Robert, that's possible, but I always thought the nematode issue was Florida's main plague when it comes to less robust roses, and that grafting roses on Fortuniana rootstock was helpful. I'm no expert on this, either. Diane

She's one year old with me, two growing seasons direct from David Austin Roses USA.

Staying short so far. Seems to bloom and rebloom well.

Oftentimes scentless or very slightly scented, I've encountered rare times she smells quite lovely; like a sweet, moderate damask-based fragrance.

Haven't had enough time for an appropriate impression, but I'm quite indifferent to her at the current point.

Steven

She black spots readily but seems mostly unaffected so far.

I ordered 2, sad to hear about her prevalence to black spot, but I love the blooms.

IMO roses should not be judged at all when they have only been in the ground "for a few months". Many roses (not all, I know) are like baby animals or people - they DO need to mature a bit before they assume their adult characteristics. It is like expecting a 2 month old child to be able to walk - not happening. Patience is a virtue. From many comments above, other gardeners have had great success with Princess Anne after it has been allowed to mature. Expecting immediate perfection is not reasonable, and will make you worry and wonder unnessecarily. I give all roses 3-4 years before I form an opinion of them. By that time, most of them are WAY healthier, larger, and bloom more than they did when they were 6 months old.

Jackie

Jackie is so right, and I don't know how many splendid roses I discarded in their infancy (one year or less) because I was too stupid to know better. At any rate, all the above photos I've seen of Princess Anne have made me look very favorably upon this rose, and I especially like the "unpruned" and lovely bushy habit of this rose. For that reason I'd definitely consider planting her among the old roses that I favor, God and the ground squirrels willing. I've only seen Gabriel Oak on-line and it leaves me rather unmoved, but then Austin's more recent productions seem a bit one-note to me. Again, I haven't seen them in person, but Princess Anne at any rate is one I'd order just from the photos I've seen over the years.

Ingrid, I've been thinking about adding Princess Anne someday, too. Gabriel Oak has been in my garden for two years and it's fast becoming a favorite. Photos don't do it justice. Glowing brilliant color and fantastic fragrance.

Ingrid I agree with everything you said EXCEPT once I saw firsthand how resilient Gabriel was I felt he deserved a chance. He absolutely is a rose without romance and yet…his determination and fragrance have earned him a spot in my garden.

I feel like Gabe started showing romance this year in my garden.

Wow Gabriel is beautiful! He is on my list.

@sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish) you won’t go wrong with Gabe. Superb bloomer, fragrance, no disease…wonderfully large flowers that last!

Some of GO’s gorgeous blooms from my 1st season plant:

The solid pink blooms are 4” (the multi colored rose behind is Huntington’s 100th)

A little blurry, but you get an idea of the deeper shading toward the center.

I love the color of Gabriel Oak alongside Huntington’s 100th. Stunning combination, Robert!

Thanks @Desert Rose (10a Sunset 19)! That was a happy accident :)

These stunning photos of Gabriel Oak should convince me, and somehow they don't. In my mind's eye I view this rose as a glorified double zinnia, as crazy as that may sound. However, there's a lot to be said for a rose that is tough and trouble-free. If the ground squirrels would refuse to eat him, I'd order three or four!

@ingrid_vc zone 10 San Diego County if GO does not appeal to you, it is totally ok. Some people’s taste is only in their mouths. Hahaha I am 100% kidding 😂 Liking a rose is so subjective—some people rave about certain roses that I cannot fathom what they see in them. Then a year later, I’m buying them myself—ha! So if you ever convert to the Gabriel Oak camp, please update us!

Is it the name do you think? I’m utterly convinced I buy and don’t buy roses based on their name sometimes (France Info? what kind of name is that?).

These photos of Gabriel Oak are quite gorgeous, and I particularly that peek of Huntington's 100th, Robert Does that rose have another name? But like Ingrid, I feel like Gabriel doesn't quite click with me. I very much prefer Young Lycidas and its loose lean on a friend habit. Its color is pretty similar to Gabriel's, though YL's color is more mutable during the blooming season. Diane

Leaning in on Angel Face; YL leans on Colette and Julia, too.

I thought Huntington's 100th was aka Life of The Party, I could be wrong lol

Your YL is drool-worthy!

