I only have 'The Generous Gardener' and it won't be any help to you from where I am, as I grow it on an obelisk, but yes it's very fragrant to my nose, love its scent, and it repeat blooms until late, however the only reservation I would add is that the repeat is never anything like the main flush. I cannot say the scent wafts either, I don't think it's that kind of rose but maybe to do with the way I grow it, as it has to be kept compact. Grown as a larger shrub might give it more impact in that department.. I hope you like it as much as I do..

Rosie,

I have/had: Bolero, Carding Mill, and Tamora. A rose gardening friend(f.), local to me in zone 5/6, has Sharifa Asma.

Sharifa Asma does not get sprayed or winter protected. I don't get out to see my friend's garden but twice or so a year, so I have to go by her reports on SA. Its first flush is spectacular as is its famous scent, followed by sporadic repeats. Black spot completely defoliates SA by July. Winter survival without protection is adequate. Bear in mind AS gets little care other than a spring pruning, fertilizing upon occasion, and watering "---".

My roses get the full nine yards: regular spraying, winter protection for the less hardy ones, fertilizing, mulching, etc.

Bolero is one great, great rose. It gets about 2'x2' here. Since I spray I cannot tell you about its disease resistance, but because of its vigor, heavy bloom, and exceptionally quick repeat, I suspect it's disease resistance is high. Bolero's fragrance is powerful, and permeates the garden eight feet in all directions from it. I have two in the rose bed, and two more little liners who will go in as soon as they bulk up. I winter protected Bolero, but may not in the future because the cane tips poking up above the mulch were good and alive.

Carding Mill dropped its petals lightning fast. Fragrance was moderate, and did not waft. Repeat was very good, though. The blooms nodded, but not as badly as so many other Austins do. Winter hardiness with protection was needed. It was a vigorous grower. I have no regrets shovelpruning it...quick petal drop and so-so scent signed its fate.

Ditto for Tamora except her fragrance was considerably stronger than Carding Mills' was. She shattered even faster than CM. So long to you, Tamora, don't miss you a bit!

Moses

I have Sharifa and love her. I bought her as a tiny band. She has grown well for me, but slow. I moved her last summer and she has taken off this year. Lots of new growth. She does get a touch of black spot, but doesn’t defoliate for me. I don’t spray anything. Most of my roses have a bit of black spot this year. We have had an odd spring. Hot, wet, then cold. I think I should have pruned her, but she was so small. She bloomed all summer for me. One bloom at a time. . This is her 3rd year for me, so I am expecting great things! A bloom I cut this year.

My little girl. Looks like she is finally gonna grow up this year! (She was an itty bitty band, I mean tiny!!)

I have had both Sharifa and Tamora for many years. I agree that Sharifa is at her best with the Spring flush, then has sporadic blooms the rest of the season, but her fragrance is strong, and I am glad to have her. Tamora blooms more for me, has strong fragrance, changes color often, sometimes orange, sometimes faded almost white, sometimes pink, always beautiful. Her blooms last a reasonable time for me and I would not be without her. I spray, they both need it in my garden.

Sharifa Asma

Tamora

Beautiful photos !!! I was supposed to get sharifa from k and m but it was out of stock .. maybe next year ! I had tamora in Pa and loved it . The color always seemed illuminated in the garden . I bought it again this year .

I have Bolero. Got it last year as a small own root from Roses Unlimited. I cut off all her buds last year to encourage root growth. This year she's still shorty but much bushier. She's covered in buds at the moment. I can't wait to see her bloom... Will post when she does.

Love those Austins! I have had a lot but none that are on your list. I almost bought Carding Mill last year at our Co-op annual Mothers Day sale but I didn't know anything about it. I have heard nothing but good about Bolero - enough that I would like to try one. I hope they work well for you in zone 7b and you can share pics with us in the future!

Oh my goodness everyone. I am even more smitten with my new babies more so now that I have seen y’all’s pictures!

I ended up planting them all today and your comments and descriptions aided me in where to place them.

I have a tiny bud on my Sharifa that I cannot wait to open so I can hopefully finally get a whiff of her.

And the first time I saw a Tamora bloom I thought she absolutely glowed as well, Lily!

Moses, as always, you are a count of wonderful and useful information. Thank you for all your advice.

Windwaker, I got my Bolero, LEH and Sharifa from Roses Unlimited on Saturday. I took a girls trip with my mother-in-law. They had some that were blooming and I just had to have the Bolero.

Krista, seriously...... your roses are stunning!

