We have around 50 DAs. For us the most prolific is Teasing Georgia. Of course, a lot has to do with location, and she's in a good spot. Generous Gardner and Jude The Obscure would be runners up for us.

Oh neat! I haven't heard that about Teasing Georgia! That one is pretty I'll have to look into it, but you Are right! Location is key! I have heard that about Jude, which is why I just ordered a band of Jude from heirloom, generous gardener I also have not heard much about, I almost bought a Winchester cathedral today but didn't because I read such bad things about the blooms just falling apart it the slightest touch... then I saw it in action when I tried to smell a bloom, the whole thing just fell apart, such a shame, I love that beautiful cupped shape..... But now I have another white Austin to consider!

Lady of Shalott

Abraham Darby is a happy camper for me.

Lady Emma Hamilton has been the most consistent orang(ish) Austin - the blooms are longer lasting without that instant Pat Austin shatter...and it is a nice wide self-supporting bush (does not do that long cane unruliness) and has a delicious fruity fragrance.

Carding Hill in the apricot flower range (not that fragrant but a great bloomer and disease free for me)

Bishop's Castle (very fragrant) and only some mildew in wetter season)

Souvenir de la Malmaison (fragrant) my best rose for beauty and blooming here year-round, healthy and tough, the best of the old roses in my garden.

Ingrid

I second the vote for Abraham Darby. It is now squeezing out a dogwood tree. They were both planted in June 2011.
Darby is about 4' tall and more than 6' wide. It's just finishing its first spring flush for this year. It will probably rebloom in about 6 weeks but not as prolific as the first spring bloom. Now if only it would self-clean spent blooms.

Teasing Georgia is a 4 year old monster & has hundreds of blooms. Each stem has approximately 3 - 8 blooms. It's impossible to count them all. It's about 8' high & 6' wide. I have to prune it back today as it's impossible to walk past it without getting snagged.

James Galway is a runner-up & also has loads of blooms. It's also about 8' high but a bit narrower than TG at 5' wide (also 4 years in my garden.)

I bought Heritage in a container last June & it's also doing well. I replainted it in a large pot & it's about 2' high & 1.5' wide. It had lots of blooms 2 weeks ago. My other container Austins (Port Sunlight, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Lady of Megginch) were only about 1' high after 3 years & very stingy with their blooms. HOWEVER none of my Austins (container or in the ground) were killed by the polar vortex so I'm pretty pleased with them. Also, my wimpy Austins matured & are doing so much better this spring. They're taller & healthier looking & had more blooms.

They never did the sleep, creep, leap thing. Mine were more like sleep, sleep, sleep, good morning. Go figure.

One other thing. Last year, I was so disappointed that my Heritage blooms shattered almost immediately. This June, the blooms stayed on the plant about 4-5 days. Definitely an improvement. It's possible that in really hot weather, they'll shatter again but only time will tell.

Most Austins tend to shatter because they have so many petals. But they make up for that with lots of blooms. TG is great, but does get huge.

I doubt if any rose repeats faster than 'Sophy's Rose', and it covers itself with bloom down to the ground. I could say the same about 'Gruss an Aachen'. Neither is very fragrant, though.

I second Lady of Shalott (golden apricot) for an Austin and Souvenir de la Malmaison (or its near twin Mystic Beauty from Roses Unlimited) for an old -fashioned Bourbon rose. The Lady is about 5 ft tall and a bit fountain shaped--and disease-resistant. Mystic Beauty (light pink/whitish) is about 2.5 ft tall and 3 ft wide--also disease-resistant.

I always recommend Molineux (yellow/golden/apricot) and Munstead Wood (dark burgundy-purple) as two excellent shorter Austins--about 3 ft tall. Both have fairly good disease-resistance.

Sorry, but my smeller isn't that good. For fragrance, you'll have to ask some other posters.

Kate

Brother Cadfael is blooming very well, and is fragrant; St. Swithun is good for me. Heritage. Wollerton Old Hall may be my favorite rose, but it's in first year so I can't comment really on the bloom, very strong scent.

Non Austins, purple Orchid Romance. Whew strong sweet scent. Bolero too, white 2/green. Vigorous like heck, and powerful sweet scent.

Top Austins for bloom and disease resistance in my garden: Abraham Darby, Teasing Georgia, The Generous Gardener, Crown Princess Margareta, The Dark Lady and Tamora.

For 3-4 years, I grew Teasing Georgia in one of my no-spray locations. It would get black spot in late summer, but even so, the whole bush was not eat up with it and it did not defoliate.

Lady of Shallot and Bishop's Castle are probably the best rebloomers I have or my parents have among Austins or English/Reproduction style roses. Darcey Bussell and Ambridge Rose are good repeaters. Abe Darby is too, but it's getting spd soon because of rust. Crocus Rose is reliable, but not a particularly quick rebloomer. Wildeve is not bad as far as repeat. Also, in its first year Winchester Cathedral has done better in regards to both disease resistance and repeat for my parents than I expected, though it's not a bloom machine.

Jay

I'm loving all these suggestions! Those photos are gorgeous! Also, I am very pleased to hear that Lady Emma Hamilton is a reliable bloomer as I have a new one that has only had one bloom in the time I've ad her (she is still young) but that one flower was so beautiful and fragrant, I can't wait to see more!

Michaelg I would love to see a pic of your Sophie's rose!

