Where are you located, Lily? It will help people help you.

Hi Sheila- I am in Arizona. A very hot and dry 9b area.

Thank you, Lily for that. I am also hot and dry here, 30 miles north of California. I think the highly colored roses do look good in hot areas, where some paler roses wash out.

I have always loved HCRs. I pot mine in a 1-2 gal pot for a few months and plant out in dormant Fall and Winter. Where you are you could probably put them right in the ground.

I don't think HCRs ever got as crazy as Palantine. HCRs will be smaller to start but quickly grow if you irrigate them well. You have compatriots in your area on this forum. I hope they see your question.

There are a lot of Austen roses on your list and the ones we’ve tried in Las Vegas have crisped their blooms quickly. Of course we haven't grown all of them and maybe you don't mind fleeting blooms. The antiques may have a similar fate IMO.

Its good to see Bolero on your list, it endured 116 last summer and has been blooming for a month now. High country roses are great and if you can protect your roses from the afternoon sun and reflected heat they should grow well for you.

This was HCR's msg on Jan 26th, 2024 after their launch. Take from it what you will for the competition for popular roses. I would think it will be similar this year.

"Inventory Updates

Thanks you so much to everyone who visited (and had patience with) our website during our inventory launch this year. We had an astounding 166,000 page views in the first hour alone. It was definitely a classic bend but don't break situation around here. Fortunately, things have calmed considerably and both the website and staff are back to running quickly and smoothly.

Don't feel like you missed out on all the fun. Most varieties are in stock now or will be restocked later in the spring. Typically, we are able to release about 80% of our roses this time of year. The remaining 20% are held until we have a little better feel for when the plants will be ready. Keep an eye out in April."

In their Jan. 6th 2022 they addressed shipping.

"We have moved to a daily capped system that will limit the number of orders scheduled to ship each day. In the past, we have pooled orders by week with the intention of everything arriving by the weekend. As many of you have experienced over the past seasons, this led to a snowball effect of delays as our shipping volume increased. The new approach will do a better job of setting delivery expectations without overloading the system.
Please note that this will mean popular shipping dates will disappear from our calendar as the schedule is filled. "

To be sure to get this year's updates subscribe to their newsletter on their web site.

You've got some great roses on your list! I hope you get them all.

Try Apricot Candy. In its first year did well in peak summer heat for me. was a band from HCR.

I can read your list with my poor eyesite but one of my highlu recommended roses from High Country is Canyon Road. The color is phenominal and fades really beautifully. It is super healthy and bloomy

high country will be opening tomorrow. i did get notifications that they have some roses back in stock that i've wanted such as felicite parmentier and queen of denmark.

Kristine, that is absolutely gorgeous. Is it a true red and the outer petals fade to pink as it ages? I normally don't care for reds but I might make an exception here.

I know I want souv du docteur jumain and was going to get comtecome de chambord but after some digging it looks like the one everyone is selling is a mislabeled Madame boll. Does anyone have the comte de chambord/madame boll? Is it worth getting or should I skip it?

I placed my order for 8 roses at High Country Roses when they opened their site just before 10:30 AM CST. I sailed through fairly quickly, although the download time of each page was slower than normal. We knew how many roses we wanted and so bought a $200 gift certificate and received the bonus $30 gift certificate, which paid for all but $6.55 of our order. This bonus nicely offset their $2 price increase for this year. We got all the roses that we wanted and I was on and off the site in around 20 minutes. So it looks like the situation for ordering on the first day may have improved this year. I spoke with the owner a week or so ago and he said that he did not expect to have a supply problem with many items at this time. Most of the varieties are for available for sale now, but some that are apparently slow growers, are not, but should be a ready in a month or two.

I had trouble with the site loading, but I was on my phone in a waiting room so that didn't help. I ordered what I had planned (souv du dr jumain, comte de chambord/mme boll) and then I also grabbed Loves Light rose, looks very promising

I managed to grab everything I wanted—15 roses in total! It was such a hard decision narrowing my list down, especially since I spent days researching each variety to see what would grow best in my area. A few roses I wanted are still growing, so hopefully, I can snag those in a few months.

The checkout process was a bit frustrating, though. The site crashed during payment, and I ran into issues with my gift card. I ended up using my credit card instead because I had a few Austins in my cart and did not want to risk losing them. I reached out to customer service about applying the gift card and expect to hear back next week. I would think this is an easy fix.

Thank you so much to everyone who shared their suggestions! I am new to growing roses and truly appreciate all the guidance and advice I can get. It is such a learning process, and I am excited to see how these roses grow with all the tips you have provided.

