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David Austin roses in colder zones

last month

Those of you in colder zone, how big do your DA's tend to get? I have a couple "Royal Jubilee" that are healthy and bloom nicely but have not gotten above maybe 3-footish by the end of summer. I am hoping they eventually will get at least to their advertised height of 5 ft. Wondering if it is because I have to cut back the canes to winter protect or climactic conditions in general up here prevent it.

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Dingo2001 - Z5 Chicagoland

last month

I wouldnt advise cutting them back in the fall, wait till spring. Cover the crown with mulch. Mary is 3-4 ft. Olivia gets to be around 4’ here, Bathsheba a little taller. Bathsheba is becoming a favorite, here‘s a couple of pics of her.

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Comments (9)

Sunny Michigan
last month
Only four of DA's roses have ever gotten over 4' here: Teasing Georgia, 5-6 feet by August; Evelyn, 4.5' if the winter was mild like last year; and Graham Thomas, 5'; James Galway, 6'+ (James Galway is NOT fragrant here). None of the roses get any winter protection or supplemental water after their first year. I do feed them once in early spring with whatever balanced plant food is on sale, and I try to give them one good manure / bark mulching by May.

Please note that all of these roses are over 5 years old -- it takes time to build up the root growth that will then support cane growth. I try to get growth that every year is a "little bit better".
mxk3 z5b_MI thanked Sunny Michigan
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last month
when i focused on roses in livonia MI ...... i also had all that fall heavy cut back.. bury in mulch.. under a rose cone ...

but i also had a heavy fert regimen ... that i cant really remember 30 years back ... but it was something like a half cup of 10-10-10 or what not.. no WWW back then.. we used to wing it with this kind of stuff .. basically a handful.. scratched in with a claw rake.. a foot away from the plant ...

needless to say.. the plant usually grew to expectation .. but not over such.. meaning not over fert'd ...

i presume you dont fert that much to grow show roses???

ken

ps: i also had a spray regimen ... every 4 to 6 weeks .. bugs and disease ... i gave up roses when the kids were contemplated... didnt want to be messing with all that spraying ...
mxk3 z5b_MI thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Related Discussions
David Austin Roses for Zone 7
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Comments (8)
If I were you, I'd spend long hours dreaming over the David Austin catalog (or web page--whichever is appropriate). In Zone 7, all his roses should grow fine, especially if you can supply some mid-afternoon/late afternoon shade for a number of them (assuming it gets very hot in your Zone 7). If you don't have the later in the day shade, then note when DA says a rose is good at withstanding heat or is delicate and appreciates some shade. Most of his descriptions won't say that, but note when they do. He also has a list in the back of the catalog (and somewhere on his website) of roses for hot areas or for partial shade and some other categories like that. Just remember that most roses want a minimum of 6 hours of sun--but afternoon sun is a lot hotter than morning sun. Other than that, my main recommendation would be to note when DA describes a rose as being healthy, very healthy, and exceptionally healthy. That translates somewhat disease-resistant, above average on disease-resistance, and very, very disease-resistant. That is important if you don't want your roses totally wiped out by blackspot disease--or don't want to be spraying a fungicide every few weeks. If DA says nothing about the health of the rose, believe him--there is nothing good he can say about the disease-resistance of that rose--it is a disease-magnet, in other words. Other than that, you decide what colors, heights, shapes, fragrances appeal most to you--and go for it. If you'd like to start searching by checking out a few of my favorite DAs, here they are: Lady of Shalott--disease-resistance/heat resistance Mortimer Sackler--disease-resistance Molineux--I have 3 of these shorter roses--love the blooms, very floriferous The Pilgrim--lovely delicate yellow climber William Shakespeare 2000--gorgeous blooms Pretty Jessica--shorter, good in all ways This spring I'm planting Scepter'd Isle, Munstead Woods, and The Wedgewood--all highly recommended from several different sources, including this forum. Hope that helps. I'm in Zone 6 by the way--Austins seem to like this midwestern region as a whole. Kate
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David Austin Roses for Zone 5a
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Comments (8)
I grow several Austins here in Montreal (hot and also HUMID summers)and they do very well. I spray with sulphur in the spring, after pruning, and Safer's Defender in late summer, if needed. The only time I get a little blackspot is if we have a very cool, wet spring, and sometimes in the fall, if it's damp (I have no BS so far this season). I do get powdery mildew on a few that aren't on your list. Every area is different, you won't know for sure until you try. As others have said, they have varying degrees of winterkill depending on the winter, but they all bounce back and are blooming by early June no matter how low I've had to prune. I've never lost one in the ground (mine are planted around 2 inches deep, so I do mound them with about 10" of soil in November, just in case. Planting deeper will eliminate that chore). You will love their beautiful and fragrant blooms. These have all come through winter beautifully (grafted on multiflora, unless otherwise indicated): Graham Thomas (own root) Charlotte (own root) The Prince Sharifa Asma Evelyn Tamora Heritage Janet Pretty Jessica Jubilee Celebration Abe Darby Jude the Obscure Spirit of Freedom (own root) Crocus Rose (as everyone has said, the least winterkill) Judith
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Will a David Austin rose survive zone 11?
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Comments (15)
I live in a tropical climate as well and I think it would do well for you. Mine is on fortuniana root stock and so far has done well. Its a relatively new plant only one year in the garden, but no problems this far. So far I have had luck with Jubilee Celebration, Huntington Rose, Pat Austin (this one is particularly happy), Abraham Darby, The Shepherdess and Evelyn. Carding Mill seems to be another one that likes my warm climate as well. I'm in zone 10b and actually have warmer summers that reach about 98 degrees and although they do suffer a bit by the end of the summer, come October they bounce right back.
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Advice on planting potted David Austin roses (zone 7a)
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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!
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last month
oh.. your actual question.. lol .. i had a few DAs in my collection of around 150 plants ... meh ... great marketing.. nice roses.. frankly.. nbd.. and often under performers .... not many flowers at any given time ....

ken
mxk3 z5b_MI thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
last month
Dingo, I don't recall ever seeIng pictures of your garden before. It's just so stunning and peaceful.
Dingo2001 - Z5 Chicagoland
last month
Aw thanks Vap - it’s kind of a hodge podge!
Diane Brakefield
last month
Your Bathsheba is exquisite, Dingo. And I love your garden--not a hodge podge. Diane
Krista_5NY
last month
Royal Jubilee is 3- 3/12 feet tall here. Mary Delany, The Generous Gardener and James Galway reach 5 feet. Mary Delany has smaller blooms than the others, but a charming rose nonetheless. All have sweet fragrance to my nose.

Mary Delany

The Generous Gardener
mxk3 z5b_MI thanked Krista_5NY
Bob Mac Zone 4 Montreal, Canada
last month
I have only Tamora. It's two feet tall and gives a couple of flowers, which last a couple of days. I've had it for 10 years. It's not thriving, it's surviving.

I planted the bud union 6" inches below and am too lazy to dig it up. I cut it a bit for winter. Mine by mid winter is under 5 feet of compacted snow and ice. I don't bother to protect any of my tender roses any more. I just flatten them to the ground and hope for the best. If they survive good for them if not, adios, I'll rpelace with something hardy.
mxk3 z5b_MI thanked Bob Mac Zone 4 Montreal, Canada

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