The very first David Austin rose I bought was ‘Fair Bianca’, back when I was in Southern California. It was a small perky shrub, happy to live in a stoneware pot in our very sunny front yard. Although that garden had towering hybrid teas and extravagant floribundas growing along most of the walls, ‘Bianca’ was the first rose that I chose for myself. Its shape and scent set it apart from the others and I’ve been wanting to grow more varieties ever since.
More than a decade later, we bought a house in Finland with plenty of room for a rose garden. It would take a little longer still to set it up, but in January of 2022, I placed my first order for roses straight from the David Austin online store. Sadly, ‘Bianca’ would be discontinued by then, though I still keep an eye out for it whenever possible. Instead, I went with three that topped the list for being fragrant and floriferous, and those are the ones I’ll be writing about in the next few posts.
Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ (ruusu) was the first rose in my basket that year and it has been the first to flower each spring since. It’s put on a good amount of growth this year and I look forward to seeing how big it gets in subsequent years since most bloggers seem to agree that it’s extremely vigorous.
In the beginning, though, I wasn’t so sure that it would even survive. The roses arrived in March, which is still the dead of winter for us. Having never ordered bare-rooted plants before, I couldn’t help being worried by their denuded state, despite having done enough research to know they should be fine. My hot water canner got called into service as a soaking container since there was nothing else big enough after the baby tub went into storage. Then the plants got potted up and placed by the windowsill, where they stayed until temperatures were warm enough for them to transition outside about two months later.
Gertie was by far the easiest to maintain during that early period and ever since, sprouting eagerly in its pot and eventually giving me flowers before they were even planted into the ground. It remains very fuss-free in the garden as well and I cannot recommend it enough, thorns and all. I was able to cut stems of highly perfumed roses to take inside for weeks during the first flush, and the autumn flush has been just as generous. Overwintering involved nothing more than mounding up some extra mulch and compost around the base of the plant at first frost. Depending on how tall it manages to get (and based on the reports, I’ve every belief it will be quite a bit), I might be adding some more of this rose to the mixed hedge in future years.
Final count:
- Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ – one rapidly expanding shrub
Little Blue and White House 
Rosa Gertrude Jekyll is a stunner, she was in the first batch of roses that I bought when making the rose garden here almost 30 yrs ago and she is still going strong, I’m sure you will be very happy together! I have just taken hardwood cuttings from her, so hopefully I’ll have more next year.
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30 years! That’s the best sort of recommendation, I think! My lovely Bianca would be only a few years behind, though I don’t know what happened to it after I moved out of my parents’ house. I suspect it did not survive 😦 You’ll have to share how the cuttings get on — it’s something I would definitely like to try a few years down the road as well!
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I hope ‘Gertrude’ brings you joy for many years to come, Angela. Sadly, I’ve given up most of my roses because they want more water than I’m prepared to give them.
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Oh gosh, I feel that completely. The amount of water my parents’ roses took back in the day is probably illegal these days. Even we had a bit of dry spell this past June, and the effects were felt everywhere. Definitely doubling down on the mulching this year to help retain soil moisture, since we drained a lot of our well water just in that month alone.
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Gertie is a most beautiful rose and her perfume is divine Angela. I look forward to hearing about your other roses. I can remember the first bare root rose that I ever bought – the climber ‘Blush Noisette’ and I would have never believed that a bunch of sticks could have ever turned into the sturdy scented climber that it is now 😂
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It is indeed an amazing transformation! This year I had a couple that were actual dead sticks, but new shoots came from the base and now I’m waiting to see if they are actually the plants I ordered. It would be very impressive indeed, but I wouldn’t put it past them, after seeing the amount of rebounding my first few did. If you have any recommendations for which roses to try next, I’d definitely like to hear them!
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Angela, with future orders you can request specific arrival of the roses. I have often asked for April delivery, and by then we are snow free here in Uusimaa. Otherwise, you could try for late October/November. Just have your holes ready, so you can place the rose and fill with soil you’ve kept someplace to keep it from freezing. I have used both delivery methods and planting techniques. Sadly due to brexit I stopped purchasing anything from the UK. I have had several great experiences with Rosenhof-Schultheis in Germany. I recommend them highly. Always remember, no matter what your hardiness zone, exceptional weather can occur which can devastate roses, especially climbers. Winter fleece is great for exposed canes on trellises, etc. I have never tried the Minnesota tip – it just sounded like an extreme logistic nightmare considering we have over 200 roses. But I guess for one or two it would make sense. I too have a Gertrude Jeykl – but only acquired it somewhat recently. So far so good!
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Thanks Kate, that’s a great tip! I’ll definitely let them know that for this spring’s order. I order through the DA EU site and there’s no Brexit issues there at all. I’ll take a look at the German site as well, though, because there’s no such thing as too many options 😀
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