It is the same rose. She was originally marketed as a shrub when I bought and planted her. She throws out long shoots in most zones and wants to climb so, at some point, they changed her description to indicate that Lady of Shallot is a climber. Give her a trim if you want to keep her shorter and bushier and you should easily be able to keep her as a shrub.

What Jason said. Unlike some climbing roses which are sports or spontaneous mutants of their bush counterparts (like Climbing Crimson Glory vs Crimson Glory), the David Austin roses that are listed in both the shrub and climber section are one and the same.

Just as a note- Lady of Shalott is STILL marketed as a shrub rose AND a climber in the David Austin catalogue just as Gertrude Jekyll is. Claire Austin is no longer listed in the main shrub section, but exclusively the climbing section along with others such as Malvern Hills and The Lady of the Lake. There are more examples, but I do not need to list them all.

Those things being said, you can also grow some climbers as bushes. They'll just require more (and more careful) pruning to do so. I've heard of New Dawn and Veilchenblau being grown like this, and crazy me is going to take a stab at it with Albertine. I'm hoping for a big 'ol haystack of a rose, haha!

The only difference is what you decide to do with it for training!

Steven

Ah, this is very good news indeed to hear. I am new to the Austin roses so I did not know this, but I feel much better now. I planted 25 Austin's this evening and 5 were the Shallot's and they are actually my favorite color - the others in sets of 5 are Gertrude Jeckyll, Charles Darwin, Windemere and Queen of Sweden. So why is David Austin selling the same rose and marketing it as two roses? Why don't they just market 1 rose and say it can be a shrub or climber - it kind of seems like double dipping on the marketing a bit? I was so worried because I also have 5 lady banks climbers and my point of references was those, some of wich are 20 feet long. Thanks both so much. As these are my first Austin's anything make them different from growing other roses I should be aware of?

I would presume part of it is merely marketing to generate sales and to pad the ever shrinking catalogue.

I agree that the way they used to do it (which was simply stating "may be grown as a climber" makes more sense and is less confusing for the general rose buying public.

Hopefully someone else with longer term experience may contribute, and the climate and microclimates in which you and other gardeners reside can make a huge difference, especially with the Austins. Other than the Knockout marketing tribe, I personally believe that there is no other group of roses (or nursery and its practices) that generate as intense differences of opinion as David Austin's "English roses".

Several gardeners in places such as California experience them growing huge and rampantly often at the expense of producing good bloom/repeat bloom. Folks in places such as New York seem to appreciate their growth and floriferousness because the harsh winters and lesser sunlight limit their growth potential. Same for various diseases. For me, they do come down with black spot, but virtually everything does here to some degree, and they ARE more disease resistant than any typical gaunt wimpy hybrid teas here.

May we inquire to your garden's general location? In letting us know, then you'll know whose opinions and experiences will most closely reflect your possible results.

I have heard that Austin roses truly do take a good five years to settle in and perform well, but my one Lady Emma Hamilton on Dr. Huey seems to be dwindling here in the cold north after about seven years, The Ingenious Mr. Fairchild initially seemed to take off, but the winter of 2016-2017 was very hard on my roses and he sort of petered out, but we'll see how he does this year. My Gertrude Jekyll from 2016, and Munstead Wood and Lady of Shalott of 2017 actually are putting on size (slowly after over three years) and my Chianti on Dr. Huey seems to be taking off very well.

I suppose patience would be a key word, and I don't always have enough of it!

Steven

Steven you are an amazing wealth of information. Yes I am in San Diego, more precisely escondido,CA which is inland more of a desert zone 10b. Pretty nice climate, having just moved here from Minnesota.

Steven, here's some inspiration for you since you're planning to grow a big 'ol haystack of a rose.
Here's New Dawn grown as a shrub. Not an Austin, but definitely a climbing rose. I've posted this before, but it just astounds me every time I see it. I think Albertine will be equally as beautiful.

New Dawn

Credit: Halcyon Days blog via Google

Jay Lo, thank you so much for the kind words. One time I offered someone advice to seek the opinions of more knowledgeable folk to someone, and I later got called rude for it! Some folks are incredible!

I can only relay things I've experienced, read about, or gleaned from the fantastic folk here on GardenWeb and hope those things may be helpful and informative.

Flowers, that is bang-on to the image that comes to my mind! Thank you so much for sharing that! I love it! Of course, I know Albertine does not repeat bloom, but I don't care. I love once bloomers because of the huge show they put on AND I don't have to lose blooms to the Japanese beetles either.

Steven

Jay Lo, the biggest difference in dealing with David Austins is how you can prune them. You can find online videos of their US sales representative discussing this. She suggests you treat them like many other shrubs — and just shape them to look like a bush if that is how you want to maintain them. No need to pick a few strong canes and thin out the middle of the plant, as most have been taught to do with a hybrid tea rose.