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solicitr

Easiest Austins?

solicitr
14 years ago

Up until now I've been leery of the English Roses because of their reputation as primadonnas, being (by rumor) fully "modern" in their disease susceptibility and care requirements.

But that's obviously an overgeneralization; heck, there are even Hybrid Teas that are pretty forgiving!

So could people pony up their three to five Austins which may approach the "fire-and-forget" ideal of Old Blush or (shudder) Knockout?

Comments (27)

  • solicitr
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Oh, yeah: and they can't be pink. My wife hates pink.

  • odyssey3
    14 years ago

    Sorry--all my Austin recommendations are PINK!

  • ronda_in_carolina
    14 years ago

    I used to hate pink too....but I loved roses more.

    Lilian Austin has yellow at the petal bases....she is carefree in my garden.

  • luxrosa
    14 years ago

    'Pat Austin' is a bit shade tolerant and did well with some neglect.
    'Belle Storey' is easy to grow where I live.
    'Tamora' when well budded and fed. Upright growth habit so, I don't like it, but most folks do.
    The red Austins needed regular feeding to perform well to produce those many petaled largish blooms.

    Lux.

  • andreageorgia
    14 years ago

    Some of the best Austins are pink - and there are pinks, pinks, and then pinks, lots of different hues out there, and very beautiful ones, especially among DAs that are usually multi-hued anyway. Show your wifes some pinks Austins and see if she'll reconsider (Heritage and Sharifa Asma are fantastic roses).

    Anyway, these should fit your bill, although I have to say that any rose will appreciate care a lot, especially some regular fertilizing. This always makes a huge difference. Austins don't like to be starved:

    William Shakespeare 2000 (red)
    Lady Emma Hamilton (orange)
    Molineux (yellow)
    Claire Austin (white)
    Crocus Rose (buff)
    Lady of Megginch (deep cerise)
    Darcey Bussell (red)
    Sophy's Rose (deep cerise)
    Golden Celebration (yellow, might need a bit more BS protection than the others)
    Port Sunlight (apricot)
    Jubilee Celebration (salmon-golden-pink!)
    Teasing Georgia (yellow) if you're up for a large shrub or climber, may need a few years to establish good rebloom but flushes are overwhelming)
    The Pilgrim (light yellow shrub/climber).

    Tamora was a BS/PM disaster in my garden in NC when not sprayed, but ymmv
    Pat Austin is most beautiful but needs good food, water and some BS protection in NC
    Prospero is also nice, but quite BS susceptible here in England
    The Squire is fabulous, but needs some judicious pruning to look good and fill up well, otherwise he's easy care and quite healthy even in the Southeast

    Hope this helps,
    Andrea

  • jimmiesgran
    14 years ago

    Jude the Obscure is very easy. Light yellow/apricot. Smells wonderful and is healthy.

  • solicitr
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Okay, for the moment let's confine it to just the reds: keeping in mind that blackspot is definitely the number one health concern around here. Is Shakespeare 2K the red Austin of choice?

  • michaelg
    14 years ago

    Shakespeare 2000 has gorgeous fragrant flowers with good plant vigor and production. It is pretty resistant. Mine is better with occasional spraying.

  • jimmiesgran
    14 years ago

    I've got William Shakespeare 2000 and I wouldn't call it easy necessarily. A bit slow to establish for me and with a tendency to blackspot a bit (in my no spray garden where black spot is THE disease of choice). But very beautiful and very fragrant, well worth it's spot.

  • andreageorgia
    14 years ago

    Yes, WS2K is THE red Austin. It takes a bit of time to grow, maybe 3 years to become 5-6 ft tall and wide in NC, and that's perhaps also because it blooms all the time, even in the heat of the summer. Some BS with no spray here in wet and warm England, but nothing too critical at all, and barely any BS with occasional spray in NC. Give it an airy spot with plenty of sun and easy access to enjoy the gorgeous flowers and their perfume. Looks great as a specimen. But do fertilize.

    Andrea

  • silverkelt
    14 years ago

    No pink austins, quite frankly his best work is probable in the pink range, then his amber/oranges...

    Mayflower if you are looking for the best non care rose.. you wouldnt really have to do much with it.

    Im not sure the austins is what you are seeking if you are looking for totally non care type roses..

    I cant resist.. I cant believe she hates pink!

    {{gwi:224101}}

    {{gwi:224103}}

    {{gwi:224109}}

  • kinglemuelswife
    14 years ago

    I'll cast my vote for Tess of the D'Urbervilles. She's been very low maintenance for me, with beautiful flowers and good resistance to disease. I wouldn't say she's *red* exactly. More of a very deep purple/red. I'm a fan, anyway.

  • llhowland44
    14 years ago

    Winchester Cathedral..not pink...not red either. I don't really do much with it-prune it a bit in spring and give it an occasional banana milkshake. Gorgeous and have never had any problems.

  • andreageorgia
    14 years ago

    Interesting what you say about Winchester Cathedral - this is one of only 3 Austins out the very very many I've been growing over the years that I shovelpruned or gave away. It was a gangly prickly unsightly plant with lousy and inconsistent bloom quality. Quite BS prone in the Southeast. Sorry I had to say this. I guess ymmv! ;-(

    I found Fair Bianca a much prettier, better behaved, healthier and more floriferous white with an addictive scent, but for some folks it doesn't grow well, so I wouldn't add it to this list.

