Olivia Rose Austin is called an English Rose by David Austin. It is not a Hybrid Tea, it is not a Floribunda, it is probably best described as a shrub rose.

The majority of the flowers appear in clusters on a stem but occasionally they appear on a single stem. Without a doubt they flower well throughout the year. Individual flowers
don’t last long however so this variety is not the best as a cut rose for a vase.

Fully open flower Olivia Rose Austin

The flowers are a delicate shade of pink, sometimes turning almost white if the sun is strong for a long period. This is a vigorous varietiety as far a flower production is concerned, it continues to produce flowers from mid June / early July to October, often November in some areas.

The flowers are light scented, the strength differing depending on the growing conditions. Leaves are semi-glossy and medium green. This is a strong growing and upright rose bush which reaches a height of 1m / 3ft 3in and a spread of 90cm / 3ft. It can be grown well in a large container.

This variety does disappoint in even mildly wet or windy weather – the flowers are too heavy for the stems and they droop down under the weight in all but the best weather. Occasionally in our trials, stems would fall to the ground under the weight of the flowers. Not a variety we would choose except for protected positions. We will review this next year to see if this improves with age.

When the flowers initially open they have the shape of a Hybrid Tea rose for a few days before opening fully. The picture below is of a half open Olivia Rose Austin flower.


Half open flower Olivia Rose Austin

The David Austin rose book state that “Olivia Rose Austin is an outstanding variety in almost every way”. It also states that this variety is “entirely free from disease”. Both statements must taken with a pinch of salt, no plant is entirely free from disease and how outstanding it performs is a matter of opinion!

PESTS AND DISEASES

Olivia Rose Austin is a very healthy, disease resistant and quick growing rose. We still suggest however that you follow our instructions on controlling black spot which can be found here.

HOW TO PRUNE AN OLIVIA ROSE AUSTIN ROSE

Prune an Olivia Rose Austin rose as follows:

YEAR 1 (after its first year of flowering)
Remove any dead or unhealthy stems back to live wood.
Remove all foliage to reduce the risk of black spot and other diseases next year – burn the foliage.
Trim back stems by about 10cm / 4in.
Step back and look at your shrub rose, prune back any stems which are longer than the overall structure of the rose so that it has an even profile.

YEAR 2 and ONWARDS

Remove any dead or unhealthy stems back to live wood.
Remove all foliage to reduce the risk of black spot and other diseases next year – burn the foliage.
Prune away a third of the length of all stems. If you want to reduce the size of your shrub rose next year, prune away a half of the length of all stems.
Step back and look at your shrub rose, prune back any stems which are longer than the overall structure
of the rose so that it has an even profile.