These photos of GT are breathtakingly beautiful! I can’t believe DA discontinued it… I wonder what they’re going to discontinue next? Constance Spry and Gertrude? They may as well stop calling themselves “David Austin” at that point…
I can’t help feeling DA are missing a trick here, by not offering their ‘archived’ roses as special heritage varieties - that you may need to request a year in advance so they can bud them to order, perhaps paying an additional propagation surcharge for the service. OK, it might not be hugely profitable but it would earn them massive brownie points in terms of PR, acknowledge the historic value of their back catalogue and demonstrate good will to those customers that still want to grow them regardless of their perceived faults.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
I’m not sure how to deal with Lady Waterlow. I would like to encourage some flowers lower down, but I’ve already trained some branches on the top of the arch. Should I start again by cutting the long branches short and training them horizontally on the right?
Pitter that’s a tricky one as it doesn’t look as if you have much space to train horizontally to the right before the canes would hit the 90 degree side of the arch. If I were you I would be loathe to sacrifice those long canes I’d already trained up and over.
Maybe consider two other options - mulch and feed like crazy and hope for new basals that you could then prune, staggered fashion, up the corner to provide more coverage lower down, or investigate the ‘notching’ technique to encourage bud breaks lower on the existing canes.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie Thank you. That’s it, the space is quite small and the canes are not flexible. I was considering notching or growing a short clematis at the base of the rose, but there’s already a clematis planted in that area. I feel like I’ve had this rose forever, but checking my emails, I see it’s only in its third year. I couldn’t believe that some of the roses I was considering shovel-pruning (Kiss Me Kate) are only in their second year. I need to chill and give them some more time…
According to a Facebook friend who knew about the September cull before it happened, Gertrude Jekyll is indeed in the firing line.😟 and I agree @Nollie- why not offer these roses at a premium?
My mother in New Zealand is now enjoying the DAs the wonderful Internet allowed me to send her for her birthday. No prizes for guessing which Lady this is. Here's one of the others... long discontinued here I think so mad props as we said in the 90s to anyone who guesses it. 😁
Funny you should say that @pitter-patter I found a 2020 invoice just yesterday and was shocked to see roses on there I thought I’d had for far longer!
My bet was on Golden Celebration going in the next tranche @WhereAreMySecateurs due to octopus tendencies. Oh and no fair, half a blurry rose is not much to go on, but I bet M would get it anyway 😀
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@WhereAreMySecateurs does your friend know if any other roses are being axed? A friend of mine has GJ, so I can always get a cutting from him if need be:)
Hi all, I’m looking for suggestions for a yellow shrub/bush rose for my border which is in a sunny/partial sunny position, I think I mean sunny but not in an area where it would be baked all day long! I’ve just spent about an hour on DA’s website and a few others but I feel like I’m going round in circles so thought I’d ask for recommendations. I’d like one that flowers for a long period, is healthy and doesn’t flop in the rain. What would people recommend?
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My mother in New Zealand is now enjoying the DAs the wonderful Internet allowed me to send her for her birthday. No prizes for guessing which Lady this is.
Here's one of the others... long discontinued here I think so mad props as we said in the 90s to anyone who guesses it. 😁
My bet was on Golden Celebration going in the next tranche @WhereAreMySecateurs due to octopus tendencies. Oh and no fair, half a blurry rose is not much to go on, but I bet M would get it anyway 😀
A friend of mine has GJ, so I can always get a cutting from him if need be:)
@Oliya she said Gertrude and LoS (?!) were probably going to get nixed next. Her source was one of the gardeners at DA.