Roses... please post your favorites!

[glitterkitty]

Planning on ordering LOTS of roses over next few months.

I am a bit of a rose obsessive. Looking for really good scented varieties- particularly David Austin types- and must repeat well.

If you have a lovely rose please tell me about it!

Hi I love roses too! I have lots of David Austin ones, they are my favourites. The can be pricey but they are so worth it!

These are my top 3:
Winchester Cathedral, white full double blooms, excellent at repeating and amazing smell, very beautiful.
Anne Boleyn, bright pink full double blooms, fantastic repeater and the scent is lovely too.
(My absolute favourite) Gentle Hermione, pale pink double blooms, repeats all season, endless blooms even in the first year! And the most amazing scent.

Hope that helps.

My mum has a beautiful yellow rose outside of her house. She's very proud of it and shows it to all guests. It does have an unfortunate name though - Golden Showers!!

My favourite is also Gentle hermione! Gorgeous. The flower heads get quite heavy though.

I'm planning to buy Queen of Sweden next. I love the pale, pale pink roses.

Yay for Gentle Hermione! I do agree about the heads though.

Queen of Sweden is beautiful but I can't fit anymore in my garden

Bella Mundi, a pale pink with dark pink stripes. DH is getting rid of all ours, he's revamping the front garden

Every year, for a few weeks, I remember why there'll always be room in my patch for Mme. Legras de St. Germain and Alba Maxima, even if they'd not survived the neglect that has seen off a fair few David Austin cultivars and sadly even some Gallicas over the last twenty-odd years. Camaieux and Charles de Mills are two Gallicas that have survived well for us, albeit less magnificently than the Albas.

oops, just spotted your need for repeating roses... yes the Austin cultivars are lovely

My cousin gave us 'Grace' as a wedding present. It starts to flower late May/early June and didn't stop last year until it got snowed on in early December.
Seems to survive our novice rose-growers ineptitude well and flourishes even though alternatively hacked/not-hacked. I really must find out about pruning it properly this year as it is trying to take over :o

I planted The Generous Gardener this year which is a lovely pale blush-pink and has repeated extremely well in its first year. And smelled lovely. Also John Clare which is deeper pink.

But the rose I really, really want I had it once in a garden that it made me very sad to leave is Mme Isaac Pereire. It's got a horrible, flopping habit, is a bourbon so only flowers once, but, oh, the smell of the carmine flowers is just so wonderful, and the flowers themselves are absolutely beautiful. One day...

I've got two Brother Cadfael's outside my back door. Gorgeous, gorgeous scent and still blooming now. I love it. We have a very pretty couple of Glamis Castle as well - its a very dainty rose - all creamy china white.

Ooh I love roses - I keep going out for something else and coming back with ...another rose!

Buff Beauty is great - a large shrub/rambler (as in will support itself but will also grow over pergolas etc) lovely scent, healthy foliage,good scent and does repeat (although not hugely).

Graham Thomas is a lovely yellow rose from David Austin - I used to have a standard one but really it was a bit too vigorous. Flowers were lovely and a good scent too.

Etoile D'hollande is a gorgeous deep red and smells fantastic (the climbing form is very vigorous - 20ft) again does have some repeat flowering.

I could go on (and on and on!)

Please do go on! I am reading with interest- have spent rose money on a party dress so now ordering next month- any more ideas would be great!

Pink: I'm def going to get Bro Cadfael, and Gentle Hermione. No myrhh scent, right? (not to my taste). Saw Queen of Sweden and it was lovely looking but MYRHH!

Fly (or anyone!) Is it true that David Austins are better planted in groups of 3?

Cream/Yellow: Was thinking of Buff Beauty- love the colour and heard its got good scent. I have had Graham Thoimas- it was nice- going for Golden Celebration this time though. I bought my mum Golden Showers, she does like it, agree name is a bit suspect! I love Mermaid but you do need a really warm wall- its gorgeous though.

