All these photos are gorgeous and reinforce why I love Boscobel so much (named for Boscobel House in England). It's at least the fourth season for mine, and the bush is large and round, requiring very little pruning. I love a brighter color because our bright sun seems to bleach out color when a rose here is viewed from any distance. I love pastels, but learned early on, that they have to be viewed up close to be appreciated in this environment. Right now we are having non desert rain and cool temps, so Bosco isn't ready to be photographed. Much as we need rain at all times, I'm getting sick of this weather. Noseo, I'm not sure Bosco's small size can be guaranteed in lots of climates--as you stated. Diane

In totoro's last pic with the yellow leaves, is that signs of over-watering/ too much water ? We've had some serious rainfall - finally has stopped, sun is drying things out. One of mine has like 3-4 leaves that have yellowed.

Wow I love all these pictures of Boscobel. I am so glad many of you are growing this rose. I think it is beautiful, bright but not obnoxious.

I have Bosco in the LOVE category. Like many of you have seen I have 2 in the front of my home that are on their 3rd year and now I have added 6 to a back bed because I like it so much. I don’t know if it the hot summer here, but it starts with a bright intense color that fades to light pink which is very pretty. My repeat first year was very good and 2ns year was very weak. I am watching it this year with fingers crossed in hopes of good performance. This picture shows the intense peach color and the faded lighter pink. Mine has also stayed on the smaller side but it is getting wider and bushier.

Dianela, your Boscobel is outstanding. Just look at all those blooms. That's a lot of Bosco you're growing. I wish I could have more than one. What is the lovely rose next to Bosco? I still have no pics from this year. For most of my roses, things ground to a halt about a week ago with the onset of cold, windy, rainy weather. Bad timing. Some roses are pushing ahead, but Bosco is waiting for the sun to come out. Diane

A1an, i think the yellow leaves could be poor drainage plus blackspot. I have gotten tons of rain too.

Incredible Boscobel, Dianella! Looks like you get stems long enough for cutting. Have you tried it as a cut flower and does it last? Like Diane, I'd like to know what the creamy apricot rose is, growing next to Boscobel in your photo. It's lovely also.

Diane thank you! Like with the Ascot rose I also first fell in love with Boscobel in your garden. I am very much looking forward to seeing your garden this year. The rose next to Boscobel is Lichfield Angel. Desdemona is barely seen in the Background behind Lichfield Angel and Darcey Bussell on the tiny right corner of the picture. LA has those peachy tones early in the season and then it bleaches more, but it is still a lovely rose. This is OT but I just got Roald Dahl this year and I am in love with it beautiful peach color. This rose may need more attention.

Noseo I have not cut Boscobel this year, but I did last year and it seemed to be pretty good for an Austin. To be fair I didn't count how many days it lasted and I know it is not as good as my Moonstone hybrid tea. It also didn't just fall apart the next day like some of the others do. I will cut it in the near future and pay attention and report back. The peachy rose is lichfield angel.

dianela, love your pic of Boscobel, Lichfield Angel, Desdemona and Darcey Bussell. Others can use your pic as a reference when they have a problem incorporating Boscobel with other roses in their garden. Helen

Lovely photos and I agree Boscobel has a lot of promise. It's interesting though that so far most of the "Love" ratings have come from zone 7 or above, with Moses chiming in to represent us cold zoners. Like Halloblondie, Boscobel has lost all of its canes for me over my zone 5 winter when most of my other Austins had at least a foot of surviving cane with great snow cover. I think this Austin is notably less hardy than others, particularly given that Austins usually do very well in my area. Boscobel not only died to the ground it was very slow to wake up and coming into its fourth year hasn't gotten above knee high with a couple of blooms one at a time during the season.

Cynthia

Cynthia, thank you for your comments, because I have always thought that winter hardiness is a given for Austins, and I have been thinking about getting Boscobel from a local nursery for $35. Now I can use that money for something else that will work better for zone 5.....unless I can find one on sale. I am saying that because I had resisted PJP2 knowing it might not perform well in zone 5, but after seeing it on sale during J&P 5 for $50 sale, I got it immediately, LOL.

Claire

Palytoxin, you're lucky your local nursery sells David Austin roses in pots for $35/each. In my area, a DA rose in 5-gallon pot is $60. Non-DA is $42 - $50. Helen

Helen, those prices....ack. Here, Edwards sells five gallon Austin roses for $30-33. Non Austins are less. Diane

Gosh BayArea - $60 for 5 gallon doesn't sound too bad. I found one nursery that carries the DA in the 2 qt pot....and the retail was like $55. However, it was fully flushed out with leaves, and upcoming bloom heads unlike a $28 BR.

