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Introducing ‘William Shakespeare 2000’ David Austin Rose

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‘William Shakespeare 2000’ was one of those roses we added last spring that were purchased from David Austin as own root and like ‘Wildeve’, ‘Winchester Cathedral’ and a few others it didn’t really take off for us, unlike ‘Jude the Obscure’ which was also planted own-root but grew and flowered beautifully. However, spindly growth and spotty leaves notwithstanding, William produced a lovely collection of blooms from early spring into late summer. Do they remind you of another Austin creation? Yes, they are remarkably similar to ‘Munstead Wood’ which, of the two, is still my favorite but perhaps it is too soon to make a judgement. You also know I can’t help but ask for your pardon for not quite capturing the coloring of these blooms as they appear in person more of a deeper, wine red and less of this pinkish-purple coloring. Some of these photos on HMF, are a better representation of this very pretty rose.

I just wanted to thank all of you who have been writing to ask how we’re doing after Sandy. We were very, very fortunate and hardly had any damage at all. (Just your typical downed tree limbs and I managed to stomp a baby rose whilst trying to fix a gutter downspout consequently doing more harm than good.) My heart just breaks for those of you to the east who are still struggling and have a long road of recovery ahead of you. You are all in my thoughts.

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  1. The first time I saw this rose bloom, I was blown away by its beauty. And it makes such a gorgeous cut flower. It’s interesting how roses are different from location to location. My rose is not prone to blackspot, which I am thankful for. Thanks for a lovely post! So glad you came through Hurricane Sandy without too much damage.

  2. My mom got WS200 in the spring but I never made it out there to see it 🙁 I am planning on helping her with her gardens next year. Your WS2000 is beautiful along with all the other roses you have haha 😀

  3. Your Wm Shakespeare 2000 photos are wonderful and I’m glad you came through the storm. I have several David Austin roses, including my newest, Tradescant which is a smaller deeper red rose. The blooms are actually quite small right now, but I am hoping they will be a little bit larger when the bush gets established. My four year old Jude the Obscure is the sweetest smelling, most prolific bloomer in my whole garden and is my husband’s favorite. He leaves the roses to me, but Jude does grab him by the nose! I still have some Tea roses, too as the David Austins’ don’t seem to last as long in the vase and I do love to bring them inside. We had several plants die over the winter due to a prolonged ice covering, but it’s just an opportunity to try a few new little guys! So enjoy reading your posts. My family gets tired of hearing me talk about my roses like extra children! 🙂

    1. Hi Marianna! It sound like we are cut from the same cloth. I am sure my husband and daughter are sick of hearing me blab on and on about roses, but that hasn’t stopped me. 😉

      Funny you should mention Tradescant because I am reading Philippa Gregory’s novels right now about the John Tradescants. I love the photos of that rose on HMF and I think if I can carve out a little more space in the garden I might like to try one. Jude the Obscure is in our garden, too, but a new rose–we only planted last summer–and I love the scent. If your husband likes that rose, you might want to try Abraham Darby if you haven’t already. That’s my husband’s favorite.

      Thanks so much for stopping and hope you have a wonderful summer!

  4. My ring of 5 William Shakespeares bloomed magnificently before continuing to throw out leaders, almost like ramblers. The result: They have flopped out of the flower bed, over the miniature box hedge and are now blooming on the hard patio. Do they need support = or are they just an exuberant shrub rose?

    1. Hi Keith, in my experience, David Austin roses often throw “octopus canes” which it sounds like yours is doing. In some cases, I’ll train those canes onto a support and it’s like having a small climber, but in other situations, I may just prune back to a more shrub-like shape. Here is a link to a rose forum that discusses this kind of situation that you may find helpful…

  6. I planted the WS in our last house and we loved it. I don’t want to uplift it as it’s doing so well but can’t seem to find a supplier to buy us a new one. David Austin seems to have stopped growing it. Any hints please….?

    1. Hi Rachel! My apologies for the tardy reply. This rose was a shrub (not Dr Huey), but often DA roses throw out long canes that can be tied to supports much like a climbing rose.

  8. I have this rose but it did not flower last year. I missed the amazing scent from the garden. What can I do to encourage blooms please?

    1. Hello Dawn, thank you so much for your question!
      To encourage my roses to thrive and flower their best, I make sure to mulch with copious amounts of compost around the base of the rose in spring and fall. It sounds like such a simple thing, but roses are heavy feeders and compost works wonders. I have found that their “favorite” is composted horse manure. As an additional treat, you can spread a shovel-full of alfalfa pellets (found at your local farm feed store) around the base of your rose in spring and then mulch on top.
      However, I have a suspicion that your lack of blooms may be pest related. It could be a larvae of some kind of insect that is eating the buds–in which case you can simply hand pick them off. More ominously, it could be related to Rose Midge which I wrote about HERE but I hope it’s not that!
      Best of luck to you with your rose and fingers crossed for more blooms next year. 🙂

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