Funny thing, I ordered Bishops Castle and they sent Charles Renne Macintosh. So when they sent me the Bishops Castle I gave it to my daughter and I kept the Charles Renne Macintosh

She got the better deal

Bishops Castle has huge beautiful blooms

Oh, good to know. Thank you, Kristine. That makes me feel a lot better about not getting CRM. I was super disappointed when I saw they were out of stock. I guess it was for the best.

Do you know how well BC repeats. I have a short growing season and beetles to contend with so good repeat is pretty important.

Thanks,

Julie

I have CRM and I love him. I just ordered a few Bishops Castle. I already know those roses hang way down. I plan to do some raised beds eventually for them. If you look at Hoovb's blog, Piece of Eden, you can see her awsome Bishop's Castle roses in her walled garden. She has them in raised beds and they cascade down over the sides.

I found a thread on gw that has photos

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4603361/how-far-are-those-bishop-s-castles-from-the-retaining-wall-hoovb

Her blog

https://pieceofeden.blogspot.com/2011/05/inadvertently-good-1.html?m=1

For me CRM is a wimp. Maybe it likes a warmer climate.

Thank you, SJN . Those pictures are gorgeous. The color has me a bit confused. It appears magenta in some pictures and almost pale pink in others. Does it really have both colors, or is it just lighting or my screen?

Erasmus, Thank you for the response. What is your climate like? We have hot humid summers, but they are short. I'm still contemplating CRM for next year.

mnkitty, I dont have mine yet so I cant advise on color lol. I think its probably a medium pink but pinks and reds can be affected by hot and cold temps that may make them darker or lighter. In other words google images for it and pick the one in the middle haha.

Good to know Sultry. I am so excited about the color of Charles Renne Macintosh. Mine just got a really slow start. I hope that it takes off this year

Erasmus is you CRM grafted? Mine is grafted on DH. It stays small like around 3ft so far. It does have a lot of flowers and does get a little black spot in our summer rains. I dont spray though so YMMV. I was going to get another one this year but it sold out b4 I could order it.

Kristine this is the normal color on my CRM. If its really hot like in summer they can be a lilac pink, otherwise they are light lavender. Other than Spirit of Freedom, I think its DA's closest thing to lavender lol.

Someone asked me to measure a bloom once..just about 3 inches

Very beautiful pictures, SJN. (Do you mind the abbreviation)? This is making me sad again. Nope, I'm not sad. I'm just going to order CRM next year and make sure it's grafted. I drive my kids nuts because I think out loud; can you tell?

I'm still unsure what to order this year. I think BC is beautiful in pictures, but so is the Ancient Mariner. What to do?

I dont mind at all :p

I think you should just order both lol. I ordered 10 from DA this year, so far and will likely add a few more.

I have to admit I ordered both. Marlorena made me want the Ancient Mariner and I’ve been wanting Bishop’s Castle for awhile. Locally Austins are pretty expensive so with the coupon code and shipping capping out at a reasonable price, I’ve been pretty happy ordering direct from DA.

I called and placed an order in October and have just been adding to it.

I love Bishop's Castle - not only is it lovely, it's also super fragrant! It does have a bit of a draping habit, so I think it looks great in something that's raised (e.g., a container or raised garden bed) - that way the beautiful mid-pink flowers drape over the sides. As for many other roses, the color is darker in cooler weather.

BC in a bud vase (I believe this was from fall, so a cool weather bloom):

Edited to add - here's the same bloom as above, 3 days earlier:

Sultry, that orchidy color is exactly the reason that I kept Charles and sent The Bishop to live with my daughter. I still get visitation but thought that Charles would look better in my lavender garden.

But Charles was puny and gave a few pitiful blooms that weren't picture worthy. Hopefully this will be his year

SJN, I was actually thinking the same thing this morning. l I just don't know where I'm going to put everything, and my husband said that I can't order everything in the catalog. He, also thinks a lot of my roses look alike. That is why I'm trying to pick some that are at least somewhat different.

Oursteelers, Have have you seen them both in person? It's hard to tell from the pictures if one is any darker than the other. If they are significantly different from each other, I could probably justify getting both.

