Beautiful photos Ken! I planted a lot of DAs last year, hope mine will be like yours in 2-3 years.

I got The Prince on fort based on Ken's recommendation. His Molineux at the South Metro Show was so beautiful!

The Prince is weak. Fortuniana might well be the best roostock for him.

I wanted to order The Prince on fort from K&M after hearing about yours, Ken. The only other one I wanted was Perdita on fort but they lost their mother plant and so I didn't place the order. I wish I would have now. Your roses are fantastic! I just put a couple of own root Molineux in the ground this week. Hope mine will look as good as yours.

Apparently 'The Prince' is a cross between 'Lilian Austin' and 'The Squire'- this, according to Paul Barden: http://www.paulbardenroses.com/austins/prince.html 

He also describes the problematic growth habit of The Prince.

By the way, I've managed to find a UK supplier, for us this side of the Pond (Larch Cottage): http://larchcottage.co.uk/buy/mail-order-plants-uk/25998/rosa-the-prince-rose#.WMS2A5LfWf0

I'm not too tempted though.... I mean, the price is reasonable. I'm just not convinced that this would be worth the effort. Oh...their shipping price (£16!!!) is more than the price of the plant (£12) so not happening.

On a separate note:

To my shock and horror, I went to my allotment today to discover that my carefully-planted Jude the Obscure was....well, I don't know what happened! The pot was upright, but empty, the compost outside of it on the ground and a mere slip of the rose left on the ground- I could have sworn the plant was bigger! Moreover, the root had this ugly, bulbous canker-looking thing at it's base! What is more bizarre is that all other plants appear untouched! I was away last week- I'm beginning to think that this was a theft and someone stole my plant, replacing it with a dud.....so weird!!! I broke off the canker thing and replanted what was left but I am so bewildered and disappointed.

Very strange, Sean. Regarding the Prince, I believe Pam from Angel gardens still grows and offers this one. She is growing me a couple, (I think.) Email is the best way to get a hold of her and to see what she offers as her website listings are not always updated. Anyone grow the prince O.R? Fort will not survive my winters....

When they discontinue a rose I am interested in, it just make me want it more. If it's harder to get, it becomes more desirable. I also wish they would clean up their act regarding virused rootstock...

While a lot of the Austins are very similar to one another, each one has its own character. Sometimes the differences are subtle, but for a collector those fine varietal differences can be of significance. For rose enthusiasts interested in optimization, all the selection options are plus. Although I do see how it can be confusing and overwhelming for those who do not have familiarity with the Austin group of roses.

DA is not really trying to cater so much to the typical consumer; those people can go shop at the big box stores.

Even if you think there are too many offerings and they all blur together, maybe making you uncertain which ones to get, you still have to hold an appreciation what DA is doing.

I think the growth habit is one of the strong points of The Prince I grow. It's a perfect looking little rose bush of about 3'X3'. The blooms are gorgeous, too. But the shriveling and blackening of the blooms is not so nice. It doesn't even take strong sun to do this to its blooms. This plant is grafted on multiflora rootstock.

Sean, I'm sorry to read about your Jude. Totally puzzling, including the canker. Diane

Sean, much sympathy! What an unpleasant mystery. Carol

Kelly and Carol, thank you very much. I was away in México working for a week. I got back yesterday and briefly went to the allotment to check on things. I often prefer to plant roses there because it has full sun, unlike our garden... so I think the jetlag numbed me but today it sank in and I have to say, I'm actually quite upset! I really take a lot of care when planting my roses and Jude was one that I was looking forward to seeing in bloom this year. All I have now is a sick-looking mystery-plant and this picture of a bloom from last year:

So I'll make the exception- I can order it online bare-root at a discounted price from the £19/£20 at garden centres. Here's one unplanned DA but hey- life's not always black and white. :) Sorry for the sad-story everyone... I felt as if I had to vent this.

What a gorgeous rose, Sean; no wonder you're upset. This rose seems to glow within, and what a lovely color.

Thank you very much Ingrid. I ordered another one, bare root, from a supplier at 25% less than the RRP. Certainly this is one of the few that merit the DA hype about fragrance- it really is amazing! Hence why I'm eating humble pie and replacing it. I really have not smelled anything else like it and there truly is a somewhat tropical, very fruity fragrance to it.

Well, I guess I'm still interested because I had a friend add Evelyn and Lady Emma Hamilton to her order for me. I wanted own root, but had to settle for grafted. I wanted Summer Song or the Alexandra Rose, but those were sold out.

Buford, May I ask who sells Summer Song? I'd love to have 1 too.

Yes, do tell! I have been looking for Summer song for years too! Or even someone to send me cuttings...I didnt think anyone sold it in the US or Canada....

