The key is to shop around- full price, they are a bit steep if you plan to grow on more than one plant. While I am a bargain hunter, it is worth bearing in mind though that some considerable effort has gone into developing the David Austin rose breeds. They specialise in English roses, which are basically the result of crossing the older species roses (Albas, Gallicas, Damasks, etc.) with hybrid teas- this is a large part of the considerable effort of which I spoke.
I have a few and I have no regrets with Lady Emma Hamilton and Boscobel, both of which have STUNNING fragrances and are just gorgeous to look at! Brother Cadfael is also wonderful. My Winchester Cathedral is pleasant enough but a medium fragrance and susceptible to rain.
If it must be David Austin, you can wait until your garden centre has a sale or go on the last day of one of the RHS flower shows- David Austin usually has a large display there and they sell off everything at discount prices at the end. If you wait until after a certain time, there is free entry to sell off all the vendors' displayed stock but be warned- it is a bit chaotic! Also, people will have been on a numbered list to purchase certain species, so the ones you want MAY not be available...
If you are not wedded to DA, the world is your oyster. I have used Stakehill nurseries (http://www.stakehillnurseries.co.uk/) with superb results and their current 33% off sale is not to be missed. The hybrid teas are also very worth the effort- I can vouch for 'The Anniversary Rose' and 'Chandos Beauty', both of which can be found at very reasonable prices, have PHENOMENAL fragrances, stunning foliage and are very healthy.
If you wish to explore the older species roses, this website is an excellent repository list, with some adequate descriptions: http://www.oldroses.co.uk/cart/ . I cannot comment on the quality of their products as I have never purchased from them.
As usual, browse your local nurseries and garden centres. I was at my local Notcutts yesterday and found a lovely Damask rose Jacques Cartier specimen that was reduced to £5!! It is in great condition and as Damasks are the species most popularly used to extract rose essential oil (rose attar), I am looking forward to the fragrance of the blooms!
I mean like, it depends on the person, if you absolutely adore your roses at the priciest, most gorgeous healthiest state, like me; probably yes! But if not, then no!
Tess of the D'Urbervilles is a beautiful rose but, as it matures, the flowers get bigger and they are too heavy for the stem. For this reason, it cannot cope with rain.
Last week, despite the fact it was covered in blooms, they were ruined by the rain. I know it was particularly bad this year, but it didn't fare too well last year either.
I have pruned it right back and will plant it out somewhere sheltered to live or die.
The DA roses that I have bought seem to be prima donnas. Maybe I have been unlucky, but I find that I do better with other roses from reputable growers.
By the way, if you can wait until the next bare root season (November to March), I have tried Trevor White's Old Fashioned Roses and I can thoroughly recommend them: http://www.oldroses.co.uk !! The specimens are SUPERB and the descriptions are simply precious!
Personally I'm not a huge fan of D A roses, though Gertrude Jekyll and Graham Thomas both do well for me. I'm not keen on the myrrh scent.
I'm lucky to have a small nursery nearby in Norfolk that stocks bare rooted roses from Trevor Whites ( oldroses ) for very competitive prices. I most recently bought La Rose De Molinard which smells divine.
Oh YES Tootsietim!!! I have two Rose De Mollinard plants and the fragrance is divine! It is a Delbard rose I believe. I must admit that after planting them and seeing their performance, I now much prefer the Delbard and Meilland French roses to DA.
I'm a total novice so my opinion is probably a bit naive but I'm very much on the fence about D A roses.
I bought three different D A roses based upon their fragrance and disease resistance.
They all smell wonderful. Nicest smelling roses I've encountered.
However, they all suffer from one disease or another so I'm constantly cutting bits off. They have been very slow to grow and although they have a lot of flower buds, they open and wilt in a blink. I never get a huge mass of beautiful flowers and intense scent at once that lingers.
Perhaps that is just roses in general though. I did prepare and plant as directed.
Louise, try Arthur Bell. It comes as a shrub and a climber. It's yellow, repeat flowering with a good scent and firm flowers that have good resistance to the rain unless the petals are about to drop off anyway. I grow them in containers and in the ground.
They get a bit of black spot now and again, but most roses do.
I just bought Olivia Rose Austin and Geoff Hamilton, both beautiful, wonderful fragrance, planted out last week so hope they do well. On the other hand had Alanm Titchmarsh for 2 years, and although the flowers are lovely and they smell wonderful, the habit is awful, the flowers all flop down with their faces in the soil except one random shoot which when my bach was turned for 5 minutes shot up to almost 5 foot leaving the rest drooping sown sadly, as soon as that shoot flowers I'll chop it and hope it evens/strengthens
Olivia Rose Austin is definately next on my list when I can find a gap for another rose.
I have had most of my David Austin roses for 3 years. I Found that the first year I had to stake them with bamboo canes. The second year I needed less canes - 1 per plant and this year they are all beautifully upright and able to support their flowers with no support. It just takes a little time for the stems to thicken and become stiff.
Worth the effort though as the flowers are do beautiful and large.
