Yes, but you will be in love with it also. A love-hate rose. When she's bad, she's horrible. When she's good, she's the best.

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Hoovb, I have seen your whole bush pictures of this rose so I know it grows well for you, at least some of the time. I noticed yours grows as a shrub; how often do you prune it back and does it bloom at the tips only for you, as Jeri mentioned with hers? Honestly, if a rose does well for you or for Sherry, I usually stay away from it, (theory of opposites, you know) but I'd love to smell it so rose lust won out.

But Rick, thank you for the encouragement that maybe the scales will tip more to "I love you" - if at least some of the blooms open well and the fragrance is discernible I will be happy for awhile with it, anyway. How did you grow yours, more as a climber or pruned to a shrub?

And Jeri, a picket fence spot is available, so maybe she'll go there. I'll keep the other rose in mind, too, in case the I hate you wins out. I loved reading about your experience with it.

Thanks so much; it should be here in a couple of weeks. Peaches, yumm.
Gean

oh, and Rick, thank you for the blog post about it; I enjoyed reading it. Gean

Gean -- Your conditions are so different, it might be a complete winner for you. I hope so.

If not, DO keep Emanuel in mind. (Though, I see it can blackspot, so maybe it would NOT be good for you!)

Jeri

Well, Jeri, we have completely different soils, rainfall, humidity levels and overall weather patterns, so it might do much differently here than for you. But still, it's helpful to know how a rose performs for others in different situations; comments from other people usually still help. Besides I only believe something if I see it in my own yard as all of our experiences can be so different.

At any rate I appreciate the time people take to add their comments and it's a fun way to spend a very rainy Friday morning as I will do almost anything to avoid stores and shopping today.

Gean

I gave mine the boot after 10 years of trying to keep it healthy and performing. It was a losing battle; blackspot finally decimated the plant once I stopped spraying. If the blooms held their color for more than 6 hours, I might have continued to fight for its survival, but it was always faded to a truly dreadful beige/peach by noon on the day it opened. What I hoped it would be, and what I actually got were two very different things.

Evelyn, Paul?

I don't remember the fade -- just the wonderful fragrance -- and distressing paucity of bloom, in proportion to cane and leaves.

Jeri

Hi Jeri, Yes....'Evelyn' the Austin from circa 1991. It was one of the worst for Blackspot, and the lovely color faded quickly to a disgusting dish-rag pink color that made me want to chop the whole thing down and replace it with, well...anything!! I'm sure it was a climate specific behavior issue, but since the OP is also in the PNW......

I'm in Florida - so maybe not helpful. Anyway, Evelyn was one of my original acquisitions - SO great were its praises on this forum and it was sold by Chamblees - similar climate for me, etc. Of my eldests, it is the greatest disappointment. It blackspots regularly unlike any of my other older roses. SDLM never blackspots anymore now, for example. And as I believe hoovb has written, it rarely blooms. Right now it has two buds and that's a bumper crop. Evelyn is the ONLY rose I've ever grown that every time I look at it I think shovel. I'm beginning to think that's too kind - maybe shredder is more like it.

LOL, well, I like strong opinions!

Trospero, I think my climate is different than yours in central Oregon (where I think you are) but I do hear you. It sounds like the hate meter is off the scale for you!

And sandandsun, well, it sounds like you still have it and are tipping toward hate. I've taken great pleasure in ripping up and shredding some roses, so it sounds like that's where you're headed with this one!

