"Susan Solomon" wrote in
:

It's such a pleasure to sit and drink my tea and muse on the roses in
bloom that day, or go out and walk the paths and inspect my beauties!
Too often the Austins are just a pile of petals on the ground. I want
it all! Beautiful form, color, vigor, lasting quality!

I've grown a couple Austins in the past that seem to keep well either on
the bush or in vases, in particular Perdita and Othello. By "keep well" I
mean they last several days at least. But I can only testify to a few
varieties; most of my roses are OGRs.

Currently I'm growing two Austins, William Shakespeare 2000 and England's
Rose. The latter (an ivory color) hasn't bloomed for me yet but Shakespeare
2000 has had several flushes. As a cut flower I can keep it intact 3-4 days
or so. On the shrub it lasts a week.

My Bourbons seem to last the longest of all my roses, but they're not for
everyone. Madame Dubost just started flowering a week ago. It has an
Austin-esque bush form, about four feet tall; flowers are dark pink and
rapturously scented; it retains the blossoms for a good week. Bourbons
might be worth exploring if you're so inclined....

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