Well, it's my own fault. . .

I love looking at catalogs, and the David Austin color catalog is one of the
prettiest I'd seen. I looked and sighed, and finally selected 8 of the
prettiest for my rose garden. Four climbers to go on the corners of a gazebo
(St. Swithin, Bro. Cadfael, Kathryn Morley, Constance Spry), the rest (Mary
Rose, Evelyn, Glamys Castle, Heritage) for the rose bed.

Well, I'm trying not to make a snap decision and grab the shovel without
giving them a fair shake, but after 4 months of growth from bare-root and
the first bloom, I am distinctly unimpressed with Austin's roses. Unless
situation changes, the only ones I will probably keep are St. Swithin and
Bro. Cadfael; St. Sw. is a dynamo, an abundant cluster bloom producer that
just keeps going. The plant has thrown out tremendous growth for a
first-year climber, and each growth has branches and nice-sized buds! Bro.
Cadfael was slower to start, but is growing nicely now and had a respectable
showing of nice-sized single blooms (about a dozen) the last week of May.
The others have all had their first flush of bloom, and their first bouts
with mildew and rust. Kathryn Morley started slowly and didn't bloom very
abundantly the first flush (only 5 blooms). Constance Spry won't bloom till
next year, is a good grower, no mildew or rust. Glamys Castle is a mildew
magnet! Mary Rose, located next to it, doesn't seem to be affected, has put
on abundant blooms but isn't growing well at all; a spindly plant. Heritage
is a washout ... good growth, but lots of mildew and rust, (next to roses
that are unaffected) and the blooms were all washed-out dishwater white, not
the delicate shell pink I was expecting. Evelyn is quite lovely and fairly
mildew-free; what blooms it has are orangey and huge, but they have weak
necks; their weight drags them down. The plant is going to be a gangly one;
probably a climber here in SoCal.
And all of the blooms shatter in 2 or 3 days!

What an expensive object lesson. I'd trade all but the climbers for another
couple of old HT Bewitched or King's Ransom roses, or maybe some floribundas
or old roses. And next year, I probably will.

Do you know my absolutely best rose? New Day. That rose is a blooming fool!
It's bloom form is not perfect, but it just puts on flush after flush of
big, beautiful golden yellow blooms; almost completely free of mildew and
with no rust. It's a dynamic grower with huge, thick, thorny canes that will
easily hit 6' before the end of the season. It gives Queen Elizabeth a run
for her money!

Thanks to all of you in the rose forum for your tips and growing
suggestions!

Sue in SoCal
Learning the hard way .... You can't always believe the hype!