Ingrid, there's probably always someone that loves a particular rose. TIMF is that one for me. I originally got it because it looked similar to a peony which has never bloomed for me in my zone. The peony blooms just fry even in part shade so my mission was to find roses that look like peonies. TIMG is gangly and thorny and like you, I have propped the blooms up. It gave me wonderfully fragrant, full blooms in flushes last year. This year, it's second year with me, I've stretched it out horizontally along a fence to see if it sends up laterals and provides more blooms. I love this rose. I love sticking my whole face in it for it's fragrance, but if you don't enjoy it and would prefer Love Song in it's spot you should definitely do that. My TIMG got late afternoon shade so it never burned so I don't know if it would do well with late afternoon sun. Regardless, life is short and you should enjoy your roses!

You're right, it does look like a peony and I also adore that look, and this rose is very fragrant. It does have quite a few buds right now and there is no way I can take it out without seeing it bloom this spring. My biggest problem is the blooms disintegrating so quickly and the scanty rebloom. I really appreciate your reply and your experience with this rose. It may just be too hot in my garden for it to do well, but for now I'm going to keep it. Love Song can stay in its pot and I can put it in a larger pot if needed, but there must be a reason why I've kept my ugly duckling for so long. Your picture fully demonstrates why we love the blooms. In cooler weather the color is very ethereal, but in the heat so far mine turns a warmer color. We'll see how it does this year. I think putting it along a fence will definitely give you laterals, since that's worked for me by winding the canes around the bamboo sticks horizontally.

Ingrid,

Since my climate is cooler than yours my experience with this rose probably isn't relevant, but I do like it. It sounds like you're making a tripod out of your bamboo canes and that sounds like it would work. Is yours in full sun? It might like some shade in afternoon. I think mine is going on its third year and to me it is prettier than expected, repeats better than many Austins, and is pretty tough as it's in a spot where I don't water often. Mine doesn't flop.

erasmus, that picture is to die for. I imagine the cooler weather suits this rose, and the drought certainly has done no favors to any of my roses. Since the rose is now bigger and heathier than ever, I'll see if I can bring it through the summer with plenty of TLC and water. If yours doesn't flop that must mean it's happy. Mine has very thin, whip-like canes which enables it to easily be attached to the four bamboo poles. It does have some late afternoon shade so I will persevere with it. Both of you have renewed my interest in keeping this rose with your beautiful pictures. I happen to be a sucker for this particular pearly shade of lilac pink.

Thank you. I hope yours keeps improving for you. It would be nice if we could ask a rose what it needs that it's not getting. I had a Julia Child that dwindled away..I thought due to cold, but then I see Seil's beaufiful big Julia Child plants growing in a colder zone and so I have to conclude that mine dwindled for some other reason. It makes me want to try again. Sometimes a plant will do a lot better in one location than another in my own garden. Might be something in the soil or light or microclimate.

Well, last night I impulsively decided that I would keep TIMF, dug up a pelargonium and moved it to another spot, and used part of that area to dig a hole for Love Song. and planted it there. It was a better spot than putting it in the back where it's hotter and hopefully this was a good idea. You'll know when I do or don't post pictures of both roses later on whether I made the right decision. At least here I found a worm or two whereas on the afternoon-sun side I've never found a single worm. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and thanks again for your input that made me decide I had to keep Fairchild no matte what.

Ingrid, if you decide to get rid of The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild, please send him to me in Sonoma. I'm looking for one, and he might like the cooler weather here! He's getting phased out of the catalogs, so it's been tough finding one. I'll cover the shipping :-)

I bought one last year as a tiny band. It is in a 3 gallon and hasn't bloomed but once and that one got knocked off accidentally. I also ordered it for the peony form of the flower. It is growing long thin canes. The foliage is healthy here in black spot heaven climate so that is good, at least lol. I also adore lilac pink!

Ingrid, any update??

