Which brand of roses is best for cutting?

[caravantulips]

I absolutely adore David Austen roses and have a couple at home but I’d like to get some rose bushes for my allotment and I’ve heard DA roses are too floppy and have a poor vase life.

So you agree? Any suggestions of which brand is best for cut flowers?

Looking for pink/white and suitable for an allotment so not too tall.

Thank you!

I would have said it was more about what type of rose rather than the supplier. Hybrid tea roses or floribunda are best for cutting, as they have nice long stems.

David Austin have a group of roses specifically for cutting. They are completely different to the shrub roses they sell. You can see them here, but how you would get hold of them as an individual Im not sure. Some are completely gorgeous!
https://www.davidaustin.com/our-roses/

What do you want from your roses? Scent? Vase life? Tall straight stems?

I have a Hebe's Lip, and a Rosa Mundi. A Rambling Rector and a Filipes Kiftsgate. But everyone will have different preferences.

Thank you. I’ll look out for those

Ooh! Thank you! I’ll take a look

vase life and long stems I suppose. I read somewhere that DA roses droop and have a poor vase life

The thing with many David Austin roses is that the blooms are enormous. On a young rose they are just too heavy to be supported on the stem in a vase. I used a bud ring or sit them in a teacup with a short stem to scent the whole room

The cutting roses help that
Peter Beale roses aren't bad for cutting but I prefer David Austin because the perfume is so damned lovely

Yes!!! That’s what I love about them! So big and fragrant! What is a bud ring? I like the idea of a teacup but really want to be able to have some in a vase.

I might need a mixture. Would you recommend Peter Beale?

Having Googled it, a Pansy Ring might be a more accurate term.

It a pottery thing - shaped like bagel but hollow and with a slit all the way around the ring. You pour water in it, then put as many short stemmed flowers around it as will fit. It's very pretty.

I think the David Austen ones might work ok in a proper rose bowl.

I cannot see why one grower's roses would perform that much worse than another, although I have to admit I'm not particularly a fan of DA. In fact the best roses I have were all bought from my local garden centre.

You can improve vase life by being careful what time of day you cut them, conditioning them properly, ensuring your vase is spotlessly clean and changing the water regularly.

Thanks for the tips. I do love DA so will probably get some and do as you suggest to prolong vase life. Also PP mentioned a rose bowl which might be a good way to display if stems are short and a bit floppy

Because they have their own hybrids or strains they've spent years developing.

David Austin roses are one particular style - big, multi-petal, blousy roses with strong perfume. Other rose breeders prefer the classic style, or tea roses, or those with more "florist" style roses with little fragrance.

It comes down to personal preference - my mum likes a beautiful long-lasting cut rose and doesn't mind about perfume much. I care far less what it looks like as long as it smells incredible.

I know all that. The expertise is amazing, and DA has been doing it for a long time and is one of the big names. It seems strange that they still have this reputation. What I was wondering is if it's really justified. When DH buys me flowers from our lovely local florist, it's always the roses which fade first, usually quite quickly - sadly.

If you love scent do you know the Lady Hillingdon rose? A beautiful yellow climber, the scent on a summer day is superb.

DA roses vary hugely. For example, I find Darcy Bussell to be quite weak and spindly of stem - though it's very pretty - whereas The Lady Gardener has much thicker, more vigorous stems. Partly this is a matter of the vigour of the overall plant - dinky little shrub roses don't have much oompf to support big flowers - but you can also strengthen stems for cutting by pruning hard.