I planted Desdemonas in my z7 mid-atlantic garden this year and I don't know if I've done something wrong, but the blooms are teensy, so are many of the leaves, and the new growth is kind of wilty and sad. I'm hoping they're just getting established.

cbiscuit... can you post pictures.... do yo think you might have chili thrips.....

Sharon, I hear you. I don't like chilli thrips since I can't see them only by leaves tales. You got to check the weather and take the chance with forecast. I took advantage with 4 days ( no rain ) so I apply Miloganite .
Keep checking the weather. You will have a break :)
jin

Perhaps i'm being too hard on them - today's bloom was the prettiest and biggest yet.

There were some aphids earlier in the spring, which I sprayed with soap and some cold pressed neem oil. I can't get more aggressive than that chemically because I feel strongly about pollinators, so perhaps roses aren't a good choice for me, or at least I should stick to knockouts.

cbiscuit, are you near a large nursery that sells ladybugs? Ladybugs & their larvae LOVE to eat aphids & it’s a natural way of eliminating aphids without sprays. They come in plastic containers with vented holes on the top. They typically cost $12.99/ container. You buy them & keep them in a shaded area until use. You can do two things — at dusk, open the container & dump a few out at the base of your roses -+ they crawl up & travel to the food source; or you can do during the day — open slightly the lid, let one or two crawl out onto a stick & then you can apply directly to the aphid infestations. Ladybugs do not bite humans. I have found they eat about 90% of the aphids by the next day when I observe them again.

If you don’t need to use right away, you can refrigerate them (it slows their movement) & when you get them home, sprinkle some water on the holes so they can get hydrated. Just be sure to tell others you have them in the fridge! You don’t want people to freak out when they look for something to eat in the fridge!

Jazzmom they arrived on their own! It was amazing. I have seen only a few aphids since before the first bloom, so if something is eating them now I think it might be a different crew. I do love the Ladybugs though. That's part of why I stopped spraying soap - all of a sudden there were Ladybug larvae everywhere and I didn't want to mess them up. They did eat all/most of the aphids.

I think I have thrips badly this year also because so many of my roses, even at bud stage, have the brown edges. I don't spray so I just try to ignore it; nothing is perfect in nature. I had Sophy's Rose at one time and have no idea why I took them out; they have a soft red that I liked even though I'm not fond of red roses at all, especially the modern ones. The Dark Lady, on the other hand, was fire engine red in my garden, and I had no regrets in tossing her.

An Austin rose that I admire very much is Eglantyne, but I don't suppose it would do well in the heat; it looks so fragile and delicate, which of course is what makes it beautiful.

Ingrid, I think that Eglantyne loves the heat, at least in my yard. However, she BSs horribly which wouldn't be a problem in your situation. She's also tall and narrow which would avoid the bunny and space problem! : ))

vapor, that's all such valuable information! I really think I'm going to have to have this rose, and what would I really have to lose? I'm too cautious sometimes, and part of that is thinking about the hassle if a rose doesn't work out, but I have to go for it this time.

I hope there's someone from your neck of the woods that can pipe in on her. If she didn't BS I'd consider her the perfect pink with the best fragrance. She'd be lovely against your house if there's space there.

I was going to comment on how well Evelyn was holding up in the 95 degree heat 14% humidity today (with flowers smaller than usual), but I just walked out to look at them and realized that the reason it looked like the bush was still in bloom was that the flowers had dried perfectly on their stems. I don't have a single Austin that can handle this weather. The only rose with decent looking blooms on it this afternoon is Marie Pavie, well watered but against a west facing wall, blistering heat. I could only stand to be in that spot for less than a minute. Savannah opened some beautiful flowers this morning, but they are crispy now. Bolero has some decent flowers on the shady side. Princesse Charlene de Monaco had the same situation as Evelyn, the flowers perfectly dried at the end of the stem.

Savannah this morning

Savannah this afternoon

Marie Pavie this afternoon

Noseometer-

Munstead Wood, PAoK, Radio Times, Harlow Carr, William Shakespeare, Pretty Jessica, Young Lycidas & Olivia Austin can handle that kind of heat.. actually a bit more than that, with similar humidity, but there is definitely a bloom color change. I remember that you grow Radio Times, do you grow any of these?

Mid to late June in Las Vegas, temperatures in the 95-102 range... low humidity... of course:

Munstead Wood

Olivia Austin

PAoK

Baby Pretty Jessica

Young Lycidas... most noticeable color change due to the heat/sun

William Shakespeare 2000

Lynn, I do grow Munstead Wood and William Shakespeare 2000. In my garden they do not handle the heat well. I may need to try one of the other ones next. I wonder if I may just not be watering mine enough. It just seems like so MUCH water, already. My Radio Times hasn't rebloomed in the years that I've had it, but this year it looks like it will. I'll keep it watered and see how it does. I'll have to try a couple (or more) of the other ones you suggest. I like all of them, even with the color changes! Thanks for the suggestions. Did you grow Desdemona in Las Vegas?

