I was passing a hardware store this morning and they had a couple of bagged roses out the front. They were not from Treloar's, which is the only mail order company I can buy from down here, but they were Austins that aren't available through Treloars. I snaffled four of them for $10.95 each. I usually have to pay between $17 - $22 through my local nursery, so I bought them without really thinking. Now I realise I know nothing about these roses and need to know how big they get, disease resistance, growth habit (upright, lax, octopus arms, etc) so I can figure out where to put them. They are: Wise Portia, Heritage, Chaucer, and Tamora.

My Wise Portia isn't old enough to tell you anything about its behavior at full size.

Tamora is as wide as it is tall, about 4 feet by 4 feet. Heritage is more upright, about 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Neither has octopus arms or excessively nodding blooms.

I don't have Chaucer.

Zuzu, in your opinion is Wise Portia more on the pink side or purple side? I am thinking of cancelling my Lady of Shalott and planting WP next to Belle Story instead but she would have to be on the warm side (pink) rather than on the purple side (cool) of the spectrum. The label says deep pink but the Database says magenta/lilac.

More pink than purple, but definitely closer to purplish-pink than to warm pink.

Do you think it will go with Belle Story or will it detract from her warmth? I want a pop of colour next to Belle as she is at the very end of the border and I want to stop the eye from straying to the field beyond, but I don't want it to be a jarring, shuddering halt that hurts the eyeballs or that disappoints. All the others in the border are soft and warm so I don't want to spoil the effect.

I think I have ruled out putting WP next to BS. Would Tamora blend in next to BS too much to be seen? I have a feeling LoS was the best choice after all.

They're both warm, but I don't think they'd look exactly alike. Belle Story is mainly light pink with a few touches of peach-apricot in some seasons. Tamora is an apricot blend: a dark apricot center, occasionally verging on orange, and lighter apricot outer petals. Tamora also has about twice as many petals as Belle Story.

Am I right in thinking the roses I bought today are ones that are no longer readily available and have been dropped by DA? I have rung my local hardware store in the same chain as where I got them from and the man said he was personally going to pick up his stores roses this weekend. If he has more DAs that I haven't been able to get through Treloar's then I think I will be in serious trouble. I would feel I was losing the last chance to acquire some of these roses so I would buy everything. I should never have bought both Heritage and Chaucer as they are so similar. They had Wife of Bath, but she is very pale and samey.I have always wanted The Shepherdess but it too is a similar colour. Are there any older DAs that you would be sorry to be without? I want to know what I should look for and what to avoid so I don't buy something that was dropped for reasons of disease or poor performance.

Heritage and Tamora are still available from David Austin Roses, Ltd., but Wise Portia and Chaucer aren't, although they are offered by other sources.

My favorite Austin is English Elegance. The blooms look quite different from the typical Austin bloom. I bought mine grafted from Wayside Gardens many years ago and haven't seen it offered anywhere else recently. I've tried to grow cuttings of mine for years with no success, so that's probably why it isn't offered by the many own-root nurseries with a large Austin inventory.

English Elegance is really an outstanding bloom Zuzu!
Lola, I do have Heritage growing and am very pleased with it. It is still a small three year old plant. I have it growing now next to two other light pink DA's : Eglantyne and Scepter'd Isle and the three together give a subtle charm characteristic of the English countryside / the searched for cottage garden feeling. It takes time and patience before one finds exactly what each rose provides: either for its own sake but also next to others. If they are similar but not identical then nuances start becoming apparent. Contrast may be garish or subdued. The latter is in the spirit of the English garden and taste. This is one of the many reasons why sometimes I find myself planting close to each other similar looking blooms. D. Austin as a wholesale nursery/ breeder operation is under the pressure of large scale market forces that are tied into trends and fashion. The need for replacement of older varieties has very little to do with the intrinsic quality of a given cultivar but rather to keep up with the word "NEW" that is highlighted everywhere.
Arturo

Zuzu - oh wow!!!! I've never heard of English Elegance before...that's a gorgeous picture!!

The one thing about 'Heritage' that you should know is that while it's a lovely garden rose, it's hopeless as a cut flower. I don't know any other rose that will shatter so quickly, once cut.

When we had it, we were showing roses -- and it was hopeless for that -- so it left years ago. If you never cut roses, it might be fine.

Jeri Thank you for your comment. I hardly ever cut a rose to bring it inside... ( or actually any flower)
that was what my late wife did and I've been reluctant to continue doing so...
So yes that is an added criterion that I will have to look into more deeply
Arturo

The only David Austin grown here is Heritage. We used to have quite a number of Austins when we lived in Ft. Worth, but the only one that did really well was Heritage. It is the only one that we brought with us to the move here in northeast Texas. Right now it is blooming beautifully. With all the rain we have had lately I was lucky to get this picture today. It is raining right now, so no telling how it will look tomorrow.

Thanks for the photos, Avedon, they helped me decide where to put Heritage. I have now planted it in a pot where I can see it from my office window.

Heritage has always held a special place in my heart and in the garden. I've always considered it to be the most delicate of the roses I grow.

Heritage was my first Austin when I didn't know what I was doing with roses. It is no longer with me, mostly due to my incompetence, lack of knowledge and if I recall, it didn't like the heat on the balcony of my apartment (it was in a pot) and again to my own ignorance. I still feel bad about how I treated that rose. Luckily I know a bit more now but still make some errors that are whoppers and I am not talking about the candy! (Anyone else love malted milk balls? Unfortunately or fortunately for me, they are not gluten free).

Wowza!!! That's a great looking bush!! Soooo many lovely flowers!!

to all. We just added another 2.25" of rain overnight, so I haven't gone out to see how the plants look, probably lost most flowers. Starting Tuesday, we are forecast to have rain for seven days, can you believe it! I guess now we are gardening hydroponically Actually, I just hope the rain will stop soon so we can get sun and get those blooms going.

Avedon - More rain!! I love your comment about gardening hydroponically! We have to have a sense of humor some times.
It's snowing here again. We've somehow misplaced spring...I'm hoping that like Mary's little lamb, it'll come home wagging its tail behind it.