English roses: varieties, photos, description

English roses bred by David Austin stand apart in the group of shrub roses. All of them are distinguished by their captivating beauty, large wide glass, beautiful bush, resistance to disease, and the enchanting aroma has become their calling card. David Austin roses are currently the newest series that has not yet been officially identified as a separate group. This is probably unfair, because the number of varieties has already exceeded two hundred, and all of them are recognizable at first sight. Moreover, from the moment of its appearance Austin roses are in constant high demand in the flower products market.

History of the series

David Austin did not deal with roses until he saw old varieties in France in the 50s of the twentieth century. He decided to create modern flowers that would be similar in appearance to the undeservedly forgotten old ones. spray roses, preserving and enhancing their wonderful aroma and refined beauty of the buds. At the same time, it was necessary to make them bloom again, give the bush a harmonious shape and the ability to grow in different climatic zones. In addition, the ancient varieties were completely devoid of yellow and orange coloring, which David Austin certainly wanted to correct.

By crossing the ancient Gallic variety "Bel Isis" and the modern floribunda "Le Grace", the first rose of the "Constance Spray" series was presented to the public in 1961. It was very beautiful peony rose with a delightful aroma of myrrh and huge cup-shaped glasses of pink color. Unfortunately, it bloomed once, but otherwise exceeded all expectations of both the public and the author. "Constance Spray" is still very popular, despite the emergence of new, re-blooming varieties.

23 years later, in 1984, D. Austin at the Chelsea exhibition presented to the public 50 varieties of new English roses, obtained by repeatedly crossing ancient varieties with hybrid tea rose and floribunda, as well as wild rose hips.

You may be interested in how the family company was created many years ago and how new varieties are created today. The story of David Austin himself, the video of his interview was filmed quite a long time ago, but has not lost its relevance:

Today he is the most successful of the breeders and sells more than 4 million seedlings per year worldwide.

General characteristics of Austin roses

English roses are similar in appearance to ancient varieties - Damask, Bourbon, Gallic, Alba, but have a rich palette of colors, are able to grow in poor soil, and are resistant to unfavorable growing conditions. For all their nostalgic and old-fashioned appearance, David Austin roses usually re-bloom or continuously and inherited from their English ancestors an undemanding approach to lighting - 4-5 hours of sunlight per day is enough for them.

D. Austin always put the outline of the flower at the forefront when creating a variety. English roses are distinguished by a rosette, pompom-shaped or cupped glass shape.It is interesting that when, as a result of selection, cone-shaped buds appeared (as in hybrid tea varieties), the creator mercilessly rejected them.

All varieties of David Austin roses have a strong, pleasant aroma. You will not find a single scentless flower in the collection of more than 200 varieties. But “Jude the Obscure” is considered the rose with the strongest scent, capable of rivaling even the aroma of French perfume.

The creator himself never tires of repeating that David Austin roses must meet four requirements:

• Beautiful glass shape;
• Pure color;
• Juicy aroma;
• High vitality.

Now he rejects flowers that even slightly do not meet one of the requirements before announcing the creation of a new variety and very much regrets that at one time he released roses that were not resistant enough to the market.

Austin roses are distinguished by the fact that in different conditions they can behave differently, for example, in central Russia the following is noted:

• They usually have greater frost resistance than indicated in the description.
• They often grow higher than stated. This must be taken into account when planting, since at the age of 6-7 years it is problematic to replant English roses.
• Some varieties, on the contrary, do not reach the declared growth.
• If the plant is grown as a climber, it will likely grow significantly larger than its stated height.
• About two years after planting, the flowers are smaller than usual, and the branches are weak and bend under their weight. When the plants adapt, everything will return to normal.

Today, D. Austin's family company registers an average of 3-4 new varieties per year. Among them are scrubs, many of which, if desired, can be grown as climbing varieties, erect tall or low shrubs, miniature flowers suitable for growing in containers. All of them have excellent characteristics and are easily recognizable.

For the first two years, the young shoots will be thin and will not always be able to hold a heavy glass. Don’t let this worry you; after a short period of time, everything will return to normal.

Austin Rose Varieties

Austin roses have no official classification. We are not going to replace respected international rose growing organizations, but simply separate them into groups according to individual characteristics. Perhaps for some, the size of the bush or the size of the glass matters, but for others it will be nice to have the titled David Austin roses in the garden. We present photos and descriptions of varieties to the attention of our readers.

The tallest varieties

We repeat that in our conditions English roses do not always behave as indicated in the description of the variety. The table will indicate their official sizes, but all of them grow taller in central Russia with good care, and besides, they can safely be grown one climate zone to the north. We will try to present to your attention the best varieties.

• Princess Margaret Crown
  
• Golden Celebration
  
• Gertrude Jekyll
  
• James Galway
  
• Leander
  
• Spirit of Freedom
  
• William Morris
  
• Generose Gaden
  
• Tess of the d'Urberville
  

Roses for growing in containers

There are varieties that do well when grown in containers.

• Ann Bolein
  
• Christopher Marlow
  
• Grace
  
• Sophis Rose
  
• Prince
  

Roses with extra large glasses

English roses all have large flowers. But some simply need to be talked about separately, among them the varieties “Golden Celebration” and “Spirit of Freedom” that are already familiar to us. It should be noted that the size of the bud does not reach its maximum immediately, but several years after planting.

• Jubilee Celebration
  
• Lady of Meginch
  
• Constance Spray
  
• Abraham Darby
  
• Princess Alexandra of Kent
  

Pure colors

Austins are famous for their pure colors, and we invite you to see this for yourself.

• Graham Thomas
  
• Claire Austin
  
• L.D.Brightwhite
  
• Braze Cadwile
  

Conclusion

Austin roses have received many awards at international exhibitions and performed well in Russia.

Watch a video about varieties that are successfully grown in Russia:

We hope that English roses will decorate your garden and serve as a source of inexhaustible joy from contemplating their perfect beauty.

Reviews

Recommended Posts

The best varieties of climbing roses: description + photo

Climbing rose Parade: planting and care

Climbing rose Rosarium Jutersen: planting and care

Climbing (climbing) rose: planting and care, support

Propagation of climbing roses by cuttings

Shrub roses: care and cultivation, propagation

Austin Rose Planting Pattern

Rose Desiree

Sheltering climbing roses for the winter in the Moscow region