Subject: rec.gardens.roses FAQ (4/5) Introduction to English Roses
From: [email-masked] (Bill Chandler)
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 11:22:51 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.gardens.roses,rec.answers,news.answers

Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2
Archive-name: gardens/roses-faq/part4

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Last-modified: 11 November 1994
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Introduction to English Roses
rec.gardens.roses FAQ, part 4/5

by Bill Chandler, [email-masked]

See part 1 of the FAQ for more information about this document.

About this document - Quite often in rec.gardens.roses, someone will make a
reference to David Austin Roses, Austin Roses, English Roses, or just ER. These
terms all refer to a group of roses first introduced in 1969 by the English
rose hybridizer David Austin. These roses have created quite a bit of interest
from some rose gardeners. This document tries to answer the following questions
to those unfamiliar with English Roses.

Questions:

  1. What are English Roses?
  2. What is causing the interest in English Roses?
  3. What are some popular varieties of English Roses to try growing?
  4. What kind of care do English Roses need?
  5. How do I find out more about English Roses?

Answers:

1. What are English Roses?

In 1969, English Roses, often called David Austin Roses, were introduced by the
English rose hybridizer David Austin.

David Austin tried to create roses that combine the best elements of Old Roses
(roses varieties from before 1867) and Modern Roses (such as Hybrid Teas,
Floribundas and Grandifloras). From the Old Roses he wished to take some of the
classic flower forms, cupped and rosette-shaped old-fashioned flowers, usually
with many petals. He wanted English Roses to repeat flower well, like the
Hybrid Teas and other Modern Roses. He wished to bring forth English Roses in a
wide variety of colors, such as yellows not very common in Old Roses. He also
sought the strong fragrances of some of the Old Roses.

This was accomplished by crossing Old Roses, particularly those from the 18th
and 19th centuries, with Modern Roses from the 20th century.

2. What is causing the interest in English Roses?

Interest in English Roses might be attributed to several of their attributes.

     Flower form
     Repeat bloom
     Color
     Fragrance
     Disease resistance and hardiness
     Uniqueness

'Flower form'. Most of the English Roses have the classic, old-fashioned flower
form of the Old Roses. English Roses usually produce fully double flowers, some
with over a hundred petals.

'Repeat bloom'. Many gardeners would not grow a rose that blooms once a year as
many Old Roses do. Many English Roses produce the Old Rose type blooms several
times a year. How often they repeat bloom depends on the variety.

'Color'. English Roses come in a variety of colors. The majority of English
Roses come in soft pastel shades: pinks, peaches, etc. In addition, there are
also some excellent yellow English Roses and some popular white and dark red
varieties.

'Fragrance'. As a group, English Roses are very fragrant. English Roses have a
variety of Old Rose fragrances, such as damask, myrrh, tea scent, etc. The
varieties Evelyn and Gertrude Jekyll are two of the most fragrant English
Roses.

'Disease resistance and hardiness'. Many English Roses have shown to be rather
disease resistant and cold hardy, similar to their Old Rose ancestors. Often
this means they require less care and spraying than most Modern Roses. However,
there is considerable variation from one variety to another. English Roses are
often classified as Shrub Roses and can make good overall landscape plants.

'Uniqueness'. Another reason for planting English Roses is that they are new
and different, and some gardeners like to plant something that is not found in
anyone else's garden in the neighborhood.

3. What are some popular varieties of English Roses to try growing?

Those who haven't planted English Roses before may want to try one of the
popular varieties below.

     Graham Thomas
     Heritage
     Abraham Darby
     Mary Rose
     Gertrude Jekyll
     Fair Bianca

'Graham Thomas' is the most popular English Rose. It was named after one of the
great experts of Old Roses. It produces clusters of medium-sized cup-shaped
flowers that are a beautiful rich butter yellow when first opening, later
fading to a lighter yellow. The foliage is light-green, and the plant has a
bushy, upright growth habit with rather slender canes. It has a nice tea scent.
Graham Thomas may try to be a climber in warm climates. It is reportedly
disease-resistant.