Posts
The key is to shop around- full price, they are a bit steep if you plan to grow on more than one plant. While I am a bargain hunter, it is worth bearing in mind though that some considerable effort has gone into developing the David Austin rose breeds. They specialise in English roses, which are basically the result of crossing the older species roses (Albas, Gallicas, Damasks, etc.) with hybrid teas- this is a large part of the considerable effort of which I spoke.
I have a few and I have no regrets with Lady Emma Hamilton and Boscobel, both of which have STUNNING fragrances and are just gorgeous to look at! Brother Cadfael is also wonderful. My Winchester Cathedral is pleasant enough but a medium fragrance and susceptible to rain.
If it must be David Austin, you can wait until your garden centre has a sale or go on the last day of one of the RHS flower shows- David Austin usually has a large display there and they sell off everything at discount prices at the end. If you wait until after a certain time, there is free entry to sell off all the vendors' displayed stock but be warned- it is a bit chaotic! Also, people will have been on a numbered list to purchase certain species, so the ones you want MAY not be available...
If you are not wedded to DA, the world is your oyster. I have used Stakehill nurseries (http://www.stakehillnurseries.co.uk/) with superb results and their current 33% off sale is not to be missed. The hybrid teas are also very worth the effort- I can vouch for 'The Anniversary Rose' and 'Chandos Beauty', both of which can be found at very reasonable prices, have PHENOMENAL fragrances, stunning foliage and are very healthy.
If you wish to explore the older species roses, this website is an excellent repository list, with some adequate descriptions: http://www.oldroses.co.uk/cart/ . I cannot comment on the quality of their products as I have never purchased from them.
As usual, browse your local nurseries and garden centres. I was at my local Notcutts yesterday and found a lovely Damask rose Jacques Cartier specimen that was reduced to £5!! It is in great condition and as Damasks are the species most popularly used to extract rose essential oil (rose attar), I am looking forward to the fragrance of the blooms!
I mean like, it depends on the person, if you absolutely adore your roses at the priciest, most gorgeous healthiest state, like me; probably yes! But if not, then no!
Tess of the D'Urbervilles is a beautiful rose but, as it matures, the flowers get bigger and they are too heavy for the stem. For this reason, it cannot cope with rain.
Last week, despite the fact it was covered in blooms, they were ruined by the rain. I know it was particularly bad this year, but it didn't fare too well last year either.
I have pruned it right back and will plant it out somewhere sheltered to live or die.
The DA roses that I have bought seem to be prima donnas. Maybe I have been unlucky, but I find that I do better with other roses from reputable growers.
Last edited: 25 June 2016 23:29:25
By the way, if you can wait until the next bare root season (November to March), I have tried Trevor White's Old Fashioned Roses and I can thoroughly recommend them: http://www.oldroses.co.uk !! The specimens are SUPERB and the descriptions are simply precious!
Personally I'm not a huge fan of D A roses, though Gertrude Jekyll and Graham Thomas both do well for me. I'm not keen on the myrrh scent.
I'm lucky to have a small nursery nearby in Norfolk that stocks bare rooted roses from Trevor Whites ( oldroses ) for very competitive prices. I most recently bought La Rose De Molinard which smells divine.
Oh YES Tootsietim!!! I have two Rose De Mollinard plants and the fragrance is divine! It is a Delbard rose I believe. I must admit that after planting them and seeing their performance, I now much prefer the Delbard and Meilland French roses to DA.
I'm a total novice so my opinion is probably a bit naive but I'm very much on the fence about D A roses.
I bought three different D A roses based upon their fragrance and disease resistance.
They all smell wonderful. Nicest smelling roses I've encountered.
However, they all suffer from one disease or another so I'm constantly cutting bits off. They have been very slow to grow and although they have a lot of flower buds, they open and wilt in a blink. I never get a huge mass of beautiful flowers and intense scent at once that lingers.
Perhaps that is just roses in general though. I did prepare and plant as directed.
Last edited: 26 June 2016 11:05:29
Louise, try Arthur Bell. It comes as a shrub and a climber. It's yellow, repeat flowering with a good scent and firm flowers that have good resistance to the rain unless the petals are about to drop off anyway. I grow them in containers and in the ground.
They get a bit of black spot now and again, but most roses do.
I just bought Olivia Rose Austin and Geoff Hamilton, both beautiful, wonderful fragrance, planted out last week so hope they do well. On the other hand had Alanm Titchmarsh for 2 years, and although the flowers are lovely and they smell wonderful, the habit is awful, the flowers all flop down with their faces in the soil except one random shoot which when my bach was turned for 5 minutes shot up to almost 5 foot leaving the rest drooping sown sadly, as soon as that shoot flowers I'll chop it and hope it evens/strengthens
Olivia Rose Austin is definately next on my list when I can find a gap for another rose.
I have had most of my David Austin roses for 3 years. I Found that the first year I had to stake them with bamboo canes. The second year I needed less canes - 1 per plant and this year they are all beautifully upright and able to support their flowers with no support. It just takes a little time for the stems to thicken and become stiff.
Worth the effort though as the flowers are do beautiful and large.