No, I did not grow Desdemona in Las Vegas, however, it is on my list for TX. I have read positive comments about it in regards to disease resistance and heat tolerance. My Radio Times was grafted and re-bloomed about 3-4 times per year. I have a R.T. arriving next week, but it is own-root. Hopefully, it will perform well here...

I wonder if the high elevation of Albuquerque is harder on roses in terms of heat resistance. I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

Ingrid, I wouldn't be surprised either. The high altitude increases evaporation, and combined with wind, intense sun makes it hard for plants to stay hydrated. Perhaps that's why Marie Pavie does better: smaller flowers.

That could be the difference! I was at an altitude of 3200 in LV, which is definitely lower than ABQ. Great point, Ingrid!

The UV is more intense also.

I'm at 5,000 ft elevation and it's in the 90s and there is constant dry wind. I have drip that I set up and each rose has a ring of drippers I made. Each ring puts out 10 gallons per hour and since we got in the 90s I've had to run them about a half hour every other day. So they are getting 5 gallons each every other day and it does seem to help. My potted Austin rose gets watered every other day in this heat until it drips out the bottom and it also seems to be doing well.

So I think water is really key in these hot arid places.

Lynn, you were totally right about Radio Times. It's too dark to take a photo right now, but a flower opened this morning, and in today's mid-90's heat, against a south facing wall, the flower shows no damage.

I also took a trip to the ABQ Rose Garden today and the ONLY Austin with decent flowers was Queen of Sweden. This agrees with what a few others have said above. Carding Mill had one flower on it, which was about a third the size of normal. The other Austins either had no flowers or crispy dried flowers. They didn't have PAoK, Pretty Jessica, Young Lycidas, or Olivia Rose Austin there. The only HT's that weren't fried were Sunset Celebration and Fragrant Plum (some other HT's looked okay from a distance, but not up close). Wild Blue Yonder looked okay but some heat stress/color change. But now I'm getting way off topic.

QOS in 95 degree heat.

Fragrant Plum

Pippacovalent, yes I think water really is key also (not just for roses, but for humans also!). I'm about 2,000 feet higher in elevation than you are but it sounds like you have a similar challenge. From what you are saying, I need to irrigate much more than I am. Abe well irrigated in a pot was not able to tolerate the heat, but Radio Times looks like at least the flower survived one day looking good.

Vaporvac - good point! yes it is!

Sara-Ann, sorry if I'm hijacking the thread, but I hope this discussion is helpful for you also.

Noseometer my vacation cabin where I do plan to eventually grow roses is at 7,000 ft so I'm glad to know some can tolerate it. It's so dry there that on days we go I have to start drinking lots of water well before we even leave to head up because if not I get dehydrated and headaches and can't catch up on hydration. So I'm thinking my roses will need a lot more water there but I do have a well there at least.

Are the rose beds at the ABQ Rose Garden heavily mulched, Noseometer? Beyond that, I cannot think of other variables. I have also assumed that the plants are properly watered because QOS is in good shape.

As I create a list for my future garden, unfortunately, and despite being quite rose enamored with a couple of them, Austins will be the last group of roses I purchase. They are infamous for not being able to take the heat, nor having good disease resistance (previously a non-issue). I always planted them in the best location (morning sun only), with a couple of exceptions. I have never grown QOS, but found Mary Rose to be the most heat tolerant followed by Munstead Wood although MW took on a "hot pink" or cherry red coloring from May/June until October.

They are mulched, but not particularly heavily, with large bark. Maybe the bubbler is broken next to the QOS and it is putting out more water than for the others? Maybe it gets the perfect amount of sun vs. shade (it's at the edge of the dripline of a tree)? Then again, there are others in a similar exposure. I just went out and checked on my Winchester Cathedral (sport of Mary Rose) and I must admit that it is looking pretty good despite the heat. It doesn't usually look this good at this time of the year. But I think that being near the lawn which has been getting overwatered (hubby does NOT like brown grass) has helped. I'm wondering if I made a mistake in planting so many Austins. If so, what a pain to change them to something else!

Time will tell Noseometer, and hopefully, you will retain all of the Austins you want. Many are quite beautiful, and for me, worth what I refer to as a "calculated risk". I doubt that I will have a bed of Austins as I did in LV, but there will hopefully be a handful. At least you do not have to deal with disease pressures. I have definitely been taking notes based upon info. in this thread...

