Claire Austin David Austin Rose (Ausprior)

The thing about white roses is that there are very few really good ones and it takes someone of David Austin's calibre to breed a stunner like Claire Austin® . The flowers start out as pale yellow buds that then open out into great bowls of white petals in concentric circles with a few more loosely arranged in the centre so that each flower has a focal point. The leaves are a glossy mid green and are highly disease resistant which makes them additive to the glory of their arching stems as they sprawl up the wall. Overall Claire Austin® has less of a spread than some climbers, growing vigorously and reasonably upright. The scent is strong, an exotic mix of musk with overtones of meadowsweet, vanilla and heliotrope. This rose stands head and shoulders above any other white climbers to date and will grow even taller if placed against a really sunny wall.

A sunny spot for Claire

Whatever you do, grow Claire Austin® somewhere close to a path or window, or over a pergola because although her visual perfection is a given, her fragrance is absolutely not to be missed either. As with most roses, to benefit from full, floriferous impact you need to have sufficient sunny hours in the day and because of her beauty Claire Austin® deserves that coveted spot - the sunny South facing wall. Failing that, make it as sheltered and warm a place as possible because white roses do suffer from browning if hit by frosts, very cold winds or too much wet. Because of its pure, creamy large flowers this rose both stands out from a distance and stands up to close scrutiny making it a lovely choice for a small or large garden. Roses are such a staple of an English garden; use Claire Austin® to emerge like Aphrodite from a herbaceous border, or more rustically to grow into any of our apple trees, but choosing an early, red variety like Charles Ross produces a wonderful roses and apples combination. And then just like wherever there is pepper there should be salt, wherever there is a rose, think clematis! Choose Marie Boisselot to prolong the white theme or to add velvety claret blooms plump for something like Niobe. We do also stock many other climbing roses if you are not quite yet decided, and of course more David Austin rose superstars.

Features

• Height: up to 3.5 m
• Width: up to 2 m
• Colour: creamy white
• Shape of flower: cupped and double, with loose central petals
• Size of flower: large - up to 10 cm
• Scent: strong, musk and meadowsweet
• Flowering: repeat through summer
• Group: Modern English Climber

Like Father, like Daughter

It just shows that the acorn never falls far from the tree because this rose was named after David Austin's daughter Claire. She clearly inherited some of his brilliance because she now runs her own hardy plants nursery which contains one of the UK's best collections of peonies, day lilies and irises.