They are a relatively new type of decorative culture, since the first “English woman” recently celebrated its half-century anniversary. The author and ideological inspirer of this unusually decorative series of roses is a farmer from England, David Austin, and his varieties “Charles Austin” and “Pat Austin” are rightfully ranked among the most famous and popular among domestic amateur flower growers.
Characteristics of roses Charles Austin
The variety of English rose “Charles Austin” received its fame and positive reviews from flower growers in many countries four decades ago. Some time ago, this variety was very popular in home gardening thanks to its large and very showy flowers, which are in demand in floral arrangement. The flowers are cup-shaped, and at the stage of full blooming they acquire various shades of apricot coloring. Flowers that are prone to fading are characterized by the presence of a fairly strong, fresh, fruity aroma.
Features of English roses (video)
The bushes are erect and have sufficient foliage. The average height of the plant is one and a half meters with a width of 1.2 m. The leaves are large in size, attractive appearance. The variety has very good resistance and perfectly adapts to cultivation even in not very favorable areas.
To get repeated flowering, stimulating measures should be carried out, which include pruning and fertilizing immediately after the first flowering. Flower resistance to rain is average
and with prolonged rainfall, damage to individual flowers may occur. The average diameter of an opened flower can vary between 8-10 cm. The plant is quite powerful and, subject to growing technology, rarely needs strong preventive maintenance. However, in too wet weather, rose bushes can be quite damaged by black spot.
Rose "Pat Austin" The world famous variety of English rose called "Pat Austin" was developed more than twenty years ago and is a real breakthrough in the field color range When breeding the Pat Austin variety, the Graham Thomas and Abraham Darby varieties were used as the parent pair. This variety, popular in our country and abroad, received its name in honor of the author’s wife, David Austin.
The description of the variety suggests the presence of bright copper coloring on inside petals. The outer side of the petals is a pale, coppery yellow color, somewhat reminiscent of the Australian Copper variety. The bright orange coloring, complemented by the yellow reverse of the petals, curving inward, makes the flowers amazingly beautiful. At the flowering stage, the flowers acquire a rather rich pink hue characteristic of the variety. The stamens in the central part of the flower are practically invisible.
The flowers are very fragrant, semi-double, large in size, deep cupped, which allows you to fully appreciate the contrast and makes the variety very attractive and highly decorative. On average, the flower diameter is about 10-12 cm. The shape of the aerial part of this flowering plant resembles the variety “Abraham Darby”, well known to amateur flower growers. The average height of the bush is approximately a meter with a width of 1.2 m. The plant belongs to the category of repeat bloomers and blooms quite early.
David Austin Roses: Disadvantages (video)
Cultivation and use in landscape design
The variety of English rose "Charles Austin" in a semi-bloomed state very much resembles hybrid tea varieties, and the petals have a very rigid structure, due to which they open quite slowly, and are also able to easily withstand any bad weather. When planting, they can be used as areas with good lighting, and with some shading, but without high occurrence groundwater. To obtain repeated flowering, it is very important to follow agricultural techniques and Special attention give high-quality, complete fertilizing at all stages of development, as well as pruning of plants.
If necessary, loosening agents should be added to the soil at the pre-planting stage and improved quality composition soil. It is also recommended to provide the planted rose seedlings with a high-quality drainage layer. Good result provides spring mulching of the soil in tree trunk circles organic matter, which can be rotted sawdust or straw. Pruning should be both formative and sanitary., reducing the risk of damage to the above-ground parts of rose bushes by pathogenic microflora.
Almost all varieties of roses, the originator of which is David Austin, are very widely used in garden design. Using the “Charles Austin” and “Pat Austin” varieties, it is possible to create relatively tall decorative arrays in a fairly short time in almost any landscape. These plants have proven themselves to be excellent in creating solid, living, highly decorative hedges, but can also serve as an ideal addition to flower beds or mixed borders.
Reviews from amateur flower growers
According to experienced flower growers, the disadvantage of the variety "Pat Austin" is represented by the weakness of the shoots, so the branches are often bent quite strongly. Among other things, the varietal feature of “Pat Austin” is the susceptibility of the aerial parts ornamental plant to black spot damage.
The resistance of flowers to rain is very weak, and during heavy rainfall the resulting buds often do not open. The bush is indeed somewhat loose, which must be taken into account when choosing a place for planting. However, the variety is actually very highly decorative: the clusters consist of three to seven flowers, which stand out very impressively against the background of dark green foliage.
The early variety of English rose "Charles Austin" is recommended to be pruned at least half of its height, which will prevent the ornamental crop from being stretched out. This one of the earliest and most popular varieties from breeder David Austin produces very attractive flowers, collected in small clusters, and located on fairly high shoots.
The best varieties of David Austin roses (video)
However, many gardeners consider the often observed lack of re-flowering to be a varietal disadvantage. There may be a flattened central part of the flowers, which have a soft orange color. The base of the petals has a brighter color and a creamy edge. The Charles Austin variety is very responsive to low pruning and has quite decent resistance to damage by pathogenic microflora.
Charles Austin - David Austin's Dad.
Exactly under this code Ausfather- “father of Austin”, this rose is served on the website of the creator himself, David Charlesovich Austin.
