My Experience (So Far!) Growing David Austin Roses for the First Time
In 2025, I decided enough was enough – I’ve been wanting to try growing a David Austin rose bush, so this year was going to be the year! You may have noticed that the title of this blog says a plural amount of roses; well, I may have ended up with two… oops! The two roses I ended up getting are a shrub, and a climber. The shrub rose I got as a bare root, and the climbing rose was a starter from the garden centre.
About the Roses
I started off with getting a David Austin bush rose, specifically, a Queen of Sweden. It’s planted in a shadier spot, while the climbing rose, The Generous Gardener, is in a slightly sunnier location, but both are planted directly in ground. Both are shades of pink (the Queen of Sweden leans more cool toned, and the Generous Gardener slightly warmer), produce medium sized blooms, are repeating flowering roses (they bloom continuously throughout the season), and are considered medium sized. The Queen of Sweden being a shrub rose caps out at about 4ft tall, while the Generous Gardener will grow to about 15ft, and will be trained to grow up a trellis. Both of these were perfect sizes for the space we have! The main difference (for me) between these two plants is that the shrub is great for cut flowers, while the climber will, of course, be just that – a climber.
The First Year
When it comes to roses, there’s really not much to report on in the first year couple of years, but especially in the first year. They don’t necessarily produce much (each rose bush ended up giving us one or two blooms each), and even in the second year, they’re still getting established. That being said, I learned a lot about caring for these plants in their first year, including that bunnies have a palette for very expensive roses! The leaves were regularly nibbled on, and we ended up having to create chicken wire cages to protect them from the hungry locals. They snacked so much, I didn’t even need to end up pruning them this year because there was almost nothing left!
David Austin rose bushes can be notoriously difficult to overwinter in cooler climates, which does make sense given that they are native to the UK, where their grow zones range from 6-9, and their winters are much less harsh than Canada’s. We weren’t entirely sure what to expect, but ensured that ours were protected throughout the winter, covering them with styrofoam rose cones, and I am happy to report that they did in fact make it through to 2026!
What to Expect in Year Two
The famous saying with roses is “the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap”, so for year two, we’re expecting a little more excitement from them this year! When I looked at them under the cones to check that they made it through the winter, they were looking very full and green, so I think it’s fair to assume that once they’ve been pruned and fertilized in the next few weeks, we’ll start seeing some growth, and hopefully a few more blooms! We’ll also be ensuring that they’re well protected from the hungry bunnies.
I’m so excited to see what’s to come for these roses in 2026, and I’m hopeful that they’ll bring me a few more blooms this year! I’d love to add some roses to some bouquets this summer, so here’s hoping!
