Contact David Austin, I bought 'The Ingenious Mr Fairchild' from them and within a short time it seemed to be at the point of death! one bud struggled on but it turned out white rather than pink and a fraction of the size it should have been and virtually all the leaves fell off. I Emailed them and when I eventually had a reply I was given the opportunity of a replacement or a completely different rose. I opted for the replacement as it looks such a lovely rose and with excellent scent, that one certainly looks much healthier - and the first one is still alive, but I don't know if it's ever going to do a great deal, and with the price they are I now hesitate to buy any more from them. I also find that a lot of D.A's roses are too heavy for the stems - and I do know what I'm doing!
I think roses are greedy plants, they say that 'Rose sickness' is caused by them leaching out all the nutrients from the soil thus leaving little goodness for a replacement. I've never managed to replace a rose without replacing ALL the soil. I've got mixed views on 'Rose sickness' but I do believe that newly planted Roses need plenty of water especially in well drained soil. I've never had any problems with DA's roses but then I've not bought them direct. I hope your replacement does well Susan. I've not heard of The Ingenious Mr Fairchild' I must look it up.
I agree with you Susan with regard to maybe not buying David Austin roses any more. I have either bought or been given one a year for the last ten years and the ones planted in 2000 and 2001 performed well (but not fabulously) for the first time last year. The younger ones are still pretty unimpressive. It seems to me that they take such an age to establish, seemingly teetering on the brink of death for months, even years. I'm afraid life's too short to be spent coaxing sulky specimens!
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Contact David Austin, I bought 'The Ingenious Mr Fairchild' from them and within a short time it seemed to be at the point of death! one bud struggled on but it turned out white rather than pink and a fraction of the size it should have been and virtually all the leaves fell off. I Emailed them and when I eventually had a reply I was given the opportunity of a replacement or a completely different rose. I opted for the replacement as it looks such a lovely rose and with excellent scent, that one certainly looks much healthier - and the first one is still alive, but I don't know if it's ever going to do a great deal, and with the price they are I now hesitate to buy any more from them. I also find that a lot of D.A's roses are too heavy for the stems - and I do know what I'm doing!
I think roses are greedy plants, they say that 'Rose sickness' is caused by them leaching out all the nutrients from the soil thus leaving little goodness for a replacement. I've never managed to replace a rose without replacing ALL the soil. I've got mixed views on 'Rose sickness' but I do believe that newly planted Roses need plenty of water especially in well drained soil. I've never had any problems with DA's roses but then I've not bought them direct. I hope your replacement does well Susan. I've not heard of The Ingenious Mr Fairchild' I must look it up.
I agree with you Susan with regard to maybe not buying David Austin roses any more. I have either bought or been given one a year for the last ten years and the ones planted in 2000 and 2001 performed well (but not fabulously) for the first time last year. The younger ones are still pretty unimpressive. It seems to me that they take such an age to establish, seemingly teetering on the brink of death for months, even years. I'm afraid life's too short to be spent coaxing sulky specimens!