I am sure they will fix it for you quickly Lily! I emailed them an hour ago asking if I could combine my orders (I had issues at check out with the site crashing and had to place two orders) and they just got back to me 5 minutes ago saying they'll combine the orders on Monday and refund for the extra shipping. Really happy with their customer service, was not expecting a reply on a Friday night

Lily, what did you end up getting?

I had a good time looking at the new for 2025 list.

Did anyone select new ones?

I really like Cosmic Clouds, zone 4 and a climber. Also loved the description on Little Rhody. Got a chuckle out of it. I kind of want to get it just to see how it turns out. The flowers are pretty and I like the idea of lightly thorned. Will try to see both when I shop in person closer to planting time.

I ordered three Austins: Ausgold, Auslot, and Auscot. Abe was my most-wanted rose of the day.

For the newly listed I went with: Cosmic Clouds, Loves Me/Not, Heavenly Scented, and Duchesse de Rohan.

And finally, I added: Baronne Prevost, Souvenir du Lincoln, Reine Victoria, Love Song, Duchess Brabant, Sidonie, Louise Odier, and Comte Chambord.

I shopped quickly from my curated wishlist and did not browse the site. After placing my order, I noticed they added a new Austin variety I had never seen before—Auschar. I wish she had been listed earlier! Of course, she was already sold out by the time I found her. Perhaps it is for the best; Charity seems to be a rare one, and there is not much information out there about her. I hope someone here was able to grab one!

You will have to post pics when you get them and then updates showing how they are growing! I especially want to see Cosmic Clouds (which is already sold out!) and Ausgold.

I would love to share pictures!

i got felicite parmentier, queen of denmark, abraham darby (for hybridizing), and new dawn. i wanted to try cosmic clouds out because i was intrigued by the alleged size and hardiness, but it was sold out immediately. i also have had quadra and stanwell perpetual on my list for several years but high country has not had them available for sale.

Lily- those are wonderful choices. Good luck with all of them. Please share your progress with us!!

I wanted Stephen Rulo and the dark lady, put both in my cart and both sold out before I could pay.

Here is Stephen Rulo (from wisconsinroses) ungroomed, blooming all winter.

Sheila, yours is the most beautiful specimen of Stephen Rulo I’ve ever seen. What a rose! You grow it very beautifully.

Judi, Stephen is astoundingly healthy and has beautiful foliage. I think he loves the West.

Lily Spencer: I have grown over 150 different Austin roses over the years, and have found a number that I would not recommend. Among these is AUSchar, which is 'Charity'. I grew this one near Houston, TX and the flowers were, IMHO, unremarkable in both flower form and fragrance. Further, while the plant itself grew well, it was a very shy bloomer. You may have 'dodged a bullet' in that it was not available when you placed your order. Of course YMMV. Sometimes there are good reasons that some roses are rare . . . .

Did anybody manage to get The Prince AUSvelvet or William Shakespeare 2000 AUSromeo from High Country this season? They seem perennially and/or immediately sold out. My Prince came from a friend, and I bought WS2000 on Etsy for big bucks, but just wondering if I have any reason to be envious that someone scored a High Country unobtainable unobtainable red Austin.😁

I tried to get those 2 but they said sold out. I was supposed to be notified. They only notified me of one austin that I signed up for and not those 2.

SD Shine, I can give you a cutting of Stephen. I just got one last week.

Does anyone have Peggy Martin? Do you love it?

Ben, your The Prince must be own root. I have always thought The Prince should be grafted. What do you think? High Country's roses are own root, too, aren't they? Diane

The Prince grafted on multiflora root stock.

The Prince and William Shakespeare are still in the growing phase at High Country and will be available later this spring. I hope I can grab both as soon as they’re released! To my knowledge none were available on the 10th.

@John_ca, thank you for helping me feel better about Auschar. Out of your 150 varieties, could you share a few of your favorites? Did you happen to grow Royal Jubilee? That’s my elusive unicorn—I find myself staying up late, scouring the internet for it!

Get a grafted The Prince if it's possible. Mine is pushing 20 years old and is thriving; grafting doesn't mean a short life necessarily. Diane

Ben, I'm on the waiting list for WS2000 and Tamora at HCR. The night before the sale, they sent me an email that Tamora would be available when they opened on Jan 10. Unfortunately, they hadn't opened by the time I had to leave for an appt. on Friday, and Tamora was gone when I got home. Tamora wasn't a huge priority for me, but having given mine away many years ago, I thought I'd try it again. But as Lily said, WS2000 isn't ready yet. Fingers crossed that I can snag it when it becomes available. I have a very elderly WS2000 that I've been trying to coddle to make cuttings of, so I am looking for a couple of back-up plants.

