Growing ‘Olivia Rose Austin’
I’ve been asked by a number of people to share my thoughts on the very popular David Austin rose ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ and I think I’ve spent enough time with this beauty to cast my vote. I’ll cut to the chase: she’s a nice rose but, space being limited, I don’t think I would grow her again. *
Surprised? Let me explain. First, there are wonderful qualities that Olivia can claim, in my garden at least, and I have no intentions of getting rid of the two that I already have while we’re living here. However, as I am already dreaming and planning a “someday” new garden I’ve begun a list of roses I would grow again and ORA is not included.
I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s talk about all of her good qualities first:
– She’s beautiful in a container. I have mine growing in 30 gallon cans.
– She’s winter hardy. I left them out all last winter with no die-back. (zone 6, south facing.)
– She’s incredibly disease-resistant. Hardly any blackspot to speak of and never any powdery mildew. (We don’t get rust in our area so I can’t speak to that.)
– After a year of getting established (mine are own-root) I’ve found her to be very floriferous.
– The flowers are graceful looking in a pleasant shade of pastel pink.
– Hardly any balling in wet weather and petals drop fairly cleanly.
With all those fine qualities, why wouldn’t I grow her again? I’ll be blunt: she’s kinda boring? I mean, with all the pink roses available to grow-some of them quite stunning-I’m just not really finding anything about ORA that sets her apart. And there are other, more tangible things, such as:
– The stems are really short. Challenging as a cut flower.
– Although the scent is classified as “strong, fruity”, to my nose it is mild and not really memorable.
– The habit is so floppy I can’t imagine her being a good choice to plant in the ground unless you’re OK with that. (Again, great for a container, though.)
– Although the flowers are nice looking, there isn’t anything particularly striking about them. They’re not very pollinator friendly, either, so they don’t even have that going for them.
– Some roses really draw me in. I keep coming back to them again and again to admire them and give them little pets (yes, I pet my plants.) Even when they’re not in flower there is just something about certain roses that really captivates me. Are you the same way? It’s difficult to describe, but I don’t get that feeling with Olivia Rose Austin. She’s lovely, but more in a “background” kind of way.
Again, with so many other pink roses to choose from, I’m just not particularly in love with Olivia Rose Austin. I think she is a great rose, definitely a good one for beginners, but, for me, she’s missing that wow factor.
Do you grow Olivia Rose Austin? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
* To be fair, there are a lot of roses that I’m currently growing that I wouldn’t add again. I’ve really become very picky about what I like and don’t like and in future I’ll be limiting my plant palette.
You know, I never really considered it but I walk right by ORA all of the time and don’t really take notice. She’s at eye level in those containers too so there’s really no excuse!
I’m the same way! How many times a day do I squeeze past those containers without really stopping…so strange. Unlike so many others where I can’t help but stop and admire them (like Ghislaine which we both were oohing and ahhhing over just the other day.)
Hi Laurie. It’s funny isn’t it. There are some David Austins that have been discontinued that I still like (and took cuttings of years ago) and there are some of the current ones that do nothing for me. It’s good to have the honest opinion of someone with so much experience. Thanks.
Thank you, Jane! Isn’t it crazy that DA is discontinuing Munstead Wood and Lady Emma Hamilton? I’m glad to hear you got your cuttings years ago. Smart! 🙂
Hi, first timer here, do you think adding support would help with the floopy-ness? If planted in the ground?
Hi Lynnsae, welcome!
Yes, definitely. For roses that get floopy like that, I like to use shorter fences or even growing through an obelisk is nice, too! 🙂
Your feedback is a big help. I was planning to use it with perennials but like you said the floppy habit wouldn’t work.
Hi Scott! Glad to help! 🙂
Could you say what Pink old fashioned roses you recommend? Thanks.
Hi Rick, are you specifically looking for a David Austin rose? I quite like ‘James Galway’ which also makes a wonderful rose for the vase.
So many of the Old Garden Roses in shades of pink are favorites of mine: Ispahan, Desirée Parmentier, Queen of Denmark, to name a few.
You may like to take a look at some of the Kordes roses: ‘Earth Angel’ comes to mind.
PS: All that being said, I still think Olivia Rose Austin is a good rose and I know a lot of gardeners really enjoy growing it. 🙂
I just got my first Olivia bloom and disapointing, small tiny mini size, less than half the size of my medium Queen Elizabeth!
What are some fragrant roses you WOULD recommend?
Hi Sarah! Click HERE for a post about fragrant roses. 🙂
She is my first DA rose and I’m beyond disappointed. She is the puniest of all my rose bushes…
Hi all. Fair enough, but I will mention that I put two bare roots in William Morris pots for the first time last year and they didn’t excel. This year, though, they’ve flowered really early, and really well. So do not despair if you’re in your first year.