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Lichfield Angel or The Pilgrim DA Rose?

Posted by vickysgarden (My Page) on
Sat, Mar 10, 12 at 10:29

Hello, for those who grow them or have an opinion on them, which David Austin rose would you choose: Lichfield Angel or The Pilgrim? Which has done better for you? Any differences in performance, color, etc.? Your thoughts would be appreciated!


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RE: Lichfield Angel or The Pilgrim DA Rose?

  • Posted by hoovb z9 Southern CA (My Page) on
    Sat, Mar 10, 12 at 17:57

'Lichfield Angel' is not generous with her flowers, nor are they fragrant. Good mildew and rust resistance. LA is ivory in color, fading to white. I don't have 'The Pilgrim'.


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RE: Lichfield Angel or The Pilgrim DA Rose?

Thanks much! What about the Pilgrim? Anyone grow that one?


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RE: Lichfield Angel or The Pilgrim DA Rose?

Vicky -- I don't know where you are located, so I did not reply.

We grew 'The Pilgrim' some years ago, when it was first released. The bloom is extraordinarily beautiful, but in our coastal SoCal location, it did NOT make a 4-ft. upright bush (as described.)
Rather, it went UP 6-7 ft., before the canes cascaded over (and they were VERY flexible. Like some other Austins here, it really only wanted to bloom 10 ft. in the air.

We tried self-pegging it, but the canes re-grew from their lowest point, and snaked along the ground like prickle-covered vines, that hid in the grass and snagged un-suspecting ankles. I could have won rose shows with it, but it drove us crazy. It wouldn't even stand up in a vase as well as Abraham Darby did.

It was disease-free, I'll give it that. And as I said, the blooms were swooningly lovely. But it grabbed DH's ankles one too many times, and was summarily removed, with my blessings.

In another climate, it might behave better, and be a welcome denizen of the garden.

Jeri in Coastal Ventura Co., SoCal


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RE: Lichfield Angel or The Pilgrim DA Rose?

Jeri,
Thanks so much! I should have mentioned, I am in zone 5, northern Illinois...so maybe it would not grow that tall here. Any zone 5 people grow it to know? I would like to keep it as a shrub rather than a climber.


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RE: Lichfield Angel or The Pilgrim DA Rose?

For sure it would not be such a Jolly Green Giant for you.

About disease-resistance in your conditions -- or cold-tolerance -- that I don't know.

Jeri


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RE: Lichfield Angel or The Pilgrim DA Rose?

I have no experience yet with The Pilgrim, but after researching it carefully, I ordered it for delivery this spring, and if it lives up to everything I read about it, it should be wonderful.

My research (including comments from this forum) indicated The Pilgrim has good disease-resistance and is hardy to Zone 5. The blooms are supposed to be quite lovely and it has good re-bloom.

I want it as a climber and therefore have been concerned about the opposite problem--that it wouldn't grow tall enough to climb the pillar very well. In the past, our winters have kept some eager beavers in check, but this winter we haven't had any winter, so I'm not sure how "global warming" will affect the future growth of The Pilgrim and other Austins that are listed as both shrubs and as climbers.

I do have an Austin Mortimer Sackler that falls into both categories, and I'm trying to keep it as a taller shrub. It would like to grow taller, but I trim it back a bit about mid-summer to keep it around the 6 ft. height. Other than needing to keep my eye on it so that it doesn't go out of control, it has been a terrific taller shrub. But I wouldn't want to try to keep it shorter than that--you'd have to trim it so often that it would have a hard time putting out much bloom of any kind.

Kate


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RE: Lichfield Angel or The Pilgrim DA Rose?

I have a Lichfield Angel.Simply beautiful. The Lichfield is in its second wave of blooms in late June (32 new buds).The bloom is also long lasting, usually a week.


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RE: Lichfield Angel or The Pilgrim DA Rose?

I grew The Pilgrim in CA hot and dry zone 9

The blooms are beautiful, just not plentiful. I think it might need more water than I was able to provide. It may be better suited to damper climates. I would tend to be concerned about hardiness colder than zone 6; you might want to check to see on HMF where it is being grown.


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