David Austin's English Roses have created a stir among gardeners internationally and with good reason. Want a rose that is hardy? Will grow in shade? Highly fragrant?
A recent gardening company review was about David Austin Roses, Inc.
David Austin is the English rose breeder who is responsible for many of the lovely new roses we see today that are crosses between Old Garden Roses like Gallicas, Albas and Centifolias with the modern hybrid tea roses.
I have to admit, looking through the Handbook of Roses, 2008 was like a sugar-addict visiting a candy store. The beauty of the English Roses are simply delightful and I was pleased to see they had separated the English Roses into some new catagories according to form and breeding.
Here are the groups of English Roses as defined in the book by David Austin The English Roses -
- The Old Rose Hybrids - The original English Roses are a result of breeding Old Roses with Hybrid Teas and Floribundas and are close to Old Roses in character.
- The Leander Group - These English Roses retain a growth habit closer to the modern roses and tend to be a bit showier than the other groups.
- The English Musk Roses - These English Roses are closer related to Noisettes and Hybrid Musk Roses so they tend to have paler foliage, more delicate flowers and great disease resistance.
- The English Alba Hybrids - English Roses developed from Alba roses giving them the wild-rose daintiness, gentle nodding flowers and a lighter scent than other English Roses.
- The Climbing English Roses - Large, shrubby roses with stems that are more flexible than typical hybrid teas make these excellent roses for trellis, pagola, fences or other climbing situations.
Whatever your garden situation, if you want to try your hand at roses, David Austin's English Roses might be an excellent place to start.
