Beautiful! May I ask how old are those?

Gorgeous! This one is a keeper.

Omigosh, look at all those sumptuous blooms! Can't wait for mine to bloom like that!

WOW, so beautiful!!

Wow - they look great, & clearly love that spot! How much sun exposure do they get? (Morning? Afternoon? Both?)

They are breathtaking, which gives me huge hope for mine. I added them to my garden this spring and look forward to their blooms.

They look like Earth Angel, but more shade tolerant. Hope mine survive this year.

Wow that is sooo beautiful!! Do you grow Olivia Austin as well ? If so does it get brown edges ?

Thanks jayferg! And, one more question - what direction does the wall behind them face?

That is quite pretty. I put one out this year to try it. I have it in a pot, and it is actually trying to grow. Could someone comment on how lasting the flowers are? Do they last well, or do they open one day and are gone a day later like a few others I know?

I wonder if anyone growing her in the deep south has noticed less petals or skimpy blooms during the heat. Some (many) austins turn into semi-doubles or have very little substance in the warmer weather. Like Heritage and Scepter D'Isle, they are practically semi-doubles for me and not a single petal more. Sharifa Asma, Pat Austin, and Wollerton Old Hall too. Spirit of Freedom however is very full for me despite the heat. As is Evelyn. I've stayed away from Desdemona because I feel it will do that in my heat and I primarily like cutting roses.

jayferg:

You ^^^ have told us they are in full day sun, pretty much sunrise to sunset. And they are on a north facing wall. I think that’s pretty close to word for word.

How close are you to the equator?

Incredible. That just got put on my wish list for next year. I'd get one now but DA is sold out. Maybe a local nursery will have it.

My instinct tells me Desdemona can take some shade like many other Austins. But I do wanna know if it performs better (bloom quantities & disease resistance) in full sun or just about the same regardlessly. Also, I think there’s a difference between “Full Sun” and “Full Day Sun”; likewise “Partial Sun/Shade” and “Part day Sun/Shade”. Please correct me if wrong.

really impressive for a 2nd year rose

Finally first blooms of my new bareroot Des. Fragrance is SO strong and reminiscent of Sharifa Asma. Des is a way better substitute for SA in my opinion if you have to have Sharifa's fragrance.

SoFL rose, In our Louisiana heat Desdemona does have less petals. Mine does not look anything like jayferg's pictures. I wish it did. However, it does bloom a lot.

Beautiful! I really covet this rose and might have to take something out to make room!

Really gorgeous rose!!!

Reviving this thread to see if anyone else is growing Desdemona in the hot & humid south. She's my worst DA in terms of health at the moment and is defoliating from some sort of fungal issue while simultaneously putting out new growth and buds, so I'm not sure what to think of her. She gets 6+ hours of SW late morning and afternoon sun. I'm sure the heatwave and drought haven't helped much. Perhaps she is heat stressed.