Gardening Question:

David Austin has had mixed success until recently breeding red roses. Most
older red English Roses (such as 'Fisherman's Friend', 'Prospero, 'The
Squire' and 'William Shakespeare') have produced beautiful fragrant dark red
flowers on weak plants that are disease-prone (especially to blackspot).
Recent crosses, especially with the vigorous and disease-resistant Mary
Rose, have attempted to improve on those weaknesses and seem to have
produced some very good new red English Roses, 'The Dark Lady', 'The Prince'
and 'L.D. Braithwaite'.

* The Dark Lady
* The Prince
* L.D. Braithwaite

'The Dark Lady' (1991, 4'x5', 'Mary Rose' x 'Prospero') has flowers that
have been described as dusky crimson or deep pink. It has a strong Old Rose
fragrance. It is a very good repeat bloomer.

'The Prince' (1990, 2.5'x3', 'Lilian Austin' x 'The Squire') has some of the
darkest flowers of any rose, described as either dark red or purple-red. It
is very fragrant. It is a good repeat bloomer, but the flowers have a short
vase life. Its glossy modern-like foliage may have problems with blackspot.
It is a very small bush, even in the warm climates, so it is probably best
planted in groups of three (or more). It may be a good candidate for
planting in a half-whiskey barrel.