Helen,

Spectacular! I was reading up on this one just the other day and have it high on my list for a future arbor. Yours looks to be beautifully grown. How long have you had it in the ground? And how do you find the scent?

rosiewells, thank you. My James Galway is in its 5th year. I got it bare root grafted on Dr Huey. It has a light old rose fragrance. Helen

Do you find it was quick to grow or was it slow taking off? And do you have yours in full or part sun? I have heard it can take some shade.

I would love to see more of your garden as well!

Mine was grafted on Dr Huey so it was quick to grow and it can take some shade. It is in half shade and half sun. It blooms in flushes and don't repeat as much as other DA climbers.

I think you see the best of my garden :) James Galway makes everything look better. Helen

It’s so beautiful Helen!

This is a gorgeous rose Helen. Your pictures are wonderful. I ordered James this year from David Austin and they called me later to apologize because they had ran out before being able to complete my order. I was a bit disappointed to say the least but chose Jude the Obscure as a replacement. After seeing how well this rose does for you I will try to get it again next season.

Your JG is spectacular Helen! Is it just one plant and when did you plant it? I have two that are both own-root roses that are growing well and starting years two and three. They are growing in partial shade but not together. The fragrance is variable ranging from none to moderate but mostly I’d say mild+. JG doesn’t seem to bloom less than my other Austins. Whatever you’re feeding him he’s very happy!

Ann

That is one large and happy JG! Great job, Helen!

I’ve wanted JG for years but thought he would not do well in a hot, dry climate. Bay area girl, are you in the fog belt? I’m in 9a.

Your photos are killing me! This in another one from my wishlist. What a beautiful specimen, I love the bloom & petal edges!

Just incredible. I always thought that with so many petals, there wouldn't be many flowers. But yours has so many!

That is a gorgeous rose, simply superb. It looks different to me from any other rose with those extremely frilled petals. It looks like a perfect rose in your garden.

Helen, spectacular is a word we all seem to be using about this luscious thing. I love your James Galway's deep pink centers and all those yummy petals. The blooms just make you want to bury your face in one of those dreamy powder puffs. I'm a little over the top, but this is one over the top rose. Diane

Thank you everyone for the kind words. James Galway is an amazing rose, and it gets better with age. When I started growing roses in my garden a few years ago, I have never thought I can have such beautiful plant in my garden. A great thank you to David Austin Sr and his team who gave us such beautiful rose to grow in our gardens.

dianela, please share your James Galway pics when you have it in your garden. Jude the Obscure is a beautiful rose so I think you will love it.

Ann, the one in the pic is one plant, and it's in its 5th year. I have 2 in my garden, one in the front yard, and one in the side yard. I have a post about moving a 3-year grafted James Galway from a 5-gallon pot to the ground and it was hard work since I'm a small person and I prefer to do everything myself instead of asking for help, lol. That James Galway is in the side yard https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5250786/moving-a-3-year-grafted-james-galway-from-a-5-gallon-pot-to-the-ground . I'm glad to hear that JG repeats as well as other DAs. I didn't do anything special for him. I think the extra rain we got make everything look amazing.

Sylvia, I'm in south of San Francisco. When you said fog belt, which areas in the Bay Area are inside the fog belt? I'm in 9b.

Ingrid, you are right about the unique look of James Galway. One of the things I noticed about DA is they have many similar looking roses. I'm not complaining (because the roses may look similar but they have other different attributes such as fragrance, vase life, health, hardiness...), but for those of us who have small gardens, a unique look of a rose will help us decide to have it in our garden or not.

Diane, your garden inspires me and others. I'm still amazed at the beauty of your garden so I'm glad you like my JG :)

Stephanie, I like your baby JG. Look at all the buds and the beautiful bloom from such a young own-root plant! Helen

Thank you so much, Helen. Your garden certainly inspires me (and a little envy, too). Do you by chance live in or near San Jose in the south bay? I lived there for a number of years as a student, and even though it was a very long time ago, I've always thought SJ had the perfect climate for growing anything, including roses. Later, for a brief time I lived in Palo Alto, and I do remember the awful fog, once the fall started up. I agree with you about David Austin Roses--for some of us, he's the man, and most of my roses are Austin's. Diane

Diane, I live near San Jose. The most common disease in my garden is powdery mildew. I was often stressed out about that when I was an inexperience rose gardener, but nowadays I don't worry too much about it. If I don't like the rose enough to put up with its disease then I'll just give it away. If it's a rare/unique rose then I just give it more TLC and ignore its imperfections.

I always have a deep respect for rose gardeners in zone 4-6 who sometimes have to grow roses like annuals, especially since roses are more expensive now. Helen

Delightful! I was waiting for you to share pics of your John Galway, Helen, and I am enjoying them tremendously!

The roses have really appreciated the rains this year, haven’t they?

Jo

Jo, I'm glad you like the pics.

We're BLESSED with rain this year. I feel so blessed that I saw back spots on some of my roses and I just smiled because with this good rain what is a bit of black spots? :) Helen

I know what you mean, Helen. I am overlooking the powdery mildew (more than I normally see), the black spot and the rust - how could one not after the roses have had such a tremendous spring flush?

Jo

More pics of James Galway. Helen

Whoa, Helen! So beautiful. I was inspired by your photos to try JG this year.

How do you prune JG to get blooms all the way at the bottom? I am moving Heritage to make way for JG because it mainly blooms at the top and blooms shatter fast.

