Shrub · Rosaceae
David Austin Rose
Rosa
Old-garden form and fragrance carried on a shrub bred for repeat flowering from late spring to frost.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
USDA 4–9
4–10 ft · 1.2–3 m
Overview
David Austin roses, the English roses, were bred to carry the full cupped and rosette flower form and rich fragrance of old garden roses on a plant that also delivers repeat flowering and a wide color range from modern roses. David Austin pursued that combination in England across several decades. The outcome is a shrub with antique character that flowers in successive flushes rather than a single annual bloom.
These are vigorous deciduous shrubs, in most cultivars 4 and 10 feet (1.2 to 3 m) tall, and a few are flexible enough to be trained against a wall or fence as short climbers. Sited in full sun with adequate soil, they perform across a wide climatic range spanning USDA zones 4 to 9, which reflects considerable cold hardiness paired with heat tolerance. Flowering proceeds in flushes from late spring until the first frost, extending the display over months.
They require somewhat more management than the most disease-resistant landscape roses, though the regimen is consistent rather than difficult. The reason is fungal pressure: the common rose diseases establish on persistently wet foliage, so adequate air movement, base watering in the morning, and an annual prune that opens the canopy are what keep them in check. Meet those conditions and the plant returns months of fragrant bloom for the space it occupies.
Care
The short version: site in full sun with rich, well-drained soil, irrigate deeply at the base once or twice a week in the morning, supply a balanced fertilizer through the season, and apply a hard late-winter prune, because each step supports vigor and reduces fungal disease.
Light
Roses require full sun, ideally 6 or more hours a day, because adequate light drives the photosynthesis that fuels heavy flowering and also dries the foliage that disease needs wet. They tolerate limited partial sun, but shade reduces vigor and bloom and markedly raises black spot and mildew, since leaves stay damp longer.
Water
Water deeply at the base 1 to 2 times a week rather than shallowly and often, which encourages roots to grow downward into a larger soil reservoir. Apply water in the morning and keep it off the leaves, because the prolonged leaf wetness from evening or overhead watering is precisely what lets black spot and powdery mildew infect.
Soil
Plant in fertile, humus-rich, well-drained loam amended with compost, which supplies nutrients while maintaining the structure roots need. A slightly acidic pH of 6.0 to 6.5 keeps nutrients available, and free drainage prevents the waterlogging that suffocates roots and invites rot.
Temperature
These roses combine cold hardiness with heat tolerance, functioning across roughly -20°F to 95°F (-29°C to 35°C) in zones 4 to 9. That physiological breadth is the reason English roses succeed in so many regional climates.
Humidity
Ambient humidity outdoors is set by climate and not a figure you manage, so there is no target to meet. Airflow is the operative variable, because moving air evaporates the surface moisture on crowded foliage that the common fungal pathogens depend on to germinate.
Feeding
Apply a balanced granular rose fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 8-8-8 beginning in spring after the first leaves emerge, when active growth can use the nutrients. Reapply after each bloom flush, then stop about six weeks before the first frost, since late feeding would force tender growth that has no time to harden before cold.
Pruning
Prune in late winter to early spring: reduce last season's growth by about a third, remove dead or unhealthy stems, and cut a few of the oldest canes to the base to stimulate vigorous new shoots. Deadheading spent blooms through the season removes the developing hips that would otherwise signal the plant to slow flowering.
Repotting
Most English roses are grown in the ground and are therefore rarely repotted. A container specimen should move up a pot size when roots circle or emerge from the drainage holes, water runs straight through, or growth slows, all of which indicate the root volume has been outgrown.
Size & spacing
Mature plants reach 4 to 10 feet (1.2 to 3 m) tall and spread 3 to 4 feet (91 to 122 cm) wide. Spacing each shrub to its full spread maintains the air movement through the canopy that limits the leaf wetness fungal disease requires.
When to plant
Roses transplant best while dormant, when the carbohydrate reserves are stored and the soil is workable. Plant in early spring or fall, avoiding ground that is frozen, waterlogged, or drought-dry, so the root system can extend and establish before it has to support the transpiration demand of leaves and flowers. Flowering then follows in flushes from late spring through frost.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: early spring or fall when soil is workable and not frozen, waterlogged, or in drought
- Harvest: late spring through frost with repeat flushes
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Rose disorders express mostly on the foliage, and the three principal ones are far more responsive to prevention than to treatment, since the controlling factor is leaf wetness and air movement. Reading the early symptoms lets you intervene before the pathogen colonizes the upper canopy. Match the signs below, then act while cultural correction is still effective.
Clusters of red shoots, dense thorns, and warped flowers
Bunched red shoots forming a witches-broom, abnormally dense thorns, and deformed buds are diagnostic of rose rosette disease, a virus transmitted by minute eriophyid mites. Once a plant is infected there is no cure, because the pathogen is systemic. Bag the foliage before digging to contain the mites, then remove and destroy the entire plant including the roots, and eliminate any nearby wild multiflora rose that serves as a mite and virus reservoir.
