I'm seriously interested in growing David Austin/English roses, but never have. I much prefer hybrid teas and some floribundas. How do they compare?

I'm looking for a white, cream English rose that will do well in am sun, afternoon shade in zone 9b (100+ in the summer, dry climate, little to no rain year around). Tranquility seems nice, so does Lichfield Angel. Desdemona seems to have a nice fragrance?

Thank you!

One word of advice about DA Roses in the Inland Empire:
The majority of them do not like the intense summer heat that you (and I) get. I'm in Long Beach and a few blocks from the beach. We get very hot here as well the summer, and the 5 or 6 Austin roses I grow are the first ones to (literally) FRY when the temps get above 80*. ( I'm referring to the blooms, not the foliage.) Mine are glorious in the spring and late fall...in the summer, forget it...they're abysmal.

It's important to realize that those roses are bred in England where the climate is vastly different from So. Calif. and they don't have months on end of heat and humidity.
I've experimented with numerous DA roses and the ones that do best where I am are: Pat Austin, The Lady Gardener, Lady Emma Hamilton, Mary Rose, Queen of Sweden and Teasing Georgia. I make sure all of these are shaded from the afternoon sun (from 1:00 p.m. and onward) to lessen the dessicating heat and harsh sunlight.


On the positive side, DA roses DO grow enormously tall and wide in this climate ! If only the blooms were more substantial.

This is all helpful info, Calsurf73. Thank you!

I find that I don't like Austins. I'm in a totally irrelevant zone for you. But they all seem to be floppy with thin canes. Blech.
Carol

CA roses, I do grow some Austins but have been moving away from them due to the heat conditions where I live (similar to yours). I used to live in Redlands out in the Inland Empire and still miss living in that city--love the historic homes!

When I first started growing roses, I thought that the DA roses were the only roses that had those lovely 80 plus petal blooms. Oh, not so! Lots of other roses have the "DA look" but do well in much hotter temps. So, I am not sure, do you want that DA look or just a DA rose? That being said, I have grown several of his roses (and still do) but none that are white. Many of his lighter colored roses will fade to white in the harsh sun. My Mary Magdalene does well in heat and sun and does fade to white. She tends to stay on the small side for an Austin. She is also on her own root for me which may be another reason why she stays small (plus I have only had her less than three years and most Austins take some time to come into their own). I love her scent and think she would probably do even better with afternoon shade. Right now, she is in one of the sunniest spots in my garden and gets reflected heat and sun from my white fence all day long.

Other Austins that do well for me (especially with afternoon shade) are Princess Alexandra of Kent, Pretty Jessica, Munstead Wood (although he is pretty much in sun all day long). None of those are white roses. I tend to stay away from white roses (not that I don't like them) but my fence is white and the flowers would get lost up against it (very small yard and beds). I want roses I can see!

Mary Magdalene


I also grow (or have grown) the following DA roses, Brother Cadfael, Lady of Shalott, Emily, Heritage, Evelyn, Ambridge (does well with sun and heat but is not white), Sister Elizabeth, Judy the Obscure, Mary Webb (which fades to white in two seconds), Alnwick, Peach Blossom (one of my favorites and does well in the sun but is not white), Sharifa Asma (another favorite that would do fairly well with afternoon shade but is not white).

Whoa, sounds like it is hailing up a storm outside right now (1:49 am). Need to go!

Oooh! hail!!! Calgary (where I live) is the hail capital of Canada...so you're singing my song. Sheesh.

A California DA grower here. In my personal experience, DA roses love my neighborhood microclimate. We seldom get 90+ summer, and September is the warmest month. I echo CalSurf73 on DA roses growing taller than the estimated on the DA website. Apparently, the SF weather is similar to that of the England weather, hence they do well here. I learned that the roses with 45+ petals, such as Princess Alexandria of Kent, require 6 hours of direct sunlight to fully bloom.

So far the following allowing DA roses are thriving well:

Claire Austin




The Poet's Wife





Princess Alexandria of Kent




Lady of Shalott




I recently planted Desdemona (another white DA), Munstead Wood, and Charlotte. Will keep you posted on Desdemona for you are planning on getting it.

As MustBeNuts and Calsurf noted -- Increasingly hot/dry Southern California poses some real difficulties for the Austin roses, which were bred in a cooler, damper climate.

My solution to the problem is to grow Old Roses, of types that have survived for decades with no assistance in old cemeteries and deserted gardens. I can give you a list of those, if you would like to try.

We grow a small handful of older Austin roses, and supplement them with dishwater -- but all of the Austins I've interacted with have seemed to us to be thirsty devils.

Rose_Guy - Holey Moley those are gorgeous roses!!! Your PAOK is uber delicious looking!!! Mine is beyond pathetic. Yours is drool-icious!!!

@Canadian_Rose: You're kind, thanks! However, I dread the day when I will have "pot it up" or move it into the ground.

Rose_Guy - I think you'll be fine doing that...cause whatever you're doing...you're doing it well!

We can be well over 100 all summer and no rain and I grow a whole bunch of Austins
Disclaimer, I use a lot of water, sometimes twice a day. That may be a problem for you in Cali.
I grow Winchester Cathedral for your white and Olivia Austin is pale pink.
But, I also grow Earth Angel from Kordes with a similar look and Bolero from star.
Bolero is a great healthy white that blooms alot even in the heat.

@Canadian_Rose: Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Kristine - I loooove the look of your Winchester Cathedral (the first rose)!!! Wowza!!

RoseGuy - you deserve it

I think it all depends on the particular Austin rose. I visit the Inez Grant rose garden in Balboa Park San Diego quite often in zone 10a, and a number of them look good even in hot temps. Mary Rose always looks great even in August, so maybe Winchester Cathedral could be a good choice seeing as it's a white sport of Mary Rose. Also Lady Emma Hamilton, Olivia Rose Austin are two others that come to mind that look good here even in hot temperatures. Lichfield Angel seems to always looks good and healthy also, but doesn't seem to have quite as many blooms as the others. Here are a few photos I took in August of this year.

Mary Rose





Litchfield Angel




Darcey Bussell always looks good

We grow DA roses in our zone 10a garden in the south of France. The only white/cream coloured one we have there is Claire Austin, which is very beautiful and a strong grower. This one is in shade for part of the day; it's a thirsty drinker - I estimate about 16 litres of water a day.

Beautiful!

I love how the light plays in the petals!! So lovely!!
Carol

Thanks, Porkpal and Carol.

And for the picture!!
Carol