Boscobel blooming again. Maybe because I showed it the image of Helen's and Dianela's but I think it looks better this year. The Cherry Lifesavers fragrance has grown on me, and I like it now. I wouldn't be as happy if it were the only rose I had, but in addition to the other roses in the garden, I'm loving it.

That’s beautiful Noseometer! Helen

Nose, that's a gorgeous Boscobel. The blooms are luscious. I've always loved this medium, non wimpy pink. All I've got is last years photos--only roses blooming right now in my garden are Ebb Tide and Colette with a single Wild Blue Yonder bloom in evidence. Our weather is horribly windy and quite cold, which is slowing everything down. I don't want roses blooming in this wind, either. I've never noticed a Cherries Lifesavers scent, but I don't have a nose. Roses don't waft in our dry air, either. Diane

What a beautiful rose

I love the rich saturated pink color

Off topic, but DA released some new tree standard forms this year. Olivia, Roland Dahl were 2 that I noticed. Wishful thinking but I'm hoping they release a Boscobel standard one day - and this is coming from someone who's normally not crazed about pinks in the garden

Diane, roses from your garden always look amazing! Helen

I wish mine was pink like Diane's.

Sheila, yours looks beautiful! In my garden I notice in cool temperature, roses like Boscobel and Augusta Luise have lighter colors. As the weather gets warmer in summer, they have darker colors. If you want to change the color of your roses, @strawchicago shows ways to manipulate the soil to get lighter or darker color blooms in one of her posts. Helen

Sheila - I love that shot!! The vibrant colors are wonderful!!!

Diane - glorious!!!

Noseometer - love, love, love!! If you say it has fragrance...then this is a rose I would love to get. :)

Wow, Sheila, those are gorgeous! Is that too warm a color for you? And what is that red rose behind Boscobel? Beautiful!

Rosecanadian - Boscobel has a very nontraditional fragrance to my nose. You might want to sniff before you purchase if that is important to you and you have the opportunity. I bought it without sniffing first because I thought it was worth the risk for its beauty. There wasn't one around here to sniff and it wasn’t being sold at local nurseries. It turned out to be a strong and lovely fragrance to me, even though it is unusual. I haven’t seen any reports of people disliking it.

Thank you, noseometer, it seems a bit bright. The color almost seems unnatural to me somehow but not enough to move. The red is Orfeo from RVRs. NiktheGreek recommended Orfeo and it is a dream.

I will say my garden is bursting with color.

@rosecanadian was my 2nd rose ever and it holds a special place in my heart. The fragrance is unique and lovely. To me it smells fruity with an undercurrent of myrrh (but the herb sweet myrhh not the medicinal side to myrrh). Not overpowering but strong enough that you'll enjoy it as a cut flower. It also lasts reasonably well as a cut flower for an Austin. 5+ days and can take chilly wet springs and hot sunny summers.

@Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR - I know what you mean. Sometimes mine is too bright for my taste also. Even worse is Princess Alexandra of Kent. The color of the bud was SO garish. I was all ready to take the plant out, but then it bloomed and smelled so good!

Your Orfeo looks great. I like the way that it grows.

Exactly true about PA of Kent also.

For a small fee, I'll make your PAoK problems go away. Diane

My PAofK can be pink or coral which I prefer less. It was so brave this last Winter when voles attacked. The new basals got eaten. It carried on bravely. Diane, yours gave me hope.

The search for the perfect rose continues...

Fortunately, Boscobel is neither a twig nor a monster. It blooms. It isn't a thrips magnet. It doesn't seem finicky about its nutrition. It has lots of good points.

My Boscobel has been the color of @Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR 's or of @Diane Brakefield 's. I thought the cooler spring brought out the dark colors, but this year that proved not true. Here's Boscobel today, clearly more pink.

Looking nice with it's accidental neighbor.

