The Prince is another David Austin beauty.
You just have to love the colour of this rose. It is a magnificent deep, deep crimson. David Austin advises in his book , English Roses, that Graham Thomas believed The Prince to be the first variety of this shade to be introduced since 1840. It is a colour more characteristic of old Gallicas than modern roses.
The Prince’s flower is a slightly domed rosette, with a beautiful old-rose fragrance.
The Prince grows about half the height of an average shrub rose and is described by Botanica as having “a skimpy provision of dark leaves”. Typical of deep crimson roses, The Prince is not particularly vigorous. David Austin described The Prince as “not a weak growing variety”, which doesn’t instil confidence. Botanica advises The Prince “needs the dedication of a connoisseur” to thrive. I won’t tell mine that. It doesn’t get any special treatment and it is doing just fine, although it is no star performer. The Prince, reportedly, does better in warmer climates which may explain its survival.
The Prince is from Aloha strain, so even though it does not appear in more recent David Austin books where he classifies his roses into Groups, if it did, it would be classified as a member of David Austin’s Leander Group. All members of the Leander Group have Aloha as their foundation parent.
The Prince was introduced in 1990 by David Austin, England.
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Beautiful photos and information.
Thanks so much and thanks for stopping by.
I doubt that any prince would like me to say this but this one is gorgeous! Love that color, Glenda. The Winter was very hard on my garden and roses. I’m still waiting for 3 to show some sign of life but I’m not so sure I will, especially when they were always among the first to bud. Quite a few of those that have bud are doing so from the bottom of the plant, their canes are mostly dead. I’ll trim them away once the weather stabilizes to limit the shock. Not a very auspicious start to the season, that’s for sure but it happens and I’ll be spending time shopping for roses in June. 🙂
John. I am sure every Prince would be happy for you to describe him a gorgeous, especially this one. Oh John, your weather sounds so harsh. Our winters are so mild in comparison. I feel so pathetic complaining about burnt flowers in summer now. I guess there are roses that cope with your cold winters. How is your Burgundy Iceberg going? If it is surviving you should consider the original white Iceberg. Then again it may just be a hot weather star.
Since I last wrote, all but one have started to bud. Believe it or, the Burgundy Iceberg is doing about the best of them all. It is the only one that is budding on existing canes. None of the others’ canes have shown any life at all, with all new growth coming from the bottom of the plant. This worries me because some roses are grafted. I won’t know if the new growth is what it should be for some time. We’re supposed to get a nice warm spell, starting tomorrow. I’m going to trim away the dead canes, hoping that the warm weather will lower the risk of shock. Fingers crossed.
I will be thinking of you and your roses xx
You’re so kind, Thank you, Glenda. 🙂
How do you keep coming up with such beautiful roses. I would so love to see your gardens. The richness of this color is wonderful.
Hi Diane, don’t be deceived. I only show you the good ones 🙂
What a scene stealer 🙂 To me it seems the merit of red roses are somewhat overexposed until a glorious specimen like this demonstrates unequivocally what the fuss is all about 🙂
Hi Ella, I just love the richness of the colour and the perfume is divine.
I’m glad you posted this one. I just purchased my first DA roses… Have no idea how they will perform, hopefully as good as yours 🙂 …
Hi Elyna I hope your David Austin roses do well. I would love to know which ones you bought and what you think of them.
I have benjamin britten, alnwick, and teasing georgia.. Only benjamin britten that has flowers at this time but its color doesn’t look like what the catalogue says, should be apricot salmon tone but it turns very pink :(…. I am planning to post some pictures.
Hi Elyna, Here is a link to a photo of my Benjamin Britten. Mine is more of a orangey red than pink. I hope yours wasn’t wrongly labelled.
https://passionfruitgarden.com/2013/01/19/benjamin-britten/
Wow! Another delicious rose…
Thanks Liz
Another beauty, literally. I love Austin roses for their old world fragrance
Hi Sandra, In my humble opinion, a rose needs fragrance to rate.
Stunning rose – I love the classic red hues in this one!
Thanks Celia.
Thank you for your gorgeous photos of roses. I am a bit past my energetic days of rose cultivation. But the Remains of that Day are leafing out just now in the garden getting ready for their big show: Therese Bugnet (10th generations) all over the place, Abraham Darby, heritage, Mary Rose, New Dawn, Sally Holmes, Dainty Bess. There are beloved, dearly missed ghosts in the garden too: Cecile Bruner, Gloire de Dijon, Harison’s Yellow, Rosa Rugosa, Paul Neyron, Violette de Reine, Queen Elizabeth, Cardinal Richelieu. Even a recent beauty is looking defunct after this severe winter- Julia Child! I miss Mama too, a rose lover & accomplice in the old rose garden project. How she loved those roses. But the deeper into May we go here in the North Carolina mtns. the more our dear old friends will come again to comfort, beguile & bedazzle us. I am ready & waiting breathlessly.
Hi Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I hope your friends are back soon.