English roses: varieties, photos, description

English roses bred by David Austin stand out in the group of shrub roses. All of them are distinguished by their captivating beauty, large wide glass, beautiful bush, disease resistance, and their enchanting aroma has become their hallmark. Roses by David Austin are by far the newest series that has not yet been officially singled out as a separate group. This is probably unfair, because the number of varieties has already exceeded two hundred, and they are all recognizable at first sight. In addition, since its inception Austin roses are in high demand in the flower market.

The history of the series

David Austin did not deal with roses until in the 50s of the twentieth century he saw old varieties in France. He decided to create modern flowers that would look like the undeservedly forgotten old ones. spray roses, preserving and enhancing their wondrous aroma and the refined beauty of the buds. At the same time, it was necessary to make them bloom again, to give the bush a harmonious shape and the ability to grow in different climatic zones. In addition, the old varieties were completely devoid of yellow and orange color, which David Austin certainly wanted to fix.

By crossing the old Gallic variety "Bel Isis" and the modern floribunda "Le Gras" in 1961 the first rose of the "Constance Spray" series was presented to the public. It was very beautiful peony rose with a delicious aroma of myrrh and huge pink cups. Unfortunately, it bloomed once, but otherwise exceeded all expectations of both the public and the author. Constance Spray is still very popular, despite the emergence of new, re-flowering varieties.

23 years later, in 1984, D. Austin at the Chelsea exhibition presented to the public already 50 varieties of new English roses obtained by repeated crossing of old varieties with hybrid tea rose and floribunda, as well as wild rose hips.

Perhaps you will be interested in how many years ago the family business was created and how new varieties are being created today. The story of David Austin himself, the video from his interview was filmed a long time ago, but has not lost its relevance:

Today he is the most successful breeder and sells more than 4 million seedlings a year worldwide.

General characteristics of Austin roses

English roses are outwardly similar to old varieties - Damascus, Bourbon, Gallic, Albu, but they have a rich palette of colors, are able to grow in poor soil, and are resistant to unfavorable growing conditions. For all their nostalgic-old-fashioned appearance, David Austin roses usually bloom again or continuously and inherited from their English ancestors undemanding lighting - 4-5 hours of sunshine per day is enough for them.

D. Austin always at the forefront when creating a variety put the outline of the flower. English roses are distinguished by rosette, pompom or cupped glass. It is interesting that when, as a result of selection, cone-shaped buds appeared (as in hybrid tea varieties), the creator mercilessly rejected them.

All David Austin rose varieties have a strong, pleasant aroma. You will not find a single odorless flower in the collection of more than 200 varieties. But "Jude the Obscur" is considered a rose with the strongest scent that can compete even with the scent of French perfume.

Princess Margaret crown

The creator himself does not tire of repeating that David Austin's roses must meet four requirements:

  • Beautiful glass shape;
  • Pure color;
  • Juicy aroma;
  • High resilience.

Now he rejects even flowers that do not meet one of the requirements before announcing the creation of a new variety and is very sorry that at one time he released insufficiently resistant roses on the market.

Austin's roses are distinguished by the fact that in different conditions they can behave differently, for example, in central Russia, the following is noted:

  • They usually have greater frost resistance than indicated in the description.
  • They often grow taller than stated. This must be taken into account when planting, since it is problematic to transplant English roses at the age of 6-7 years.
  • Some varieties, on the contrary, do not reach the declared growth.
  • If the plant is grown as a climbing plant, it will most likely grow significantly more than its stated height.
  • Two years after planting, the flowers are smaller than usual, and the branches are weak and bend under their weight. When the plants adapt, everything will return to normal.

Advice! If the height of the bush is important and there is an opportunity, before planting Austin roses, ask the gardeners living in your area for their sizes, and do not rely on the description in the catalog.

Today the family company of D. Austin registers 3-4 new varieties per year on average. Among them there are shrubs, many of which, if desired, can be grown as climbing varieties, erect tall or low shrubs, miniature flowers suitable for growing in a container. All of them have excellent characteristics and are easily recognizable.

Comment! What should not be expected from the ostins is abundant flowering in the first year - they need to take root and grow a strong bush.

The first two years, young shoots will be thin and will not always be able to hold a heavy glass. Do not let this bother you, after a short period of time, everything will return to normal.

Austin rose varieties

Austin roses do not have any official classification. We are not going to replace the respected international rose-growing organizations, but we will simply single them out into groups based on individual characteristics. Perhaps for someone the size of the bush or the size of the glass matters, but someone will be pleased to have the titled roses of David Austin in the garden. We present photos and descriptions of varieties to the attention of our readers.

The tallest varieties

We repeat that in our conditions, English roses do not always behave as indicated in the description of the variety. The table will indicate their official sizes, but they all grow higher in central Russia with good care, besides, they can be safely grown one climatic zone to the north. We will try to present the best varieties to your attention.

