room for SA. To make you feel better about the unavailability of Summer Song, yes, lovely colour, not too vigorous, but those blooms fry once the temp hits 30C here. I'm considering trying it with some afternoon shade but some DAs do not respond too well to this treatment. Melodye

I'm beginning to realize that very few of the Austins that I really like are the most recent ones. I wonder if the increased disease resistance has been achieved by sacrificing some of the delicacy and old-rose quality of the roses. I've ordered Darcey Bussell and will be curious to see how much I like it compared to older roses like Potter and Moore, Charles Darwin and Abraham Darby.

Mustbnuts, when I saw that picture of Sharifa Asma, my first thought was "that rose is to die for," then I read your caption, "the fragrance is to die for." Must be a great rose, it's gorgeous! Princess Alexandra of Kent is a real beauty, also Munstead Wood.

Ingrid, your Austins are as beautiful as any I've seen, love Charles Darwin, The Cottage Rose and your Bishop's Castle.

i appreciate everyone sharing your beautiful Austins. and the non Austin roses too. Kate, I always enjoy your lovely roses and other flowers so much, love your beautiful garden. I also appreciate your practical advice.

Ingrid, I think Young Lycidas has some old-rose qualities, especially his growth habit. YL is very lax--not upright at all, and just sort of fits in where he's planted, while some of the modern rose forms are so upright and, yes, stiff. As you know, it's hard to fit that modern growth habit into a cottage garden; those rose seem to push their rose neighbors aside rather rudely, I think. I wish I had a good photo of YL. His color is so hard to capture on camera. Diane

Oh!!! These pictures are soooo AWESOME!!!! There's nothing like the beauty of Austin roses!!!!! So far I haven't had that much luck with them, but I planted quite a few this year in pots, so maybe they'll be swoon worthy like these next year.

Beautiful pictures everyone!

Carol

I love my David Austin roses

heritage

Teasing Georgia

Falstaff

Your Falstaff picture is beyond beautiful!!!

Carol

Aww man I lost my FALSTAFF a few yrs ago. Yours is beautiful!

Every time we see posted photos of fantastic Australian grown roses, I say to myself...when am I going to book tickets to Australia and start a rose ranch down there? Those are luscious roses, angelmi. Diane

Hey Mel, Sharifa doesn't like afternoon sun all that much and is not a good repeater during the hot part of summer. First blush is to die for, but after that is sparce until the hottest part of summer is over. So just be aware. Austin is discontinuing her here. Shame as she is one gorgeous rose. When I got her, I had her in a pot at my apartment. When she came into bloom, I swore I was going to tear out every other plant and just grow a balcony of her. She is that breathtaking.

SoFLRose, I just saw your post and question :) I have Jude the Obscure as well. It is grafted on Doc Huey and in a pot. It is growing very slowly here. The blooms smell heavenly but don't last long in the heat. I moved it to a little more shade and it quit blooming lol. It did not bloom that well in the heat here. It is starting to perk up and grow a little more now that it is cooling off. I am going to move it to more sun again and see how it does. Great fragrance but I am not liking it as much as I thought I would, so far.

I am glad you listed the ones that do well for you here in FL. I will definitely look into them. My best performers during the hot summer were Pat (of course), PAoK (Omg she's a bloom machine. I have 2 of them by our back door and they bloomed all summer long). Lichfield Angel, Abe Darby, Teasing Georgia, Munstead Wood (she did really well and she is in full sun here. The blooms didn't fry at all but they were more on the hot pink side than the deep purpley red. Now that it is cooling off at night, I am getting the deeper coloring on it. She smells soooo good!)

Lilian Austin did great in the heat too. She is close to 5 ft and it was a small band this spring. She is fragrant and always has bees on it.

Most of my Austins are on Doc Huey but some were purchased as own root bands and are too young to really judge yet.

Shropshire Lad was bought as a small band this spring. It is 5 ft and hasn't bloomed. I need to move it into full sun.

Tess is also own root and 4ft tall. bloomed well during spring but not so much all summer. It is young tho.

I have Sharifa Asma which I got as a band. She is about 3 ft now and didn't bloom much during the worst of the heat. She has some buds again now. She smells amazing when she's blooming. Her foliage also stays nice. She is still a baby so I'm not judging her too harshly :)

irisgal, MY Lady of Shalott got huge but it is grafted on Doc Huey. It blooms better when it is a little cooler than what our summer was. It did bloom in the summer just not as much as spring and fall. It might stay smaller on own root in a cooler climate. You could easily train her to climb to save on space. Maybe wrap her around a pillar.

nanadoll, I must get Collette! Your photos of her are sumptuous! The front of your house looks like it belongs in a Fairytale *sigh*

There are so many amazing Austin photos here. So very very tempting lol.

I really want to try William Shakespeare 2000. I love the form of those blooms! Anyone grow that one in a hot humid place?

I have Falstaff that is grafted. I didn't plan to get that one because people said it was a stingy bloomer but I got it for Mother's Day last May. It has actually been a decent bloomer here, even during the summer. I still need to move it to a larger pot and give it a pillar. It wants to climb!!

~SJN

Wow These pictures are amazing. I thought I had just finished my list of roses to purchase and now I see these. I am running out of yard. Can someone please advise me on how to grow them in pots? Like what size pot and what type of soil. I have the perfect spot. I just don't even know where to start and I'm afraid they will get all rotten and soggy. Thanks!

SultryJasmine, Thanks for the confirmation of Lady of Shalott's height. I'm seriously considering pots for her and A Shropshire Lad. Might limit their size.

Gibsongirl, 18 inches is the smallest I've read for pot size. For tall Austins I'm thinking 22 inches. In my climate I like a mix of improved garden soil and potting mix.

When choosing a pot go for length of pot as opposed to width. The longer the pot, the better. Long and narrow pots work well. Wide ones tend to dry out faster but will also work if they are tall and wide, but the best results I've had have been with the longer pots. Such as these shown here:

Also, if you live in a very hot climate, the lighter the color the better. If you live in cooler climates, the darker the better.