@ Lilyfinch or others with experience in TN

6 years ago

My brother moved from Michigan to Memphis a couple years ago and is now working on landscaping. He bought a couple of knockouts before I could get to him, lol! Someone else sold him on DA roses and he wants to try them, and is looking for compact, fragrant roses.

I feel that his climate is very similar to ours (Houston), maybe less humid? and more cold during winter, but I am not sure. I have a few smaller DA's but they are relatively new or not doing great.. My Desdemona wants to bloom all the time, but her blooms fry in the heat. Boscobell looks good here, Sharifa Asma is great, but mine only has 2 or 3 canes, still a young plant. Lady Emma H stays 3".

any suggestions? looking for 2-3 varieties. Must bloom well, fragrant and stay small. Thank you!

Featured Answer

subk3

6 years ago

I'm just south of Nashville and generally the biggest problem I have with roses is blackspot pressure. When I first started trying to grow roses here I went through about a half dozen Austins that were supposedly more "healthy" and I swore never again. This was almost 10 years ago, but even the ones that were touted as disease resistant were pretty awful.

Last year, when Lilyfinch moved away I bought some of her rose order and one in the group I bought was a newer DA, Olivia Austin. She has been fabulous--clean as any rose I have here, no spray. She is not small but she is compact and tidy. ( I should get Lily to order ALL my roses--it was a great selection!)

As a group the Kordes have been much better for me. The stand outs being Zaide, Winter Sun, Carmella Fairytale, Sonnenwelt and South Africa (not including climbers.) SA being the consistently smaller rose. My best rose is Mother of Pearl (Meilland) which does get a bit of bs on the lower leaves (probably because I have it against a wall,) but is so generous and always in bloom you don't notice. Even farther from the DA "look" would be Swany a low sprawling rose with small but interesting white blooms, and Martha's Vineyard a shrub rose with huge clusters of small pink blooms that makes for the most carefree rose I have.

I have a terrible nose so have no idea about fragrance.

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Comments (6)

Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
6 years ago
Hi there !!! My first thought is Roald Dahl , very healthy smells great and looks nice and naturally shaped well When you aren’t sure what you are doing . It’s a really great rose !! Kenneth May have some other great suggestions . Most of mine got big , and my recollection of disease resistant isn’t the best any more .
ladybug A 9a Houston area thanked Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
jc_7a_MiddleTN
6 years ago
Memphis is terribly humid, being so near the Mississippi/Arkansas delta region.

Most of my DAs are own root in part shade and just starting their second year: Abraham Darby, Heritage, and Boscobel. Too soon to add any useful insight probably.

In what I would consider full sun, I have:

Evelyn on multiflora, Teasing Georgia, Fighting Temeraire, and Munstead Wood on Dr Huey.

All but MW are entirely clean with no issues at all so far. TG has been the most vigorous by far and is setting the most buds of the new ones. MW is starting the second year and is flowering more than anything else I have.

@subk3 and kenneth live in middle Tennessee as well. I believe dianela is near Huntsville, AL.
ladybug A 9a Houston area thanked jc_7a_MiddleTN
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dianela7analabama
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I would try some of the ones that are more blackspot resistant because the blackspot pressure is high.

How small does it need to be?

3 -4feet range so far only Boscobel, Christopher Marlowe, Desdémona and Roald Dahl. Only RD is very healthy.

Diane recently recommended Tamora for a small Austin staying at around 3 feet. She is according to HMF also very disease resistant.

Over 4 feet- Olivia and Lady of Shalott are very healthy in my garden. With enough pruning they can be kept at 5 feet.

Extreme flower power- Princess Anne. Stays at around 4-5 feet with pruning, but needs spraying

If I had to start with an Austin and wasn’t committed to spraying I would go for Lady of Shalott or Olivia right now. Also Emily is supposed to stay healthy.
ladybug A 9a Houston area thanked dianela7analabama
ladybug A 9a Houston area
Original Author
6 years ago
Roald Dahl looks lovely a definite contender, this was not on my radar, thanks for the recommendation.

I have to ask him for specifics, height, sun exposure etc. He showed me some pictures and i thought he was looking for fairly compact, 3' would be my guess. I dont think he would spray...

Olivia is so beautiful, but looks like she would be too big, is she fragrant? Subk, I think he would like to start off with a couple of DA's and see how it goes. I had the same experience as you, my previous house i bought a whole bunch of DA's and they did not do well. But this time, I have some that are doing well, so I think its a matter of finding the right rose for the right spot.

JC, yeah, when I visited him, I was surprised at the humidity, it was almost as bad as Houston.
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
6 years ago
Kenneth sprays so might not be as useful for disease-resistance. Molineux is doing quite well here. Every other Austin BSs to varying degrees with Eglanyne being the worst, but also the most beautiful. Darcey Bussell is equally as bad I suppose. Pretty Jessica is surprisingly clean, but a baby. Zaide BSs here, but rapidly regrows leaves. Ascot is so far looking fabulous.
ladybug A 9a Houston area thanked Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley