I'm trying to wind down on the roses- I must, to be honest! My local Wyevale just had some shabby looking DA ones reduced to only £5 and I couldn't resist: 2 Darcey Bussell and 1 Tess of the D'urbervilles have therefore now joined the gang. Some Roseclear and good planting has seen them well on the road to recovery. I put seaweed meal, fish, blood and bonemeal, and slow release fertilizer into a mixture of (crumbled clay) garden soil and compost, with some chopped banana peels thrown in just before completely covered- they seem to like it.
I DO have two more DA on my list to make my collection complete: Olivia Austin is supposed to be the pinnacle of their achievement in health, scent, form and vigour. Finally, Jude the Obscure's fragrance took me unawares this year when a colleague brought some flowers into work- stunning! It can be grown as a vigorous shrub or climber.
Has anyone else had a lot of their blooms rot due to the very wet summer though?? It was terrible! The only rose that is doing well, despite this, is my Munstead Wood. Now THERE was a good investment!
yes Anomander,lots of my roses buds have rotted and fallen off, think Gertrude is the exception,Olivia is utterly perfect, the most I've evr spent on any plant but looks and smells worth it, lets hope it performs longer term too, the 2 on my must have list that I haven't yet managed to acquire aren't DA, Felicite et Perpetue ( talked about on another thread, went to get today and they'd sold out , sob!) and Queen of Denmark, though I read Queen of Sweden didn't have great scent, saw it , it was stunning m and I thought smelt lovely... chopped banana peels? not tried that, is that your secret to amazing healthy roses?
I have about 15 roses combination of bush and climbers and by far David Austen are most prolific in flowering disease resistance nd beautiful smelling.cost a bit more but worth it. Am looking at replacing all with DA
I've had DA Félicité et Perpétue for perhaps 15 (possibly 20) years now. It's lovely all over the back wall. I had two others in the front which didn't do very well and I took them out. I think it was just the wrong place for roses. I've been wondering about Olivia but, realistically, I don't have anywhere to put it.
I'm afraid you^ and others are sadly out of touch regarding Peter Beales Roses. The Beales family no longer have any connection to the firm. It is now in the hands of Canadian interests mainly, although they were involved whilst Mr Beales was alive.
The son Richard, went into landscape gardening but has now, set up his own rose business, which rather oddly perhaps would put him in competition with his former company. Although he operates on a much smaller scale. Link below, out of interest.
Whilst it's important to support our mainstream rose suppliers here, and they do have an exhausting inventory of roses, I do find personally that they are sometimes more expensive than some others I could name, so like everything else, it's good to shop around... and just for balance, I need hardly mention that Austin's are not the cheapest suppliers either... but no doubt both have considerable overheads... coming up soon both should be offering discounts towards the end of the season. I find that's the best time to order...
David Austin roses invest years of time and skill and patience in developing new roses to the point of confirming garden worthiness and preparing quantities for sale. They offer advice on planting and cultivation and are, in my experience, happy to answer questions, give advice and replace any duffers. All that comes at a price.
When we lived in Belgium I eventually found I could buy named DA roses ready potted up and growing from a specialist who also develops his own roses in the Ardennes and thus buys only the hardy ones from DA. They were the same price as bare-rooted+postage from DA in England.
Now we're in France I shall probably revert to buying direct form DA. I think it's worth it for their flowers, colours, perfume and resistance to disease. Don't want sickly roses and don't see the point of a rose with no pong.
Last edited: 18 January 2017 18:07:53
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Posts
Thanks for all these responses :-) keep them coming! I'm becoming a rose-a-holic!
The shrub that I planted this spring, Lady Emma Hamilton, now has several wonderful blooms and lovely floral scent.
I'm trying to wind down on the roses- I must, to be honest! My local Wyevale just had some shabby looking DA ones reduced to only £5 and I couldn't resist: 2 Darcey Bussell and 1 Tess of the D'urbervilles have therefore now joined the gang. Some Roseclear and good planting has seen them well on the road to recovery. I put seaweed meal, fish, blood and bonemeal, and slow release fertilizer into a mixture of (crumbled clay) garden soil and compost, with some chopped banana peels thrown in just before completely covered- they seem to like it.
I DO have two more DA on my list to make my collection complete: Olivia Austin is supposed to be the pinnacle of their achievement in health, scent, form and vigour. Finally, Jude the Obscure's fragrance took me unawares this year when a colleague brought some flowers into work- stunning! It can be grown as a vigorous shrub or climber.
Has anyone else had a lot of their blooms rot due to the very wet summer though?? It was terrible! The only rose that is doing well, despite this, is my Munstead Wood. Now THERE was a good investment!
yes Anomander,lots of my roses buds have rotted and fallen off, think Gertrude is the exception,Olivia is utterly perfect, the most I've evr spent on any plant but looks and smells worth it, lets hope it performs longer term too, the 2 on my must have list that I haven't yet managed to acquire aren't DA, Felicite et Perpetue ( talked about on another thread, went to get today and they'd sold out , sob!) and Queen of Denmark, though I read Queen of Sweden didn't have great scent, saw it , it was stunning m and I thought smelt lovely... chopped banana peels? not tried that, is that your secret to amazing healthy roses?
I have about 15 roses combination of bush and climbers and by far David Austen are most prolific in flowering disease resistance nd beautiful smelling.cost a bit more but worth it. Am looking at replacing all with DA
Is there any sales on DA roses
Love DA roses, have quite a few (see previous post) but the two I still want are Olivia Rose and Lady of Shallott
I've had DA Félicité et Perpétue for perhaps 15 (possibly 20) years now. It's lovely all over the back wall. I had two others in the front which didn't do very well and I took them out. I think it was just the wrong place for roses. I've been wondering about Olivia but, realistically, I don't have anywhere to put it.
I'm afraid you^ and others are sadly out of touch regarding Peter Beales Roses. The Beales family no longer have any connection to the firm. It is now in the hands of Canadian interests mainly, although they were involved whilst Mr Beales was alive.
The son Richard, went into landscape gardening but has now, set up his own rose business, which rather oddly perhaps would put him in competition with his former company. Although he operates on a much smaller scale. Link below, out of interest.
Whilst it's important to support our mainstream rose suppliers here, and they do have an exhausting inventory of roses, I do find personally that they are sometimes more expensive than some others I could name, so like everything else, it's good to shop around... and just for balance, I need hardly mention that Austin's are not the cheapest suppliers either... but no doubt both have considerable overheads... coming up soon both should be offering discounts towards the end of the season. I find that's the best time to order...
https://www.richardbealesroses.co.uk/about/
Last edited: 18 January 2017 10:33:00
David Austin roses invest years of time and skill and patience in developing new roses to the point of confirming garden worthiness and preparing quantities for sale. They offer advice on planting and cultivation and are, in my experience, happy to answer questions, give advice and replace any duffers. All that comes at a price.
When we lived in Belgium I eventually found I could buy named DA roses ready potted up and growing from a specialist who also develops his own roses in the Ardennes and thus buys only the hardy ones from DA. They were the same price as bare-rooted+postage from DA in England.
Now we're in France I shall probably revert to buying direct form DA. I think it's worth it for their flowers, colours, perfume and resistance to disease. Don't want sickly roses and don't see the point of a rose with no pong.
Last edited: 18 January 2017 18:07:53