Eglantyne

Eglantyne, 1994

English rose 

When Eglantyne was introduced David Austin senior said it was his favorite English rose because she came so close to the old classic roses. Indeed, the resemblance of the old Centifolias and Damask or Alba's is obvious. Eglantyne doesn't bear heavy big blooms which fall to the ground in rainy weather and the canes and stems are strong enough to hold up the blooms.

Those blooms are medium sized flat quartered rosettes of a beautiful pale pink with darker center. They have a moderate nice old rose fragrance, nothing fancy but just enough. The foliage is dark green and the stems are very thorny, again a feature of the old roses she inhereted. Hight is ideal and will reach 100 cm so this rose can be used for many purposes. I've had her for years as a big standard or tree rose. Health and reblooming skills are very good. It's just an old rose with reblooming skills and I think that's the most beautiful compliment to David Austin senior as that was his ultimate goal.

I'm very happy to see she's still being sold by Austin roses as so many good roses have been discarded in recent years.