Yes, Helen PLEASE do tell! Your JG is so beautiful. I have one, but it frustrates me so much,blooming just at the top. It's incredibly vigorous, too, always sending out tons of basals...Also, how do you train yours? From one picture, it seems to be planted near a wall, but it's not clear whether it is being "trained as a climber" on this wall; it actually looks more as if you just prune it really well. Please tell us how you do this!

So beautiful! I've contemplated getting this rose many times. Do you think with pruning this could be kept as a large shrub? I don't have anywhere for a climber like this.

Totoro & Bart, my James Galway is currently grown as a large shrub next to a wall. Some bottom branches are just in horizontal position which is the same as if I trained those branches.

The rule of training climbers is the same. You try to lay the main branches in horizontal positions as much as possible to get the most flowers. You lay some main branches at the bottom section to have the flowers in the bottom area. Then, you horizontally lay some main branches in the middle section to have flowers in the middle area, and the rest of the main branches will be laid horizontally at the top section to have flowers at the top. Paul Zimmerman has a video in details what I mentioned above on YouTube. I learned that from him.

Chris, you can prune JG to keep it as a large shrub. Helen

Thanks Helen for the advice. I suppose I found that Heritage's canes are rather stiff. Do you train JG canes as they are growing or wait until the following early spring when they have hardened off?

My problem with Heritage has also been die back of the lower canes which were trained horizontally and no new canes to replace them.

Totoro, you can train your rose as they are growing. If you constantly have die back of the lower canes, have you thought about planting a short rose bush (not a climber) near the bottom area that has similar flower shape as your climber’s? When you do that, the bush’s flowers will cover the bottom section and the climber‘s flowers will cover the middle and top sections. Helen

Good idea, Helen. I have done that with Buff Beauty. Unfortunately my bed with Heritage is not that deep.

Helen, you inspired me to get JG this year. First blooms are dedicated to you. Thank you!

Not sure if photos posted via browser.

Helen, that is one magnificent rose. It has been on my radar for some time now . just looking for a permanent home for something so large . Your photography skills are really quite good.

Absolutely gorgeous, totoro! Thank you for sharing your JG.

Kristine, JG is a very special rose. I love it. Thank you for the kind word. Helen

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

Adding this to my list!! I love the wavy petals. I read somewhere that it can get up to 12ft!

Sultry, in our zone, 12ft climber is normal. Helen

Gorgeous rose! I would like to hear in the future how it does with black spot in your garden.

Totoro,

Funny you mentioned that tying Heritage horizontally cause die back. I have the same problem with all the climbers I have tried so far. I do see in roses in botanical gardens that are trained that way and seem to be fine. Wonder why.

Thanks

I just ordered this for Feb delivery. Im so excited. I just love the spiky petals they look like someone took pinking shears to the edges...kinda like The Mill On the Floss that I also ordered..

I dont need anymore climbers but I think my little tree frogs will love JG due to the petal packed blooms and climbing nature.

Sultry, that’s wonderful! Can’t wait to see pics when it blooms in your garden. Helen

Sultry, I just ordered Bathsheba (even though I swore I wouldn't buy another rose this year) and it was 100% due to Helen's amazing pictures of Bathsheba on this thread: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5691785/bathsheba-a-david-austin-rose#n=44

Thanks for the pictures Helen! David Austin should hire you to take their catalog shots.

KS, that’s awesome. Thank you for the kind words. Rose nuts like us always have room for a special rose. I have some climbers from PalatineRoses that are in pots. I’m sure I can squeeze them in somewhere, lol. Helen

I have one coming too, Helen, thanks to you!

Uh oh, now I’m in trouble, lol, Sheila. You have such big garden with all the beautiful tea roses, I can’t wait to see the pics of all the new roses in your garden. Helen

KS you will lo♡ve Bathsheba! I got her last spring and she is just gorgeous. She is gonna be a big girl kinda like Teasing Georgia here, I think, because she already is over 6ft. Her leaves stay very healthy too.

I have lots of BIG climbers still in pots too. Its kinda amazing how big they can get while being in a pot, if well fed and kept watered. It is work though lol.

Mine usually grow through the pot holes and way down into the ground but at least they dont fall over that way :p

Amazing thread! totoro and farmerduck, do your climbers experience die-back when you DON'T tie them horizontally? Do you have the terminus pointing downward or at an upward angle? Although I've never experienced this, I have read that having the terminus lower than its origin can encourage die-back.

This is the first I've seen this thread and it makes me so excited that I already have this rose. When Lilyfinch was moving away I bought from her several of her roses that she had received in the early spring, but realized didn't need to be planted before she left. Poor JG was a nub and hadn't had an easy time of his early life--I think she threw him in the batch I bought from her for her for free. I planted him at the base of my beautiful limestone chimney and it wasn't until late in the summer he seemed to make a recovery a got going.

He should start with a few blooms this spring--we'll see. This thread sure has gotten my hopes up!!

dianela7bnorthal I'll let you know how he does on disease resistance. I'm just north of you and I suspect we have similar disease pressure.

Just want to add: Here is a James Galway blossom I picked in the fall that dried in the vase. This was picked before Thanksgiving. Photo is from December 3. It has lost a few petals but I still have it. It has maintained its fragrance if you sniff up close. I suspect this variety would be good for potpourri.

monarda, that is very cool! We should all experiment with drying different Austins for potpourri this spring and compare results! I bet Munstead Wood would be another good one.

Magnificent roses just gorgeous!