Fix:
- Bag the foliage before digging to keep mites from scattering
- Remove and destroy the entire plant including all roots
- Remove nearby wild multiflora roses that host the mites
- Do not compost infected material
Black spots ringed with yellow, and leaves dropping
Circular dark lesions surrounded by yellowing, followed by defoliation, indicate black spot, the most common rose disease, caused by a fungus that spreads where foliage stays wet. Infection typically begins on the lower leaves and advances upward, defoliating as it goes, which weakens the plant. Remove the affected leaves, clear fallen debris that harbors spores, and water at the base in the morning so foliage dries quickly and limits new infection.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected leaves and fallen debris
- Improve air circulation and avoid overhead watering
- Water at the base in the morning so foliage dries quickly
- Apply a labeled fungicide such as chlorothalonil, copper, or myclobutanil on a preventive schedule
White powdery film on leaves and twisted new growth
A powdery white film over leaves and shoots is powdery mildew, a fungus that establishes in crowded, shaded, humid sites. As it colonizes and feeds, the young expanding growth curls and distorts. Open the canopy with a corrective prune to improve airflow, reduce nitrogen that drives the soft growth the fungus favors, and apply a labeled fungicide if it continues to advance.
Fix:
- Prune to open the canopy and improve airflow
- Remove severely affected shoots
- Avoid excess nitrogen that pushes soft growth
- Apply a labeled fungicide such as triforine, propiconazole, or myclobutanil
Toxicity
For households with pets and children, the record is clear: true roses are non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, and the petals and hips are edible. The sole hazard is mechanical, from the thorns, which can scratch and puncture, so handle the canes deliberately and wear gloves when pruning.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
Roses are non-toxic to cats, so ingestion of a leaf or petal causes no poisoning. The relevant risk is mechanical, since the thorns can scratch a curious cat or snag a paw.
Dogs Safe
A dog can ingest the foliage without any toxic effect. The concern is the canes, because the thorns scratch the nose and paws, and a large quantity of leaves may produce a transient bout of mild gastrointestinal upset.
Horses Safe
Horses graze roses with no toxic consequence, and the petals and hips are a harmless feed item. Their only practical concern is avoiding the thorny stems.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can consume rose leaves, petals, and stems safely, and many keepers provide them as forage. The thorns are the only part to remove beforehand.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep browse roses without harm. The prickly canes present a physical nuisance rather than a toxicological danger.
Birds Safe
Roses are not toxic to birds, and many species feed on the hips through autumn and winter. No part of the plant must be kept from them.
People Safe
Rose petals and hips are edible and safe for people, and the hips are a long-recognized source of vitamin C. The thorns are the only hazard, so wear gloves and long sleeves when pruning.
Wear gloves and long sleeves when pruning or handling; thorns can scratch or puncture skin and pets.
Varieties
David Austin introduced hundreds of English roses over the program's history. The four below are among the most widely recognized and together illustrate the range of color, flower form, and fragrance for which the group is valued.
Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll is a vigorous cultivar bearing strongly fragrant rich pink rosettes of 50 to 80 petals, and its flexible canes allow it to be grown as a shrub or trained as a short climber.
Heritage
Heritage, introduced by David Austin in 1984, produces soft light pink cupped rosettes on canes that remain almost free of thorns.
Abraham Darby
Abraham Darby carries large cupped blooms grading from apricot pink to peach and emits a strong fruity fragrance.
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral is a white-flowered sport of the pink Mary Rose that retains the same generous repeat-blooming habit as its parent.
How to propagate
Roses can be propagated by several methods that differ in the skill and time they demand, from the budding the nursery trade depends on to simpler vegetative routes suited to the home garden. The appropriate choice depends on how much technique and patience the situation allows.
GraftingDemanding
Summer (June T-budding) onto an established rootstock · One growing season
Grafting accounts for nearly every rose sold commercially. A propagator buds a single dormant bud onto a wild rose rootstock in summer, working in June, and the resulting plant develops over the following growing season. Budding is faster and more economical than other graft methods, but it demands precision, which is why it remains largely a nursery operation rather than a home practice.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Softwood cuttings late spring to mid-summer; hardwood cuttings November through February · Several weeks to a few months to root
Stem cuttings yield a plant genetically identical to the parent and are achievable at home. Take softwood cuttings from late spring through midsummer or hardwood cuttings from November into February, using sections of one to three nodes. Treating the base with rooting hormone and holding the cuttings under intermittent mist supplies the moisture and hormone balance roots need, and they form over several weeks to a few months.
LayeringModerate
Spring through summer · One growing season
Layering is the most reliable method where a rose carries a long, supple cane near the ground. Bending a low cane to the soil and pinning it in spring or summer lets it root while the parent still supplies it, which reduces the risk of failure. After a full growing season the cane has independent roots and can be severed from the parent.
Myths
David Austin English roses are antique heirloom roses.
Despite the heirloom appearance, these are modern shrub roses, developed by David Austin from the 1960s onward. He combined the full many-petaled cupped and rosette flowers and strong scent of old garden roses with the repeat flowering and broader color range of modern roses, producing the antique form without the single annual bloom of true old roses.
Roses are poisonous to cats and dogs.
True roses in the genus Rosa are classified by the ASPCA as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, so the foliage and flowers pose no poisoning risk. The hazard is mechanical, from thorns that scratch and puncture, not chemical. The confusion arises with so-called desert rose and moss rose, unrelated plants that do contain toxins.