Kate, I've got an own-root Generous Gardner, it's pretty clean and the blooms are pretty - though I must say I'm disappointed at how fast they blow here for me - my blooms last one day after opening - two if I'm lucky and the weather is cool.

Aprille

I'm looking at it too. Aprille, what's rebloom like? DA says it can take some shade. Do you have it in full sun?

Thanks,
Barbara

Barbara my Generous Gardener is in morning shade, it gets full sun from around 1pm to sunset - about 6 hours. Rebloom has not been so great yet, it's a very young own root plant (on it's second year with me) - it's just starting it's rebloom since the spring 'flush' in May. Hope this helps.

aprille

Thanks Aprille:

That is one factor I often forget to think about. I only really have time for dead heading on the weekend so a slightly longer lived bloom would be more desirable.

Thanks for your input.

Kate

Are you sure we aren't speaking about the "Frugal Gardener?" This gardener has been anything but generous in my garden.

I'm ready to shovel prune him this fall. Although the blooms are of a light, beautiful, pale, pink, those blooms are too few and far between. I've had this plant for 4 years.

Betty

I have a grafted I got from DA Roses this past May. I've gotten about 5 blooms so far but it's a small bush just getting started. I love the scent, just lovely, as is the bloom itself. It only lasts about 2 days though. We've had a lot of rain and it does not ball but I think it falls apart faster when weighted down by all the water.

Thanks, all. Maybe I'll pass on him.

Barbara

Barbara-
Nice picture in this thread posted by Robert in Zone 7!

Here is a link that might be useful: Looks generous!

Darn, I just got this one yesterday. Sorry to hear that it blows so fast. I'm also sorry to see by Robert's pics. that it is pink. I like pink but have so many. Every pic I had seen of it looked like an ivory white. I am glad to see that it is tall and thin, that's what I need. Nice pictures and nice looking healthy plant Robert.
Nancy

Nice rose, you have to deadhead if you want rebloom though. VERY cold hardy which is not an issue for you though. I have no blackspot on it either. So far a carefree rose. It is a shorter climber. I have it own root from chamblees roses.

Plant the lighter austins in afternoon shade, they do fine and don't blow as fast. I have had success doing this in IL.

My 'Generous Gardener' is ivory white.

Yeah, so is mine.

Barb and Michelle, that's good news. I wanted ivory white when I bought it. I was surprised to see pictures of a pink rose. Maybe it's pink in cooler climates
Nancy

Definitely ivory.

Lovely photos and mine might have gotten replaced after 16 years if it had bloomed or looked like that. Might was also the "frugal gardener" that only bloomed once most years in a washed out cream that looked vaguely dirty. Mine was grafted on whatever DA roses puts them on (probably Dr. Huey) and was plenty hardy and in reasonably good sun. There are so many better Austins that I am not considering replacing it now that it's gone.

Glad your results were better!

Cynthia

I think it's a very worthwhile Austin. One of the healthiest, and does very well own root.

I grew this rose (grafted from DA) along a fence in my last garden and while it was well suited for the spot and bloomed in large flushes throughout the season given a strong hand on the pruners I barely have any pictures of it and have no intention of growing it again. It was lovely and disease free and entirely forgettable to me. I would not have thought to compare it to Abe or Evelyn but it just goes to show there is a rose for everyone 😊

Here it is getting ready for the first flush with large sprays on top of the fence next to Gertrude and with Earth Angel below. The main plant was to the left of the picture and would send up tall 6-8 ft canes almost overnight that could be bent along the top of the fence with care. I would cut these laterals down to 2-4 inches after blooming and it would be back at it in a few weeks. It is only 3 years old in this picture.

The individual flowers are lovely but I don’t recall the scent being anything special and they did shatter quickly for me. The upside is they would fall clean and the foilage stayed healthy all season without a blemish.

Rose Paris, erasmus, & Heather, your Generous Gardeners photos are gorgeous!

I live in a hot humid climate. TGG has large light pink blooms in winter, late fall & early spring. I think it likes cooler dry/less humid weather.

In summer, the blooms bleach white, are small, blow quickly, and not too many blooms in summer. It also black spots in the summer (our rainy season). It doesn't drop those spotty leaves though, instead, it holds on to them till dead and ugly unless you pull them off. Even squirting them hard with the hose doesnt make the old spotty leaves come off, which works on most of my other roses that can get black spot. I can't recoomend it for Florida.