Yes, I had been told that Summer Song was not available in the US. That's one I'm interested in, too. Diane

My favorite Austin's are rugosas. I haven't remembered to take pictures in the daylight, but since my digital camera has a flash, I went outside and took pictures of the only Austin currently blooming. Snowden a white rugosa, own root from Heirloom. It is climbing my grapefruit tree, which is just starting to bloom itself. So, for a change of pace, here is Snowden at night. This rose tends to have very dark green foliage and is very healthy here. No rust, no mildew. Blackspot isn't much of an issue in my area, and Snowden is not one of my few roses that gets it.

I also have Mrs. Doreen Pike (own root from Heirloom) which does beautifully here in a spot in partial shade. Her flowers are very delicate and have a stunning color. I think her flowers were fry in full sun. She is just leafing out so no photos yet for this year. Her leaves tend to be kind of a lime green to mid green. Pretty Jessica, own root from Heirloom, has been in my garden for decades and has never really looked very good nor bloomed much but is in a location where I never seem to remember to taker her out and replace with something that likes my garden better. Gertrude Jekyll is only okay at this property, but on another I used to have around 2 miles away she was an excellent rose.

Last year, sadly I lost my very favorite Austin of all, the beautiful rugosa Wild Edric. It was a huge mature plant and had looked great even in the drought, but last year I lost multiple roses, mainly those on multiflora, but also some own root. They were in different parts of the garden, and seemed to die rapidly. I'm not certain of the problem but I am leaning towards boron toxicity, as our city water is sometimes high in boron and I happened to use a fertilizer (expecting El Nino rains that never came) I've never tried before and it contained boron. Among the casualties were Pickering Four Seasons, William's Double Yellow, Polareis, Leonardo da Vinci, R. arkansana, and R. sericea pteracantha (R. omeiensis). I managed to save some that looked on death's door, but not my fav Wild Edric. David Austin has now pulled him from commerce in the US, so you are lucky to have yours Ingrid.

Sorry, I misspoke, Summer Song is not available from the US Austin site. I did google it and it is on the UK site, so I assumed it was just sold out, but as others have said, it's not even sold here. Maybe some of our UK friends can send us cuttings.

aww.. I would if I could...

I think this is a rose a lot of people try but don't keep... I loved the huge foliage, very leafy and healthy. I'm not sure I've seen such leafage on a rose before.. The blooms were huge too, very orange and full, but its drawback for me was that they faded quickly around the edges to a washed out, rather strange pink, and I didn't like that combination...

Buford_NE_GA_7A, while I'm not sold on it, I checked out 'Summer Song' out of curiosity. It had escaped my notice before. I really wish you could get it but I'm not sure that your joy would last. I read on another forum that people in the US have lots of difficulty with it. Someone emailed DA to ask about availability and I apologise for being the bearer of bad news, this was the response: "it does not seem that Summer Song will thrive here in our US climate so this variety will not be released here." :( Sorry.

P.S. The person was in zone 8, (East) Texas, if it helps.

So maybe I've dodged a bullet there. I would have bought it on the color alone and the fact that most Austins do well here.

it does not seem that Summer Song will thrive here in our US climate so this variety will not be released here

So you have A climate over there... I thought otherwise..

Edit: I'm sure if a rose is good, there should be a climate or two in the US that would fit it well.. Good roses thrive in a multitude of very different climates.. If the rose is a problematic plant then it might just survive in the less extreme UK climate than in the colder / hotter conditions in the USA. That would not make it a good plant even for the english climate though..

Marlorena,

I'm sure DA don't mind at all people trying and throwing away their roses as long as they keep on trying... In fact, this seems to be their business model..

I replaced mine with a rose bred by Frank Cowlishall...

Interesting, Marlorena- I just Googled that Cowlishaw is the one who bred Rhapsody in Blue. Was this the one, or something else? Also, that oink 'wash out' colour on Summer Song was also a regular complaint. Maybe orange is just a hard colour to hold, as Emma Hamilton can sometimes do a little of that.

i'd like to know more about Cowlishaw though. I was looking at the German breeder Tantau tonight and saw some interesting specimens.

Tessie, I'm very sorry that you lost your Wild Edric since I don't know of anyone who is offering it. I don't know whether rugosas root very well but I can try to make a cutting for you. I don't know exactly where you live but if you'd like to visit me I can give you one of my Wild Edric bushes since it means so much to you to have this rose. I'll still have two.

Strange that Summer Song supposedly doesn't grow well in the US, but is being sold in Australia. I would think that Southern California would have a climate similar to parts of Australia. Austin is unfathomable in his weird marketing tactics. As Sean mentioned, Tantau has some gorgeous roses that would be excellent substitutes for Summer Song; among those are Capri, Belvedere, and Chippendale. But of course, we can't buy those Tantau roses here in the US, either. Diane

Yes I've noticed on Renae Cooke's thread that it's available in Australia, so the word from Texas seems a bit odd..

