According to archaeologists, roses on our planet have been around for almost twenty-five million years. In culture, these are perhaps the most beautiful flowers known to man for more than five millennia. But despite such a venerable age, roses continue to enjoy incredible popularity. Three hundred years before our era, the Greek naturalist Theophrastus not only gave a detailed description of these flowers with their division into garden and wild, but also for the first time gave instructions on planting, methods of propagation and care for them. In general, any flowers in a person’s life, and especially a gardener, occupy a separate niche. And roses - especially!
general information
Today, in many household plots, plant growers prefer to grow roses, which are valued for their unique shapes, presentable appearance and delicate aroma. They admire them, their beauty was sung and sung by poets.
The rose is considered the queen of flowers. It was grown by our distant ancestors in the monastery gardens, breeding new varieties. Rose is able to decorate any garden or house, creating an atmosphere of beauty, luxury and harmony around itself. Thanks to the desire of specialists for new discoveries in the field of flower selection, completely new species of this amazing plant are constantly being created. Each of them is unique, elegant and incredibly beautiful. Roses of David Austin are endowed with such characteristics, photos of which are presented in this article. They concentrated all the best qualities of long-existing varieties. Those who saw them say that they have their own charming zest. Apparently, that's why almost everyone likes David Austin's roses.
Description
The beauty of these plants, their grace and variety of shapes and colors are truly inexhaustible. Each rose of David Austin is a kind of work of art that can win the heart of even that person who is indifferent to flowers. Today, a variety of varieties of this crop are used for landscaping. However, in this article we will try to highlight the best roses of David Austin, able to transform any corner of the garden, talk about how to grow them and introduce them to the reviews.
When in 1969 an English farmer organized a company, he pursued only one goal. Austin dreamed of developing his own sustainable varieties of these flowers, which would have a unique aroma and unique charm. His desire to get a perfect and harmonious rose with such species characteristics as strong aroma, beautiful flower, healthy foliage, winter hardiness and high resistance to pests and diseases was crowned with success. Today, there are already more than a hundred varieties of roses by David Austin. Many of them have won the most prestigious awards at exhibitions.
Any David Austin rose is the perfect combination of the appearance of a flower, delicate aroma and beautiful shape of a bush. This is confirmed by everyone who saw them. They resemble ancient flowers that we could see in the paintings of artists. Almost all varieties of David Austin roses bloom until late fall. They have really high resistance to diseases and increased winter hardiness. The foliage of most varieties is devoid of gloss, but it is almost imperceptible in the garden multicolor. It is believed that the “remnants” are perfect for creating a romantic atmosphere in the garden. Externally, these roses really look like old varieties. However, damask, bourbon, alba, gallic and other varieties of the latter do not have such a rich palette of colors. In addition, David Austin's English roses are able to grow normally on poor soils and are resistant to many adverse conditions. With all their old-fashioned-nostalgic appearance, they bloom repeatedly or even continuously for several months. From their English ancestors, they inherited the undemanding for long-term lighting: four to five hours of sunlight are enough for them per day.
History of creation
Interestingly, David Austin never engaged in growing roses. But when he saw old varieties in the nursery in France in the fifties of the last century, he decided to cultivate modern flowers that would look like these undeservedly forgotten old bush plants. At the same time, he set a goal to preserve and enhance their wondrous aroma and not to lose the exquisite sophistication of the buds.
At the same time, Austin dreamed of making them blooming again, as well as giving the bushes harmonious shapes and bestowing the ability to grow in a wide variety of climatic zones. In addition, the old pink varieties were completely devoid of orange and yellow color, which the farmer wanted to fix without fail.
First result
After long labors in 1961, the first David Austin rose, Constance Spray, was presented to specialists, which began the whole series. It was obtained by crossing a modern floribunda called Le Grasse and a representative of the old Gallic variety - Bel Isis. It was a very beautiful pion-shaped flower, possessing a delicious myrrh aroma and having enormous cup-shaped glasses of pink color. But unfortunately, the first rose of David Austin bloomed only once, but otherwise she met all the expectations of not only her author, but also the public. And today, despite the emergence of numerous new varieties, Constance Spray is incredibly popular. The author introduced it as a “scrub”. I must say that the rose of David Austin varieties Constance Spray in the future showed itself well in a wattled form.
Varieties
But the English farmer wanted to develop varieties with repeated flowering. Therefore, he began to carry out work on the crossbreeding of the resulting hybrid with the parent form. After the third attempt, he managed to achieve a certain result. Almost all seedlings inherited repeated flowering from their parents. Already in the seventies, many varieties of English roses were bred, but they were mostly weak and painful. Now, David Austin himself says in an interview that he regrets the hasty introduction of his first-born: they, he said, “tarnished the reputation” of the famous English roses.
Subsequently, the breeder began to look for "parents" for his flowers from the most hardy and most resistant varieties. A real breakthrough was the strong and healthy rose of David Austin - The Mayflower. Her foliage is practically immune to disease.
One of the goals that this English farmer set himself was to return the aroma. And he succeeded. In general, there are no smelling roses in his collection, however, the degree of saturation and the "sound" of the aroma are different for different varieties. A large series of varieties are fragrant like the good old antique classic flowers. The most fragrant among them are Gertrude Jekyll, The Mayflower, Falstaff, Manstead Wood, William Shakespeare 2000.
