Rosa 'PAT AUSTIN'

THIS VARIETY HAS BEEN RETIRED BY DAVID AUSTIN, NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION.

Pat Austin was an entirely new colour break in English Roses in 1995: a bright copper on the inside of the petals, with pale copper-yellow on the outer sides, creating a similar effect to ‘Austrian Copper’ (Rosa foetida ‘Bicolor’). The flowers are large and deeply cupped, the contrasting colours giving a most attractive effect. There is a strong Tea scent with a warm, sensuous background. ‘Pat Austin’ forms a large shrub with attractively glossy foliage. The blooms nod gracefully from the strong, elegantly arching growth, which is in proportion with the large flowers, showing them off to perfection. With its bright colouration, it is a wonderful rose for bringing excitement to a border of softer coloured roses and plants. Named after David Austin’s late wife, who was an accomplished sculptress. May need summer pruning to maintain as a shrub.
Planting instructions: Prepare a hole of size 30x30 cm. Put your rose in the way that the grafting point is 3 cm deep in the soil. Water well and cover new shoots with soil or bark mulch about 15 cm high. Roses tolerate wide range of soils but thrive in deep, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil, in full sun.

Pruning: English roses don’t need regular hard pruning like tea hybrids. Just cut last year’s growth by one third to maximum one half in the spring (after frosts) to achieve desired shape, and strong and reliable framework. Cutting it back to 3-5 live buds is possible for re-juvenating. To support extra flowering during the season remove twigs past blossom: cut them off the first leaf with 5 bracts. Mulch well before winter, preferably with leaf-mould.

Last update: 08-01-2016