In my garden, Teasing Georgia, Perdita, Olivia Rose, Evelyn, Golden Celebration, Pretty Jessica, Abraham Darby, Harlow Carr, Desdemona, Lady Emma Hamilton and Jude the Obscure are all as happy as larks.

Daisy

I've really been enjoying my new Pretty Jessica I got from Hortico this spring. It's already 2x the size of the ownroot one I had from Heirloom. And I had that one for several years before I pulled it.

Well, I was hoping to hear from anyone who had Lady Megginch. I bough her Bec of strong scent of old rose and fruity notes of raspberries. But it is light to me of old rose only. I can't smell the raspberries.....lol.
It's growth is branched out and shrubby like a compass but I have not prune it yet and extremely tall. I only pruned Deadwood.
Beginning it used to BS but I have not noticed much. Only spray once. Lady Megginch loves the heat. The blooms last for a while even if it rains but today it rain extremely hard. A huge , very heavy downpour . Will see tomorrow if they shattered or not.
One thing I do noticed, it does not fade it's colour.
jin

I have been following along in this thread, because I love Austin roses and was curious for other's answers. We usually have hot & humid weather here for summer. Maybe not as hot as the southern western states; but hot enough that blooms will crisp up. So we just had a week of heat advisories and I noted that Mary Rose, did fabulous for it's full sun location. Her offspring Winchester Cathedral also did not crisp up. They are in the driest area of my yard with blazing sun on them until sunset. Both have been pretty healthy in my no spray garden. They are more likely to have powdery mildew than black spot according to info I've read. The healthiest Austin foliage in my garden so far is Strawberry Hill. It's much glossier than most DA foliage. Carding Mill's blooms were pretty good in the heat, but it does tend to get bs here. Ditto for Darcy and LD Braithwaite. PAOK is new for me this year, but the blooms on this one lasted for days in the heat. It's impressive. Teasing Georgia did well in the heat, except her blooms were peachier this time. Many of my Austin's and other roses just had their blooms fade and blow way to fast in this heat.

Mary & Winchester during a heat wave. I wish I had taken photos of my other crispy blooms for examples, but I did not have the heart to do it. I wait so long for my first flush, to have them fry up in the heat is disappointing.

You must be heartbroken! However your Winchester Cathedral and Mary Rose are outstanding!

vapor, you've inspired me. I plan on removing Mme. Leon Pain, which was a rose that was supposed to be La France. It was always just an adequate rose but not one that blew me away, and I think Eglantyne would look very elegant in its place. There would be late afternoon shade so hopefully this would be a good spot for Eglantyne.

Yesterday, we had torrential rain as the sky opens up. So heavy that I am very certain my blooms are gone at the rate it was pouring very heavily. This evening I went out to check on my roses after it rain for few hours. To my surprise, the blooms are still there. It is saturated with water and weigh the canes very low to ground. For a David Austin rose it did really well. Surprised and very happy !!
I need more roses like Lady Megginch that does great with rain, heat and disease.

jin

Ingrid, I been thinking about Eglantyne too. I hope you will get it and we can share notes :). From East coast to West coast...that would be so cool..lol
Thank you for putting this thread up as I am also taking notes for next DA order during the holidays.

jin

So sorry about Mme Leon Pain. I thought she was charming in a more rustic way than a DA rose, Ingrid.

That she is, Sheila. She has not looked her best lately, but when I looked at past photos of her in my files I began to have second thoughts. Now she's going from bud stage to flat and uninteresting in record time, and it's strange because it really hasn't been that hot yet. I'll have plenty of time to think it over, though, because I won't be ordering until the fall.

Jin, your Lady of Megginch is beautiful. I like the rich, deep pink color and deeply swirled petals.

P.S. Call me fickle, but after looking at and reading about Lady of Megginch I'm now wondering whether I might not like this rose instead of Evelyn. Actually, I want them both but that way madness lies. I see so many desirable roses on these forums!

David Austin roses will drive anyone mad...mad with love. I don't blame you, Ingrid Bec I stay away from his website , catalogs or forum threads. They are very special. I can't believe I am growing English roses in this heat . This is unbelievable.

Pat Austin and L. D Braithwaith
jin

Edit : Can't stay away ***
jin

You're not only growing them, Jin, but they look beautiful. We'll never know unless we try it ourselves, and they can surprise you.