Mine is in full 10+ hrs of sun in NW FL. It's 2 yrs old own root. It's also in a spot where I don't water much and gets pretty much abandoned compared to the roses closer to my house, although I do feed. The canes don't flop, but bend with the weight of the bloom. ZERO BS... Which is a gift in BS haven! Lol. No pests and the bees love this one! Rabbits surprisingly don't eat my roses in my neighborhood. Blooms pretty good when fed and has a great scent...

I don't know why yours isn't doing so good. It's distressing because it sounds like yours is established and in a good spot! Is it grafted? Maybe some alfalfa meal, egg shells, whole grain corn meal, coffee grounds, Epsom salt and banana peels will help? I feed mine that scratched in or burried around it and some fish emulsions when I am not lazy and try to get out there monthly. I have sand sand sand. I ammended with peat moss. I hope yours gets better! It is really pretty blooms!

Here's some pics from this morning:

Although the blooms don't last long in the heat, the foliage doesn't burn as much as other roses and this is one of my few roses that has absolutely no disease. Rebloom is reasonable.

great to hear! I'll take my chance on it next season.. I love how the blooms resemble peonies, if I didn't see the foliage on this thread I'd think the photos were of peony blooms!

I have him by accident. Sent this instead of Tradescant. The upcoming spring (I know, not even January yet) will make it year three with me.

I don't have much of an opinion of it other than it seems to be... Skinny in build, I suppose. As though it needs tied up and climb or butchered into a bush. I'm letting it scramble into my William Baffin which has taken an eternity to put any size on. TIMF has reached around 6' in this manner. The other canes are still quite thin and flop about the garden floor in the sage and even over to Medallion's ankles.

It seems to repeat well and the lilac toned pink is pleasant as is its sweet scent.

They do have very slender pedicels and hang their heads. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I happen to love that in the garden head height or higher.

In my cold Z5b, it has demonstrated itself to be cane hardy so far.

TIMF did get black spot and begin to defoliate, but only from about the end of September through October. Had nothing before 'later' autumn just before hard frosts.

I'm not sure why, but he sort of tickles my fancy. He doesn't shout for attention in any way. As a matter of fact, despite my perception of my specimen being much less thorned than others I've seen in pictures, it's one of those few that tends to stab me and make me bleed at every semi-prolonged interaction.

Oh well. It looks like The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild is going to be a big rose for me! Since I have the room, he is going to stay put.

Steven

romogen, if you read this you're going to be distressed, but I'm afraid I took out TIMF and disposed of it. I was very depressed about my garden at that time, during the late summer, because everything was failing in the drought and heat, and I just didn't have the mental energy to think about your request. The part that was dug up was huge and quite heavy. This is a rose for a much cooler climate than mine, and the extremely thin and thorny canes with the heavy flowers were a real pain to contain. Not many blooms and those shattered very quickly. The pictures above show beautiful flowers, better than any I ever saw. I would not grow this rose again because here there is no way to keep it to a reasonable, bushy shape. To me the flowers were not so outstanding that I would miss them. As usual it's a matter of location, location.

Steven, I think you described TIMF to a "T." I feel the same way - even with all that you said about it and I agree, it does tickle my fancy. I also agree with you, Ingrid about TIMF shortcomings. I can't stop looking at Summersrhythm's photo. Gorgeous. It's now my goal to have mine look like hers!

Thank you, towandaaz.

I thought I'd share another image of TIMF; the blooms are the hanging, soft pink orbs amongst the greenery.

Steven

Ingrid, sorry to hear that. I took a two month hiatus from the forums and just saw your post about TIMF today. It's a shame to loose an established rose like that, but I have TIMF on order from heirloom... fingers crossed until it actually arrives on my doorstep. My Austin's grafted 'Charlotte' took seven years to give a decent bloom! I'm now glad I didn't shovel prune it after the mediocre third year performance.

You now have room for a better rose in your garden!

Thank you for your gracious reply, romogen, and I'm so glad you've acquired your own specimen. I hope it does better than mine, and that it will be all you've hoped.

Steven, your rose is beautiful and actually stands up! It has to be the chill factor, that's all I can think of. Mine leaned every which way like a drunken sailor until I tied it to some poles, but even that didn't look right. Very pretty with the hips and a few lingering blooms. I'm sure your blooms last a lot longer too!