Variety nameBush height / width, cmFlower size, cmGlass shapeColorationNumber of flowers in a brushScentBloomDisease resistanceClimatic zone
Crown Princess Margaretha150-180/ 10010-12CuppedYellow-orange3-5fruitrepeatedhighsixth
Golden Celebration120-150/ 1208-14CuppedCopper yellow3-5Spicy fruityrepeatedhighsixth
Gertrude Jekyll110-120/ 9010-11OutletDeep pink3-5Rose oilsrepeatedaveragefifth
James Galway150-180/ 12012-14OutletPale pink1-3Rose oilrepeatedhighsixth
Leander ("Leander")150-180/ 1506-8OutletBright apricot5-10Fruitone-timehighsixth
Spirit of Freedom120-150/ 12012-14OutletSoft pink1-3Myrrhrepeatedhighsixth
William Morris120-150/ 908-10CuppedApricot pink5-10Middlerepeatedhighsixth
Generous Gaden ("The Generous Gardener")120-300/ 1208-10CuppedPale pink1-3Rose, myrrh oilsrepeatedhighfifth
Tess Of The d'Urbervilles150-175/ 12510-12CuppedPurple1-3Tea roserepeatedhighsixth
  • Princess Margaret crown
  • Golden Celebration
  • Gertrude Jekyll
  • James Galway
  • Leander
  • Spirit of Freedom
  • William Morris
  • Generous Gaden
  • Tess of the d'Erberville

Roses for growing in containers

There are varieties that work well in containers.

Variety nameBush height / width, cmFlower size, cmGlass shapeColorationNumber of flowers in a brushScentBloomDisease resistanceClimatic zone
Anne Boleyn

90-125/

125

8-9OutletPink3-10Very weakrepeatedaveragefifth
Christopher Marlowe80-100/ 808-10CuppedPink with gold1-3Rose oilspermanenthighsixth
Grace100-120/ 1208-10CuppedApricot3-5Rose oilcontinuousaveragesixth
Sophy's Rose80-100/ 608-10Looks like a dahliaRaspberry3-5Tea roserepeatedhighsixth
Prince ("The Prince")60-75/ 905-8OutletVelvet purple3-5Rose oilrepeatedaveragesixth
  • Ann Bolein
  • Christopher Marlowe
  • Grace
  • Sophis Rose
  • Prince

Roses with extra large glasses

English roses all have large flowers. But some just need to be told about them separately, among them are the already familiar varieties "Golden Celebration" and "Spirit of Freedom". It should be noted that the size of the bud does not reach its maximum immediately, but several years after planting.

Variety nameBush height / width, cmFlower size, cmGlass shapeColorationNumber of flowers in a brushScentBloomDisease resistanceClimatic zone
Jubilee Celebration100-120/ 12012-14PomponnayaSalmon pink1-3Fruitrepeatedaveragesixth
Lady of Megginch100-120/ 9010-12OutletDeep pink1-3Roses with raspberriesrepeatedhighsixth
Constance Spry150-180/ 18013-16CuppedLight pink3-6Myrrhone-timelowsixth
Abraham Darby120-150/ 10012-14CuppedPink-apricot1-3Fruitrepeatedaveragefifth
Princess Alexandra of Kent90-100/ 6010-12CuppedDeep pink1-3Tea then fruityrepeatedhighsixth
  • Jubile Celebration
  • Lady of Meginch
  • Constance Spray
  • Abraham Darby
  • Princess Alexandra of Kent

Pure colors

Ostinki are famous for their pure colors, and we invite you to see for yourself.

Variety nameBush height / width, cmFlower size, cmGlass shapeColorationNumber of flowers in a brushScentBloomDisease resistanceClimatic zone
Graham Thomas100-100/ 12010-12CuppedBright yellow3-5Rose oilrepeatedaveragesixth
Claire Austin120-150/ 1008-10CuppedWhite1-3Muskyrepeatedaveragesixth
L. D. Braithwaite90-105/ 1058-10OutletRed1-3Rose oilpermanentaveragesixth
Brother Cadfael100-120/ 9014-16CuppedPink1-3Tea roserepeatedaveragesixth
  • Graham Thomas
  • Claire Austin
  • L. D. Brightwhite
  • Brace Cedvale

Conclusion

Austin's roses have received many awards at international exhibitions and performed well in Russia.

Watch a video about varieties that are successfully grown in Russia:

Important! When buying an Ostinka, remember that the author is sensitive to his reputation and often underestimates the frost resistance of flowers.

We hope English roses will decorate your garden and serve as a source of inexhaustible joy from contemplating their perfect beauty.

Testimonials

Marina Sergeevna, Belgorod
When I bought English roses, I doubted that they would be as beautiful as in the picture. But they exceeded all my expectations - large, fragrant and winter well.
Pavel Ignatievich, Moscow region
I have experience growing roses in northern latitudes, and I was apprehensive about buying varieties bred by David Austin - there were big doubts about their wintering. But they made me happy, however, and I covered them conscientiously. I recommend to everyone!
Lada, 22 years old, Izhevsk
She planted "Lady Shalotte" with my grandmother in the village, she said - she would not survive. Covered, however, well for the winter. We couldn't get enough of the summer! Such beauty - not a single picture will convey!
Comments (1)
  1. I have Falstaff, Lady of Shallot, Alexandra of Kent, plant in well-prepared soil, ground. Water should not be higher than 2 meters, deepen the neck by 5 cm, at the initial stage, cover for a month from the rains so that they take root well, feed, drink, for the winter in arcs , crosswise arcs so that the snow does not push the shelter, 2-3 layers of 60spunbond + on the very top of the film, so that the shelter is dry. you will have wonderful roses, flax. region, south. now, I give them preference.

    02/25/2018 at 09:02
    Jul
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