Red: Also love the look of Etoille de Holland- its been on my list for a while! I do have Tuscany Superb already but it hasnt really got going yet... deep red roses are my favorite. I had Papa Meilland that was fab, the smell... reds pretty settled- am going to buy Falstaff, Tess, Will S, Munstead Wood, L D Braithwaite & Darcy Bussell.

Chrchr- I love the gallacias/albas/moss etc but the once flowering puts me off- had complicata in my last garden which was heaven, and so scented, you could smell it coming down our road but... 3/4 weeks and FIN for the year.

I have 120ft of undeveloped garden. Plus the front garden, to squash as many roses as possible into!

this was a long post!

I also love Brother Cadfael and Gentle Hermione. I planted mine in groups of three so they are lovely big groups, but you don't have to. They look great planted singly too. They recommend using mycorrhizal fungi when you plant them - you sprinkle the powder on the roots when planting and it helps them to establish. I did, and mine are growing very well. They usually have offers when you buy three of the same variety.

Happy planting!

Ahem. My namessake not the most beautifully formed flowers, but it really has the most lovely scent - almost like strawberries - and no thorns. We had one in our garden when I was a child which I loved, and I bought one from David Austin a few years ago.

(Sorry - can't spell. Namesake)

OOh glad I found this thread as I have a brand new large raised border to plant, Can I plant roses now or should I wait till spring?

November apparently ideal

november is best- or dec, jan... you can get bare root plants much more cheaply than potted roses during winter.

Gandys roses are online and pretty cheap.

What colours are you thinking of, stars & stripes?

I used to like the coffee ones but they stopped doing them!! hgrin

My absolute best doer is Mme Alfred Carriere. Grows incredibly tall and flowers all year - still in flower now. Palest pink, scented, lovely muddled Austinish shape. Also a Gentle Hermione fan. I also love a climber called Souvenir du Doctor Jamain. Incredibly deep rich red. Needs a mild shade because the richness fades in sun, but it's a stunning, gothic vampire rose. Can't believe no-one has mentioned the Bourbons - they repeat like MAD - especially Louise Odier, wonderful scent, soft deep pink, resists rain well.

You can plant container roses anytime, and I have. Just give them a good soak and a bark mulch. The planting rules are for bare-root roses - these are cheaper and you can get more varieties, but they are also harder work, and I am cackhanded and never very good at spreading the roots out. Also you have to want to dig now before frost, then crouch in frost to plant them in late November... I've done it, but only because I tend to like roses that are hard to get in containers. If wanted Hermione, I think i'd spend the extra three quid on the container plant.

sieglinde Just looked up Souvenir du Doctor Jamain- GORGEOUS -and I have a half shaded spot- may swap tess d'ubervilles for this one (tess not v strongly scented I think)

Mme Alfred Carriere also going on wish list for another area. Thank you!

Gertrude Jekyll - smells divine.

Great, glitterkitty. I think the good docteur is in my top ten. He's darker and sexier than his rival Guinee. And Mme Alf, as we always call her, is just SUCH a hard worker despite her posh name.

I like Gertie J, as I term her - hate the way you are mean to say JEE-KILL, not Jek-ill - but though her flowers are pretty the bush is apt to get very leggy and lanky. Needs a good cruel cutback on planting to prevent this.

Well, I did my huge order and today I finished planting my English Roses.

I bought:

Deep reds: Tess D'Ubervilles, Falstaff, L D Braithwaite & William Shakespeare 2000 & Souvenir du Doctor Jamain.

Deep Pink: John Clare & Lady of Megginch

Blush Pink: Shropshire Lad, William Morris, Redoute, Wildeve, Mayor of Casterbridge & Eglantyne.

I feel very happy- will report back in June on which are the best!

link fotr those who want a bit of rose porn!

Nice one glitterkitty, I read your thread in october with interest and made a few notes!

I am sure they will be splendid