Mossy, they are beautiful! I think I can giver Sharifa some slack after her first flush :).

Gaga, so sweet. A few of mine are pretty small as well.

LKaye, I hope you are able to pick up a Bolero for yourself!

I will make sure to update everyone with pictures once they start blooming more.

Tamora right before I planted her.

Tamora in my no spray garden is a blackspot magnet. Her flowers are stunning though and scent is wonderful. SA winter killed here with no protection and never seemed to flourish even though planted in my most pampered garden. My favorite is Bolero even though she does suffer quite a bit of winter dieback and struggles. Flowers are gorgeous, scent is amazing, repeat one of the best of my roses and good disease resistance. Hands down my favorite rose. I just wish she was more hardy.

Carding Mill, and LEH dies over the winter. To my nose neither had the strong scent of Bolero or Tamora. GG was lost to voles but I recall the scent as moderate for a DA. Some growers said repeat is not the greatest though. Have you considered 'Munstead Wood'? Not winter hardy for me but great repeat and incredible scent. It's dark reddish purple, not garish though, so might not work with the colors you're leaning towards. Mine did blackspot though but still flowered in spite of it.

sharon

Sharon, thank you for all the feedback. I do spray my roses that absolutely need it so will make note that Tamora should be added to that list.

I did try to find Munstead Wood but RU was sold out when I went. It is definitely on my buy list, though!

I have yet to bite the bullet and be brave enough to order a rose online yet I have my eye in a few that I most likely will have to get them that way.

Rosie- I've had good luck ordering directly from David Austin so you could give them a try. I've bought several roses from them and they are usually healthy. I don't know if it's a bit late for your zone for bare root though.

sharon

Sharon, thank you for your input and I will keep that in mind for later. Have you placed any online orders for other roses and been pleased? I have my eye on a few non David Austin ones as well.

I only have Carding Mill of the 6. It is a new plant this year and I am very impressed with it. I purchased 5 different David Austin’s from a local place and only Carding mill and DB have bloomed some far. CM is to my opinion very beautiful in shape and color. I detect a mild scent so far, nothing I can brag about. The foliage seems healthy, but I do spray. In zone 7b (North Alabama) very few of my roses can be black spot free without some spraying.

Dianela

This is my Carding Mill. The scent is mild for me. Our disease pressure is insane and I don't spray, but CM seems to be one of the healthiest DA roses in my garden. A clear improvement over earlier DA introductions. It's definitely taller than wider, and forms a V-shaped shrub. It repeats well in late summer/early fall for me.

My Tamora is really tiny, but she's also own-root unlike the rest of the gang. I'm still on the fence...

I loved my Generous Gardener but I tried growing it as a shrub and failed. It really wanted to climb and was too vigorous for the space. (But it was also budded on multiflora and they are the most vigorous roses for me.) Also, the blooms would get bleached in the sun to almost pure white. Sadly, it had to go. But I would try it again if I had room for a climber -- the young blooms reminded me of peonies. I don't remember the scent...

Festiva- your Generous Gardener is gorgeous. I had this just one winter and lost it to voles. I can't recall the scent either. I have it on order from David Austin along with Ancient Mariner, Olivia Rose, Heritage and Thomas A Beckett.

Rosie- one of the DA roses you haven't mentioned that I have luck with is 'Heritage' although many complain that she shatters quickly. You might be too warm for her. I'm zone 5b Massachusetts. Although the scent is lighter than some of the other Austins in my garden it does seem to waft.

sharon

Dianela,

Gorgeous photos! I grow Moonstone as well. She was one of my first roses I ever bought got, actually.

What do you find to be most effective in spraying to prevent black spot?

Festival,

Great input and it really helps to see your pictures. It is always so hard to judge where to place new plants unless I see them in “real” gardens.

and maybe that is why I was drawn to Generous Gardener.... she looks like peonies! I love them but need plants that will prI use me with a longer bloom time than they do.

Enchanted, I didn’t mention Heritage because I happened to buy her last year :). I love her but do agree she is horrible in a vase and is very delicate. I planted her where she is in morning sun and then dappled in the hottest part of the afternoon so I am hoping that will help her blooms stay on longer. She really is stunning. Whenever I do bring a bloom in my husband always burrows his nose into her and says she smells amazing.

On your list I only have Carding Mill and Lady Emma Hamilton. Both are nice. Carding Mill is a sturdy survivor here for the most part. I had to cut LEH to the ground. I am not sure it is still alive at the moment. Both repeat reasonably well. Both have nice colors, and LEH has an extra nice fragrance. I, and many others here, have had to cut many of our roses to the ground because of our cold, dry winter and wildly fluctuating temperatures.