Correct! It's Life of the Party (I hate this name). But it is such a good blooming machine with true fragrance that wafts. Great purchase (it's a standard too).

@Diane Brakefield so I purchased Gabriel Oak out of rebellion (they were out of Munstead Wood, and I was in a "I'll show you!" mood which of course David Austin couldn't care less about, so I bought it). It is very different from so many Austins/English roses. Gabriel Oak is really big first of all, quite flat, and almost overwhelmingly bright. The coloring is darker in the middle and lighter toward the edges, and if I had to use one word to describe the flower form, I'd probably say STIFF. It is not soft-looking, not particularly romantic...to me it is a very male version of Gertrude Jekyll. Gabriel Oak's petals are arranged almost too perfectly around and I think this stiff quality combined with the garish glow of the magenta blooms is very off putting for some.

It does bloom regularly, has great fragrance, and was completely disease free in my garden even when BS and PM were all around it. I've only had it one year, and I am curious how it looks this coming season (its second season in my garden). It is vigorous too. It threw out at least three basal breaks last season.

Diane, I love Young Lycidas too. I'd love him more than Gabe if I were in. An arid climate. Unfortunately, YL balls quite easily in my garden. I'm keeping him because I love him, but Gabe is even better in my nn climate. He never balls. He's gorgeous in person, has a romantic drapery shrub shape and reminds me of a hybrid perpetualperpetual but with bigger blooms. He doesn't half as good in photographs.

Ingrid, since you're an arid climate, I say hihi go with something more cabbage and peony like....big round deep cups...the kind that ball in humid cool places.

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw gosh my GO is not shrubby at all. It is as upright as an HT! maybe that will change as it matures

Wow! Mine grows long canes that flipflop over onto nearby plants and others that are bendable and super easy to gg peg. I decided not to hard prune it and just treat it like an OGR. It blooms. all along the drapey and pegged canes.

Robert, Young Lycidas is a guy, too. He's a dying youth John Milton wrote about in the poem, you guessed it, Young Lycidas. If you decide to read this poem (maybe you already have), have some strong coffee ready to get through the thing. I'll bet your Gabriel Oak will become more shrubby as it matures. YL has that same dark in the middle light at the edges coloring as Gabriel. Diane

Librarian: Would say that your Gabriel Oak has a growth habit similar to Young Lycidas with the long, drapey canes? I have a spot where the color of GO would work well, but I’d like a rose with a less drapey growth habit that’s more similar to, perhaps, Boscobel. I’m also considering James L. Austin and Princess Anne.

Yes, my Gabe has a similar growth habit to YL. But Robert has said that his Gabe is upright. Maybe pruning styles influences this . It's habit is not similar to Boscobel'sBoscobel's in my garden. Boscobel is certainly an upright non drapey shrub. Looking out the window at my frozen garden (it hit 20last night ... That's cold for us) I'm thinking that you could definitely prune Gabe to be more of an upright shrub. He works as a drapey neighbor in his spot so that's why I've let grown that way. I've. been lax on his pruning and put more effort into pegging him.

Thanks, Librarian! This is super helpful info.

My Gabriel Oak is also more upright. Young Lycidas and Sophie’s Perpetual are far and away my two most lax roses.

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw well now I am really curious, because I have not pruned my Gabriel Oak yet. I planted him as a bare root from DA last spring, so all the upright growth I mention is the first year's growth. We'll see what he does this year in year two. But I would say that GO was very upright, and I even had a basal break that was 5' tall. It made me wonder if he was going to throw octopus canes eventually like so many other DA roses.

On another note, I have Eustacia Vye right beneath him (it's a terraced area), and she also had very upright growth, but was definitely shorter. Maybe 3' tall maximum.

Diane, those photos of Young Lycidas, oh my! They perfectly represent that old rose look that Austin was trying to emulate. Robert, your description of Gabriel Oak in all respects typifies the qualities that I find less than attractive. My aim was always to have a garden that was romantic and unstructured, although I mostly succeeded with the latter attribute. But we dream, and that's what keeps us going forward, even when nature doesn't always want to cooperate.