The smell of roses
David Austin returned the lost and almost forgotten scent characteristic of the roses of the Middle Ages. It's about the smell of myrrh. Not being “loud” in itself, it is able to amplify others, therefore being present in the general chorus of aromas, myrrh makes the others “sound” much stronger. It smells like the first rose of David Austin's Constance Spry, as well as Queen of Sweden. The David Austin Rose Nursery also offers varieties that are characterized by the aroma of expensive tea varieties. This, for example, Crocus Rose, Pegasus, Teasing Georgia, as well as Pat Austin, Grace, etc. Often, the smell of tea note is not dominant, it only complements the complex spicy, fruity, clove or citrus bouquets. For example, in Princess Alexandra of Kent, it is enriched with lemon and blackcurrant, while in Crown Princess Margareta it is heavily seasoned with magical waves of ripe tropical fruits.
Games with color
Some experts reproach Austin's roses for not being very bright. Indeed, in the color palette of the English series there are neither fiery or bright orange, nor scorching red and other variegated roses or buds with a border. The fact is that Austin never had a goal to develop varieties with similar tones. On the contrary, he strove to create roses that are as similar to old as possible, but only with repeated or continuous flowering.
I must say that he brilliantly coped with the task. Truly antique roses have a rich color scheme. The buds are mainly painted in pink, white and raspberry tones with different shades and saturation. This is precisely their charm. You can, for example, plant a discount of ten or even twenty old varieties of pink, and they will not look like each other. In the same way, one can say about the “remnants”. Each of them is individual in its shade. English roses of David Austin do not repeat one another. Often, a slightly different color is present at the base of the petals, giving the impression of a backlight. For example, the variety Jubilee Celebration has a rather cold pink color, but in the lower part of the petal you can see a yellow speck, which, translucent from the depth of the glass, seems to create a glow. When a rose of this variety is fully revealed and assumes the shape of a peony, it simultaneously appears both cold and warm.
Selection of seedlings
The agricultural technology of “Austin” differs little from the care of large shrubby analogues, while it has a number of features. Saplings are of no small importance for obtaining a normal adult plant. David Austin's roses are quite a lot, but all the varieties of these English women have one thing in common: they, like other large flowers, feel bad on their roots. Such seedlings are slowly developing, they have a very unpresentable appearance and sparse flowering.
Therefore, despite the easy rooting of their cuttings, experts do not recommend choosing root samples. Today, many flower companies sell seedlings of English roses by David Austin, brought directly from their author's nursery. Plants on the "native" rootstocks and take root perfectly, and grow rapidly, and bloom luxuriously. And with proper shelter, they also winter well. Beginning gardeners need to know that the wrong selection of stock can lead to incomplete compliance with the variety, and then the risk of encountering the appearance of “wild” shoots will be great.
David Austin rose seedlings are delivered in containers, as well as with an open root system or in plastic packaging. In the first case, they can be planted during the entire frost-free season. In the other two, at the earliest possible time, as soon as the land begins to yield to cultivation.
Landing place
Like other roses, Austin also prefer warm, protected places in the garden. The best option would be one in which they will be in the sun most of the day. An exception is only the most dark-colored varieties of roses, for example Falstaff, as well as William Shakespeare 2000 or Manstead Wood.
They should be planted with the expectation that even in the midday heat at least a slight lace shadow will fall on them. In this case, the purple velvet of their petals will retain its flickering color longer.
The soil
The best substrates for growing David Austin's roses are light loam with good drainage. Their structure is just perfect for these plants. The only thing to do when planting on such soil is to add some compost or bone meal with humus to the pit.
The most labor-intensive agrotechnical process is preparing a place for Austin roses on poorly drained, heavy clay. On peatlands with a depth of more than one meter, the cultivation of grafted flowers is generally problematic. And in the event that the level of actual occurrence is insignificant, and clay lays it, you should raise the level of the rosary above the surface of the soil.
Landing
Depending on the type of soil, this agrotechnical process has its own characteristics. Experts recommend laying the rosary at once from several individuals, rather than making single “patched” plantings. On sandy soils, the level of the flower bed should coincide with the general soil level on the site. Dig holes, and better trenches, should be at a depth of not less than two and a half bayonet shovels: about seventy centimeters down and around for each bush. At the bottom of the formed recess, you need to lay a non-tissue, which prevents the leaching of the nutrient layer of the earth.
Care
After planting, the process of growing a healthy plant begins. From the very first days, it is already necessary to loosen the soil and monitor its moisture. Feeding seedlings are given only after a year of cultivation. For this purpose, complex fertilizers are used. Austin should be fed every three weeks. If buds appear on a newly planted rose, they should be removed. Austin react poorly to excess moisture. On bushes at the same time up to one hundred and twenty flowers can bloom. And if it rains for a long time, then part of the buds, failing to open up, will die. A couple of times a week should inspect the bushes. At the slightest sign of infection, it is necessary to treat with special drugs. English roses are cared for all year round. And if in the summer a twig or shoot broke, they are immediately cut with a pruner, and the place of cut is pollinated with coal. An important event is the pruning of bushes, which is carried out twice a year - after planting and before winter.
Roses by David Austin: reviews
The vast majority of gardeners believe that it is easy to grow these English beauties. They require almost as much labor as ordinary roses. Those who have already grown them, now can not imagine their gardens without remnants. Of course, in regions where it rains almost always, these aristocrats take root with great difficulty. But there are also reviews that describe the successful cultivation of remains in the coldest northern latitudes. Gardeners assure: if they are carefully sheltered for the winter, then the culture will endure any frost. Large and fragrant, these roses today adorn the gardens of many Russians. Judging by the reviews, they are used to design arches, arbors and as the main emphasis of the lawn.