LEH, Carding Mill and Tamora all need spray where I live. LEH promptly died and is not missed, at all. All three are what I call garbage roses for a non-spray garden here, but given the right conditions, I bet each and every one of them would be spectacular. Unfortunately, that somewhere is probably not here, unless one douses them with chemicals, which for some sucks all of the fun out of having a garden.

Bolero is excellent in every aspects.

Bust and Farmer,

Thank you both for your feedback. I do completely agree that having to keep a spray regime for the roses is a pain. I am seeing how each of mine handle it and adjusting accordingly.

So happy to hear that Bolero is a great one.

Wow Festiva : your roses are gorgeous. I can’t wait for my Carding mill to look like that.

Krista: your Generous Gardener is so beautiful and the color so delicate ( it reminds me of an antique wedding dress). How a generous is it for you with its blooms?

rosiewells: I have only been gardening for 2 years so I haven’t tried many options yet. So far I have had great luck using the following 2 products in combination ( spray + nonspray). Sorry I didn’t know how to make the pictures smaller. I would love to have a spray free garden, but so far a large number of the roses I fall in love with require spraying. I start spraying early spring and continue until October.

Dianela,

Thank you for sharing your regime! I have seen that other people use those as well with good success. I am a pretty new gardener as well. I’ve been at it for awhile but just got the chance a year ago when my husband and I bought our forever home to really get serious and start gardening for real.

Dianela, The Generous Gardener is quite generous in its June flush, and does repeat bloom, but not as heavily as the first flush.

Sharifa Asma- My favorite scent of all the Austins I grow, strong and sweet. Sharifa mostly stays compact and rounded, gets up to 6 feet by the end of the season. She is nicely winter hardy for me and always seems to have at least a few blooms going. I spray, so no BS problem. Both of mine are virused, but they do well anyway.

Tamora- Stays short, under 3 feet. Even with spraying tends towards black spot. Scent is like black licorice, my wife hates it, but I like it. Not my favorite rose because the stems aren't really long enough for cutting.

Bolero- Seems like this is always in bloom, mine grows to about 2 1/2 feet. Fragrance is moderate to my nose, but pleasant.

I have thrip issues with all of these roses, but I hit them with cyflutherin when needed and that seems to do the trick.

I've had a Sharifa for about 6 years, and she struggles, very slow grower and not much of her ever; stays under 3'. I too get 1 bud at a time. My other issue is that I don't particularly like its scent (gasp!). The blooms are pretty.

I've had pretty low success with Austins. Killed a few, a Heritage survived and looks halfway decent this year. Crown Princess Margaretta is my favorite/most successful Austin so far, at least she grows. I ordered Lady of Shallot this year because of a lot of positive comments in these boards... she'll get Sharifa's spot, shhhh!

It's interesting how different noses have different reactions to scents. I've gotten rid of a lot of roses that were supossed to be deliciously fragrant, and I found them either with no fragrance or an unpleasant fragrance.

Al and Fruit, it is fascinating how people react to the same rose differently!

Al your pictures of Sharifa and just like the ones I saw originally that made me have to have her. Here’s to hoping she likes me back!

Fruit, I have a two year LoS and she is putting out tons of blooms already. The first to really start going for me this year. I think she is going to be a winner!

All these roses are beautiful. I am so glad spring is finally starting that I swear I feel more lively and happy lately. Stopping by gardenweb, and checking out all the daily pictures are a great break. I am very impressed we how much everyone seems to like their Bolero rose and already added it to my list for next year.

Al Mitchell: I was hopping to message you privately to not ask questions outside this thread's topic, but I don't know how to do it. I was wondering if you could please message me (if that is possible), and share how you use cyflutherin around your roses for thrips. I have a lot of thrips already and don't know how to proceed. Thank you in advance.

Dianela

Another vote for Sharifa here in Z8!

I have 3 absolutely no-spray and love the scent. Though the size of the blooms doesn't compare with some of my others, she's covered in them. Shorter and bushier plant, almost fluffy looking!

I have them in sandy fast-draining soil, high humidity though, and I wonder if that makes the difference with bs?

Al Mitchel, I am curious as well how you battle against thrips if you wouldn’t mind sharing your regime?

Lavendar, I am hoping mine does just as well as yours do! I am still impatiently waiting for her first bud to open so I can finally hopefully see what she smells like.