Our climate in southeast England (zone 8) is probably a tad different from yours, but fwiw I can tell you that Lady Emma (3 seasons with me) is by no means a climber here, but barely 3 ft tall and 3-4 ft wide. The overall impression is of very well behaved, shrubby, wide and well branched rose. It blooms all the time and well through the first frosts here (Dec), often into January, and doesn't want to lose its coppery leaves either. It could very well be an evergreen and everbloomer in your climate, and will probably grow bigger than it does here. It definitiely is a super performer with great color and one of the most amazing complex fruity scents. I've had Young Lycidas for two seasons and it's a very short rose, under 2 ft so far, with huge and perfumed blooms that can weigh down the slender branches at times. Overall it's fairly upright and vaseshaped, perhaps a bit twiggy, and it definitely takes a breather between bloom cycles. But color and its damask perfume are fantastic, and I love the shape of the flowers, especially before they open entirely - at which point they begin to reflex back and acquire a bit of a blousy look with a softer silvery lavender color, which is also nice, but not as striking as the deep magenta and nicely folded petals of the earlier stages. The blooms last a very long time, up to a couple of weeks here. Keep it close to the border so you can see and smell it. Hope this helps, Andrea

I'm another huge fan of Yves Piaget; even a few blooms on the bush make such an impact in the garden. jo and Kippy, great pictures, thank you. jo, the blue companion plants are so pretty with the roses. Interesting how many of us have strong color likes and dislikes. I love the color that Carol can't abide, and I on the other hand have a deep dislike of red roses, which so many people are very fond of. It would be pretty boring if we all liked the same things, so it's all good. Ingrid

I find this is a very common 'problem' with some Austins (Claire Austin, Golden Celebration, Jude the Obscure). For the first couple of seasons, they are quite lax and flexible and really struggle to bear the weight of blossom. However, after a couple of seasons, especially with a decent pruning regime, they stiffen up nicely, getting extra girth and more basals. I also use a secondary support usually made up of old fruit tree prunings or hazel or willow or whatever comes to hand, really. Ideally, I am looking for stout forked branches where I can rest the floppy canes in a V shaped stick of seasoned wood. Obviously, this would look a bit duff in a very neat or formal garden but in my jungly chaos, it works a treat.

Here are YL and Sophy together. YL typically has larger blooms than Sophy but it rained hard all weekend and the best of YL's blooms are too battered for photos. I ADORE Young Lycidas. Heavenly fragrance, wonderful color with subtle veining, heavy bloomer with quick repeat and very hardy. I don't mind the nodding form. It may help that I have three together in a grouping, and they look like one large fountain shaped shrub. One negative is blackspot susceptibility. Sophy is a fine and reliable rose. Cheerful. I can't believe DA has moved her to the supplementary list. Not fair. I'm not surprised that Heathcliff has been banished to that same list though, IMO he belongs there. Sophy grows upright, covered in good foliage (no bare knees), remains short and tidy, Always in bloom, and lots of bloom. At their best the blooms have an almost dahlia like form. In extreme heat the petals do wilt and fade. I detect no fragrance. She's very hardy and has good blackspot resistance for me. I tried Heathcliff for 2 years. My chief gripe was the shrub form, grows like a hybrid tea. Didn't mix in well with other english roses. The blooms were huge and lush and I loved the color. I'd say it was somewhere between YL and Darcey Bussell. I had such high hopes when I saw the first blooms and was ready to forgive his awkward lankiness, but my hopes were dashed, he just refused to give me many more blooms. Princess Anne is an interesting english rose. It has a cluster blooming habit that reminds me of a floribunda. I liked it well enough but that particular look didn't work with my design. Marolena's photos capture the color well, a deep, dusty rose. It was blackspot resistant and vigorous. can't comment on hardiness.