David Austin has had mixed success until recently breeding red roses. Most

older red English Roses (such as 'Fisherman's Friend', 'Prospero, 'The

Squire' and 'William Shakespeare') have produced beautiful fragrant dark red

flowers on weak plants that are disease-prone (especially to blackspot).

Recent crosses, especially with the vigorous and disease-resistant Mary

Rose, have attempted to improve on those weaknesses and seem to have

produced some very good new red English Roses, 'The Dark Lady', 'The Prince'

and 'L.D. Braithwaite'.

* The Dark Lady

* The Prince

* L.D. Braithwaite

'The Dark Lady' (1991, 4'x5', 'Mary Rose' x 'Prospero') has flowers that

have been described as dusky crimson or deep pink. It has a strong Old Rose

fragrance. It is a very good repeat bloomer.

'The Prince' (1990, 2.5'x3', 'Lilian Austin' x 'The Squire') has some of the

darkest flowers of any rose, described as either dark red or purple-red. It

is very fragrant. It is a good repeat bloomer, but the flowers have a short

vase life. Its glossy modern-like foliage may have problems with blackspot.

It is a very small bush, even in the warm climates, so it is probably best

planted in groups of three (or more). It may be a good candidate for

planting in a half-whiskey barrel.