Believe it or not, I'm still waiting for the perfect pink Austin rose. It may not be possible. What I want is a warm silvery pink that fades a bit on the outer petals, but not too much. Quartered, but not too heavily petaled. It should have the cupped (not globular) shape, and retain the form throughout the season. It should be heavily fragrant. It will also need to be able to perform in my climate. The closest so far are Sonia Rykiel (not an Austin, and fades and opens up too much in the heat, and lacks vigor in my garden), and Alnwick Castle (which also opens up too much in the heat, and turns coral). The photos I see of Duchesse de Brabant are close, but not enough petals. Spirit of Freedom has too many petals. Olivia Austin Rose looks great in the pictures, but not so great in real life, being stiff and faded off white here. Evelyn gets close. I’m realizing that what I’m looking for has as much to do with how the flower looks from the side and back as the front. It also has to do with how the bush grows. Picky, picky. Maybe I should start breeding roses.

You have so many on your list that I’m expecting this Spring so I have to say you‘ve got excellent taste. Lol! I’m a newbie this past summer to roses so I can’t comment on overall longevity and health but I did a LOT of research when choosing my roses. I’m, personally, I big fan of Marchesa Boccella/Jacques Cartier and bought her this past late summer. I got two beautiful blooms out of her. They smell incredible and open very quickly. They don’t last a particularly long time though. I’m also a very big fan of Munstead Wood and planted 2 own-root this past summer with a grafted one ordered for Spring. I really wanted Lady Emma Hamilton but all my research turned up that she just doesn’t do all that great in cold zones. Bolero and Earth Angel smell incredible! I’d give Bolero the edge though...she really pumps out blooms. Her form is more along my taste also. Short stems though so maybe not the best for cutting? Earth Angel has the longer stems. I have PCdM and Emily Brontë coming this Spring, as well as (hopefully!) Eustacia Vye. I’m really looking forward to those. PCdM has rave reviews from so many enthusiasts...I can’t imagine anyone would regret planting her. My Bolero, from FGL. She was so tiny when I planted her in late August. Still had large blooms!

I thought DA put the code in the new catalog that comes out at different times depending on your zone. So customers in warm zones get their catalogs much earlier than I would in z5a because they ship there much earlier. I thought last year I received the catalog in December, but I haven't seen anything as of yet. I am hoping someone in the warm zones will post the code. Thank you.

Bp37 -- I feel your pain. My Gabriel Oak and Eustacia Vye were soooo late for me in coastal CA, zone 10. And they were very small roots -- did not look like previous DAs I'd got via mail and at local nursery. But I planted 'em. G.Oak had super small blooms -- more like a mini, that didn't last long at all. And Eustacia had about 12-15 buds that looked like they'd be amazing, but then they crisped up and died. And this was BEFORE our heat wave! I've trimmed all even tiny bud starts off both bushes, and am hoping they will put some energy in their roots. If these were my first ever DAs I'd be swearing off Austins for life. But I know that they had a very tough year between covid and flooding, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. And giving the roses more time before making any judgments... In my town, the big local nursery that specializes in bare roots opens on January 2 -- a sacred tradition for me to go and buy my bare roots! I didn't get my DAs until APRIL this year. WAY too late...