@ingrid_vc zone 10 San Diego County I totally get that. If I had more space, I think I would do the same. But since I want more roses, I have a lot of very upright/stiff ones. Golden Celebration, POAK, and Jude are already taking up so much space! Not that I mind, but eventually people will not be able to walk past the house! :)

Gabriel Oak is one year old with me, going on two this spring. His colour does tend to glow and whispers of red within the bloom bring a uniqueness. His scent is intense. I forget the important details regarding its nature now. Hopefully his health will improve. Heart of the Great Lakes here, very humid and lots of black spot. Black spot for almost everyone!

Eustacia Vye is in the background. Mr. Oak doesn't strike me as particularly desirable but he's young. I much prefer my Princess Anne over GO, and he has better scent now consistently and to me, that says a lot. PA has that "je ne sais quoi" and magic the original English Roses that these new introductions just can't touch.

Steven

Eustacia Vye. Great scent, large blooms. However, the colour doesn't impress me as apricots and pinks go, and again, health/plant performance.

By comparison, my Fisherman's Friend (see avatar image) broke 8' its first gear, second growing season. I adore and am super passionate about FF, his issues be darned!

Steven

@MiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1091 feet Love it! I have Gabriel Oak and Eustacia Vye planted next to each other as well! They work well with each other. Eustacia Vye is lovlier in my opinion.

Eustacia Vye and Gabriel Oak were absolute duds for me. Barely bloomed and didn't surivive a year. However, Princess Anne is in year 2 1/2, and it's starting its third summer. And as update, I must say that it is huge this year, so tall. I would say 5 feet and I am even not in a southern climate, so it's possble that for those living in sunnier climates, it could be a giant. And it has more blooms than before, with a bit more staying power but I have not tried them in the vase.yet this year. so some roses do indeed improve with age, as Jackie above stated (YL is another--the flowers are phenomenal this year even if the bush is still a bit weird, strange crinkly leaves and definitely a leaner, like was said above). The blooms are now quite large as well. I have no idea if Princess Anne will bloom more continuously, this year, however, or essentially, have two flushes like last year, but the fragrance is lovely old rose, even if not super strong.. Here are some photos... In one photo (to contrast), you can see its neighbor in front of it: the Massad rose, Lea Mege, which is only three month's old, growing from a bareroot, but is probably already over 4 feet, with an uncountable number of buds. Every time I go out there, it's like she has five more. Last year, I was so disappointed in some of the Austins, and the stingy growth and lack of blooms, that I tried some new varieties that were completely unknown to me, like Lea Mege, and while there will always be a place in my heart for the best Austins, there are definitely many roses that are easier to grow or more prolific, than many of them, even right from the get-go, or so I am finding.

I can't help but write that I would hope that Princess Anne is very long lived, prickly as all get out, and admired by all who see her.

This is one of those threads where the OP starts it, and then is never heard of again. I hope they kept Princess Anne long enough for it to get mature enough to bloom, instead of getting rid of it because it dis not start blooming instantaneously!

Jackie

Man, do I ever love my Gabriel Oak!! It's a new rose for me, and yes, very stiff and upright. The fragrance is top-notch. The blooms are soooooo gorgeous!!

I'd be curious to know if you ever got Gabriel Oak off the ground and if it was a good grower and a prolific bloomer? Mine was an absolute dud, but could have been a one-off?

Rose Paris, do try Young Lycidas if Gabriel is not to your liking.

Robert, you said back up this thread that Golden Celebration is upright and stiff. Is your GC still growing that way? Mine is quite flexible and that is the way I like it. Hope your GC loosens up. Diane

GC

Young Lycidas

Hi, Diane,

I had to review what I said because I couldn't recall saying that! Haha. So, it looks like I said that because I want a lot of roses, I need to have a lot of upright/stiff ones. My next sentence was that GC, PAOK, and Jude are taking a lot of space. I was trying to contrast those three roses with the stiff/upright ones I was looking for, but I did not write that very clearly! Sorry!

My GC (which came from Annie's Annuals) is definitely blousy, fountain shaped...a lot like The Poet's Wife, but not as extreme as TPW. PAOK is very upright at first and then waterfalls over (vase shaped?). Jude is now relegated to the backyard. I put Neil Diamond in Jude's place (mine is basically a once bloomer and took up a lot of square footage in my TINY front garden).

