Tips on growing DA's northern Nsw

Hi fellow rose lovers,

I'm new this site and to be honest, a total novice at growing roses.

I have taken the plunge and purchased my first DA's from trelor roses
I chose:
Abraham Darby
Golden celebration
Heritage
And Claire austin

Before purchasing a did quite a bit of research and have learnt that Ab and Gc grow quite well in humid conditions. The purchase of
ca and h where a bit of an impulse buy and unfortunately have heard bad things about ca.

I'm located about half an hr south from the qld boarder just 15min inland from the coast. Winters can drop down to light frost overnight but still can hit 20 in the days. Summer is very humid around the low 30's.

Would love any advice and feedback on these roses or any DA rose that has worked for you if you live in humid mild tropical regions

I'm so excited for them to arrive and have already seen how addictive this can become!

Sorry for my LONG winded post!

Mel

Welcome to the forum Melissa.....and no, it wasn't a long winded post. We have many people who live over your way that can help you....just need them to getaway from watching the footy, to looking at their computers..

Smart Bum John . Melissa, as John has said we are here to help. Yes sometimes sport or other things get in the road.
That is not along post, some write a page. Ok, lets start from scratch, more info please. Soil type, beds dug for new roses, position of said roses. How high does the humidity get and when is it the worst.
I think that will keep you busy for a minute or 2.

Other members will join in.

Best tip I have is don't buy them in the first place.

Why?
Because of my location or you are not a fan of these breed of roses?

Come on Bruce, I want to know the answer to this one

As you know I love DA's and would always give them a go.

A very warm welcome Mel, I do hope you enjoy the forum. We are a friendly bunch.

Thanks for all the other replies and apologies, I only just saw the previous post.

Will get busy and work out the answers to your question roseman..

I can tell you that the bed is an existing garden bed which gets sun from early morn till early afternoon. It's a tiered 3 level bed and it's the top bed that I'll be planting the new roses into.

Whats the best way to tell soil type? I know that our land is clay however the garden beds are not. Do I do the soil in the jar with water to see the breakup of clay/sand etc.

We have cows on the property so am going to work in old cow manure into the existing soil before the bare rooted roses arrive.

Thanks for your help and thankyou for the warm welcome

Welcome Mel ! I love David Austin roses, I reckon if you like the look of these roses you have got to try them and see if they work for you. You haven't lost much if they don't and gain heaps of beauty if they like living in your spot.

Melfarm, sorry to be so blunt re DA's but you will have difficulty growing them along the east coast. Yes! they are beautiful blooms with great fragrance. Unfortunatly they do not like humidity. Their foundation breeding roses weren't very healthy but I understand David Austin was trying to introduce better health into his later breeding.
I have been tempted to grow them but have given up spraying.
The cow manure will be wonderful for them and when you spray don't forget to cover yourself all over and use a gas type mask which I think 3M make. If you are inland then you can probably dispense with frequent spraying. There will be certain times of the year when humidity is low that you can enjoy them without spraying.
Of the 24 I had growing none remain.

Mel, in reply to this part iof your post,
Do I do the soil in the jar with water to see the breakup of clay/sand etc. If you do this test, I would do it from the depth of the holes that you will plant in, eg = top to bottom of hole. I would let it settle, use as little water as possible so it can dry out so you then can see how it settles in the jar. What should happen, finer parts to the bottom, larger to the top.
I also would you an old method, which is, as you have already dug a hole grab a hand full of soil from it, squeeze it, if it stays in the shape of your hand, it is not sand, if you break it in half without to much trouble, it is a loam, if it 'gluggy' it is leaning towards clay.
As for the cow manure, I woul;d be incorporate it as soon as possible, have you got other material, ex living stuff, that you can place in the bed with the cow manure, anything that will break down relatively quickly. Is there any earthworms in the bed that you know of, this also will help with your soil structure.
Ok Mel, thats enough on that for awhile.

Abraham Darby = 1985
Golden Celebration = 1992
Heritage = 1984
Claire Austin = 2007
Mel, these are the dates that these rose were introduced. One of our Victorian members uses DA's in his breeding program. His belief is the 80s/90s are some of the best produced by DA. So three out of four is good. Clare Austin should be good as he put his daughters name to it, no parentage available on HMF.
As for Ozeboys concerns about humidiy, can you list a few of the towns behind, above and below you, I will do a weather check if possible.

Wow I'm blown away by all the feedback!

Ozeboy, I can understand your blunt comment and if I had 24 roses and none survived I would be saying the same!

Roseman I haven't dug the holes yet, and yes I better get busy! We do have a compost so I could work that into the soil as well as the cow manure. Yes there are loads of worms in the soil. Thanks for the tips about the soil type. Will let you know how we go.

