I just received the Austin email for the "new" roses here. Tottering-by-Gently is listed a "new" in the US. I was enjoying your photos of it on HMF, Marlorena. Thank you for posting them there! How have you found its health? I continue looking for suitable breeders to mix with my Hugonis line and this one is intriguing. Thank you! Kim

Kim..... yes sorry I should have said these are for 2020 here... maybe 2022 for the U.S. although I'm not certain they will release the yellow one everywhere, being a Spin. type..

What I'll do now is start another thread for Tottering hips... just so you can see if it might interest you... I'll post it shortly...

"Like"! Thank you!

Magnus.... I was alerted to them from another site .. it took me by surprise as I wasn't expecting it this early in the year..

...just a word of warning about the yellow one... The Country Parson..

...they were due to release this one last year 2019, but it's so thorny they couldn't get it propagated enough for release so it was deferred to this year... so in effect there is only the pink rose that's 'new' … apparently the thorns make Munstead Wood seem thornless… !

...makes me laugh a bit when they say ''little spiny thorns'''.... yeah, right...

I like the term ''unfussy'' though, for Silas Marner… that's up my street...

Marlorena I must say i'm surprised they're only releasing 1 new one. But I guess the standard for what constitutes a good enough rose in 2020 is different to what it would have been 20 years ago. It must be a lot harder to pick a rose that not only fits the English rose criteria but also is unique enough to fill a niche.

Magnus... I often wonder what the other 200,000 seedlings looked like...

Marlorena I wonder the same thing. Im going to try and cross some roses I like in summer with an old groundcover rose I don't care about much - but reliably sets hips. If only for the sake of fun and curiosity.

Even if I get something crap as long as something sprouts i'll be pleased as it's something I made myself lol. But hey, in the unlikely event I grow the next Aloha you guys here will be the first to know

Thanks for posting this Marlorena! I received my DA catalog today and to see the release of these two were both exciting. I was interested to see that these are supposedly more compact varieties. I would be interested in growing both if they make it to the US. I also have doubts about The Country Parson making it to the US. I had previously hoped Sir Walter Scott would make its way over but never did. I am interested in Silas Marner - I like the bloom form and faint yellow undertones.

Interesting, thanks Marlorena. I wonder if they are just going to do 2 roses a year from here on out? (I’m also personally hoping for something that’s not pink or yellow!)

I totally agree with cyndita (west coast zone 9) . I have been so much longing for more (dark) red roses.

Or if they don‘t want to do white and still refuse to go down the lavender path I would love it if they threw a ton of time at dark purple!

A dark purple or another fragrant dark red would be amazing! I also like the apricot shades.

Lol, Munstead Wood and Gertrude Jekyll weren’t so thorny to cause a propagation issue, but this Country Parson is? I’m guessing parentage is

Imogene x Crown of Thorns.

They seem to be concentrating more on their cut flower roses these days... highlighted in their catalogues... I can't believe these two roses will cover their production costs.... although no doubt I'll be one of those that get both..

Now Mr Austin has passed, it will be interesting to see if they diverge further or not... and there are now so many look-a-like Austins out there... he started a trend away from hybrid teas and now they are all at it... I rather like the new one called 'Like No Other'... I see people talking about it here, and I hope that finds its way over to us at some point... it looks purple-ish…

I completely agree about DA needing a lavender/purple. I think “Like No Other” is intriguing as well, Marlorena. I ordered a couple of small bands of Purple Lodge for spring and so I better wait on this one. I really thought a new red would be coming and maybe a rose named after David Austin Sr. I can only speak for my climate, but in general, the growth habit of most of the DA’s I grow have been superior to that of the many look-a-likes out there but I’m glad the competition is out there.

Marlorena, do you have any updates on last years new introductions, in terms of how they are doing in your garden? I'm hoping that they will bring Gabriel Oak to the US at some point, but until then we'll just have to enjoy these roses vicariously.