Sean,

I have 3 Cowlishall roses, 'Odyssey'..'Forever Royal'.. and 'Purple Skyliner'... I was growing 'SS' as a climber, as we can do that with some Austin's, but not liking the colour too much, and I wanted something larger and more rambling, I replaced with 'PS'..

I would have moved 'SS' to my front border which is more suitable for stronger colours like that, but got 'Lady of Shalott' instead, which I prefer, as it has some yellow mixed in there, and I think, a better bloom form, if one can appreciate this colour, which isn't for everyone in any case...

I only have 1 Tantau rose but would get more if I had the room... wouldn't we all?..

I don't know if you've ever visited the north Cambridgeshire area, but we are blessed here in this agricultural/rose growing region, with an abundance of plant nurseries, auction houses, and retail selling at wholesale prices. I got 'Graham Thomas' for £3. and could have got a lot more Austin's and others... therefore I sometimes grow roses as annuals, just for some blooms in the house and discard end of season... nothing new for me that..

Mind you, I notice one German owned nursery just a couple of miles from me, that sold a lot of Austin's cheaply, and they were good potted plants, I was so tempted to pick up a handful, has closed its doors I think due to Brexit.... such a shame...

I should add, I'm pretty sure a U.S member has 'Summer Song' and it looked great in her photos, I think it maybe Pat from Alabama [pat_bamaz7].. or Beth norcal... not sure...

I'm so tempted to order Summer Song and prove to DA they're wrong.. but I won't because most probably I won't be able to.. there's only the odd Austin that thrives in my climate..

Marlorena, I think it's Beth who grows Summer Song. I've seen her photos of SS on HMF. I wonder how she obtained it. What luxury to buy a rose for an annual. That would be fun. We do have the grocery store minis--ha. Diane

Marlorena, I am sitting up VERY alert! I've been to Cambridge (around the university) a few times but not sure where in north Cambridgeshire you are referring to. I'm in Buckinghamshire and more than up for a day's outing there. Please do pass on the names and locations of these bargain dealers- £3 for Graham Thomas beats my best record of £5 for a St Swithun!!!

Nanadoll, I was looking at Capri last night, as well as Comtessa, Augusta Luise and Gräfin von Hardenberg. Capri does look beautiful.

Marlorena, that's correct, I'm eagerly awaiting my four Summer Song bare roots to arrive in June. It seems quite readily available in Australia? Unfortunately, we don't have Geoff Hamilton here, which I am very disappointed about.

I am only just starting out with roses (this is our first home) and I'm loving DA. I have planted Old Wollerton Hall around my stables and they are doing very well.

I have on order Young Lycidas, Golden Celebration and Summer Song, with the intention of ordering lots more!

Summersrhythm, I just called and asked on your behalf and DA UK will not ship to the US. There are various customs restrictions across the US- I'm not sure what applies to your region. The other answers ranged from roses being tested and found unsuitable to your climate (yes, varied but I'm not sure of the 'reasoning' behind them ignoring that- sorry), others in the process of testing and that some are not bred by DA and basically they can't charge their usual inflated prices because of how they'd be undersold (my rephrasing on the last one :) ). She then said that she didn't see how they could survive the journey.

Personally, I've ordered a garlic variety from the US that I couldn't get here and paid over $20 for the courier charge (I won't repeat the madness) so I am a believer in where-there's-a-will-there's-a-way. I can entirely imagine the bare roots being plastic-wrapped in moistened paper or moss, put into a thick plastic bag, inserted into a large cardboard cylinder, one layer of bubble-wrap and all that remains is customs and the cost of the courier. It would survive the 3-5 day trip.

Thanks for checking. It's not doable for sure now. I emailed a U.K. nursery once trying to purchase roses from them, I never got an answer back.

Roseseek (Kim) has posted the hoops that must be jumped to get a rose into the US--phyto sanitary certificate, quarantine, and inspection, all paid for by the one doing the importing. It sounds awful and expensive, not to mention time consuming. So, I don't think many of us are up for that.

Sean, I grow Augusta Luise (it was offered briefly by Hortico in Canada). Grab one if you can. It's a gorgeous, fascinating rose. Supposedly, Astrid Grafin von Hardenberg will be available to us briefly from Palatine in Canada next year. Still waiting for details on that, but I'm on the waiting list. If you can get Ascot, try that one, another Tantau. It's a wonderful rose of a dark wine red color, very cupped shaped. Diane

Augusta Luise, a rose of many colors

Thanks Diane- I'll try! I saw Ascot but it has very little fragrance, according to their website. I'll go for th von Hardenberg or capri instead.

Sean,

Sorry it's taken a while to get back to you...

If you are ever up this way, north Cambs/Norfolk area, you might like to check these out. Be warned, you'll spend a fortune, not just because of the prices but the range on offer... potted roses in season, but much of everything else besides... the websites don't list everything in detail and there is no mail order.. and they're out in the sticks, so to speak.. lots of others up this way, especially in Norfolk and Lincolnshire too... the whole area is awash with nurseries, and you just find them driving around here and there..
Rachael's...
West Acre

Thanks VERY much Marlorena! I will explore.

diane, sucess! It was too late to get anything via mail order but I my family-in-laws surprised me yesterday with a visit to a large garden centre, where I found Augusta Luise! :D It was just starting to grow in the pot so this is something of a shock to it, poor thing but I shook off the soil, wrapped it carefully and took it home today.

this was AL yesterday when I bought it:

Wonderful, Sean. I am so jealous because I want another AL. Yours looks wonderful, so much better than the bareroot I started with. She's a vigorous rose, so she should grow quickly this season, and you should have some blooms, perhaps. Just give her lots of water. I would think that would help her bit of a droop. I want to see more photos as the season goes along, please. Diane

I have not had time to read through all these amazing responses you've gotten, and will do that when there's a free moment. Here in the hot and dry inland climate, the following Austins are amazing (I am not mentioning the good ones, just those that are amazing in this garden)

1. Princess Alexandra of Kent

2. Tamora

There are others that are splendid here (I love Young Lycidas), but the two above are really special. Tamara is not without certain foliage issues (mildew here), but PAoK is extraordinary...and it gets huge here if planted in a decent spot. We have it in 2 places. One grouping (3 plants) in sandy lousy soil - it survives and gets better each year; one grouping (5 plants) in slightly better soil. I put it right next to the sidewalk, because the catalogue described it as a smaller plant with huge flowers...haha. If we didn't prune those puppies hard each winter, they'd be enormous,

Sorry for a second post...Fr. Ambrose reminded me that Young Lycidas is amazing here (he's right), and more mildew free than PAoK. Also, Jubilee Celebration is a wonderful rose. I'm not so aware of mildew propensity because I'm less involved in the gardens these days, and Ambrose sprays for mildew etcetera. Miss those heady days of constant gardening 2004-2007.

I don't know how I managed to miss seeing your very kind offer until today Ingrid. But thank you. I would be very happy to get a cutting or a sucker (if Wild Edric does--mine was grafted so didn't) some time. Let me know if you would like something from my garden. I would be pleased to share.

Tessie, so far Wild Edric is not wild enough, because none of the three plants has suckered. However, they're still fairly young so it may yet happen. I just read that it's best to take cuttings after the bloom cycle is over so I'll wait a while before I try to root cuttings.

I wish I could try Summer Song here. A lot of roses that are doing well in my yard are ones others said wouldn't, when I was initially going to get them. All the many Austins I have are doing well so far with the exception of A Shropshire Lad. He is actually looking great so green and healthy and growing huge...however no flowers yet lol. I had Carding Mill die as a tiny band but I don't think it was because it was an Austin. I've had a few small bands die that weren't Austins as well lol.

I think its dumb that Austin would pull Summer Song based on 'someone's' US climate because the US has sooo many different growing conditions. I have lived and gardened in several different US States and I had to practically relearn how to grow a lot of stuff. Soil was different, temperatures were different, wind was different, humidity or lack thereof was different, elevation makes a huge difference in terms of sun exposure and leaf burn.

The whole seasons are 'backwards' in places like south Florida and Arizona, parts of California, and other places, because people plant their vegetable gardens in the winter rather than the summer. I could go on all day lol.

On another note, I just ordered William Shakespeare 2000. I hope it likes it here :) I heard it is not going to be sold in the US from the Austin website next year. I had to get it before it was gone lol. Supposed to be here Thursday so I'm excited!

Interesting what you say about A Shropshire Lad- mine also produces lots of foliage but almost no blooms! We'll see how it performs this year though (year 2 since planting).

i stuck to the plan and got Young Lycidas and Gertrude Jekyll on sale this year as new acquisitions. That's my DA roses of interest collection complete now.

To be fair and by way of update, the hitherto shabby looking Olivia Rose Austin has really perked up some hvery ealthy spring foliage now. We'll see what the blooms are like.

Update: credit where it is due, the Olivia Rose Austin did put on a truly beautiful display and the foliage is very healthy indeed. The medium fragrance is not "highly fragrant" but the flowers are beautiful:

In other news, the first Winchester Cathedral bud opened last week:

I dare say though, nothing (David Austin or otherwise) so far has come close to this old Bourbon, Madamme Isaac Pereire (and the fragrance is just ensorcelling!):