Marlorena - fragrant even on cloudy, cool days...that's a winner in my books. Your rose looks heavenly. I would love to get one!!!! :):)

I love that fourth photo, what a lovely shot of the trio. I need a rose with an outrageous scent.

Versigny is the best this year but not strong, i have to hold the bloom too close at risk of inhaling bugs.

This is hands down the best DA rose released in the last 5 years - it's really FRAGRANT, forms a fragrant cloud around the bush, repeats really well, produces masses of flowers, healthy so far. It's the only DA rose apart from Gertrude that is fragrant even on a bad day with cloudy weather. Dannahue is very vigorous and gives lots of flowers but they shatter in a day (just like Elizabeth), which is not the case with Penelope - the flowers last at least 5 days each. Just a must for anyone.

How are the thorns on Penelope ?

tiny thorns all over the stem, the tips are almost thornless though

Thanks Stephen ,

What a beautiful face she has .

Stepan - oh, wow!!! Talk about a lot of flowers...gorgeous!

I'm sold.

Penelope Lively is pretty & love disease resistant! She looks similar to my Leonardo di Vinci. Or PAoK. I think for a fushia pink Penelope L is wonderful and her fragrance sounds yummy! I also have P Anne, another fushia. And I may add James Austin.

@Stepan S Thank you for the information and photos! Penelope Lively is gorgeous! She's been on my wishlist since I saw Ben Hamilton Anderson's short and this only cements her place on my must-have list.

I am really bummed to hear that Dannahue's flowers only last a day. I was hoping it would be a good successor to Jude the Obscure. I'll still buy it when/if it comes to the USA. It is my favorite from the recent releases (I can't resist globular blooms).

Anyone growing Bring Me Sunshine? How is that one? It's also absolutely beautiful.

Sharon, Bring Me Sunshine isn't available in the US, but Marlorena grows it in England, and she's posted photos of this rose. Currently, she's posting on one of the top threads, but I can remember which one. She shows some of her other beautiful roses on this thread. Anyone remember which thread that Marlorena is currently posting on? I'm in love with Double Easy Orange, or as I call him Orange Julius. He's Tom Carruth's orange Julia Child. Jackson & Perkins is the only seller of DEO that I know of. Diane

Thank you, Diane! Going to search for it now.

I can't find a recent one on Bring Me Sunshine. :( I tried search in discussions, in Houzz.co.uk, and even went out to Google. Is there a trick to finding a discussion? Sorry to ask, but if someone finds it, would you please add a link here? Or send me a private message with the link?

I did find the one on Dannahue: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6374693/let-s-talk-about-david-austin-s-dannahue

Sharon, have you tried HMF (Help Me Find Roses)? There are some Bring Me Sunshine photos, including Marlorena's. Diane

Sharon, I got the houzz discussion for you. It's at the top of the page. Diane

Does anyone know if this will be available in the USA ?

@Penny Aquila

It is available from David Austin TX right now.

Looks lovely to me. Reminds me a bit of Dee-lish for some reason, although the color is different. If it smells as good and blooms more, then it's something I'd go for.

I would love to try it in my garden as well. It has enough depth of color that I don’t think it would look washed out in my bright sunshine here, and if it’s a fragrant one, I’m ready to try it! Hopefully it’s available next year.

Once in awhile I check youtube for any new Penelope Lively videos. Roses seem a lot different when you can see the whole bush and the size of blooms in comparison.

If there is another year to wait, that's time to hopefully get comprehensive reviews.

Well here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE3F9xDszSo

i managed to get an own-root PL from a non-Austin real nursery. It has the shiniest most gorgeous leaves and buds and just seems like a thriver and a goer, just bouncing back joyfully from being pulled out of the box and planted... Like @Diane Brakefield most of my DA's don't come from them directly. If they come from elsewhere, they seem to do better, whether grafted or no (which is my opinion, but...). And many of my own-root DA's are the healthiest and far surpassing many of their grafted counterparts: Jude the obscure, Tradescant, the Prince, Othello, Dark Lady, Falstaff and Abe Darby, do not seem to give any trouble and bloom well in their non-grafted form, whereas the Emma Bridgerton I did get from DA (as no other choice), already has sucker growth popping out from the rootstock! And before that the last time I tried bare roots from them--they were essentially dried out! There are so few DA roses officially available right now in high season? I count only 20 varieties for sale this fall on EU site. And they would seem to be phasing out so many here, like Mill on the Floss, Young Lycidas, Jubilee Celebration, LD Braithwaite and Wisley 2008, in addition to blocking other sellers from offering the well-known egregious cancellations like LEH, Mustead, Jude, Benjamin Britten, Evelyn,... A company/brand on the rocks?

