new roses for 2010 from David Austin Roses

David Austin's new roses are a great addition to their rich and coloful collection of roses they offer.  These beauties capture the essense of old style cottage roses, while incorporating some key elements of modern roses such as "repeat-flowering, full bush and wide color ranges".  All descriptions are from David Austin Roses.

Rosa ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’ – repeat-flowering English Old Rose Hybrid with approximately 130 petals. David Austin named this rose for Princess Alexandra, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II who is a keen gardener and great lover of roses. The rose that bears her name has unusually large flowers of a warm, glowing pink. They are full petalled and deeply cupped, the ring of soft pink outer petals enclosing the warm pink inner petals to create a most pleasing effect. In spite of their size, they are never clumsy, being held nicely poised on a well-rounded shrub. Because of their size, there is a lot to be said for planting in groups of three, keeping both flowers and growth nicely balanced. They have a delicious fresh Tea fragrance which, interestingly, changes completely to lemon as the flower ages – eventually taking on additional hints of blackcurrants. It is very healthy. Size: 3½ feet tall x 2½ feet wide. Hardiness: USDA zones 5-9. (David Austin 2007, Ausmerchant).

Rosa ‘Young Lycidas’ – repeat-flowering English Old Rose Hybrid with approximately 90 petals. This is a variety of classic Old Rose beauty. The flowers are quite large and deeply cupped even when fully open, the many petals arranged in a charming way. Their color is new to English Roses: a blend of very deep magenta, pink and red – the outer petals tending towards light purple – although this is in contrast to the outside of the petals, which are quite silvery in appearance. It makes an attractive, bushy shrub. There is a delicious fragrance that starts as a pure Tea scent but then changes to a blend of Tea and Old Rose, with intriguing hints of cedar wood. ‘Young Lycidas’ was awarded the top prize for fragrance at the 2009 Concurs Internacional de Roses, Barcelona. It was named to mark the 400th anniversary of the birth of the poet John Milton. Size: 4 foot tall by 3 foot wide. Hardiness: USDA zone 5-9. (David Austin 2008, Ausvibrant).

Rosa ‘Wisley 2008' – repeat-flowering English Old Rose Hybrid with approximately 95 petals. This is a rose of exceptional delicacy and charm bearing some resemblence to the old Alba Roses. The flowers are shallowly cupped and about 3 inches across, the petals arranged in a most perfect rosette formation – their color being a very pure soft pink and the outer petals paling a little towards the edge. The growth is tall and slightly arching, producing its flowers along the stems and building up into a fine and very healthy shrub. There is a delightful, fresh, fruity fragrance with hints of raspberries and Tea. It is a good choice for both formal and informal areas of the garden and also for a hedge. ‘Wisley 2008’ was awarded Best Rose for Landscaping at the 2009 Concurs Internacional de Roses, Barcelona. Size: 5 feet tall by 3½ feet wide. Hardiness: 5-9. (David Austin 2008, Ausbreeze).

Rosa ‘Sir John Betjeman’ – repeat-flowering Leander Hybrid with approximately 130 petals. A rose of more modern character than most English Roses. The flowers start as small buds, opening to full-petalled, wide-open rosettes of a bright, deep pink, the color intensifying further with age. The flowers are 2½ to 3 inches across and are produced very freely. They have a light, rather ‘green’ fragrance. A healthy and very bushy shrub of medium size with a slightly arching habit. With its bright coloration this is a good choice to create some contrast in a border of other roses of softer coloring. Sir John Betjeman was a writer, journalist and broadcaster, who was born just over 100 years ago. Size: 3½ feet tall x 2½ feet wide. Hardiness: USDA zones 5-9. (David Austin 2008, Ausvivid).

Rosa ‘Munstead Wood’ – repeat-flowering English Old Rose Hybrid with approximately 74 petals. The flowers of this variety are in fact light crimson in the bud but, as the center gradually reveals itself, it becomes a very deep velvety crimson while the outer petals remain rather lighter in color. They are of large size and cupped at first, becoming shallowly cupped with time. The growth is quite bushy, forming a broad shrub with good disease resistance. The leaves are mid-green, the younger leaves being red-bronze to form a nice contrast. There is a strong Old Rose fragrance with a fruity note. Our fragrance expert, Robert Calkin, assesses this as ‘warm and fruity with blackberry, blueberry and damson’. Munstead Wood was Gertrude Jekyll’s own garden in Surrey. Size: 3 feet tall x 2½ feet wide. Hardiness: USDA zones 5-9. (David Austin 2007, Ausbernard).

All David Austin roses are available for shipping bareroot in the spring.  For more information go to www.davidaustinroses.com

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Roses, david austin roses, new selections