David Austin Roses for The South

Cyndi Lauderdale, executive director of the Wilson Botanical Gardens, and a North Carolina Extension Service agent, has found that several English rose cultivars grow well in the hot and humid Southeast. Writing in The American Nurseryman, she presents these notes:

Rated “A+”

Abraham Darby®,
“Ambridge Rose,”
“Benjamin Britten,”
“Charlotte,”
“Cottage Rose,”
Graham Thomas® (“foliage never has shown signs of disease”),
Heritage ®,
Mary Rose® (“very resistant to mildew”),
“Tess of the d’Urbervilles,”
“Winchester Cathedral.”

Rated “A” (“vulnerable to some disease damage”):

English Garden®,
“Sharifa Asma,”
“Spirit of Freedom” (“very disease resistant”),
“Tamora” (“virtually disease-free”),
“The Prince.”

Rated “B” (“good growers, but need spraying for insects and diseases”):

“Fisherman’s Friend,”
“Glamis Castle,”
“Pat Austin,”
“The Dark Lady” (“struggles to start”).

Failures in Lauderdale’s garden:
Bibi Mazoon™ (does grow at Wilson Botanical Gardens but produces no flowers),
Fair Bianca®,
“Grace.”