Rose Paris, I am happy to hear your report on PL. I do hope that this rose is offered here in the USA this year.

@judijunebugarizonazn8 I hope you manage to get one! A new plant is always fun! :)

Judi, DA will be selling Penelope Lively this year - you can sign up for notifications on their website when they stock their bareroots, which hopefully will be this week. Really excited for this one

Thank you, Elestrial! I haven’t been on their website lately so hadn’t known what they are offering this coming bare root season. I’m happy to know PL is going to be available. David Austin roses do well for me as a whole.

I have to say that I was sceptical about "Bring Me Sunshine" (as I always am when there is hype and sometimes "myrhh" is not that great a scent--l agree with whoever on this site said that . it can tend towards the "peanut buttery" on some varieties), but like PL, Bring me Sunshine just seems to be bursting with life right out of the box (this one is grafted), and planted only like a month or so ago, it just covered with blooms in almost-October, and really nice scent, actually, a bit of myrrhh but also this sweetness that is really addictively potent, so as everyone is surfing the new arrivals....

Bring me sunshine is an excellent rose, really love the flowering. The fragrance isn't super strong for me (yet), hoping that gets better. Just wish it was not so large. Pic of mine earlier this year

BMS is blowing it out of the park!!! I had no idea this rose was so beautiful. I know many peope ttttttthink all the DA roses are too similar, but I'm happy to have healthier dupes or similar flowers on another type of bush form. Too bad about the deep reds which I adore... they need to come up with something there.......

Yes, where are the non-pastels ? @Elestrial 7a, I can't believe it gets that huge?! Like it will soon need its own yard?

Wow Gorgeous Elestrial, glad I have one. Do you have blackspot? Do you spray? Mine is good no spray for an Austin, but looks like a twig next to yours.

Love the color fading to lavender. Interested to hear how it does in colder climates. 🦋

Think I missed a step: is it PL that can fade to Lavendar?

Yes, the pink is supposed to fade over time to a kind of lavender

Thanks! I do not spray and BMS does have blackspot now, but did not for most of the season. Most of my roses this time of year get blackspot while going dormant though. It is pretty healthy

Love pinks that fade to lavender! Got to have it :)

Elestrial, how tall is that obelisk your BMS is growing on?
The whole sight is gorgeous!

Yes, to a rose that turns lavender as it fades! I put myself on the waitlist today.

I think it's a 7 foot obelisk, so probably around 6 feet above the ground. I think a taller obelisk would do her better suited for her though. Really excited for Penelope Lively, and if she ages lavender - even better

DA has made several updates to their site today -- including introducing new fonts and an updated logo, as well as changing the navigation bar at top -- so I suspect sales may be going live tomorrow. This year, based on the navigation bar, it looks like they'll be making it clear which bare roots are own-root, unlike last year.

Also, I think they've added some additional varities to their listing of bare roots, including Janet, Sister Elizabeth, Christopher Marlowe, Leander, Tam o’Shanter, Sir John Betjeman, Barbara Austin, and possibly others. I'm pretty sure these varieties weren't showing up previously, though I could be mistaken about some or all of these.

https://www.davidaustinroses.com/collections/bare-root

I called and asked them about the retired varieties appearing on the bareroot page, and customer service said that if it does not have an email opt in for restock notifications, then it will not be offered. Here's to hoping they were mistaken

It would be so cool if they offered some of those older varieties again! for info, Emma Bridgewater can also fade down to lavendar. For the moment, it is not as vigorous as BMS, but pretty for sure.

Just grabbed Penelope Lively! Excited for this one

Realizing you all may be aware of this already, but sales are live on the DA site.

@Elestrial 7a, me too!

Good call Windowsill on the restock happening today

Restock happening on EU website as well! But few offerings compared to years past....

Penelope is really lovely! Wow I didn't know she turned lilac-tinted as she ages♡. Plus, she is supposed to have a raspberrÿ lemon scent. I already ordered too many roses today and didnt think of looking for Penelope ..darn! If they still have her later on, I will get her. Anyone know if she is black spot resitant and how big she might get in the south?

They sucked me in with the raspberry lemon scent🤦🏻‍♀️

PS @Diane Brakefield and other Jude The Obscure fans, while everyone is bareroot browsing, Jude seems to be avaible to pre-order right now, as are Munstead, and Benjamin Britten(!!), but no more Evelyn? Perhaps they are going to be offering "retired" versions, from time to time, in limited number, a bit like the "Shamrock Shake" at Mcdonalds?

Rose Paris — I love the shamrock shake comparison! :) That does seem like the strategy based on this year and last year. It makes sense, given their vast catalog.

Wasn’t Diane saying that Eglantyne had been retired or semi-retired, as well? But I see they have it this year as an own-root bare root, so that’s good news.