Rose Paris, my Gabriel Oak performed pretty well from day one. Assuming it is sited correctly and has all the necessary nutrients, maybe you have a dud? I've never experienced this with any plant, but I know some folks feel that way. You could also move it to a different location with a lot more sun/fertilizer to see if it improves? My GO bloomed pretty constantly with short pauses between flushes. Last year it did throw some octopus canes at the end of the season.

My Gabriel Oak has always been strong and healthy in a less than optimum location. Fights maple roots and has more shade than recommended. If yours isn’t doing well I would lean toward just a bum plant

I ended up with an accidental band of Princess Anne two years ago, it was meant to be ordered as a bare root but I clicked something wrong. I've just pulled my pots out of my compost and it appears to have overwintered well and is putting on new growth quickly. I'm sure it could stay in a pot for another year, but it's going in the ground in late April.

Can't wait to have something to report back about when I finally see it start flowering.

Oh, Diane!!! SWOON, SWOON!!! That picture of your GC is insanely beautiful!!!! YL is almost as good. Happy sigh. :)

Reb - you overwinter your small pots in your composter? Since it worked, I'll have to say that's a great idea!!! :) :)

Thanks, Carol. After my giant pruning session with GC, I'm swooning from exhaustion. Maybe you should try overwintering your pots like Reb does. Just get a giant composter, really giant one. It's late and my suggestions are incoherent. Diane

I guess I should update my review on this rose. When I wrote my last review earlier in this thread, I had only had Princess Anne for a few months . 2024 will be her third year here in z11, and I have become quite frustrated with the princess.

PA is an incredibly healthy plant. She's never had any disease and withstands heat and wind like a champ. HOWEVER... She's just not blooming. Last year she gave maybe six blooms for the spring flush and then a few sparsely scattered throughout the year. Of course I tried upping the fertilizer but nothing could convince her to bloom. This year, all my roses have either started blooming or are covered in buds, but PA continues to put out only foliage.

Oh sure, it's lovely, glossy, perfectly healthy foliage... But no trace of any blooms to come. I hate to do away with such a healthy plant, so I'll give her more time, but I think this might be a rose that needs a real winter to bloom properly.

Princess Anne is excellent here in all ways so perhaps she does require a real winter-which I definitely have, even though this year was pretty mild.

Sorry, PNWesterners, I pretty much just guaranteed we’ll have a huge ice storm in the next month🤦🏻‍♀️

rosecanadian Yes, it's a 5x5 compost area with chicken wire around it, protected from wind. I collect extra bags of friend's lawn clippings and leaves in the fall to really fill it up. I bury the pots to just below the rim level, then a light layer of leaves on top of everything.

Like trenching kind of, but in the compost pile.

My very healthy Princess Ann is a better bloomer now than in its first year, but it's still not the most prolific by a long shot, as if it perhaps takes it a lot of energy to produce the rather large, unique, beautiful, blooms it does. It stops blooming around mid-August, for me, and does not run into fall like some (Claire Austin, Lady Emma, The Prince...) But it is definitely not a continuous bloomer, either. My best DA for that (and in a similar color scheme) is Royal Jubilee, which is nary without a bloom from early spring well into fall. My PA only gets afternoon sun. l also find Princess Charlène to be a stingy bloomer, and rather scraggly, and prone to powdery mildew. I have moved it to an airier spot to see if that helps, but if it keeps up, will SP it. One that is particularly prone, seems to contaminate them all, but when it's gone, the others are just fine...We do have winter here but it rarely gets below freezing.

Diane - lol...and a garbage truck loader to pick up the pots and place them in the compost. :) :)

Seaside - maybe Princess Anne doesn't like being in a pot.

Oursteelers - lol...with hail too. :) We're -7C/19F right now...I want spring.

Reb - a lot of people around here do that and add 3 or 4 inch styrofoam around and on top.

Rose - I ordered a Prince Charlene de Monaco this year. Now I'm wishing I hadn't. lol

Oursteelers, if we get more nasty weather I will be looking at you lol

I do keep anything I need to overwinter in the compost in a nursery liner, inside a pretty pot so it's easy to pull out and as small as it can be for the winter.