L. D. Braithwaite

Another David Austin rose which is absolutely fantastic! Wonderfully this rose is named after David Austin's Father-In-Law. Visually this is my favourite in my garden. It certainly gets its fair amounts of comments. I bought three more of these last November as bare roots and they have had the most amazing first crop of roses already. This rose has the most amazing colour. The buds are extremely dark and quite large and that clearly indicates how the final size of the rose will be huge. The blooms are bigger than my hand span and the petals settle into layers which look like sections of a big fat red pavlova.

I always catch my 2 year old daughter cupping these roses and giving them a big sniff. They look amazing when cut. One of the problems though is that they basically have no smell. They look like they would pack a punch in relation to smell because of their size but in fact they have no scent at all. Which seems rather misplaced.

The Braithwaite has a minimal amount of foliage so its best placed in a mixed bored as featured in my first image. In which I have mixed with white Campanula and Catmint. I find this provides a fantastic contrast against its blood red colour. It grows to about 3.5ft x 3ft but the growth rate is slow. Its bloom rate is reliable and you are assured a fantastic second crop in September albeit slightly less grand in size.

The Braithwaite is pretty resilient. I naughtily moved mine, due to inexperience on my part, and all the leaves fell off and it looked very sad for quite a while. Then it perked up and it has produced yet another fantastic crop of roses.

I provide this rose a sprinkle of slow release feed twice a year and thats enough. I have seven Braithwaites in my garden and none of them have needed a single support. They are strong stemmed, hardy and reliable. Occasionally I have had to deal with curled leaves but other than that they have required very little effort on my part. In regards to growth its spread is about 3.5ft x 3ft so it is fairly compact in comparison with others.

REVIEW:

Visual Impact - 5

Scent - 0

Growth Rate - 3

Stem Strength - 5

Durability (in poor weather) - 5

Resistance to Disease - 4

SUMMARY:

If you are a beginner to roses or the most seasoned of gardeners I would recommend this rose. Its impact is incredible and with so little effort it is so rewarding. I love taking cuttings of this rose to friends and family and they are always received well. They are a little more architectural in shape than the more blousy of old English roses but their stature is nothing less than regal and a beauty to behold. David Austin really hit the nail on the head with this rose. If you want to have a rose garden then start by buying a Braithwaite. As with all roses buy in odd numbers and surround with contrasting colours for an ultimate impact.