David Austin Rose Arch (Zone 7a Suggestions
Sarena Altman (7a Middle TN)
2 years ago
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David Austin Rose Zone Question
Comments (15)HI Michaela It's good to know your region of zone 5 - Rick is right that it can make a lot of difference. Since I'm no more than 3 hours due west of you on I-80, I can give you some feedback from essentially your region of the country. We're a little drier than you are in the Des Moines area, and perhaps a touch windier and colder at times, but I think I can give you a feel of what to expect for your roses. The good news is that for us the Austin roses are reliably hardy over the winter, at least once they get established. Since you'll be buying your roses as bands, you'll want to plant them right around the end of frost (end of April for us) to give them maximum time to settle in before the winter, and make sure they get regular water in the summer if you hit a dry spell. As long as the Austins you mention survive their first winter, you should have little trouble with winter survival. I have nearly 40 Austins here in Lincoln, and even in last year's brutal winter I don't think I lost any of them. That's even better than one of my other reliable type of roses - the Easy Elegance roses by Ping LIm (Earl May's has these among other nurseries).If you like the Carefree Beauty you might like these Easy Elegance roses - totally carefree and hardy for me, but not quite as elegant a flower as the Austins (with the possible exception of my favorite Sweet Fragrance). I grow Heritage and it has been cane hardy most years, and many of my Austins are in my zone 4 pockets to the north and east of my house. The east side is the only place I've ever lost an Austin (Sophy's Rose), and there are at least 10 in those two spots of my yard happily growing in essentially zone 4 conditions. You might wish to winter protect in your first winter - the straw Rick suggests is a good idea, or my cheap-gardener method is to stack filled leaf bags around the roses (but not covering them) making little "down coats" to protect them from the wind. After that, I really wouldn't worry the second winter, though I tend to winter protect every rose out of sheer laziness - I am down to protecting a wind barrier of leaf bags only around the edge of the bed however, for the most part. The only thing that might affect your Austins in Iowa might be blackspot, which tends to be happier in moister climates than mine. I don't think it would defoliate anything too much like it does on the East coast, but you might have to put up with some spots on the leaves now and then. I don't find it affects their hardiness or bloom that much for me, so you can experiment with how much blackspot bugs you or not (I'm way too lazy to spray). Sounds like you've chosen some nice roses and you should be happy with your choices. Just give then some sun and water and don't fuss too much - they're still babies in their first year and really aren't likely to bloom all that much till their third year. Have fun! Cynthia...See MoreAdvice on planting potted David Austin roses (zone 7a)
Comments (4)I think you can plant them anytime after the Forsythia blooms in your area... at that point the ground should be workable and warm for plant growth. Spring rain should also follow to keep them watered for you. You can prune if you want to but wait to see signs of life first to know where there is good or bad wood. Pruning encourages growth in roses so it is generally considered good practice with a few exceptions. Just don't prune severely! No need to get drastic. Since you overwintered them in your garage I'd expect them to be alive to the tips but you never know. As for first time tips? Well, make sure they are well fed and planted in good soil. I'm more of an organic grower now, piling tons of compost on the soil when I plant and using a slow release fertilizer only for the first year as I wait for the compost to start releasing nutrients into the soil. After that I am done with fertilizing. Since you already planted roses before, just remember that the David Austin roses are still roses so the same rules of giving them a good growing environment apply. If you live in an area with high pressure of fungal diseases then you need to figure out how you'd like to handle it because those roses you have are not disease resistant, definitely not resistant to black spot as far as I know (based on what I have read, I have grown none of them). Also your Knock Out rose can't be 20 years old as those were released in 1999/2000, if you are sure it is a 20 year old rose bush then perhaps it is something else other than a Knock Out? Good luck and enjoy!...See MoreHas anyone tried David Austin's Alexandra of Kent rose in a zone 4a?
Comments (6)Ugh Cynthia - The Prince is coming and he better be on best behavior is all I got to say! Though I will coddle him. lol I love Munstead Wood but planted him next to a tree stump so he's been sluggish, I'm told to feed him more and he may muscle up! Tess is gorgeous but I'd need that beautiful stone wall to put her on. Hmm... what would hubby say about that? What are your thoughts on Othello and Falstaff as far as growth, fragrance and disease? It sounds like they've only been in one year so then it would be premature. I can't wait to see pictures of them! Snow cover here hasn't been so great this year, we got 8" dropped in October then nothing till January 10th I think. There's maybe 6" inches out there now. Our weather man said that this winter will now be the new norm so that'll be curious. We've had very mild temps and if this is the new norm we will be moving into a new hardiness zone, so far that is. Sunday's supposed to be 54 degrees, grab your bathing suits! :)...See MoreZone 7a north facing front landscaping suggestions
Comments (4)It would help a lot if you could provide photos of the area in question. And zone 7 doesn't tell us anything except how cold it might get in winter....name of nearby large city is more helpful. Roses do best in full sun (8 hours plus), which is unlikely to be the case for a north facing aspect but they could be a possibility. And there is no issue with roses and a house foundation :-)...See MoreSarena Altman (7a Middle TN)
2 years ago
Diane Brakefield
2 years agoSarena Altman (7a Middle TN)
2 years agoDiane Brakefield
2 years agoSarena Altman (7a Middle TN)
2 years agoSarena Altman (7a Middle TN)
2 years agoSarena Altman (7a Middle TN)
2 years agoSarena Altman (7a Middle TN)
2 years ago
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