Evelyn certainly engenders some strong emotions here on the Forum. It's only a plant, folks, not some monster to do battle with, though some of you may disagree.
I have had five Evelyn roses for the past eight years. Until about three years ago, Evelyns' blooms were glorious and the rebloom was quite good. This was the rose that visitors gravitated to and passersby stopped in their tracks to see. When I asked friends if they'd like a bouquet, it was Evelyn they wanted. Her blooms didn't ball, she took the heat better than most Austins, there were no twenty foot canes. Black spot is not a problem here for any rose, so there were no problems with disease at all. But sadly, the trees we were required to have in our small front yard and on the hell strip got lots bigger, and my sun loving Evelyns, due to shade, and root competition, mainly bloom in the spring with sputterings of blossoms the rest of the season. In spring, they are still gorgeous, but they all need to be transplanted. Finding the space is the killer though.
But to answer your question...no, I don't think you'll regret planting Evelyn, but you won't have to wait three years to find out like you do with many Austins. She's a fast grower and you'll know before too long. Best of luck--I hope Evelyn works out for you, because then you'll possess one of the most beautiful roses in the world. Diane

Well, that's helpful, Diane, thank you. I wasn't sure how shade tolerant she is so it helps to know your experience is that she needs sun and lots of nutrients to bloom well. I have terrific soil, lots of organic matter, tons of water ... but sun, that's another story. I'll have to think more about where to put her.

Gean, I think you'll like this rose. I just love it; I have two and they are fabulous roses. The blooms don't ball, as I recall.

Fragrance might be better in warmer weather, to my nose. It's a wonderful fragrance, like fresh peaches.

It gets blackspot and drops its leaves, however, it does well. Repeat bloom is good. It's winter hardy.

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oh, thanks, Krista, I'm glad you like yours. There are such conflicting opinions and experiences with this rose, I'm going to have fun figuring out my own opinion of it.

One thing that I do find puzzling is the note on the David Austin site that it is not a vigorous rose, yet several people seem to be saying that it is very vigorous. David Austin sells theirs grafted, I seem to remember; I've never ordered from them.

So, is it a vigorous grower for you, Krista? Do you grow it as a climber or cut it to a shrub?

Thanks, everyone for your opinions and experiences! Gean

Thanks, too, for the pictures, Krista. I love the bush shot. That is one beautiful rose!

I want to thank you twice, harborrose. First, I really appreciate the opportunity to vent my frustration with Evelyn.
In fairness, I should mention that as someone very fond of fragrance, Evelyn's scent was also quite a selling point. And its perfume is delightful. However, the absence of blooms for long periods has not caused my heart to grow fonder of the rare treat. Hey, if Crabtree and Evelyn have bottled it, I'd rather buy the bottle.
My other thank you is for helping me "tip" not toward hate, because no rose could truly engender that emotion (or so I pray), but toward action of some sort, lol. Thank you.

Mine is own root, shrublike, and not particularly vigorous but strong, and certainly not weak. Best of luck with your decision.

Krista_4: beautiful photos. I'm very glad it does well for you. And interestingly in Canada, too.

I've worn C&E's Evelyn perfume off and on for years, and I don't think it smells a bit like Evelyn the rose. The perfume smells like somebody's (the perfumer's) idea of what a rose supposedly smells like. And it's expensive, too. I buy it when I get desperate for a good rose perfume (I can't think of one on the market right now), and I'm disappointed every time. Diane
Oh--My Evelyn roses are all grafted on Dr Huey, and they are quite vigorous as far as the plants themselves, but with the shade, the blooming is a shadow of what it formerly was.

LOL, sandandsun, I do believe that you will enjoy ripping 'Evelyn' from your garden! What will you replace it with?

Diane, thanks again - I've thought of a place in good sun (for here) so maybe she will be happy. Thanks for a very entertaining thread, everyone! Gean

"Trospero, I think my climate is different than yours in central Oregon (where I think you are) but I do hear you. It sounds like the hate meter is off the scale for you!"

I am in the Willamette Valley between PDX and Eugene, if that tells you something about the climate I garden in.

Hate? No, not at all. There is a world of difference between hate and disappointment. I have been disappointed in the performance of 'Evelyn' since I first bought a plant in 1995, grown in an entirely different climate at that time. It wasn't a great rose then, and its a far less satisfactory rose here in the Valley. The bottom line, I believe, is that if you grow roses in regions where blackspot is a problem, it will devastate this cultivar unless you are unerringly consistent with fungicide applications. If it weren't for the unrelenting disease and defoliation cycles, I would forgive it its other weaknesses; when you get a few nice blooms, they are spectacular. However, in my many years experience with the plant, it rarely has both blooms and foliage at the same time.