K S.... those 2 roses you refer to I think are probably 2 of the best they've ever put out there.. in fact I warn you that you may feel you need more than 1 of each... last year I kept picking off all the blooms from both roses until there was nothing left....

I said to DA on Instagram that I felt 'Gabriel Oak' was good enough to be named 'David C.H. Austin'...

I'm having to get another one of each because I need one for cutting so the other in the ground can be left alone... as they haven't had the chance to grow much with all the cutting...

Was the other intro last year R-by-G?

I too hope that Gabriel Oak makes it here to the US. Dave6aMO, might I ask where you got Purple Lodge? I got one a few years ago when Ludwig's briefly had their business in AZ, but that exists no more, unfortunately (or fortunately - their prices were fair, but shipping from AZ to NJ was WAY high). My Purple Lodge died back rather badly, then appeared to come back late in the summer, but I worry there's a chance that its the rootstock, will have to wait and see when it blooms. So I'd love to know of another potential source for this rose! Marlorena, I ordered Like No Other from J&P, so will try to report back on how it does. I should try not to order new intros until there's a little more data on how they do, but I just can't resist that color!

Burling has it on back order. Lucky you to have one. My order from them got cancelled. : ((

..oh lucky you Frances... I would really like to try that rose...

vaporvac... no.. Eustacia Vye and Gabriel Oak..

That is so exciting to hear! Thanks for the update Marlorena. I do hope they introduce them over here.

Eustacia Vye is the one I'm saving space for.

@frances_in_nj - I ordered Purple Lodge from Burlington Roses. I’m sorry your order was canceled, Vaporvac - hopefully you’ll be able to get one soon. I hope mine will not be canceled :/

I sure hope Gabriel Oak and Eustacia Vye are released in the US in 2021 - can’t wait

Oh. I meant my order from Ludwig's was cancelled. That was sad.... PLodge, Candice and Stormy Weather as I recall. I need to put in an order with Burling as she has a few others I want. : ))

Oh boy. Another pink and another soft yellow. Nothing distinguishing. I'll pass.

...that's ok... I think Weeks Roses are probably more to your taste.. we don't get many of those over here...

Silas Marner looks amazing to me, and has that engaging factor that I found missing in Olivia Rose Austin. It looks similar to Wisely 2008 to me. I'm looking forward to it becoming available in the US.

I am really looking forward to growing that rose... in fact I'm being extravagant in considering a grouping of 3 for it.... it's measurements are most suitable for my garden, and I can generally rely on those being true to type... I'm already working out what I have to move in order to accommodate 3 of these...

I’m also super excited about 2021 (EV & GO) - I have a spot open right now that would be perfect for GO, which is making me very impatient :o) I’ll probably end up putting something else there, but I’m tempted to save it!

I wish DA UK would ship bare roots to the US - I understand the reverse would be a terrible idea due to RRV, but I’m not sure if there is anything in the UK that’s not already in the US? I guess you never know....

You probably get the best of ours at some point.... but imagine if you had the whole of the European Union to order roses from as well...

I sometimes have carts full of roses, tabs open on DA, Beales, Tantau, Kordes, Petales de Roses... Fabien Ducher... then I get so frustrated I empty them all out, close all the tabs and forget about it for a couple of weeks..... lol...

LOL!!! Noseometer, do you have Olivia Rose? That's one I've been considering and am now disappointed to hear it's lacking in that certain Je ne sai quoie. : ((

Blimey, it has been donkeys years since I got a little excited by an Austin but a yellow, continuously blooming spinossissima - how could I not? Although, it has also been an awfully long time since I bought any new rose (the downside of desiring giant wildlings means running out of space and gardening on an assault course of stabby monsters).

Malorena,

Slightly off topic, but do you grow Claire Rose? I’m very excited to get to try it this spring, folks say it outlasts even Evelyn.

I’m only able to try it thanks to some rose lovers on this forum, and Palatine. In a way, it’s ‘new again’ to those of us across the pond.