Disclaimer -- mine are all still babies, this being their second year in the ground, coming as own-root bands. That being said, in terms of "almost always having a few flowers" and being fragrant, I'd have to give that to "Bermuda Spice" and 'Marie Pavie'. From what I hear, 'Ducher' would also fit that bill -- and that's why I have eight cuttings of it which will hopefully give me at least one growing plant.

Without personal experience to back up the claims, I have heard similar reports from some of the smaller Teas, so check them out. And of course the Chinas and most Polyanthas keep on blooming -- but only a few are also noted for fragrance, so you'll have to do some poking around. Rogue Valley Roses has ratings for fragrance and repeat-blooming, and you can do an advance search on their website. That's one way to start. When you see some you like, perhaps you can ask about them here in this thread and see what others growing them have to say.

:-)

~Christopher

Here is a link that might be useful: Advanced Search at Rogue Valley Roses

My two 'Molineux' never quit. They always have plenty of flowers. That is my most prolific Austin. I've had them about 10 years now, or longer. 'Windermere' also has very rapid repeat, though the blooms are short lived. 'Tamora' and 'Bishops Castle' are also very good. 'Sophy's Rose' was an excellent repeater, but I had to move it and it went kaput unfortunately. 'Darcey Bussell' I think is similar to Sophy and is shaping up to be a great repeater, but mine is only a year in the ground so too soon to say.

But first, a basic comment.

In east Tennessee, there are different rocks in different valleys, and the soil you garden in makes a major difference as to the rootstock that will do well.

For prolific blooms from any rose, that rose needs to be supported by a good, vigorous root system. The wrong root system= not so much height and less vibrant growth.

Without getting too specific, perhaps Dingle can share a bit about what direct her garden is from a city or county seat?

It must be the drought because Sophy's Rose bloomed so well for me in the past but this year my two bushes have just one or two blooms at a time, despite frequent watering and mulching. I've found that many roses can really tell the difference between water from the hose and rain water. I think steady rains also go deeper into the soil and spread more evenly, which roses really like.

Ingrid

For me Jubilee Celebration has been stellar so far, a bare root I got from a local nursery this year. Lady Emma Hamilton and Young Lycidas are equally generous with flowers. Wild Edric is very vigorous and prolific but the blooms have been a complete disappointment--all veg centers, small, and no scent I can detect.

Golden Celebration and Teasing Georgia both bloom wonderfully well for me - and Golden Celebration re-blooms in the blink of an eye! I have both a grafted and an own-root Golden Celebration and each is very bountiful with its blooms. The flowers last well, too. And I love the fragrance of this rose.

Tricia

THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has replied so far, This has been very helpful. I love that so many of you took he time to reply, and I also am excited to hear that I already have a few of the varieties that are mentioned here- some multiple times (Golden Celebration, Lady Emma, Darcy Bussell, Jubilee Celebration) they are still so young I haven't been able to tell anything about their blooming habits for sure yet.

AnnTn, I live in a suburban area very close to an urban downtown area, so my yard is pretty small, I don't have room for many giant species of rose (although I'm constantly trying to make more room) my soil is heavy, sticky clay, but my flower beds have been amended so many times, I don't know how much of that is still in there, and if my hydrangeas are any indication it is very alkaline. Most of my available space at the moment is mostly sun with some dappled shade, but as soon as the sidewalk that is In planning stages gets built, I will build my fence, and then I will have more full sun space available, but I'm waiting until the sidewalk and fence are done to plant near the very front of my yard (some of the sunniest territory) I don't want the roses to get messed with during the construction process, I would hate to get into an altercation with a construction worker ;)

This is an interesting thread and I am sorry to have missed it last year. Most of my Austins would be in its second year now so it is a bit hard to judge. However of the older plants, I have to say Golden Celebration and Mary Rose have the most blooms per shrub for me. But there is usually a pause between. However, I've noticed that even after having to prune it to the ground after last winter, Teasing Georgia (in its second year) is not only the shrubbiest but produces tons of buds and started to bloom already. Usually my Mary Rose is the first to bloom but it looks like TG is the one here. Therefore it looks like TG is the most prolific and constant bloomer for me, exceeding Mary Rose, GC and L.D. Braithwaite.

Mary Rose is a new addition this year. Thus far, this rose has been seemingly unfazed by the heat we've had, and it has been an almost continuous bloomer. It is very healthy so far. I am pleasantly surprised.

Lynn

Princess Alexandra of Kent is a hair more productive of blooms than Golden Celebration, but it's close. Munstead Wood and Brother Cadfael are having wonderful bloom years so far, but the Bro has his "down" years, too. My Evelyns are going nuts after a rocky start due to cane loss from our November Arctic blast, but came roaring back for such prima donnas. They don't repeat as well as the others, though. My two Ascot roses are blooming like crazy. Their blooms have the "vintage" look in a beautiful dark wine red. All the Austins I've listed have great scents, but I can't detect much scent in Ascot. Diane

..my most prolific Austin is 'Kew Gardens', which is not an English rose but a Hybrid musk.... Austin does do a variant occasionally... and this one flowers non-stop May-January, although I'm inclined to stop it in December, the weather being as it is then with few daylight hours... so I like to go to sleep for 2 months at that time...

...it's in full flow now of course...

In my Nevada garden, it is Sharifa Asma. Wonderful smelling and lot of blooms.

Sharifa Asma is impressing me right now. It's a first year bare root, planted late because I struggled to find a supplier, and it simply roared into life and despite being knee high, is blooming beautifully, and in my no spray garden healthily. Scented too.