There are so many superior roses out there to choose from.

I chose Abe Darby instead because I only had space for one of them. Abe's a big rose but blooms consistently and also has a fruity fragrance. Abe's been a good rose for a warm dry situation. One of these days I want to see an Evelyn doing well. I'm sure it's a beautiful sight in spring.

hi, Trospero,

You must be a very patient person to have grown it in two places over a ten year period and very disappointed in its performance to have finally given up. Your goals may well have been different than mine in growing it, having produced some really fine roses through your own breeding program. Your standards are no doubt higher than mine as well - I am just a gardener, not a breeder, an exhibiter, an importer or an expert. I garden for fun, that's all.

I will really be content with 'Evelyn' if there are some blooms that open well and I am able to strongly detect its fragrance. I will give it about three years - or less - and if its bs is more than I tolerate, I will sp it, but I expect to have seen it and smelled it myself, and that's really all I'm about here.

I started the thread though because I have been disappointed in a rose, 'White Cap' because although it is mostly clean here and blooms a lot the rose needs heat to open well and three years of blooms have rarely opened well. So as much as I like WC, I'll remove it soon and replace it with 'Westerland,' also coming from Pickering.

Another rose I really enjoy that I brought from Alabama is 'Fields of the Wood' which is very clean here, produces blooms but they almost never open well or develop a fragrance as it needs heat to develop the scent. The rose in the south is stellar. Ask me if I'm disappointed - I am.

But 'Evelyn's' reputation is so very spotty and I expect not much at all. I will be happy if it does have a strong scent in this very mild, wet climate and if the blooms, however many there are, open well and not ball. I'm grateful to have been given a heads up on its need for fertilizer and sun so that helped me place it.

You have some really fine roses to your credit and know a great deal about roses. That you don't care for Austins because of their performance for you is something I've read and thought about through reading earlier threads - but I have very limited experience with them and outside of 'Heritage' am not that impressed. But others do love them, and I respect their opinions for their gardens and experience as well.

But I am going to try 'Evelyn' - just to see myself how it will do here. I garden on Puget Sound near Seattle. It is wet, woodsy, humid and did I mention wet? I think ours are two different climates. Summer here starts when it reaches 75 degrees, which sometimes is not until mid July.

Paul, I very much appreciate your comments. I know very well 'Evelyn' is a flawed diva; I just really don't care, though as my goals with it are so limited. I do thank you for your comments and your opinion, because I know your words are based on a lot of experience and thought. Gean

hi, Kitty,

There's a pic of a whole bush shot of 'Evelyn' that you might be interested in seeing in the thread below with more details about its age and pruning method used in southern California. Warm and dry.

Here is a link that might be useful: Full bush shot, 'Evelyn' scroll down

Love/hate. Sometimes in June it looks like that in the link, sometimes in May, sometimes in September or December, much of the time it is a big green thing sneering at me. Ornery. The peach lemonade fragrance is delicious. Love/hate. I get a huge cane now and then, and whack it off so it won't kill anyone.

This morning, reality shot. The orange HT behind is 'Wild Fire'.
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I'm going on many tangents here.
Perfume, the movie - the power of fragrance. It's relevant somehow - don't ask me how.
Anne Rice's novel about a family genetically manipulated by a "ghost" for breeding purposes. This one relates to the Fairy Tale roses. I have never seen such health and vigor in any roses like I've observed in the Fairy Tales I've had only a couple of years. I've begun to think they're dodecaploid or something.
Aging: real, inevitable, and consequential. I'm not getting any younger and as a consequence my energy levels....
Roses which require less care will age well with me.

Spray vs. no spray: therein the answer to many questions.

