I think you just ask:-). In case of Austins, the DA website recommends certain types of roses for zones 9 and 10 (WS2000 is one of them). I am in Northern California, and have two WS2000. One of them has a set of buds on it already. I like the rose a lot, nice form of bloom, fragrance, blooms last reasonably well too. The shrubs are nicely foliated, and are somewhat spreading in habit. No sign of octopus canes so far, either.
I hope someone from SoCal will tell you more soon. :-)
Masha

I love mine. Just make sure it has 6 or more hours of sunshine and 1+ inches of water weekly.
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Hi I am also from southern Ca. I have a William Shakespeare from Heirloom so it is not the updated 2000. I have only had it two years, it was doing well, until a gopher decided to taste its roots, thankfully he didn't kill it and it is making a come back. It must be pretty tough and the blooms are beautiful with a great scent.

I love mine! If I had it to do over, I would have given mine a larger spot and planted three together. The growth habit is somewhat odd, a kind of wide "V", wider than tall. There are three planted together in this manner in the Shakespeare garden at the Huntington behind a bench, and they are just spectacular. Mine did not do much the first couple of years but now they are fabulous. Very good rust resistance.

Thanks everyone for all your replies. I notice on some pictures the flowers tend to be more on the purple/maroon side and then others they appear more pink. What is the actual color?

Also, I am convinced to get one now, but was wondering if anyone knows any good mail-order/on-line places to purchase from.

Thanks again for all your wonderful input.

Karin :)

Here's the growth habit:

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The color of my WS2K flowers are a deep dark magenta.

Hoovb, In the book The English Roses, David Austin says that the long side canes that WS throws out can be pruned down a little to give the bush a more shapely look, but it doesn't matter on yours because yours looks beautiful as is.

Chance

Karin, if I were you I would order from Heirloomroses.com. They have healthy own-root plants. They take longer to grow-up, but are worth the wait. Otherwise, some people love DavidAustinroses.com. Just make sure you order William Shakepeare 2000, the most recent version. Good Luck with it!

Chance

Isn't this picture of it sooooo pretty. I don't have it, but I am strongly considering it a must-have rose.

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Knightofroses,
That is about the best picture of WS2000 I have seen yet.

Karin,
I am not in your zone, but I will share some of my experience: don't let WS2000 fool you. He starts out as though he will be a little fellow. Almost sp'd one. About the third season here he exploded into a spreading bloom machine. Give him space in a prime location.

That looks like the picture of WS2000 from Paul Barden's page. His rose photos are amazing.

Harryshoe, it is an incredible pic of WS 2000. I love this one photo of this rose best, so I thought I should put it up to enable those on the fence for this captivating rose.

Lucretia1, yes it is one of Paul Barden's lucious photos. My favorite pic of WS 2000 and the one that has convinced me to seek him out this year.

In the book The English Roses, David Austin says that the long side canes that WS throws out can be pruned down a little to give the bush a more shapely look

I was going to, but the rebloom was too quick for me.

My most incredible, ever, of all time, rose. It grows like I imagine roses grow in the south. Just amazing!

Chance,
I did not give you permission to post a copy of my photo of WS2000 on a public photo hosting service; this violates my copyright. Please remove the image from Ph0t0bucket and link to the original photo instead if you wish to display it. Thanks.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:230327}}

Why is there still a copy of my photo in your Photobucket account??

I have two Shakespeare 2000 and both get caged flowers. It is simple to just remove the centre one. It seems to bloom in a bouquet at the end of the canes. It does pay to cut the side canes back as they tend to zoom out and break easily when the flowers bloom. Here is a caged flower

Wow, this rose is so beautiful! The colors are just amazing. I have to find room for this rose in my garden. How does the color on WS differ from Munstead Wood?

My experience is that the color of Munstead Wood is deeper and darker.

The main difference I'm seeing so far is that MW has a very different bush shape--it is much shorter than WS2000 and never has that awkward sideways spread that WS2000 specializes in. In fact, MW tends to form a most shapely and graceful bush so far--but mine is still relatively new, so we'll see in another year or two.

I do like both--and I grow both. Given their differences in size and shape, they serve somewhat different functions in a garden.

I think, if I had to make a choice, I like the MW bloom best, but that is not meant as a put-down of WS2000's beautiful quartered blooms. Both are beautiful.

Kate

Thank you, Kate for the detailed description of both plants. It really helps me a lot in my selection. If space and time is not limited, I would go for both. But Mustead Wood definitely fits my need. Thanks again.