berry pie7 - I know what you mean about that "yes I need it" feeling! I've given in to it too many times. When I'm on the Rose Forum, I often have this "I must share" feeling so forgive me if I'm enabling you. Here's Bishop's Castle.

Ann

Gorgeous pictures, Ann. I love those fragrant lilac-pink blooms. Mine seems to have a little less of that violet tinge, unfortunately.

Lovely bloom Ingrid! So many petals. How many years have you had your BC?

Ann

Ooooo! Heavenly pink.

Lovely! but the wallet is safe- Bishops Castle doesnt seem to have made its way down under; not sure why as so many people say it does well in heat. Seriously, we got Wisley 2008, ( if anyone grows that one, they dont post about it ) but not BC?

Ann, this was a runty specimen from the local nursery which did nothing for several years. I then moved it where it did nothing for another year, but this year it bloomed well and the bloom above was giant, the biggest I've ever seen for this rose.

Great Ingrid! I'm looking forward to seeing what my BC does in 2018. I've got high hopes that he'll be very fragrant and enjoyable. I love his dark pink color. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Ann

It does tend to develop long arms which lie on the ground, so when I deadhead I cut way back into the bush. That helps a lot.

Photo by Hoovb who resides and gardens at Roserie de L'Hay.... :-) Carol

The photos of Hoovb's Bishop's Castles are what convinced me to make BC my first rose purchase for my garden. They are still my best performing roses and favorites due to vigor, exuberance, form and fragrance (my 3 bushes in bloom perfume that whole area of the garden). I must admit, however, that I didn't find the flowers to be very exciting the first year, since they didn't have much form then.

I've shown these photos before...

Thanks Noseometer, after seeing your photos I think I would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful pink rose that has it all.

hoovb's photo shows the perfect way to grow these sprawling roses. Wish I could borrow the steps to do something similar. noseometer, it must be my soil or something, but mine is not nearly that beautiful a color. I love lilac pink roses, but one of the few roses that stays that way in my garden is Sister Elizabeth, which otherwise didn't do that well for me. You just can't have it all.

Berrypie7 - did you end up getting a Bishop's Castle? Photos from today:

Mine are just starting: look at the number of buds on each candelabra. I counted over 30 on one. I find that to be unusual for a rose that is as densely petalled as this one.

Can you tell I love this rose?

Nosometer-

What an absolutely gorgeous rose ! You must have the ideal ground and right spot, that is one sublimely happy Bishop's Castle . Those photos should be in David Austins handbook, could there be any better paragon of a pink rose ?

Somehow I forgot about it in the shuffle of dozens of roses i wanted. I'm grateful you brought up this thread again just before the David Austin roses come in at the local nursery in Coeur d'Alene.

I do need to order another rose from Northland Rosarium to meet the shipping requirement to box up with my Marianne rose. I was considering Young Lycidas until I noticed your post. Thanks again for more persuasion, think I'll just hop over to Northland's site and take a look. The lavender cast of Bishops Castle is a color I don't have yet.

Thanks berrypie7! Bishop's Castle is pretty happy here. If anyone in this climate were to ask which Austin they should start with, I would suggest this one.

The photo above didn't show BC in full bloom from last year (2019). Here you go.

Nosometer, your roses are phenomenal. I enlarged the photo and " Ohhh" was an instant reaction. Makes me want to pull five roses out of my front garden and just have Bishop's Castle there. It is a storybook rose.

OMG what gorgeous bushes!!

@noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) what did you do to keep your Bishop's castle tamed and in a bushy form? I dont have a space for it to sprawl and was initially thinking of using it as a hedge rose. But after seeing everyone's reviews, it looks like it wont make a good hedge. :(

@Rose Beginner Zone 9b LA - to be honest, I don't do anything to keep my Bishop's Castle bushy. They don't stay that way all season. They do produce long basals during the summer and I leave them on. But those basals are not as long as Hoovb's, only about 5' tall. But the first flush is usually pretty compact and that may be my climate which is dry and with intense sun. Something you can also do, is to not prune as heavily, so that it doesn't make long canes but becomes twiggier. But then you might get smaller flowers and a big flush with less repeat.

@noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) how often does Bishop's castle repeat for you?

Mine give the big flush in the spring, then a bit of a break, then more or less constant but not a lot of blooms through the heat, then another big flush about the same as spring in the fall. In your climate, this will probably be different with your high humidity and moist soil. Someone else on the forum who lives closer to you may be better able to answer your question.

By the way, I wouldn't recommend Bishop's Castle for a hedge if you want something for a limited space, like a clipped privet hedge. In your climate I suspect that Bishop's Castle may become a sprawling monster. Maybe something more like Alnwick Castle or Queen of Sweden would work better.