Gloria Gaynor roses: "I will survive," they sing. That's what I like in my garden - Gaynor roses. I've been a stickler for VDR (very disease resistant) for my no spray conditions which continues to be gratifying. Given my Fairy Tale experience, I'm thinking of raising the bar to ADR (absolutely disease resistant). LOL, yes I know: Allgemeine Deutsche Rosenneuheitenprufung).

The trail of links in this thread is a fun journey.

harborrose: Evelyn's replacement? Good question. Maybe a rose at Burlington, e.g., that I don't have yet.
And I will probably dig and give Evelyn to a younger friend who sprays and does everything else except bloom for her roses.

I guess I've reached black spot overload. Remember there are a bunch of us out here who don't give a d**n about black spot. Sorry...I'm getting offensive, I guess. Diane

Some personal musings on growing roses in response to the original question.

"If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride..." a 16th century English proverb as well as a line from the title song of the first album by Brian Adam's first band "Sweeny Tod"... and oh so true of rose growing.

Statement of fact?: there is no perfect rose... Not true, at any given time during my rose gardening adventure, I have seen many perfect roses. Just not always on the same bush, cultivar, or in the same garden. Striving for perfection in nature is a peculiarly "human" idea. Without the flawed, there would be no flawless.

So what is perfect, it is a subjective opinion, not an objective reality. Growing roses is like running marathons. It requires a lot of commitment, time and desire. The results are never predictable and if we have expectations, they often fail to materialize. That is why I love my roses, good, bad and indifferent. I try a rose and see if it likes the home I can give it. If not I say a fond goodbye and ask another to take its place.

Life is a path, an adventure with many forks. Rose growing is also an adventure and the journey is the important part, for we can never imagine the destination, as with the rest of life.

Evelyn is a beauty, not always, not everywhere, but often enough. Give her a chance and if she is not meant for your garden, let her go with thanks and a fair thee well.

I perhaps wax a little too phylosophical for an open web forum. But me thinks we take this human idea of perfection in roses too seriously. All roses are perfect, it is our perceptions and our expectations that are flawed.

Chiao, Rideau Rose Lad, aka Rick

Gean, my Evelyns are 3 1/2 to 4 feet tall, they don't form climbers here... they are good bloomers, they form substantial clusters of blooms that require garden stakes and mini-trellises to support.

"You must be a very patient person to have grown it in two places over a ten year period and very disappointed in its performance to have finally given up. Your goals may well have been different than mine in growing it, having produced some really fine roses through your own breeding program. Your standards are no doubt higher than mine as well - I am just a gardener, not a breeder, an exhibiter, an importer or an expert. I garden for fun, that's all."

My expectations? I expect a rose to retain some of its foliage in good health through its bloom period; nothing is less appealing than a green stick with three blooms on top and not a leaf in sight. In that regard, 'Evelyn' failed miserably when I stopped spraying it four years ago. Oh, its likely still out there in the garden, but has now dwindled down to a couple of tiny twigs that no longer support flowering. Did I expect too much? LOL!

Having grown it, I understand Paul's disappointment with Evelyn. For us, it was MORE disappointing, because the bloom was so lovely, and the plant so wanting.

I've said before, and I will say again that there is no perfect rose, and in the end, each gardener may have to learn for his/her self what works for them, and what does not.

No matter how badly we want a rose to succeed, we need to be open to the voices that speak to its faults, as well as its virtues.

Jeri

Thanks for all of the comments and thoughts. Thinking through what I've garnered from the various experiences of everyone and other things I've read, I think it might be true that

1 it thrives in sun

2 it doesn't do well in heat

3 it is hardy. Northern gardeners seem to be the most successful with it, of the rosarians that posted on this thread.

4 it likes to be well fed and watered, too, I'd guess

5 it doesn't bloom well when it's hot. It seems to rebloom for those in colder areas, which the basis for my thought that it doesn't bloom well in the heat as well as hoovb's list of when it is in bloom for her in southern California.

