Several ways of looking at it Darren. They flower themselves to death - sometimes the case, or more correctly I think, they deteriorate after 10 years or so and maybe not look their best.

Boredom sets in and they get replaced anyway.

Austin's like a quick turnaround so encourage us to keep replacing and buying more. Probably suits their business model.

I go with all 3.

My Heritage is 20.

See:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1719734/lifespan-of-a-grafted-rose

My opinion maybe wrong but it seems that much depends on where you live (climate) and wether or not it is grafted. Reading on here for a few decades has led me to believe that too much moisture is not good for roses. Unless you live where the soil drains quickly.

A grafted rose out west in drier environments than mine can seemingly live for decades or longer. A grafted rose here well seldom live longer than 10 years. It does not matter how well you protected it or how deep you bury it. The quality of the graft does matter however quality isn't what it used to be.

My oldest Austin is Geoff Hamilton, purchased in 2004 from Comstock Ferre. It is disease resistant, but from what I've read on this forum, a notoriously stingy bloomer in warm climates.

The oldest Austin at Austin Roses is David, who is over 90.

Own root roses do not suffer graft failure, and can live a lifetime or longer. DA roses do sell own root, as do other purveyors sell DA roses own root as well.

My own root Heritage is over 15 years. Maybe some of the grafted ones get weak. Some of the DAs I bought had mosaic virus which eventually weakens them.

Perhaps this could happen to some virused roses.

Title: "Viruses Involved in Graft Incompatibility and Decline"

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318221609_Viruses_Involved_in_Graft_Incompatibility_and_Decline

Constance Spry lived for 17 years before dying from stem canker. My few newer Austins have not done so well.

If I could have only one Austin it would be this one--Sharifa Asma planted in the Spring of 2008. It is approximately 10 feet tall and planted before the wheelchair ramp was installed.

Wow Zack, I am impressed! Looks like it stands unsupported, or is there some sort of a structure hiding behind it? Thank you, it’s great to see mature, whole bush photos, especially from a similar climate.

It stands upsupported. It does have the benefit of being in a a sheltered area behind the wheelchair ramp. It also gets the reflected light off the windows.

I had both Graham Thomas and Abraham Darby in my old garden and they are both still there and thriving in defiance of new owners that don't do a dang thing for them!! They were planted in the early 90's so nearly 30 years old.

In my climate, there is no set lifespan for roses - they can and will live many decades.

I have quite a few Austins that are finishing up their thirteenth year ( I have lived here 13 years), and are doing just fine. In fact Brother Cadfael is easily 9-10 feet tall, and Jude the Obscure is only slightly smaller. They are both unsupported and are not grown as climbers. I also have a Golden Celebration that is 10 years old at least and is nearly as large. I don't think there is an age limit in this climate. I never take the Austin site seriously when they make blanket statements like size estimates of their roses for the US, or lifespan either. Diane

The neighbor's wall-fence combo is nine feet tall. They are above us on a hill. We were explicitly told that no roses were to grow on this fence, so everything along it is free standing.

Spring 2017 Brother Cadfael topping the nine foot wall- fence.

In September and he's above the ten foot range:

My favorite photo of Golden Celebration (at least 10 years old) this year with Boscobel next to GC:

My roses growing in containers dont survive in 3-4 years.. the canes turn yellow and I couldn't figure it why.

Nana doll !! I’m in LOVE with your Roses. Wow!!! I doubt mine will grow that big in the UK climate. :-/

goegeous!!! Thanks for sharing. Mine are due to be delivered tomorrow. So excited!!

Xxx

Just trying to work out the placement of my roses. Do I keep the tall ones together? Or mix shrub sizes up? Any suggestions?

I thoughy maybe this layout.

I've got some that are 18 and still doing very well.

Oh wow! How many Jude shrubs do you have clumped to form that big hedge? Surely that’s not just 1?! I bought Jude, too, yes. A bit worried now. Hope I’m not planting them too close to one another. 46 inches apart.

