It is not unusual that they raised their prices as many other vendors have done so already. As you can see just today even giant vendors like Jackson and Perkins sell roses for 40 to 60 dollars now, Austin will be no different.

I have only gardened for a few years (7 years) and have seen prices go up from 20ish dollars to these craziness. I can’t even imagine how all of those here who have been gardening for many many years feel about the crazy increase in prices every where. I guess I will just continue to budget and reduce the number of other things purchased so I can keep buying roses.

Heirloom has had these prices for a while

The last few years on Black Friday Heirloom Roses has had free shipping for their own roots and a percentage off. They are sometimes sold out of the Austins , a few times I found one I wanted for around $ 50.

It just makes me very thankful I have already purchased most of my roses and will probably only be adding a few every year that isn’t paid for by gift certificates from other people

Interesting the 2 quart own roots, at $50, are now $15 more than the bare roots (which can’t be ordered currently). I wonder if there will be a similar pricei ncrease on the bare roots once they are available. I would have expected the bare root grafted to rise in price more given production requires more specialized skill..

Still no sign of actual Evelyn or Lady Emma Hamilton availability, I’m quite glad I already have a plant of each.

Last year a local nursery had giant DA potted roses for 50 dollars. The cost was shocking to me then, now it's shockingly inexpensive considering the alternative of having an Austin shipped. To get one already nice and tall plus the pot of dirt is a way better deal - that is if the nursery doesn't charge an arm and a leg this coming Spring. My son thinks we may all be nuked to dust before then. It's just good to have a plan B if we're not.

A few years ago Wayside had their end of spring sale, and Harlow Carr was $5. I did a group buy with a big bunch of friends (like 20 people!), and every single person bought a $5 Harlow Carr except for me. Every group has to have a dummy, I was just sorry it was me.

We just have expensive taste Ben, so it costs us a fortune.

I also wanted to comment that I expect both their bare root prices to go up and their 5 year warranty to disappear.

I think their 5 year warranty is probably the most generous to ever exist and would not begrudge them if they remove it it. 1 year is the best I have ever seen other vendors do and it is probably a lot more reasonable.

I understand that with the increase in cost for fuel and wages and everything else business (specially smaller ones) have to raise their prices also or they can’t stay in business

I got a few Austins for $30 ea from my local rose club this year, canadian grown. might be worth looking into.

I only grow a few Austins. Mostly older varieties. They haven't introduced anything in several years that even faintly caught my attention. I can't see flushing $$$$ down the toilet on another "pink" Austin.

My take on them for jerking the price of their roses out of the reach of the person on a tight budget. Find "out of patent" Austin roses that grow and bloom well on their own roots. Track down these roses and beg cuttings from them and root your on roses. Molineux is a perfect example.

Ingrid, that's exactly the point I've argued on several threads over the past year or two :-D

Ingrid - well said. :)

I think like with any other product how much people are willing to pay for roses depends on their unique situation. Like Ken mentioned some people who really love the older Austin’s and can grow them successfully my not want to purchase the newer varieties and find different ways to acquire the roses they want. In my case I already tried over 400 roses in my garden with many being those older Austin’s and they were simply terrible unless I slaved spraying every other week from early April to December. I am gardening on several acres of land and after working and taking care of my child I do not want to add constant spraying to my gardening work (there is always plenty to do). Ok all that rambling to say spending the money on the newer varieties that may work better in my garden is worth it to me, but I understand that for those who are happy with the older varieties performance may not feel this way.

Some online nurseries selling them bareroot, much cheaper. i got most of my DA roses from Regan nursery, they are still selling them, but not the newer ones.

dianela I came to the same conclusion ; my garden is entirely no spray now. Only super healthy roses that take care of themselves get to stay. I'd rather spend time on Amara, she is a high maintenance little lady.

dianela7bnorthalI politely disagree about Heirloom's prices. They haven't been $65 for awhile at all. They were only $54 last year (2022). They all took a leap to $60 in early 2023 and only a few months later they were increased to $65. It's an absurd price when most of the David Austin's you can get from DA or your local nursery will be own root anyway in the United States. I'm ambivalent about Heirloom though--sometimes I get amazing product from them, other times not. Sometimes the customer service is out of this world, and other times it's an uphill climb. My experience with DA has been the opposite--cheaper product, similar quality (except for their tiny potted roses), long warranty, but above all, the most amazing customer service I've ever encountered.

Our local nursery raised the prices of pansies from $1.99 for a 4" pot to $3.99 overnight. Everyone complained, and nothing changed. All other annuals that were normally $4.99 are either $5.99 or $6.99. It's amazing to see all the price increases in such a short period of time.