6 it is susceptible to blackspot and can completely defoliate

7 it produces a lot of canes/foliage but doesn't seem to mind hard pruning in warm areas

8 it may produce more blooms if the canes are run horizontally

9 it is thorny

10 it has beautiful blooms

11 it has a strong fragrance

12 the blooms don't ball in wet weather

13 heat isn't required for the fragrance to be developed

14 at its best it must be spectacular for the rosarians who have added to this thread to be so passionate about their opinions, whatever they are.

15 I will not be sorry to have planted it, regardless of how it does because I want to see for myself how it does in my garden.

16. I am mindful of trospero's comments about its blackspot problems when unsprayed, in a valley 4 or 5 hours south of here, but I am also mindful of Krista and Rick's successes with it in upstate New York and British Columbia, about 100 miles north of here. I know that Krista doesn't spray any of her roses, and Rick is a Canadian, so I would guess he does not spray either. I don't spray anything and probably won't start now.

Well, I've learned a lot, and I do thank you all. If and when it blooms next year, I will post a picture. Thank you all again. Gean

"I will not be sorry to have planted it, regardless of how it does because I want to see for myself how it does in my garden."

*** That makes PERFECT sense to me.
:-)

Jeri

Just one other thing, beware of the superglue in its blossoms. Before you go for a sniff, it is good to alert loved ones or take the cellphone with you so that they won't worry while your nose is stuck to the rose.

**snort, spurting coffee, cough, LOL** See what I mean about passionate ... even from someone who's ready to run it through a shredder!

Hysterical - I see the image, especially as I am one who aggressively buries my nose into roses to get that intense shot of fragrance.

You'll have to send photos after she gets established!

Hi Gean (harborrose): I have Evelyn as own-root from Chamblee's. IT'S EASY AS PIE HERE. Blooms like crazy from 100 degrees heat to 40 degrees cold fall. Zero blackspots in my alkaline clay soil, pH 7.7, mulched with horse manure. No balling in our non-stop-week-long fall rain.

In August, I chopped Evelyn down 1' x 1', to save time on watering. She grew fast and gave me good fall blooms. She gave me more blooms in full-sun, and less blooms in fall with less sun, but the blooms have better color. It depends on the soil, if you have alkaline clay soil like me, Evelyn is a joy, zero diseases. I hard-pruned her, she looks compact now, no more octopus canes. Below is a picture of her blooms looking good at 100 degrees summer heat. Her color changes to peachy-pink in cooler weather.

Strawberry, that's a beautiful picture. I am so glad it does well for you and am also glad to hear it doesn't ball in wet weather. Maybe it will do well here too.

Harmony, Glad your nose has survived all of your superglue roses. :)

Gean, here's a pic from late September. Cooler weather can bring on intense apricot shades.

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That is a beautiful picture, Krista. Thanks for posting it. Maybe mine will do well, too.

I love my Evelyn. Firstly, I love the name. Don't know why, but whenever I hear the name, 'Evelyn' it makes me think of a classy lady holding a cigarette.

Secondly, Evelyn blooms are beautiful. They remind me of DA's florist rose, 'Juliet' - a rose that I hope would be available for us to grow one day.

The only thing I don't like about Evelyn is her peachy pink/ apricot colour can fade fast in the heat.

The thrips LOVE her which can drive me really mad.

In my country, it's really hard to find a virus-free Evelyn. Regardless of that, I will grow her for her beauty.

I love my Evelyn and she is very healthy in my climate. She is in an odd place at the side of my house so she doesn't get a lot of attention. She blooms and blooms, without much care at all. Great, great cut flower; lasts forever in the vase.