Thanks for the wonderful pictures. I’m not sure the names of the roses I posted up, today. My memory is shocking. Sorry.

Hope the deer give your shrubs a rest!

Night.

That's just one Jude, Darren. But many roses grow really big here, and I'll bet in the UK they stay smaller. Jude starts out slowly, and then gains speed, as he grows. Golden Celebration is the same. You have about three years to make decisions if it looks like these two are going to be really big. That's just one Brother Cadfael, too. I have a rose named Ascot that's even bigger--it's not an Austin, of course. Hope you had a good rest. Diane

Here in Zone 6, some of my Austins have had "unnatural" deaths. Winters experience a lot of freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw--which means that I occasionally lose an Austin here or there. RRD has taken a couple over the past few years. How long those roses would have lasted otherwise, I don't know.

My other roses won't help us figure how long an Austin will live since my oldest are around 6-8 years. Hopefully they won't be winter or RRD casualties.

Kate

Tangles, rose growing in pots can be tricky. Could be overwatering, or underwatering or nutritional issues. Where are you?

Tangles, do you repot? Most potting soils degrade pretty quickly and drainage becomes an issue. Wouldn't be surprised if the yellowing canes was the result of lack of oxygen around the roots and water logging from poor drainage.

My david Austin is 72 yrs old it's a climber original owner planted it in 1949 and it absoloutely beutiful.

Holy 3 year thread brump. This caught my eye on the recent threads as I was reading another post - posters reply was of a particular grafted and I believe it was stated 5 year lifespan on it versus own root. It was on my -wiki- to revisit /homework /research this

The very first David Austin rose was Constance Spry, released in 1961. So that would be a maximum of 60 years old, not 72.

I have a bunch of grafted Austins still going strong at 17 years old. There are some pics above of mine at various ages. Diane

Those are Brother Cadfael and Evelyn in 2020. They will be blooming soon here in 2021. Here's Jude. Diane

This is Eglantyne.

I found the previous poster's post. Or more like I was looking for it, never found it, but the same poster posted similar verbiage. Some interesting comments

""Nearby rose park replaced Austin roses (grafted-on-Dr.Huey) every 3 years. The first two years as grafted are fantastic: tons of blooms .. then there's a drastic decline in 3rd year and beyond. Like 3 blooms per flush for my 8th-year Double Delight (grafted-on-Dr.Huey). Also rose park had 40+ blooms per spring flush on 2nd-year Jude versus one bloom for the same 3rd-year Jude the Obscure in late fall (grafted-on-Dr.Huey).

Rosarians in Pakistan report that Austin roses grafted on multiflora decline or die within 5 years in their 9b zone. They also switch to own-root Austins.'"

Two years ago I had a rose, "The Pilgrim" in an iris bed that was so overgrown by grass I dug the entire bed up, and found "The Pilgrim" where it had been hiding for about the pat 7-8 years having stopped blooming and engulfed by grasses. I potted it up, and by now it was own root. I gave it to my cousin this weekend, and it was growing nicely in a two gallon pot with several buds that will bloom in the next week or so. I believe I planted it circa 1994 or 1995.

I have Graham Thomas and Winchester Cathedral planted circa 1996 or 1997, and these roses have had regular maintenance and care, and grow and bloom very well indeed. In fact Winchester Cathedral sported, and half of the bush has reverted to Mary Rose, so it is one bush that is half pink, and half white.

I have "The Prince" I planted circa 2000 or 2001 that is as vigorous, as it was in its second and third years.

As for non-David Austin Roses, I have Queen Elizabeth which 3-years ago was losing some of its shine, but I redoubled my efforts with Mills Magic Rose Mix, and cleaning beneath the plant, weeding, and mulching, and it is back to its old self.

I think some of the fault is with our care, and some years we are on vacation when it rains, or don't have time to weed, and then things start to slip and won't come back unless we do something to make them come back.