    Among DA's whites, his new Claire Austin looks like it's going to be hard to beat for vigor, floriferousness, and health - that plant is amazing.

    Andrea

  • solicitr
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Gee, thanks, all- now, with regards to the reds- can WS2, Tess, or the sprawling semi-climber Othello take (very) hot afternoon sun, or do they crisp like most dark reds?

    Next group: yellows. I mean rich golden yellows, since pale yellows, buffs and apricots are readily available in OGR's. My understanding is that Graham Thomas and Golden Celebration are BS magnets- are there any that are better, or is that Pernetian R. foetida gene pronounced in all the deep yellow Austins?

  • rideauroselad OkanaganBC6a
    14 years ago

    Contrary to popular opinion, at least this is my opinion, there are a number of Austins that are very disease resistant. Though admittedly, there are differnt strains of blackspot out there and resistance may vary depending on the local strain. In my garden, Crocus Rose, Jayne Austin and Molyneux are all virtually disease free, all of these are yellow.

    And yes, there are some pink Austins that fit that criteria too. St. Swithun and Brother Cadfael are two, both are beautiful beyond words and fragrant.

    Cheers,

    Rideau Rose Lad

  • anntn6b
    14 years ago

    Many of the Winchester Cathedrals sold in the southeastern USA were so frontloaded with Rose Mosaic Viruses that they didn't grow like sports of Mary Rose but were smaller and sadder. Just FYI. Color sports should be identical in growth to the rose from which they sported.

    I think the original poster might find Crocus Rose to be worth the effort. I recommended it to a friend last spring and she was so very pleased with both its bloom and its disease resistance. As a big vase shaped rose, Leander is a winner in my garden, and folks who've seen it have added it to their gardens. Big, strong and self supporting with time.

  • jerseywendy
    14 years ago

    I know you said "deep" yellow, and this one may not quite fit, BUT, it is THE most vigorous, healthy, yellow Austin blooming machine in my yard. The flowers last quite a long time as well.

    "Teasing Georgia"
    {{gwi:215935}}

    The picture truly doesn't do this rose justice. When the flowers first open they are brighter yellow, too.

  • dak434
    14 years ago

    Here is Tess in Central VA...sprayed for BS maybe once a month if then...

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:214013}}

  • michaelg
    14 years ago

    Don't even think about Othello. It is a rampant, thorny beast with no blackspot resistance and precious few (though individually splendid) blooms. AndreaG posted a photo a few years ago of her plant making a good flush. I have no idea how she made that happen. Maybe she'll confess.

  • andreageorgia
    14 years ago

    I agree with Michael about Othello. When I grew my three (!) Othellos in NC, I had to prune them hard and carefully down to 3-4 ft every winter so they would form full bushes with a ton of flowers. That way they got broader and broader every year with a vastly increasing amount of flowers. Plus organic and unorganic fertilizers and alfalfa tea, what all my other roses also got. They looked terrific through June or so, but by July/August they began to throw out their whipping canes and did not produce so many blooms anymore. I don't grow Othello here in England.

    Othello during spring flush, flanked to the left by Heritage and to the right by Tamora

    {{gwi:247911}}

    {{gwi:247913}}

    Beautiful flowers with terrific scent, but a difficult plant. I wouldn't recommend him.

    Andrea

  • redbirds
    14 years ago

    I'll second jimmiesgran's vote for Jude the Obscure, but mine is just over a year old. It has just produced blooms and, my heavens, that's the strongest smell on a rose I think I've ever smelled! Extremely citrus to my nose and a very pretty bloom. I do not spray and even though it is still little, I have not noticed any problems.

  • solicitr
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Reds: What about Prospero?

    Yellows: I appreciate the recommendations of the pale yellows/apricots- but I already have a buncha Noisettes and Teas in that color range. I'm looking at Austins for a rich golden-yellow, precisely because you can't get that color in an OGR (that will grow here- Marechal Niel and Duchesse d'Auerstadt are too tender).

  • cincy_city_garden
    14 years ago

    For reds, I'd say The Dark Lady.

    For deep rich yellows, Golden Celebration.
    Also, the hybrid musk, Jeri Jennings.

    Eric

  • solicitr
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    But aren't both Dark Lady and GC notorious as blackspot magnets?

  • andreageorgia
    14 years ago

    The Dark Lady has proven to be a BS magnet, both in NC and in England. Deep cerise, very pretty, big blousy blooms. Golden Celebration also needs some spray in the US-Southeast, but mine wasn't a BS magnet. Here in England GC actually very healthy without any spray. Can't say the same about The Dark Lady - or Prospero who has already BS (without spray). My WSKs are very healthy here. And getting big. Prospero is very short and upright, quite slender. Would get The Prince instead, better scent and more beautiful blooms with similar growth pattern. But WS2K baeats all of them for beauty, health and floriferousness.

    Andrea

  • michaelg
    14 years ago

    I really like Prospero. Contrary to Andrea's experience in England, I've found it to have a fair amount of BS resistance. I guess it's a question of what strains of the disease you have. He is not reliably cane-hardy here, but should be in 7b. Good bloom production for such a small plant and fabulous flower quality. Blooms a lot more than the Prince for most growers, according to reports here.

    Andrea, thanks for the tutorial on Othello. That's a bit of gardening you should be proud of. I guess if one had enough time, space, and body armor, it would be worth growing him for the spring flush alone. However, I bet the yard waste collectors hated coming by your house.