PlantFiles: English Rose, Austin Rose
Rosa 'Constance Spry'

A once-bloomer with a distinctive scent and flower form on a big, graceful bush. It's pretty tolerant of neglect if you don't like having to spray. This was David Austin's first "English rose" introduction.

My Constance Spry is trained along a wooden fence about 4' high. She also ramps up over an old apple tree, but they don't bloom at the same time.

Right now, in early June, she is beginning to pop out. Her scent is usually noticeable if you get right up to one of the flowers at this point. By the time she is covered in blooms, it is more intense. Relatively disease free in spite of the fact that I would say she is only in partial sun. Hardly any black spot even in a humid stretch. Not strictly a landscape plant, there are medium sized stems to cut for bouquets.

I think I bought her from Roses of Yesterday and Today. Notice how I have personalized this plant? It's easy to do, and like a pet that just lives on and on she does, but in increasing vigor.

I used to love and lose lots of hybrid teas in my 6A location. This was my first introduction to something that survived. It was one of several once-bloomers that have made it, and I had almost concluded that roses which repeat bloomed were not for me. But I learned a bit over the years, and David Austin also came to the rescue.

This rose is about twenty-five years old. It would be spectacular in so many places, and I cannot imagine anything in this world giving as much value for the money. It did not take long to establish itself - maybe I just have the perfect soil for it, too. Or perhaps I'm just lucky.

Grows like a maniac. I got mine from Roses Unlimited a couple of years ago and so far no blackspot or mildew noticed. Wonderful fragrance, very thorny though.

This rose was grown by cutting and only took 2 years to reach a height of 10 - 12 feet without pruning. The blooms are spectacular, very fragrant, and beautiful but only last for a couple of weeks. In Virginia (zone 7), it blooms once a year in late May in a sunny site. In the winter, red pips are formed and eaten by the cardinals. It is too large for my fenced-in townhouse patio garden and has thorny stems that reach over 12 feet long. It will look better if the stems are trained to grow on an arch or trellis in a large garden.

A vigorous grower. Make sure to allow it a lot of room. This rose tend to get black spot and mildew. I've tried spraying it right before leafing and has helped fight the problems this year. I've since sprayed it again in June after the blooms ended. So far so good. I wish this rose is a repeat bloomer. The blooms are large and gorgeous and covers much of the bush.