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Sat, Oct 18, 14 at 6:51
| Hi all- I found a very healthy looking Falstaff leftover and on sale my local garden center. I've been reading some negative feedback on Falstaff on the forum, but the woman at the garden center says it does very well in her garden. Should I give it a try? It would be my first rose purchase. I have been researching roses for my garden and have really taken a liking to the Austins, and plan to acquire a few for spring. Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Darn. Falstaff Beer came to mind. |
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| I love the blooms, but they can be a bit sparse, IME. However that can vary by location. It's worth trying. |
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- Posted by ratdogheads 5b (My Page) on Sat, Oct 18, 14 at 8:23
| Falstaff was my first David Austin rose! One of my first loves so I suppose I'm a bit biased. For old fashioned form, the flowers can't be beat. It will winter very well in NH and is a vigorous grower, which is important with our short summers. I recommend it as background planting rather than a focal point. It will become tall with flowers mainly on the end/top of the growth - so "bare knees". Also, unfortunately the repeat is not great. The flowers are glorious though, so if you have the space and can complement it with other colorful neighbors, it's well worth growing. It has large heavy flowers, the canes grow long and you'll need to support them. Expect that for the first year or two the flowers will be too heavy for the stems and will sag, but with maturity this habit improves. The color is initially a dark, cool tone of red and ages to a lighter shade. They last long on the plant and in a vase. Wonderfully fragrant. Note that my photo is overexposed, in real life the color is darker and not so pink. |
This post was edited by ratdogheads on Sat, Oct 18, 14 at 8:48
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| Thanks for the detailed response and the lovely picture. I have a lot of flexibility for space right now as I have just cleared a large bed. I can put the Falstaff in the back and plant around it. |
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| I love Falstaff blooms. They are perfect. |
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| I brought this Falstaff bloom to a show last year. It won a blue ribbon. If I had a longer stem on it, it may have won best shrub. It was a bit more purple in person.
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| The flowers are gorgeous; here there simply not very many of them. My guess it might be far better in your short growing season than here where it goes octopus. Little fragrance--just something to consider. |
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