I doubt you could get them... over here they are not available to purchase as garden roses... as they state on their website... perhaps they are just not suitable for the garden, bred as they are for the cut flower trade.... lovely though aren't they?... much used at Royal and Society weddings this year...

You've got to hand it to them, another great innovation from Austin who took the risks at a time when roses like these weren't popular...

I'm sure they aren't available as plants because they would no longer be special enough to pay the expensive price for the cut roses if any old person could grow them lol. Just my guess.

They are super gorgeous though :/

^that's probably close to the mark sjn… I'm not sure but I thought I've read somewhere that they grow them under license in Africa or somewhere near the Equator and distribute from there, because that's the best place to grow roses for cut flowers, as they grow long tall stems...

I'm sure some people will try and grow them from cuttings in their vases..?..

That's interesting about them growing by the equator to produce upright stems. I hadn't heard of that before. Cool! There was someone on our forum who posted about being able to grow different cut flower roses (not DA's) from stems they bought at the store. I can't remember who though. A lot of the florist type roses lack fragrance. I wonder if the wedding cut flower DA roses have a lot of fragrance?

sjn… Here are a couple of quotes from the DA cut flower rose section on their UK website... I knew I had read this some where, so I'm glad I've found it, as it confirms what I said earlier..

''As they are grown around the world by one of our approved growers, our cut roses are available all year round. Our growers are generally located near to the equator which provides some of the world’s best environments for growing high quality, cut roses''.

''The scent varies from very light to very strong, depending upon the variety''

I sure WISH the DA florist roses were available for us to try growing! I posted a picture of ‘Edith’ from the DA catalog, just yesterday on the “Fall Seasonal” thread in the general Rose Forum. I’m enthralled with Edith! Charity is another one I just love.

My nieces had David Austin florist roses in their wedding arrangements and bouquets this fall and last fall. I was pleasantly surprised that they definitely had scent, and some quite strongly so. I don’t have time atm, but later I’ll look through my pictures and see if I have any good ones of the DA florist roses from the weddings. In last years wedding,( Jenna, my niece who used pomegranates in some arrangements; some of you may remember the pictures I posted), one of the DA roses looked a lot like ‘Edith’. I’ll look for them after I get home tonight, or tomorrow morning. I do remember it being very fragrant and of course gorgeous! Lisa

I agree Lisa! I would love to grow Edidth and Charity, omg, that little green button eye/proliferation just melts ones heart!

Grow power, that Edith is a stunner, but a good Evelyn example is a close second. The bloom structure is similar, though E is not so yellow. If you don't grow her, give Evelyn a try. Diane

An ancient photo of Evelyn and Sarah Bernhardt peonies. Diane

And Diane, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that photo. I forgot how stunning it was. Evelyn is just gorgeous. Now if I could just grow peonies! Lisa

i went through the Grace flower farm website that stephanie suggested above, and found Jayne Austin, which has some resemblance to edith, although I wish I could see it in person. ... It's not available via the american website. I wonder if they specifically remove some flowers from commerce so that they can sell them as cut flowers?

Jayne Austin

I asked Michael Marriott that specific question when he did a talk at Ashdown Roses. His answer was that the florist roses needed specific care and to be budded on vigorous rootstock -not what was available to home gardeners. He simply said that home gardeners wouldn't successfully give the roses the care that the roses needed to make masses of blooms.

I had asked if taking the lateral buds off of his florist roses might yield garden plants.

I hope you can get Edith some day. I really like the amber colored bud vase in this picture:

I wonder if Rachel in Ohio means 'Emily' not 'Emily Bronte' as that one has only recently been released here... 'Emily' as a florist rose would appear to be the same as the garden rose 'Cymbeline' according to HMF...

If you like white you might like 'Patience', a florist rose which is very strongly scented.. and if you want to swoon, here is a link to Carl W Bennett's HMF page where he has posted a few photos including 'Patience' and 'Miranda'... plus 'Emily Bronte' and 'Dame Judi Dench' which is making me salivate for these... be warned in case you are wanting them too..

I should add that Carl is David Austin's main hybridizer and has been there for 30 years... little known but while Austin takes all the credit, Carl probably does most of the work...

Carl W Bennett HMF

I think Diane grows the best Evelyns I've seen! So voluptuous !

Mine is not near as beautiful. I wondered if I got a dud so I have 3 more ordered for spring :)

I didn’t know Carl is the man behind a lot of beautiful DAs. Thanks for the info Marlorena!

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Uganda+loses+wetland+rose+farming+business+Africas+natural+areas/8793665/story.html