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What's up with gertrude jekyll??

Erika (zone 6, Kelowna BC)

7 years ago

I love the colour and the photos i have seen of it, but I hear such mixed reviews of this rose ... so is it a great rose, or not?

Featured Answer

SoFL Rose z10

7 years ago

It all depends on where you live and how you care for the rose. Some roses thrive in California, but fail in Georgia. You should provide where you live and what type of growing conditions you will be growing your rose under. Also how much care are you willing to give it. Its not as black and white as the rose is good, the rose is bad. Each rose does differently in different areas. Sometimes even in the same garden, the same rose will behave differently. If Gertrude has been around a while and people still grow her, that's a sign that the rose grows well somewhere, at the very least. Check out your local gardens and rose society and see if anyone has one growing well in your region. :)

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Comments (7)

devsense
7 years ago
In my zone it stays small around 4ft but flowers repeatedly . I love the fragrance best, its the strong old rose smell. I sure would recommend it. note I do spray it n provide some winter protection .
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I just bought a Gertrude Jekyll from Heirloom. I'm hoping it will be free of RMV-related decline that Ann describes. Several of my Austins come from Heirloom for just that reason. I haven't decided yet whether to train GJ horizontally or prune it as a shrub and keep it short. I'd be interested in hearing from other growers who, like Palustris, have had it a while and like it. GJ is not the only rose that repeats better with age. My Pierre de Ronsard did not repeat well for several years. Now it blooms in good flushes several times a season. Many growers of young PdR plants give up on it for lack of repeat. BTW, I prune mine as a shrub. It doesn't even try to climb anymore! Rosefolly
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IMHO David Austin has made a grave mistake by not promoting RADIO TIMES more to his U.S. customers. I get the impression from his writings that this cultivar isn't as good a performer in the UK. Pity, because here across the pond it is one of the few Austins that can be kept as a medium sized shrub (with pruning). Repeat is reliable and the disease resistance is on par with the rest of his collection. The color is a rich pink, a bit warmer in tone than GJ. While the fragrance is not quite as strong as GJ, it is still "strong" and will please any parfume junky. I consider RADIO TIMES and SHARIFA ASMA to be the best pink Austins available for the American rose gardener. The only vendor I know that sells it is HEIRLOOM ROSES (heirloomroses.com). Please note that what they sell are "bands"; i.e. rooted cuttings. I can't stress this enough. The plants are tiny. On the plus side they are guaranteed to be virus free. I've always had success with them but put this disclaimer in simply because I don't want you to be shocked when you open the box.
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Thanks for responding DandyLioness. The growth on Lady of Shallot was a real surprise to me in 3 months. So glad to know I wasn't alone to face the broken branch. Do you happen to have a picture of your Lady of Shalott? The ones I googled in containers looked like tidy bushes, especially the picture from David Auston Ltd. I think it would take some hard pruning to shape them. Maybe I'll just let her grow and see what happens. Rose growing is such a learning experience. Trial and error. Seil, thanks for the information, it is growing like a fountain and glad you like the deck. It is a community deck for the building but nobody seems to mind that I put a few flowers out there. Yeah, I know I don't get the blooms on my Austins as if I were planting them in the ground and they had room but, man, I enjoy the fragrance and they have been blooming all month. Each bloom lasts quite awhile. Evelyn's and Abraham Darby's first blooms were six inches across.
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I agree with you Boncrow, you never know if a rose will do well in your garden until you try it. The microclimate in the spot it is grown can make a huge difference. Carol yes GJ's blooms are prettier than I have expected as well, and they were much larger than last year's blooms. They are not very lasting cut flowers but 2 days of heavenly fragrance per bloom is good enough for me. There are so many buds I have a constant supply of fresh ones to replace the old ones in the house.
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Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
7 years ago
I have seen it looking beautiful at our nearby garden extension. It is very large and thorny.
rosesmi5a
7 years ago
Here in Michigan, it is a once bloomer. Pretty and fragrant, but the classic old roses (Desiree Parmentier for example) outdo GJ in bloom quantity and length of bloom period. I wouldn't plant her again.

Sunny
MiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I have been away for a while, and now that I have an updated mobile device, I can actually use the forum again!

My Gertie is only in her very first season with me in South-central Michigan Z5b. She is own root and has grown rapidly. She has, despite the high heat and relatively dry (precipitation wise) weather, produced three separate flushes of blooms. I was disbudding her, but has been so full of life and eagerness to bloom that I've left her alone.

She is a little over three feet tall and bushing out with new basals. A prickly gal no doubt!

I cannot give appropriate feedback since we are so new together. If she continues as heartily (and so far, healthily) as she has, I will be satisfied.

Steven
rose_crazy_da
7 years ago
Its definitely a love hate relationship with me ...in my zone 5 I have her for over 3 to 4 years the only time she really blooms is in the spring , the fragrance is amazing that's why I have four....You know what there are better roses out there.
hugogurll
7 years ago
Here in So Cal, she's a once-blooming garden-eating monster. Don't have that much space for once-bloomer. She got the boot several years ago.

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