Shrub (English roses), up to 1.50 meters high, bush width 1.20 m.
Originator: David Austin, 1973.
Bloom.
Despite his rather ancient origins, this youthful grandfather has retained enough gunpowder in his flasks to set the heat in any garden! It blooms profusely, spreading its orange buds into magnificent double apricot-colored flowers with a rich fruity-floral aroma.
The scent of the flowers has distinct citrus notes, in addition to the "standard" Austin scent of antique roses.
Soon after opening, within one to two days, the orange color turns into pink, and then into pale pink.
It is necessary to note the more or less good resistance of these roses to rain, although not as good as that of Cordes roses, but for ostinas the resistance is at a normal level. Yes, if it rains for a week, the flowers will look pretty pitiful. But the rose is tolerant of medium-frequent (not prolonged!) rains.
This rose also has its drawbacks, for example, in the photo below you can see how the new flowers look against the background of the old ones - in the middle there is a bud that has “pupated” due to dampness. The spectacle, frankly speaking, is not very special... But it was a Very Rainy Period!
Bushes.
The bushes are quite powerful; good owners who don’t skimp on manure can grow as tall as a man. Hence, there are numerous recommendations to trim this variety shorter, because flowering is mainly concentrated at the top of the shoots.
Flowering - abundant, remontant;
Bush height - 120 - 150 cm;
Flower diameter - 8 - 10 cm;
Resistance to diseases is above average, resistance to frost is high;
The aroma is pronounced.
This rose variety is one of the first David Austin varieties. It has its advantages, but let’s face it, it also has its disadvantages. An obvious drawback of the variety is the insufficient declared disease resistance, although many rose growers who have it in their collection note that in practice it is not as capricious and painful as the official characteristics of the breeder indicate. The second drawback that this rose has is the rather rapid fading of the flower petals. Some people do not consider the fading of the petals to be a drawback, and attribute this feature to the play of colors and undertones, but if you like bright rose colors, then Charles Austin is not for you.
However, these disadvantages are easily compensated by the obvious advantages of the variety: abundant, repeat flowering, wonderful aroma, delicate color, beautiful flower shape, excellent frost resistance (zone 5).
“One of the first re-blooming varieties of English roses, which still finds admirers. The flowers are large, beautifully cup-shaped, densely double, apricot in color, in which, depending on the weather and conditions, there are more or less pink and yellow tones,” says Evgeny Pisarev about Charles Austin in his book “Roses. Encyclopedia".
And Teorina A.I. in her description, in addition to the large size of the flower, apricot color, with pale salmon tones when fully opened, the aroma of old roses, noted that the flowers are collected in racemes, also indicating that the bushes are “densely covered with large, matte leaves” .
Yakovleva O.V. in the book “Roses in Flower Beds”, despite the stated characteristics insufficient stability varieties to diseases, notes that “The variety is resistant to diseases,” adding that Charles Austin “requires periodic heavy pruning,” recommending it “for growing in flower beds and creating compositions.”
Nico Vermeulen, in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Roses, begins his description with the words: “This old English varietyis still popular” The author notes that “The bush is well branched and erect. Above it, on straight stems, rise clusters of densely double flowers and the amazing aroma of old roses.” Regarding the color of the flower, he writes: “The flowers are apricot, fading to pale salmon with age.”
And in conclusion, let’s add an excerpt from K. Strobel’s description: “One of early varieties David Austin and still one of the most popular. The flowers are very beautiful, appear in clusters of 3-5 on long shoots, soft orange, brighter color at the base of the petals and almost creamy at the edges.” The author emphasizes that the rose responds well to low pruning.
The rose we are describing was obtained by the famous English breeder David Austin in 1973 by crossing Chaucer ×. Note that the variety has two working names, namely: AUSfather and AUSles, and can also be found under the second commercial name Charming Apricot.
Lafazan N.D., 2013
The most interesting thing about this variety is its aroma, or rather, aromas. Depending on the climate and other external conditions, the flowering bush may emit a strong aroma of rose oil, or a sweet aroma of raspberries, strawberries and anise. The rich red color of the double flowers, the beautiful leaves on the bush - all this, of course, deserves attention. And if you also consider that the Alain Souchon rose blooms throughout the season and is resistant to heat and disease, it becomes clear that every gardener should have this variety. Flower size: 12-13 cm. Bush height 100-120 cm.
Abraham Darby is one of the most successful and popular English roses David Austin.
The flowers are a brilliant coppery apricot, fading to a soft pink.
In hot weather, the apricot tone is brighter, in cool weather - pink.
The variety is one of the first to bloom and blooms almost continuously.
Flower size 12-14 cm
Bush height - 120-150 cm, width - 100 cm
One of the best apricot roses David Austin.
This is a strong, disease-resistant variety that grows quite quickly.
The flowers are huge, appearing one at a time at the ends of long shoots, or more often in small clusters of up to 3 pieces.
Floribunda. The bushes are strong with many shoots ending in inflorescences from 2 to 5 pieces. The height of the bushes is 80-110 cm. Flowers of 75-80 petals are red, lightly fragrant. Tolerates rain well. The leaves are healthy and disease resistant. The advantages of the variety and its unsurpassed romantic charm distinguish it from other roses of this type. Can be used in single and group plantings.