In regards to where I'm situated - our property is in 'the pocket'. 15 mins inland (west i guess) from 'billinudgel' 20 mins north of 'mullumbimby' does that help?

Thanks again!

Yes that gives me start, am going at weather stations for the style of change over the year, if there is any major influences.

mel give em a go , i have heard they are hard to grow in some parts , so far for me i think my location is okay, all my DA doing well so far thank god

good luck

Mel
Sounds like you are more or less on the coast between Bruce and us up here on the Sunshine Coast and in a similar topographic situation as we are up here.
I see on Google earth that there is a bromeliad and a stiletzia nursery nearby which indicates humidity is present so I'd have to go along with Bruce and say not to bother with the DAs. Very hard to keep them clean unless you love spraying chemicals about and prepared to feed the roses all the time.
We tried (probably about 15) and all bar one Teasing Georgia (I like yellow roses) a Graham Thomas (same reason) and a couple of Katherine Morleys we grew from cuttings are gone. Those remaining should be gone and will most likely be gone in the near future.
In saying that there was a fellow in Caloundra who grew them but he was constantly spraying them with one thing or another to keep them healthy.
I think you also need the right rootstock on them for your soil (similar for all roses but I think the DAs appreciate it more). Also be prepared to keep cutting them back as they have a habit of going ballistic in the extra warmth in the overall climate.
Finally I suggest that you think about some other type of rose more suited to your location. We grow old teas, chinas and Noisettes that handle the humidity better. It is all a matter of testing and trying particular varieties until you get one that is ok. Where you live is not like South Australia, Victoria or Tasmania where you can show the plant the ground and stand back. You do need t consider what will survive the locality. We were told by a respected nurseryman that we could never grow any decent roses or camellias at our place but he has been shown to be incorrect.
Have a look at our gallery on [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to see what we manage to grow.

Gary I think you have worked out where Mel might be, any chance with your background, of working her altitude/distance from the sea, thanks if you can.

The Pocket Public School is at 28d30'20"S 153D 28' 45" Elev 23
7.2kmns from the coast.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I don't think with that information and also the close proximity to the coast, Mel's humidity would be overly high. I base this on the the growing conditions in the UK

David

Mate I'm pretty certain (that is unless Google Earth is wrong) that the UK (Lat 52d N) is further from the equator than southern Tasmania (Lat 43d S).

The Pocket is some 2700kms closer to the equator than the UK so I would think that the humidity would be somewhat higher (esp considering its proximity to the ocean and the prevailing winds in the area).

Thanks Gary, IMO I think, give them ago, nothing lost nothing gained as they say. I think the roses are on there way, could be wrong, 4 roses do cost a bit, but worth the trial.

Yes if they are on the way give them a go. They might be in a sheltered area with good soil. As I said a bloke grew them in Caloundra for many years and they were nice an healthy. Just depends on the time you want to spend on them.

You have my location perfectly and I am actually next door neighbours with the bromeliad nursery.
I definitely haven't lost inspiration to grow them and keeping positive - its going to work! I've already got a huge wish list if these work out and yes they are ordered.

I agree though that the humidity would be higher than that in the uk. I have Melbourne friends who literally melt when they come visit

Ok as they say Mel don't go down without a fight, so I brought in some help from a friend.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Wow!!!

I would LOVE to be there in person.

Thanks for sharing

David ,you have promoted Pommy roses non stop since your visit to the UK a couple of years ago. I'm sure all the rose breeders here in Australia are thinking how hot the tar has to be for the feathers to stick. Thanks for showing again the terms and condittions for posting again or was that specially for me to read.
All the breeders in Australia want nothing better than to sell their roses so a little help from this forum would be greatly appreciated. What have you done to promote Aussie Roses since your very first post ?.
Warren is busy show caseing his roses on the forum, where can they be purchased? I listened to Dick Smith on the TV advising people to buy Australian, he makes a lot of sense. Aussie roses are one of our best kept secrets, who knows outside of a few that there is such a rose or roses.
Try a simple test:- Name 5 Imported roses quickly as possible.
Name 5 Australian bred roses as fast as possible.
I know which would take the longest time.
I'd very much like to hear from someone who has a garden full of Australian bred roses. All the Alister Clark roses are bred for Australian condittions and don't need spraying to keep them alive. Now that is a welcome healthy change. I've heard of Australian bred Riethmuller roses growing very healthy on the coast right up to the Cape without spraying. One grower reports they are the only roses that do well up the Blue Mountains.

There are other roses out there David you just have to go looking.