Actually, she has been somewhat of a surprise to me. I don't have a lot of luck with Austin roses in my climate but she is great.

harborrose,
How's 'Evelyn' doing? I know it's early to ask, but you said it's grafted and not as slow as my own root roses.
Also, it took a lot of research, but I have decided on the replacement for 'Evelyn.' It will be Korwarpeel.

hi, Sandandsun,
I'd ordered 'Evelyn' last year from Pickering, which wasn't then able to deliver anything to the United States. Then last April I went to California and visited hoovb's garden, which had a spectacular 'Evelyn' in full, glorious bloom. So I got to see it, smell it and admire it in her garden. It is a beautiful rose. But after seeing it there somehow that scratched all of my itches for it, so to speak, and I haven't thought of it since then.

Fickle, I guess, huh? I looked up 'Korwarpeel' - good luck with it!

ps, hoovb's garden is beautiful!

I planted 'Amaretto' by Kordes instead of 'Evelyn'. I'm very, very happy with Amaretto if that helps anyone choose a replacement (if one is needed). I still think I'll get me an Evelyn some day, but I can't say enough good things about Amaretto.

Except, perhaps, that she's a monster :) Much taller than I read on the web years ago. That works perfectly for my needs.

Oh, and she's not particularly fragrant! Bulletproof, the same colors and form as Evelyn (what I wanted), and she even has great orange hips in the fall, but not much fragrance going on.

I wouldn't say fickle, harborrose; I'd say wise. But we knew that, didn't we?

Yes, hopefully, everyone knows how b-e-a-u-tiful, hoovb's garden is, but for those that don't and can't visit, there's always the vicarious route via the internet to hoovb's 'Piece of Eden:'

(Don't be fooled by hoovb's love of all plants. The roses are there. Peruse!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Piece of Eden

No, you won't be sorry, and I wish you had planted her. Diane

Evelyn, looking pink.

I've written this before and I'll write it again here. Evelyn is a DIVA rose. When she likes her growing conditions (including spraying) she will stand out as the most beautiful rose in the garden (heck the world). But if unhappy ... well like any diva she'll clutch her pearls and throw a fit. In the Mid-Atlantic she does just fine own root.

Her mother TAMORA is a much more consistently good rose, but the blooms have an herbal/fruity fragrance verses Evelyn's peachy sweet goddess perfume. You'll get better repeat, a nicer shaped bush, and more disease resistance along with the vicious thorns. Sadly, the flowers while still beautiful (and more consistently apricot in color) aren't as spectacular.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tamora at HelpMeFind Roses

roseteacher, I'm so glad to hear of your experience with Evelyn since your conditions seem so similar to mine. I have no plans right now to buy new roses, but I'll certainly keep this rose in mind if a spot should open up. It's so beautiful, and I definitely would like to have more fragrant roses.

Ingrid

I am reading this thread and am in zone 10b, wet and humid Southwest Florida. I have 1 Evelyn in the ground, and another in a 2 gal pot waiting to be planted. She has bloomed nicely in a pot that she should have been out of 2 months ago. I was hit by last years Hurricane Ian, so my pool cage was badly damaged, the roof shot, and all else, and that is why she is in the pot for I did not want workers trampling on her. I did however manage to keep the other one safe and secure while the roof was done. This rose is a diehard when grafted on Fortuniana. All roses I have are grafted this way except for the few Austins that I keep in pots that are not available on Fortuniana. I can say that her resistance to disease is just as good or better then my Firefighter, Pope John Paul, and Tiffany. I would also like to put in a shout for Abraham Darby, which may not be as disease resistant, but is doing great when planted properly and in a spot when Afternoon sun ends by 2 pm. I have Evelyn and Abraham planted 4 ft apart at the corner of the house and I could not be happier. It was 99 degrees yesterday and has been in the upper 90's for many weeks on end with heavy humidity. Evelyn laughs at this heat and chugs along kicking out blooms. She also has only been in the ground for 5 months so she will be better and stronger next summer when facing more of the same. Evelyns blooms are long lasting, even when left on the plant. I am getting a solid 4 - 5 days through this intense summer. This rose is at the top of my list for Austins along with A.D, and Munstead Wood.