Thought I'd take a punt and ordered 5 bare root roses online (supposedly 'Old English' ones as seen at Chelsea, blah, blah) for £14.95 plus p&p. I figure that if only one comes good, that will be okay by me and I might even be pleasantly surprised! Anybody else doing the same?
...hope they do well for you Lizzie... keep us informed... but those roses won't have been shown at Chelsea as you've probably gathered... they might be imports from Holland.. or from a supplier in Lincolnshire.. I think they do this sort of thing...
@edhelka ...yes some lovely roses on that site, most we've never heard of too... I know what you mean about red flowers and yellow stamens, although I like them personally.
@Marlorena Thank you for your suggestions. Ness is a style I like, I also like the white Jacqueline du Pre.
But I think I will do something else in that location, I think I would love a hybrid musk or something in a similar style (polyantha or floribunda with large clusters of single blooms). so most probably will go with pink or maybe white. At the moment I have over twenty open tabs with different roses and can't decide
Ooh, that's two of the bareroots I've ordered, Ness and Mrs Oakley Fisher. I took Logan's advice and ordered early this year. I'm excited about both of them.
Hope you find something you like edhelka. I had my eye on several hybrid musks but I didn't order any.
I managed to narrow it down to six 'Ballerina', 'Yesterday', 'Bouquet Parfait', 'Lavender Dream', 'Astronomia' and 'La Belle Rouge' (choosing from Tuincentrum Lottum, I am going to risk the order) . And now it's really hard to choose just one. I went as far as asking my husband I showed him the area, told him what I want to do and asked him which of these roses he likes the most. He said 'La Belle Rouge' and 'Astronomia'. Then I told him that 'Ballerina', 'Lavender Dream' and possibly also 'Yesterday' set hips (I can't find it referenced anywhere for 'Yesterday' but it was used as a seed parent many times). And he said with certainty "I want hips. Choose something with hips."
'Ballerina' sets masses of small hips but it's very black spot prone.. probably too much for most people.. my plant is totally covered from midsummer but I can turn a blind eye... bred back in the days when there was more sulphuric acid in the air due to industrial pollution.. so probably a healthier rose back then as it helped prevent blackspot, but since the Clean Air Act, we don't have the pollution so much....hence more fungus attacks... ...I just took this one...
'The Ancient Mariner'... this rose has everything.. scent, repeat bloom and one of the most healthiest of the Austin English Roses... very big shrub... I gave it a hard prune this summer.. but it rebounds well from that treatment.. a nice bloom on 'Gabriel Oak'... 'Bathsheba'... 'Scented Garden'... fast becoming one of the nicest roses I've ever had... very healthy too.. I'm so glad I found it... 'Ghislaine de Feligonde'.. I also pruned this hard in midsummer.. so repeat is late this year...
@Marlorena Yes, that's one of my reasons against Ballerina. But it still looks lovely, covered in flowers. I think I am leaning towards Lavender Dream but I am not decided yet. Maybe I will end up buying more than one.
I agree on Scented Garden, it's a good find. I am looking forward to seeing it next year, a bit more mature.
I saw some Austins today that I hadn't seen in person before - Teasing Georgia (one I nearly bought last year) which had a good scent, Vanessa Bell smelled lovely, also saw Young Lycidas.
Still hunting for bargains but no luck. This was at a Langlands garden centre.
Has anyone here ever had a stab at propagating roses from seed? Trying selective pollination? I might have a go at it next year - just for fun, to see what I end up with - not expecting anything special.
With having the allotment now I've got the space if I want to have an evaluation bed.
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@edhelka
...yes some lovely roses on that site, most we've never heard of too... I know what you mean about red flowers and yellow stamens, although I like them personally.
...I don't know any reds that do not have yellow stamens, but if you can include a different colour then I wonder if this might appeal to you...
https://www.trevorwhiteroses.co.uk/shop/modern-shrub-roses/ness/
...if you like a single yellow.. 'Golden Wings' has nice stamens... as does 'Dainty Bess'...
..or 'Mrs Oakley Fisher'.. here when I had it..
..The Charlatan... Odyssey...as well...
Hope you find something you like edhelka. I had my eye on several hybrid musks but I didn't order any.
And now it's really hard to choose just one. I went as far as asking my husband
...I just took this one...
a nice bloom on 'Gabriel Oak'...
'Bathsheba'...
'Scented Garden'... fast becoming one of the nicest roses I've ever had... very healthy too.. I'm so glad I found it...
'Ghislaine de Feligonde'.. I also pruned this hard in midsummer.. so repeat is late this year...
Still hunting for bargains but no luck. This was at a Langlands garden centre.
With having the allotment now I've got the space if I want to have an evaluation bed.