Dirt Digger Z6NHI don't mind that DA is raising their prices (although this increase is HUGE). At least they offer a 5-year warranty with zero hassles. Heirloom charges way more, gives only a year warranty, and there are enough threads on this forum that attest to how difficult it has been for some to get their warranty honored by them. If DA does away with their 5-year guarantee, I will be disappointed. I've ordered their potted roses several times and they send absurd little plants that are jostled out of their containers by the time they arrive. Paying $50 for those tiny plants would frustrate me for sure. Again, that 5-year guarantee makes up for it.

DAs at my local nursery are $45 and all others are $35. Personally, I just don't think it's balanced that a rose can cost as much as a tree anymore. I know the market dictates these things, and we seem to be willing to pay the new prices so I can see why all these companies are raising prices. If we wouldn't pay the new prices, they wouldn't do it.

It would be kind of cool to get a network together of folk who want to swap rooted cuttings of non-patented roses. It is SO EASY to root cuttings and so many roses at Heirloom are not under any patent. It's dead cheap to mail cuttings too.

BenT (9B Sunset 14)customer service at DA a few months ago assured me over the phone that Lady Emma Hamilton was returning in 2024. She is one of my favorites--although I think Augusta Luise may bump her a bit from that spot. :)

@User your Amara is a lovely girl! I am optimistic about the newer introductions being healthier, so far Nye Bevan has done great this year with healthy foliage from top to bottom.

I digreess in how much I spend on annuals every year.....but they do liven up the beds for the season.....that I find expensive per plant.....cumulative

With shrubs, trees, etc - I actually don't find them expensive. Someone has been growing, watering, feeding, nurturing it for 2-3-4 years etc. If one does the math and divide cost per year....it's really inexpensive IMO. Somebody has to pay to the water running, gasoline for the equipment and rent for the land..

Thanks for the Amara compliment Dianela, I told her what you said. She thinks an extra dog cookie is in order for a lovely girl.

The shade tolerance of Silas Marner is what has impressed me. It's one of the few that bloom well while my other roses are just leaf bushes.

I just think 15.00 is a big increase in one season, they normally do raise them every year, but usually only by a few bucks.

Luckily I ordered most of what I wanted last year, I went all out and bought 18 Austin's this year. Now there's only a few more that I want for now.

Ordered root which I'm sure will go up as well. Then I picked up a few locally.

I checked my records for buying from Regan nursery. in 2019 a bare root is $22, last year i paid $24.99, up, but not much.

It doesn't look like the UK website has raised prices much, if at all, by comparison. And honestly, if David Austin in the U.S. sent the quality of roses we've seen from those in the UK who post their plant purchases, I'd almost be happy with a $50 charge for a potted plant. Folks in the UK get sent these huge, lush plants compared to the tiny twigs we are sent when ordering potted roses here.

I know that they raised the price of standards from $65 last year to $70 this year. That feels reasonable to me. I ordered five standards and they were all really great quality and are performing beautifully. But now I'm curious if these will go up as well.

Out of patent DA roses can be bought from K&M Roses, both own root and grafted, for prices I can live with.

No more Austin's from DAR-USA for me. Multiple obviously discussed reasons, but quality is missing too.

How about this lovely 'Constance Spry' and its RMV? Toss the lot of that business in the dustbin!

Steven

It's become too much of a ritual not to buy a David Austin every year. The days of buying eight at a time are over for me , just a couple of the best is enough.

This helped me decide;

Gardener Ben's top 22.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z83Mbur-aHY

I am in Berrypiez camp, only Palatine can make me buy that many roses at one time now

I might just take a little look at Palatine's roses to see why.

@berrypiez6b, thanks to your video, i finally see a true bloom of Strawberry Hill, mine is very small, i didnt know it can get that big.

Oh yeah SoCalGardenNut StrawberryHill can get tall with magnificent large puffy blooms. Mine died when I moved her. I have to quit moving things around - after I move everything next year.

My Strawberry Hill is at the tail end of its 3rd growing season (and was bought grafted from DA) and is so small still, maybe 2' tall.

Magpie -Most of my DAs stayed around that size, 2 or 3 feet in my cold climate; Abe, Jude, Evelyn, Boscobel especially. Bathsheba became a monster, she had to leave. I like small manageable plants. Strawberry Hill grew long arching canes with sharp pink claws.

I bought mine last year from Hortico when i bought Chandos Beauty, still small, i almost thought about getting rid of it, lol lol.

GardenNut - I bought a Chandos Beauty from Hortico two years ago...I got Rosemary Harkness instead (and I had already ordered a RH from them that time.). I've gotten so many runty and mislabeled roses from Hortico that I'm done with them. There are 3 excellent places to order from...they'll do just fine. :)

Berrypie - thanks for the video...I loved it!