Cyndita, Your pictures are so pretty. Does it repeat quickly for you? Do you have anything planted near it that you think is a good color with it?

I really appreciate everyone's input and photos!!

My CRM is own root. The compact size is not a drawback if you want a shorter plant. Our summers usually get pretty hot June - September, but I'd say we have more days in the 80's than 90's. It's moderately humid. I had a CRM a long time ago and got rid of it because it lacked vigor, then I bought another one and it also lacks vigor. Go figure.

I bought a grafted The Ancient Mariner from David Austin Roses and as a young plant it seems very vigorous...I think it'll be a big one. It hasn't had any pretty blooms yet but I attribute that to the age of the plant.

mnkitty - I just got my BC last year, so I don't have a good sense for the repeat yet, but it seems to bloom in repeat flushes. (On HelpMeFind, bloom frequency is rated as "Excellent -", based on 3 votes.)

Re color, I have it next to an apricot rose & I think that looks nice. But, that mid-pink color is really flexible and can go with most other rose colors, and can also act as a "bridge" between colors - the only thing I would personally avoid is another mid-pink or fuchsia.

Also, my experience is all based on zone 9 - if the mn & z4 in your profile name is for Minnesota & zone 4, just a note that I have no experience with cold weather gardening!

mnkitty, I haven’t seen them in person but the pictures looked very different to me. Hopefully I will have comparison blooms this summer.

I think CRM would look good between a couple of Distant Drums in the front of the border. If I get another one, that's how I'm going to plant it

Thanks for the info. Erasmus. Was your 2nd CRM own root too? I don't mind it being shorter if the blooms don't hang down on the ground. I want to grow The Ancient Mariner on an obelisk. I'm hoping it will cooperate. Do the canes seem pliable at all?

Cyndita, Your color analysis is so helpful. I had two spots in mind. One by Rose de Rescht, which is fuchsia to me, and the other by Princess Anne another medium pink. I still think I will get it though because the pictures make it too tempting. I just don't know where it will go yet.

Oursteelers, I agree. I've been looking at more and more pictures (just a LITTLE obsessed), and I've come to the conclusion that TAM is a lighter pink. Hopefully, someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Therefore, why not get both Lol. I would love to see your comparison pictures when you get them.

SJN, I looked up Distant Drums, and agree that it would look really nice with CRM. I won't be able to get one until next year, so, hopefully, I will remember to get it and your recommendation.

For sure I will show comparison pictures but it seems to me the color is a bit different and the shape of the bloom seems different to my eye

After looking at many more pictures, I agree. I would just love to see comparison pictures since mine will be at least a year behind yours, and I have no idea where I am going to put BC.

Bishop's Castle is great rose, the fragrance is similar to Damask and wonderful. The repeat is good, better than some of my other Austins. It has a compact, upright habit in my garden setting. This link is a thread that came up on the Antique Rose Forum from 2009.

Bishop's Castle

Oh wow, Krista. These picture are so beautiful. Thank you. I will check out the link.

I haven't seen posting of The Ancient Mariner in this thread, so I think I will post a couple of pictures below. I have The Ancient Mariner for 1 year. It is very beautiful mid-pink, with great charm and poetry. This is one pink rose that many visitors to my garden pointed out and admired (even though it is in the back of the border). It hasn't quite reach its full potential yet, but I have high hope for it.

Hi Rose, Thank you so much for the pictures and comments. It is nice to hear how well it is doing so quickly for you. Your pictures are lovely. Have you by any chance noticed if the canes are pliable at all? I would like to train it around an obelisk.

Thank you,

Julie

Hi Julie, the canes of The Ancient Mariner is moderately pliable - similar to my climbing Don Juan. I think you can attempt to train it. Good luck! Rose

Thank you, Rose. That's good to hear. I think I read somewhere that it isn't too thorny, so that should help too.

I ended up ordering both, and a Claire Austin and James L Austin. I was only going to order Claire and either BC or TAM, but they are both too pretty. I don't know why JLA got added. That's a tiny order compared to most people here, but every year I swear I'm not going to buy any more roses. Then January comes, and I tend to forget:)