FWIW my TIMF did a lot better this summer and fall. It is in a pot and own root. Last year it barely bloomed but this summer it started to bloom regularly and this fall it also did well. It has grown quite a bit and I think it will certainly be a climber here. I think it just needs several years to get established in my climate like most of the other own root Austins. I love everyone's pics!!

Thank you, Ingrid.

I'm afraid mine only stands because of the support of others. It IS over 6', though.

Steven

I've been obsessing over TIMF and found this post. Ingrid, I am heartbroken you gave him the shovel as I would have been happy to drive over and pick him up! I had a 1yo plant that ended up dying because it was Sam's (my dog) favorite bush to lift his leg. I'm still debating whether I should reorder him, but am really considering your bad experience. I'm in San Diego as well...

delmagarden, what a shame, I would have been happy to give TIMF to you. I think this rose wants to be a lanky climber but for me the blooms shattered so quickly, even when it wasn't really hot.

Mine just made its first spring bloom a week or so ago right before we had our hopefully last freeze. It definitely wants to be a climber here.

Mine is three this year. Gets the best sun so always wants to bloom. Canes are lanky and blooms are so heavy they nod down. I like it. Hopefully when taller I'll see the blooms! Great cut flowers and smell. Lots of thorns. Love your bloom sultry!

I love the shape on your flowers, filly! I kinda like the nodding on roses. That old fashioned tea look. This might be a good pillar rose. I think I will try mine that way. Then if the blossoms still nodd when its tall, they can look down at me lol.

Based on my experience at least, I don't feel this makes a satisfactory bush rose because the canes will always be too thin to support the heavy blooms. I agree that it might be a good pillar rose although it tends to have a lot of those skinny canes and some structure that is wider to have more room to tie the canes in might be a better alternative.

Just finding this thread on TIMF.... MiGreenThumb, I must have received your Tradescant when you received MTIF from David Austin Roses! Now, that they are sending me a replacement, TIMF has been eliminated from the David Austin Catalogue.... and there aren't many with that coloration. I decided to take Desdemona instead, because of the photo on the cover . Im sure Im not the first to be charmed by a cover photo... I didn't think David Austin eliminated roses, but apparently they do!

Unfortunately Austin is known for eliminating roses, especially if they're no longer under patent and he doesn't receive money for them. Even some wildly popular and very good roses such as Pretty Jessica are very difficult to find now, even from other nurseries.

i have to say after reading this thread, i feel so much better, so a big thank you to all the "regulars".... first, i felt like the "other shoe dropped".... hearing that someone got TIMF instead of Tradescant. Imagine my surprise expecting a lilac-pink rose (lilac/lavender my favorite color) and the first wildly anticipated flower was crimson! LOL! so to find out that someone got TIMF and had anticipated a crimson rose, sort of put the world back in balance..... and second, hearing so many consistent reports of spindly branches not supporting the flower (despite their lovely color and shape) , suddenly I didn't feel so bad that I had missed my chance on TIMF. I will just keep looking for new and different varieties, which is after all, most of the fun.

Plohni, that is too funny. Must be they swapped our plants on us. It was certainly a surprise seeing soft lilac pink instead of dark, rich crimson.

I received my Tradescant the following year and it's colour is deep, dark, and rich. Especially in cooler autumn temperatures. I'm pleased to have both.

TIMF is really taking off this year. I can't wait to share some pictures once it starts blooming.

Steven

plohni, if you love that lilac pink color as much as I do, one Austin rose that has this color is Sister Elizabeth. It wasn't an easy rose for me to grow and I no longer have it, but it's well worth trying. In my hot garden it did best with only morning sun and afternoon shade. I think it would do better in a somewhat cooler climate than mine. It has a sort of heartbreaking, fragile beauty that I really loved.