My roses seem to take a long time to show what they are really about, but our growing season is shorter. Evelyn's so new to your garden, Ingrid. I hope someone from you hot/dry area pipes in about Eglantye. She'd be perfect here if not for the BS. Jin, I think you'd be taking a chance for that reason. I'd hate to steer someone wrong on a rose. There are some I feel certain would do well in certain climates with a lot of rain and others that seem to demand dryer heat. Eglantye falls in the middle.... I'm sure she like a good shower like most Austins, but not too much. She is a bloomer regardless. I have her in the best sun, but in the constant sun of CA perhaps she could stand more shade. Where were you thinking of placing her, Ingrid.

vapor, I would definitely put her where she has afternoon shade. I'm not sure yet whether I'll take out Mme. Leon Pain by the dining room or put her in the triangle near where I feed the critters. When I'm away from this forum my saner self tells me I don't have room for one more rose apart from the ones I've already ordered, but the voice of reason is soon drowned out. It's a sad situation.

Since writing the above, there has been a long heatwave here in Crete. I have to say that Lady Emma Hamilton and Olivia Austin, now have frazzled blooms. Of the rest, Teasing Georgia and Pretty Jessica are still as happy as larks. As for the rest, they are very sensibly, not flowering.

Daisy

I forgot to mention, that in Las Vegas, the most heat tolerant Austin was Mary Rose. Halloblondie's post made me remember that. I do not know why that rose is always forgotten by me...

Jin, your Pat Austin is beautiful! It reminds me of Star of the Republic. That colour has really grown on me the past couple of years whereas I used to only like whites, pinks and purpley reds. I should take some of MW. He's doing well, if not brighter. Tess and Heathcliff and Molineux are also looking good, but I forget to take pictures. (( Eglantyne is recovering her leaves, but continues to bloom. Perhaps she'll soon be ready for the camera. Geez, her and Darcey completely defoliate. If I had a good replacement I'd stick Darcey somewhere else and just enjoy the gorgeous flowers.

I will post a few pics I took in the heat of June in an OK regional garden. It was devastated by RRD, and was now being used by TxA&M as an RRD test garden. The only remaining roses were a few Austins and an unknown red that looked fantastically healthy.

Desdemona

Scepter'd Isle

Vap, I try to reread this thread but I don't see any pics. It's is not yours but everyone's else. Maybe Houzz is acting up again and perhaps I can see the pics in a few days . I hope it will be fixed.
The daily rain perked up my DA roses. They are growing taller and I am having flushes after flushes of blooms. Extra, extra water....they love water.

jin

Vap, your roses look great. When, I wrote earlier I was reading this thread from beginning. I refresh the tabs again and waited for at least 30 mins meanwhile drinking coffee. I basically gave up on pics and wrote , believe it or not as soon as I posted ..pics poped up. .. magic !!
Last yr, my roses also defoliate and looks like skeletons but it also got acclimated. Give it time it will turn on maturity and I call it terrible two's. ..hehehe
jin

The ones that didn’t mind my 99F heat and 67% humidity are:

Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Princess Anne

Benjamin Britten

Falstaff

Munstead Wood

Carding Mill

Queen of Sweden

Mayflower

Desdemona

Lichfield Angel

Lady of Shalott

The Generous Gardener

Spirit of Freedom

The ones did not like it so much are:

Charlotte

The Alnwick

Heritage

Gentle Hermione

Abe Darby

Teasing Georgia

Olivia

Charles Darwin

Wisley 2008

The Ancient Mariner

The most disease resistant ones in my garden are:

Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Princess Anne

Teasing Georgia

Gentle Hermione

Queen of Sweden

Olivia

Benjamin Britten

Mayflower

The generous Gardener

Probably too early to tell, but Desdemona put out a first bloom, growing in a pot by a South facing wall with lots of reflected heat and in a wind tunnel. Not much wind damaged edges, no wilting, no thrips damage, and to top it off, the flowers were intensely fragrant all through the day and afternoon in 85 degree temperatures (much hotter against the south wall). So far looks like a winner to me, but time will tell. Baby WS2K in the same spot has collapsed with fried edges on the petals. My pampered Abe in morning sun and afternoon shade also dramatically wilted.

That's amazing, noseo, since Desdemona looks so fragile and delicate, but hopefully you'll have more blooms (and I'm sure you'll have more hot weather) to test this rose further. Golden Celebration seems to be on several lists of roses for hot and dry weather, and it's a tall and sturdy plant from what I can see in Diane's Garden, all the better to withstand the ravages of chomping teeth. I don't have a single yellow rose (oops, forgot about my truly tiny Charles Darwin) so one that can actually be seen by being taller than one foot might be a nice change.

For me, the absolute best is Olivia, and PAOK is by far the worst. Everyone else is somewhere in between.

Claire