English Roses Built for Northern California

These fragrant climbing roses are expertly bred for maximum performance

David Austin was a notable , highly prize British rosarian dedicated to breed a remarkable collection of vigorous , hefty , gorgeous blush wine of character and note . He blend the charm and fragrancy of much beloved old roses from the 18th and nineteenth one C with the wider color orbit and repeat bloom of more latterly premise cultivars . His focus on combining the very best characteristic of antique cabbage go up ( Rosa×centifolia , Zones 4–9 ) , Damask rose ( Rosa×damascena , Zones 4–8 ) , French uprise ( Rosa gallica , Zones 3–8 ) , and livid lift of York ( Rosa×alba , Zones 3–9 ) with those of modern hybrid teas and floribundas resulted in the launching of over 240 exceptional , prize - winning , captivating English roses to gardener all over the world .

Robust , elegant , coloured , deliciously fragrant , and with a particularly placeable flower form , many of these beauties have been bred with disease resistance in mind and are well suited to the broad range of microclimates ground in Northern California garden . Because they ’re available in such an raiment of growth substance abuse — from rounded shrubs like the well - behave , golden - blossom ‘ Molineaux ’ ( R.‘Molineaux ’ , geographical zone 5–11 ) all the way up to the 15 - foot exuberance of the pinkish and fragrant ‘ The Generous Gardener ’ ( R.‘The Generous Gardener ’ , Zones 4–11 ) , there ’s at least one perfect English surface for every garden . Many of the mid - size growers such as ‘ Charlotte ’ ( R.‘Charlotte ’ , Zones 5–11 ) or ‘ Carding Mill ’ ( R.‘Carding Mill ’ , zone 5–11 ) make outstanding improver to your roseate garden or mixed border , while ‘ Darcey Bussel ’ ( R.‘Darcey Bussel ’ , Zones 5–11 ) and ‘ Roald Dahl ’ ( R.‘Roald cajan pea ’ , zone 5–11 ) , with their tidy , more compact growth habits , are perfect for container growing .

The tallest , most vigorous , long - arching cultivar breed by David Austin are among the best climbing rose usable to gardeners today . Easy to manage , exceptionally long blooming , and garb with the most beautifully formed and delightfully fragrant flower from top to bottom , the following David Austin rose are my top passport for the northerly Californian gardener in search of the perfect climber . Grow them in full sun ( though some motley are actually quite shade tolerant ) in rich , well - amended dirt , and be sure to give them regular irrigation — at least until ground — for full and extremely floriferous results .

‘Claire Austin’

Zones 5–11

sick yellow buds open up to attractively old - fashioned , large , and rounded creamy white blooming . tell to be one of David Austin ’s favorite white roses , this exceptionally disease - resistant variety is a vigorous cultivator , apace reaching 12 feet marvelous with elegant , arching canes apparel top to bottom in glossy green foliage and generous showers of snowy blooms from late spring through gloam . The fragrance is sweet gum myrrh with add soupcon of vanilla extract , heliotrope , and meadowsweet . One of the taller English roses , this witching 2007 introduction is perfect for arching over an arbor or training on a tall dagger .

‘Lady of Shalott’

geographical zone 4–11

Introduced in 2009 , ‘ Lady of Shalott ’ bears the most lusciously hue , scrumptiously fragrant , peachy - yellowish pink flowers and is almost constantly in bloom all time of year long . Highly disease resistant and a very authentic agriculturist even in difficult soils , it ’s a good choice for the beginning mount gardener . Rich , deep orange bud open to reveal a cupped goblet of coral and gold petals graced with the fragrance of lovesome tea , with added lead of spiced Malus pumila and cloves . The vigorous and shaggy staunch quickly arrive at 8 foot tall , make believe ‘ Lady of Shalott ’ search absolutely delightful fanned out over a short picket fence or develop on a pillar . Great for back of the edge too !

‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’

An introduction from 1998 , ‘ Tess of the d’Urbervilles ’ is breathtaking in full bloom , with large deep green farewell making the perfect backdrop for the multitude of huge , lustrous deep red , deeply cupped blooms . produce 10 feet magniloquent and with long , more or less arching canes , ‘ Tess of the d’Urbervilles ’ looks fantastic trained against a grayish rock wall but is almost as lovely grow on a column or obelisk . Be sure to found this beauty where the heavy blooms ( nod from their weight ) and the angelical old rose fragrance can be delight up close .

‘Strawberry Hill’

First brought to the public eye in 2006 , ‘ Strawberry Hill ’ apace became popular for its improbable , curve growth habit and its outstanding repetition blooming habit . Producing abundant clustering of pure pink , nicely cup rose window all along the arch canes , it captivate from its earliest , deep pinkish , pixilated bud phase all the way through the fully mature , paler pinko , and fluffy opened blooms . Intensely fragrant , with the odor of sweet cicely and heather honey , this vigorous , extremely disease - repellent climber will contact 10 feet tall and wait impressive growing over an arbor where the deliciously scented efflorescence can be look up to from below .

Fionuala Campion is the proprietor and handler of Cottage Gardens of Petaluma in Petaluma , California .

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