Diane, my elderly The Prince is own root, and is doing very well. I have shared rooted cuttings of it with several friends. While I generally agree with you that grafted is often better, my The Prince is one of many own roots that have done very well for me :-D

Lily Spencer: Royal Jubilee was released without a patent in 2012. I obtained cuttings and rooted several and had them in gallon pots for 2 years, so I saw them bloom for at least 4 cycles over 2 years. This particular rose has a low petal count, 19-25 petals, medium pink with lax canes and pendulous flowers. We moved before I got them into the soil, so I can't comment on the structure of a mature garden plant. I don't view it as a top tier Austin.

I don't think that it was very popular, and it has been dropped.

It would be useful to know your USDA zone or region that you live in to advise you as to which may be the best choices. While Claire Rose may grow 3-4 ft tall in cold areas, it can get 10 ft tall in USDA Zone 9b, with our very long, hot summers.

I am fond of globular flower form and if that is the feature that you find most appealing, there are other options that I think are better. Heading the list is the St. Cecilia , which grew for us as 5.5 ft x 5 ft vigorous dense plant with medium to large flowers with a perhaps 50 petal count, a very strong myrrh fragrance, and a fast repeat. Sadly, neither High Country Roses nor David Austin Roses USA carries it-this has been a top 10 favorite of ours for decades.

If you need a climber and like this flower form, then Spirit of Freedom would be an excellent choice. The canes were tall for us in CA, up to 15 feet, although HMF says 6 to 8 ft. The canes are pliable enough that you could train them horizontally a fence or perhaps peg or self-peg them. The petal count is very high-I think DAR claimed 150 or so. It has a very nice fragrance and perhaps could be grown as a large shrub in some areas.

Other great choices with globular flowers include Jude the Obscure with an unusual grapefruit-like fragrance, graceful fountain shape,. and pale apricot flowers. Wollerton Old Hall has somewhat similar larger flowers with a more vigorous plant that can be grown as a large shrub or climber.

Perhaps our favorite Austin rose of all is 'Jubilee Celebration', released in 2002. This rose had the perfect plant form in our garden, a half-dome shaped plant with evenly-spaced branches all the way to the ground. There were times that it had flowers open from the top of the plant, all the way down to the bottom. The blossoms were full, ping with a pale yellow reverse and a strong fragrance. It has a reasonably fast repeat. We were going to try to get a plant from DAR USA, but they have NO INVENTORY for the current sales year. I think that I was told that one person bought their entire production inventory for this year. So we will be on the waiting list for 2026.

Of the more recent releases, the ones that we like the best are:

1. Olivia Rose Austin

2. Eustacia Vye

3. Gabriel Oak

4. Golden Celebration (not so recent, but outstanding)

5. Princess Alexandra of Kent

6.Queen of Sweden

7. James Galway

8. Bathsheba

9. Young Lycidas

10 Munstead Wood.

There are many rose programs that are producing varieties with flowers that are similar to the Austin roses. We are impressed with some of the releases from Kordes (Savannah Sunbelt (current #1 favorite of all), Veranda and Fairy Tale Series') and Meilland Romantica Series, especially Bolero, Yves Piaget and Rouge Royale).

susan9santabarbara and Diane Brakefield: I obtained an own-root plant of The Prince from Chamblees around 15 or so years ago and also found that it did just fine on its own roots in my warm, long summer area. My biggest specimen was 3.5 ft high x 4 ft across. Paul Barden, a very capable rosarian, once posted that it did not grow that large in his garden in Oregon, so it may do better in warmer areas as an own root.

It's zone 7 here, and my The Prince is at least 5X5 feet, He's never stopped growing and is a near continuous bloomer, though in our high heat, he can produce some wonky blooms. But most of his blooms are gorgeous. It took him a while to hit his stride. I think my plant came from Palatine years ago. Diane

john_ca- Thank you so much for taking the time to provide such a detailed and thoughtful response. I truly appreciate your knowledge and the effort you put into sharing it.

To answer your question, I’m in USDA Zone 9b, in the hot and dry region of southern Arizona.

My love for Royal Jubilee is rooted in grief, which often makes us hold onto unexpected things. I had the opportunity to visit the David Austin Gardens in the UK with my grandmother and sister. In the last few years, I’ve lost both of them. I have a cherished photo of the three of us standing in front of Royal Jubilee, and for some reason, my grief insists that I need that rose. It feels like my heart won’t rest until I have her in my garden as something tangible. My fingers are still crossed for rose.it to figure out shipping to the US as she was in my order.