Hello everyone,

Steven, I am certain there was a mix up in the labeling in the greenhouse over the winter, because at the time as soon as I called and said " I was supposed to get an TIMF", she said, "Oh, you must have gotten a Tradescant". I'm sure there are many gardeners across the US who were surprised... and pushed a little beyond their comfort zone. Its a great thing. I never would have bought that plant, and it made me more open to the reds, which I hadn't been eager to have until that point. All good. I am planting my replacement Desdemona today

Just to introduce myself, here is what I've got going on out back rose-wise:

I have about 25 other David Austins, am in zone 5 (Southern CT) and and coincidentally, . The way I have them set up is that I have two squares of planting area on either side of a small terrace. In the center of the square I've got a circle of boxwood and in each quadrant on the outside of the circle, I've got about 3 roses in a triangle of sorts, with a wire teepee in the center for a clematis.

I'm happy to give my experience with any of the roses below (Im a first time rose person, and figured if after two years I give up, so be it, but so far its been 3 years and they give me a great deal of pleasure. The super bloomers here in Stamford CT are Skylark, Queen of Sweden, Scarborough Fair , and Sceptred Isle. It could be their positioning, but each season I learn new lessons. I find them each fascinating in their own way. I love the cupped shape ones that are Peony/Cabbage Rose types.

My DAVID AUSTINS are: Queen of Sweden (soft light pink) . Abraham Darby (Deep Apricot pink) Wedgwood Rose (soft Rose Pink) , Spirit of Freedom (Med Pink climber) Fourth of July (Red, streaked with pink and white climber). Benjamin Britten (Coral Salmon Red) , Scepter'd Isle (Lt Medium Pink), Skylark (Clear Medium to Dark Pink) , Tamora (Llight Apricot Pink) , Scarborough Fair (Light Pink) , Noble Antony, (Dk Red-Magenta), Claire Austin ( Clear White-- as bush and as climber), Princess Alexandra of Kent (Medium Pink) , Sophy's Rose (Dark Cerise) , St. Cecilea (Lt Apricot Pink), Princess Anne (Deep Pink), Christopher Marlowe (Orange-Red to Coral Pink) , Ambridge Rose (Very light Apricot ) , Heritage (Soft Pink), Desdemona (supposed to be White), Jubilee Celebration ( Deep Pink)

OTHER ROSES: Betty Boop (Bi Color Red/White), New Dawn (light Pink Climber)

Happy MOther's Day everyone!

Marguerite

TIMG is the most dependable & floriferous of my David Austin roses - love it’s full look !

I planted one at my cousin's on Long Island and it never did well, perhaps deer, perhaps rabbits? One spring I was able to lift it out of the ground -- the voles had eaten all the roots, which is probably the main reason it never thrived. Must be exceptionally tasty.

plohni - Hi Marguerite - I know this is old (maybe you won't see it), but I've been debating between the Scepter'd Isle and the Jubilee Celebration for my next rose purchase. I know you said the Secpter'd Isle did well in your area (I'm in zone 6a so a little warmer). What's your experience in the difference between the two (besides color)? I hope you are well, and thank you for your time! - Laura

Wildfan16, I went outside to look closely at Scepter'd Isle and Royal Jubilee , now with 3 years more growth. I have Royal Jubilee, rather than the Jubilee Celebration that you had asked about.... I have to say, while both are beautiful, sometimes Royal Jubilee opens with the outermost petals opening out, and the inner most petals staying closed for a longer period of time, and I'm usually afraid it wont fully open. (my fear is mostly unfounded). Aside from the color difference, I have to say that Scepter'd Isle is absolutely trouble free and very prolific. If I had to choose between the two, it would be Scepter'd Isle. It ALWAYS blooms, fully and profusely for the entire season, (with dead heading of course). This is indeed a season where our gardens give us much hope , comfort and sanctuary. Be well!

I still have this rose. I'm not sure if it's unhappy Huey or general climate un-suitability, but The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild is still surprisingly minimal with canes, favouring single, whip-like growth. One-cane Wonder so far, but still persevering. Gives lovely flowers. I hope it settles in as the Austins can be slow to do. It's about five years old now, and I've moved it once.

Steven

Beautiful! Any move sets a rose back, so I think it looks great.