'Heritage' is "perhaps the most beautiful English Rose" according to David
Austin himself. Its medium-size clear shell pink blooms are perfectly shaped
and grow on stems with few thorns. It has a strong Old Rose scent with a hint
of lemon. It reportedly drops its petals early, but this is compensated for by
a large number of blooms.

'Abraham Darby' is an interesting English rose in that it is the offspring of
two Modern Roses, the Modern climber 'Aloha' and the floribunda 'Yellow
Cushion'. Its large flowers have the Old Rose shape, fully double, with many
petals. The flowers are a lovely warm pink-peach-apricot color, fading to light
pink on the edges, with some yellow on the back of the flower. It has shiny
medium-green foliage. It is a vigorous plant which can be trained as a climber.
Abraham Darby has a strong "fruity" fragrance.

'Mary Rose' is an excellent bush that produces rose-pink flowers. It is an
excellent repeat bloomer, flowering from early to late in the season. The
flowers are only slightly fragrant. The bush is vigorous and has excellent
disease resistance. It has many thorns. Mary Rose has produced many sports,
including the white Winchester Cathedral and the light pink Redoute. Mary Rose
is a parent to many other English Roses.

'Gertrude Jekyll' has beautiful large spiral blooms of a rich, glowing pink.
Its Damask scent is one of the strongest scents of the English Roses or any
rose. It produces many sharp thorns. It is not considered an attractive bush by
everyone. This is a rose in the style of the Portland roses, one of its
parents.

'Fair Bianca' produces flat cup-shaped white blooms on a small bush. It has a
strong myrrh fragrance. However, it is one of the less vigorous English Roses
and may be somewhat disease-prone.

4. What kind of care do English Roses need?

The care of English Roses is similar to that of Modern Roses with some
exceptions.

Input on this section would be greatly appreciated from others who have
experience growing English Roses.

Disease: As a group English Roses seem to be rather resistant to blackspot and
other diseases. Because of this, some English Roses may get by with less
spraying than most Modern Roses, or no spraying at all, depending on the
variety and climate. As more gardeners grow English Roses, their disease
resistance will be better understood.

Hardiness: Many of the English Roses are more hardy than most Modern Roses and
can survive harsher climates.

Planting: While English Roses can be grown as individual plants, group
plantings of two or three plants of one variety planted closely together are
often recommended. A group planting will produce a fuller looking growth and
more flowers in an area than a single planting.

Pruning: Much of the beauty of English Roses is not in just the flower, but
also in the plant. English Roses should not be pruned as heavily as Modern
Roses, allowing them to assume their Shrub Rose forms. The first couple years
English Roses should be pruned only lightly or not at all to allow the bush to
fill out.

5. How do I find out more about English Roses?

Here are a couple books written about English Roses.

     David Austin's English Roses
     Old and English Roses

'David Austin's English Roses' is a beautiful hardback book written by David
Austin. It has beautiful large pictures of his roses. He discusses 84
varieties, describing the size and shape of the bush and rating his roses for
overall assessment and fragrance. There are several other interesting chapters
about English Roses, such as the following:

     The Ideal of the English Rose
     The Fragrance of an English Rose
     English Roses in the Garden
     English Roses in the Home
     The Cultivation of English Roses
     Creating a New Rose

The book is listed at about $39.95 US. isbn#0-316-05975-7.

'Old and English Roses' is a paperback with information about the major classes
of Old Roses as well as English Roses. It contains information on Old Roses and
English Roses from the more comprehensive HISTORY OF THE ROSE ($80 US). This
book contains a chapter each on Gallicas, Damasks, up through Tea Roses and
Hybrid Perpetuals. Each chapter describes the class and then gives descriptions
of many varieties in the class. There are many photographs, though they are not
of the size or quality as those in 'David Austin's English Roses' . 'Old and
English Roses' is listed at about $25 US.

end of Introduction to English Roses
rec.gardens.roses FAQ, part 4/5

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