From your list, I have Olivia Rose Austin, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Golden Celebration, Young Lycidas, and Munstead Wood all on order and set to arrive soon. I received Jude the Obscure from Highgarden Roses in November, and I’m patiently waiting for him to fill out. St. Cecilia and Spirit of Freedom have been on my wishlist for some time, as has Yves Piaget.

I may even have Royal Rouge! I ordered Autumn Rouge from Etsy, but when she arrived, she was tagged Royal Rouge. I contacted the seller, who assured me it was a misspelling and that the plant is indeed Autumn Rouge. However, it’s currently blooming, and to my eyes, it looks more like Royal.

I also received a delivery from Highgarden Roses yesterday, which included Austew-Rosalind, William Morris, Mr. Fairchild, Yu-zen, and Schöne Maid. I’m so excited to see what they grow into!

Dianne Brakefield: I am pleased to read that your specimen of 'The Prince' is growing so well in your warm climate. It is likely grafted onto Rosa multiflora rootstock. In 2018 I exchanged a series of emails with Rene Schmitz regarding my large collection of rare Austin rose and sent him a list of the 130 or so varieties that I had at that time. I was hopeful that I could interest him in propagating them for sale in the spirit of saving these very rare (and many completely out of commerce for decades) He studied it and requested that I send him cuttings of 63 of them (including 'The Prince!), which I sent to him free of charge, although he compensated me for shipping costs and the cost for a 'phytosanitary document. So, it's highly likely that the budwood used to propagate your plant was from my garden. I have grown own-root roses, roses grafted to Dr. Huey, and roses grafted to Rosa multiflora. Those grafted to R. multiflora are typically larger than own-root plants (I prefer own root plants to grafted and often produce own-root plants from my grafted ones and discard the grafted specimens, provided they are vigorous enough on their own roots.

I had become frustrated that many of early Austin roses have been so hard to find and felt that they were worthy of preservation. I have provided plants of over 30 roses to the curator of The San Jose Heritage Rose Garden in San Jose, CA, home to the self-proclaimed largest (in terms of the number of varieties planted, around 3000-4000) public rose garden in the Western Hemisphere, in the hopes that other individuals or rose propagation companies, could access them over time and 'keep the candle lit' for many of these horticultural treasures. Many of his earlier creations were crosses between different Old Garden Roses and were perhaps a bit less refined with a few rough edges, but at times more charming, than his newer releases. The roses 'Cressida', the 'Wife of Bath', 'Chaucer', 'Charles Rennie McIntosh' and so many more, come to mind. I have also sent plants and cuttings to the Summerland Ornamental Gardens in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada, and to a rose propagator in British Columbia, who lives near the border with Washington State, in the hopes that these may be a repository for these rose and perhaps keep them in circulation for at least a decade more or so. Hopefully, after that time other like-minded people will take similar actions and keep them in circulation. As we left our home of 15 years a year ago (needed to downsize, could keep up with 2 acres of gardens), with a collection of 150 Austin roses, an individual from this forum who shares our passion for these roses, came and dug out 40 or 50 of the most rare DAR's for his collection, promising to share plants and cuttings of our favorites with me and perhaps others in the spirit of Germplasm Preservation.

Lily Spencer:

It looks like you already have now or will soon receive, many of the best Austins, at least in my opinion, although many would perhaps have a very different list.

I do know and understand the strong sentimental/emotional attachments that many of us have for particular roses, especially after they become so rare and difficult to find. For me, it was 'Cressida', which I grew in the 1990's and wanted so badly to have it in my garden at my new home in 2010. It took me 3 years to find it, but I finally found a source and promptly propagated 6 more own-root specimens. A good place to look is Peter Schneider's Freedom Gardens, in Freedom, OH. Peter lives in a cold area of Ohio and DAR used to send him all their new releases in the UK (before they were commercialized in the US) to test them for cold tolerance. He has amassed an amazing collection of Austin roses, many now very rare. I have shared plants and cuttings with him over the years. I did check to see if he had 'Royal Jubilee' in his collection, and he does not list it in his collection, but still, it might be worth a phone call. If you are a member of helpmefind.com, you can look up this variety and hit the 'cuttings' tab and see if you can find an individual who has this variety and would be willing to share cuttings with you. Or you could go to the Houzz Rose Propagation site and post a message that you are looking for cuttings of this variety. Rooting roses is likely easier than you may imagine.

Good luck in your quest: I really hope you can find 'Royal Jubilee'!