Ben... no, that's not been seen here in a long time.... not a rose for a rainy climate apparently, it proved disappointing.... hope your Spring is dry, then it should be good for you...

Ah, that make sense, its reputation is that it has very thick petals that it clings to until the bitter end. Not suitable for a moist climate like yours, but just what I need. I hear it’s a top rose in the cut flower trade in Australia.

Vaporvac, many people comment on how wonderful their Olivia Rose Austins are, so don’t let my opinion sway you. You know I’m a sucker for fragrant pink roses with darker centers, but when I saw this one at the nursery all I got was “meh.” It had rather faded looking off-white flowers with no particular grace or form, and unremarkable fragrance. Maybe the sunlight is too strong and the humidity too low here.

Even though I have so many pink Austins, I like to add more of them to the garden. Silas Marner looks charming with the button eye, and the fruit notes in the fragrance sound pleasant.

I second what Bellflower said! Super excited to try 'The Country Parson'; I'm hoping it's inherited the spin hips! 'Silas Marner' does look lovely, and if it will hold those red stems over our winters that's a plus!

Now if I can just be patient enough to wait for them to become available own-root!

Very pretty. I'm a stickler for black spot resistance, so will be curious to hear how they do.

I'm still trying to figure out where I could possibly fit other recent releases Tottering-by-Gently and Bathsheba..

-Chris

@The Right Roses - Do you mind if I ask where you received the information on these new releases? It interesting that they are still not listed on DA’s UK website and their most recent post on their Facebook page says “coming soon”.

Dear Dave6aMO ,

That is interesting.

They have not listed their new introductions for the UK in 2020 under the New Varieties tab yet. However, you can search for the new varieties if you use the keyword "2020". Probably they will fix this soon.

https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/the-country-parson

https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/silas-marner

The Right Roses

Only two may be a good sign that quality is being focused on. I mean look at how many have been introduced over the last 10 to 15 years and how many of them aren't on the market anymore. Meanwhile the Austins that are generally recommended and talked about were bred in the 70's and 80's. The scattergun approach to releasing see's so many questionable and forgetable plants.

They need to stop releasing so many similar mid pinks, They resemble each other way too much. Even if this new one is probably my favourite one yet I won't get it, it looks too much like Olivia Rose Austin and I have to be picky with my limited space...

@The Right Roses - Thank you :) - maybe they should have waited a bit longer to load these in if they intended it to still be a secret but an advanced showing is always fun.

Believe it or not, I'm still waiting for the perfect pink Austin rose. It may not be possible. What I want is a warm silvery pink that fades a bit on the outer petals, but not too much. Quartered, but not too heavily petaled. It should have the cupped (not globular) shape, and retain the form throughout the season. It should be heavily fragrant. It will also need to be able to perform in my climate. The closest so far are Sonia Rykiel (not an Austin, and fades and opens up too much in the heat, and lacks vigor in my garden), and Alnwick Castle (which also opens up too much in the heat, and turns coral). The photos I see of Duchesse de Brabant are close, but not enough petals. Spirit of Freedom has too many petals. Olivia Austin Rose looks great in the pictures, but not so great in real life, being stiff and faded off white here. Evelyn gets close. I’m realizing that what I’m looking for has as much to do with how the flower looks from the side and back as the front. It also has to do with how the bush grows. Picky, picky. Maybe I should start breeding roses.

I wonder how hardy these new roses are.

noseometer, you should start breeding roses. That is what I'm start doing right now because I want to have the European and Japanese roses that we have no access to :) Helen

noseometer, bayarea girl I completely agree with how you guys feel. I've wanted a very soft blush pink rosette with a white outer rim like like Felicite Parmentier but repeat flowering. There doesn't seem to be any substitute. I'm going to be breeding my roses this summer, mostly to have some fun but also to try and reach that elusive "perfect" rose I desire.