Sheila, I'm sorry I took away your hope. I removed PAoK back in 2017, so hope has been lost for a while. She was a big monster that had little salmon/coral blooms when it got hot. In her place is a Munstead Wood and a Twilight Zone which I like much better. No trouble with them. Diane

Librarian, what lovely photos. Boscobel looks great with his neighbor, and I agree, the color is a little lighter for whatever reason. Roses are hard to figure out sometimes. Diane

Thanks, Noseometer. I have to think long and hard about getting another Austin as they don't do all that well for me. Thanks for the heads up about the fragrance for Boscobel. :) I love that bright color of your PAoK bloom!!! Mmmmm :)

Librarian - yes, it's the spring weather that seems to kill my potted roses. That's interesting about Boscobel doing well with spring weather. Now it's a "maybe" again. :) Oooh...I love that pink color too!! Garish or softer...it's a winner!

Diane - LOL I think it should be a huge fee!! Whenever I see that picture, I'm gobsmacked!!! That just wouldn't happen here...to have a rose THAT big...those canes are really thick!

I just wanted to revisit the fragrance comments about Boscobel. I find that the fragrance is far more beautiful and complex when smelled midmorning to early afternoon. I pick up a mixture of myrrh as well as fruit more like pear and or berry. It's just one of my favorites next to Munstead Wood and Jude the Obscure. I love the manageability of this rose and if one is patient, the bush just improves over time.

Recent photos of Jude the Obscure and Boscobel. We had an atrocious spring, and a short while back the 90s-100s began, so it was a short show. Diane

Nine feet of Jude.

Wow Diane! Stunning :)

Diane, here in Northern California, Jude the Obscure is really good at standing up to the mini-heatwaves. Has this been your experience?

Matthew, thanks. Jude does not like the heat here, which lasts for about 2 months. Very bad with 100s starting in a couple of days. Up until about July 5, Jude was doing pretty well, but yesterday he crashed, and most of his blooms are gone. Darn it. His blooms are a bit delicate for our dry heat, but he's worth it. I've grown him for about 18 years, and he's grafted on Huey. Diane

I was -googling - Boscobel own root & this thread and in a recent search.

I have a Huey-Boscobel. never had basl breaks from the soil line and the graft is buried about 3-4 inches below. My Main issue is just the cane developement. It's pretty when in bloom but now at 5 years or so since planting, I'm looking to rip this out and try a Own Roon *In Hopes of more canes from soil up*.

Who here has Boscobel Own Root and how is she faring ?

Own root for many roses is way overhyped. I think it is faddish in fact. I've grown Bosco since he first came out. He's grafted on Huey is a doing just fine. As is his twenty year old neighbor, Golden Celebration. Diane

I don't have Boscobel own root (mine is grafted, too) and it shot out new basals the first two years. I didn't hard prune after that and it's just continued to bloom on these three massive basals. Maybe if I pruned more traditionally it would send more basals up. Compared to so many of the other Austins in my yard, Boscobel does not want to be a climbing rose with millions of basals. (Cough, cough, Emily Brönte, Benjamin Britton, Lady of Shalott.and so many more)

I do have many own roots Austins direct from DA and all except Munstead Wood and Desdemona are HUGE in my garden. From what I've read, MW and Desdemona are known to stay more moderate sized. The other two that have stayed moderate so far are Lady Emma Hamilton and Jubilee Celebration, too.

LG -

That is right now where I sit with my Boscobel and a few others....

The grafterd came with like 3 stems or eeks, maybe I lost one and down to 2 per rose.

I'll call these -mini stumps- with growth from them.

What I seek or want is fresh basal breaks from the soil up instead of depending on these 3-2 stumps. It doesn't look as nice and -full- with how many or how are coming from these primary 3 or 2 stumps.

Hence, here I am thinking what the preach is, Own root - many more growth from soil line up

Diane, that reminds me...we talked about Jude awhile back somewhere and you recommended I keep it. Well, I didn't keep it, but instead, my partner is going to plant it at the post office he supervises where it can grow as big as it wants. I thought that was a good compromise. :)

Robert, what a great thing for your supportive partner to do. And when you move to a larger place, you can sneak over to the post office late at night, and dig Jude up for the new place. He's too valuable and sought after to give up. Diane

A1an, some own root roses have the few stumps look you do not favor too. Each variety is different.

I'm going to have to re-bump my old thread if I can find it on graft points - where it was concluded that when one receives a grafted rose, whether it be 2, 3, 4 or even 5 stems from it, all those stems came from a single bud on the graft.

I dunno....I've been doing the whole alfalfa thing, etc and now heading into year 6, I'm seeing nowhere as close as *wishful wanted new stems* on new breaks from soil line below

I've got some nice strong stems coming out from the existing stems, just nothing from soil line....

You are describing a grafted rose a1an.

My own root Boscobel has 7 basals.