Can anyone strongly recommend a reliable RED David Austin repeat flowering rose. It will be living about a couple of feet from a wall and other roses, needs to be 4-5 feet tall, and will be getting full, hot sun in high summer from about 1pm for the rest of the day. I know he's got a few to choose from, but I'd like to hear from someone who has had actual experience of growing one. Many thanks.
Few are available at the moment, but Thomas a Becket or Benjamin Britten might suit your purposes... I've grown both.. neither are perfect and any red soon fades, but there isn't really a perfect red rose, so one has to compromise... they both flower continuously, flush after flush...
Darcey Bussell is probably their best red but it's a short grower... I've not grown it..
Hi Marlorena Could I ask you, to which colour do they fade. Do they still retain a decent amount of red? And, do you prefer bare rooted plants, which I can order now, or the potted ones which are available at the end of the month. Many thanks.
All DA roses fade, it's part of their selection process, they choose roses that fade so you get a combination of colours on the same bush... so the reds will fade to deep pink, through mid pink and light pink... Thomas a Becket starts out deep red, turns deep pink, then during July/august it will be a lighter pink.. B Britten starts out reddish with orange highlights, turns deep pink, fades to purple and grey... Gabriel Oak is a rose I love, it looks red from a distance, closer it's deep pink, but has violet shadings and turns mid pink ...
Probably the best red rose they offer is one not bred by them called 'Will Scarlet'.. but it's rarely available..
There are more, and I think, better red roses on the Peter Beales site, and I think you should consider a rose called 'Roundelay'... I haven't grown it, but I know it's well regarded...
I can recommend DA’s LD Braithwaite, it is not a pinky red, the truest red I have and maintains it’s colour well even in my hot, south-facing border backed by a stone wall, that retains heat rather too well! It does suffer from blackspot, but then I have a very hot and humid climate and all my roses do. It may suffer less in the UK. You have to search for it by name in the search box, as it’s an older variety and not one they promote much. In this photo it looks pinkier than it Is IRL:
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Does it not fade to pink Nollie? during hot weather?
Incidentally, if you want this rose from DA you best get in quick as it's being withdrawn soon, according to a DA rep quoted in Horticultural Week publication recently, along with many others including Munstead Wood..
It may still be offered by other vendors though...
Thank you all for your knowledgeable advice, I have just ordered Thomas A Becket and should be with me within 2 weeks. I was also impressed with Roundeley from Peter Beales, but they are out of their bare root season so I couldn't order. But certainly one for the future.
It holds it’s colour pretty well in normal times @Marlorena, of course it did fade to pink last year during those horrendous heatwaves, but everything suffered in 45deg.C.
Munstead Wood being dumped, that’s awful, such a gorgeous colour - but if they launched a less thorny version that would be a good thing!
Good luck with your choice, PeteS.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@peteS I'm delighted you are getting Thomas a Becket... if you are still looking in allow me to tell you something about it... I know you are handy with those secateurs, but I urge you not to prune this rose hard back, just deadhead... it needs time to develop to a height of at least 4-5 feet, it can get to 6... takes a couple of seasons... and it should not be stopped in its progress.. The reason being it just looks a whole lot better as a larger shrub... at DA they grow it as a longish hedge along the car park... Nick Bailey of GW stood next to it a couple of years ago and it was shoulder height for him and looked fantastic...
At its best, it has a citrus, lemon and old rose fragrance, and is always blooming and producing more right into December...
Watch out too for the first bud... it's beautifully named... blood red, sinister, cloaked and hooded like a medieval monk..
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Darcey Bussell is probably their best red but it's a short grower... I've not grown it..
Could I ask you, to which colour do they fade. Do they still retain a decent amount of red? And, do you prefer bare rooted plants, which I can order now, or the potted ones which are available at the end of the month. Many thanks.
All DA roses fade, it's part of their selection process, they choose roses that fade so you get a combination of colours on the same bush... so the reds will fade to deep pink, through mid pink and light pink...
Thomas a Becket starts out deep red, turns deep pink, then during July/august it will be a lighter pink..
B Britten starts out reddish with orange highlights, turns deep pink, fades to purple and grey...
Gabriel Oak is a rose I love, it looks red from a distance, closer it's deep pink, but has violet shadings and turns mid pink ...
Probably the best red rose they offer is one not bred by them called 'Will Scarlet'.. but it's rarely available..
There are more, and I think, better red roses on the Peter Beales site, and I think you should consider a rose called 'Roundelay'... I haven't grown it, but I know it's well regarded...
Incidentally, if you want this rose from DA you best get in quick as it's being withdrawn soon, according to a DA rep quoted in Horticultural Week publication recently, along with many others including Munstead Wood..
It may still be offered by other vendors though...
I'm delighted you are getting Thomas a Becket... if you are still looking in allow me to tell you something about it...
I know you are handy with those secateurs, but I urge you not to prune this rose hard back, just deadhead... it needs time to develop to a height of at least 4-5 feet, it can get to 6... takes a couple of seasons... and it should not be stopped in its progress.. The reason being it just looks a whole lot better as a larger shrub... at DA they grow it as a longish hedge along the car park... Nick Bailey of GW stood next to it a couple of years ago and it was shoulder height for him and looked fantastic...
At its best, it has a citrus, lemon and old rose fragrance, and is always blooming and producing more right into December...
Watch out too for the first bud... it's beautifully named... blood red, sinister, cloaked and hooded like a medieval monk..