'Australian Beauty'

Anyone know much about this rose: Australian Beauty? It's seed parent is the plant sold as 'Adam' here (which I've just ordered along with Marie Van Houte). Interested to know which side of the family tree it takes after; the tea side or the HP side???

Interesting to know how Marie VH grows down your way.

Ours was 5 metres diamaeter and 3 metres high until it collapsed after a storm last year. We cut it back a bit and it is growing back strongly. Not as many flowers (gets covered by them) but they will return.

Adam is also a strong grower with lots of flowers in spring but vitually has flowers on at all times.

It's been an intersting year as fra as Teas go down here. A mixed bag! I don't have a lot of Teas because they are something I have only recently taken an interest in. The ones I have had in for between 1 and 2 years now are; 'Comtesse de Labarthe' (CdL), 'Lorraine Lee', 'Safrano', 'Souvenir de MME Leonie Viennot' (SdMLV), 'Francis Dubreuil' (NOT) (FDN), 'Monsier Tillier', and the new Australian bred one called 'St Francis Xavier'. Also have Rosa gigantea growing here as well which I group with the Teas given their close connection. Of these the stand out performers were CdL, Mosier Tillier' and 'Lorraine Lee'. They've grown strongly all year and are still putting out new growth and flowers. 'Safrano' started strongly then died in the bum. It lost ALL its leaves was a BIG disapointment. 'St Francis Xavier' and 'FD' turned up virused and have sulked all year. 'SdMLV' is growing well but not as strongly as the the others. Gigantea also is growing well but again not as well as the first three. All of these except 'CdL' are n their first year so it's early days yet. 'CdL' is in her second year and started very slowly, gathering pace as she aged. So... I'll be watching these Teas here over the next few years to see how they do. I'm hoping 'SdMLV' really takes off next year and starts climbing the dead gum I've put her on.

Simon

I figure that it may be a bit cool down there for them. Most grow really well up here tough at resent they ar infested with bugs and grubs. Its's been so wet up here I am surprised thay are still alive at all.

Simon

Where did you get 'St Francis Xavier'

I'll PM you

Hi Simon, look after those Australian beauty cuttings for I would really like to have this rose.

I don't have it yet.... I have 'Nancy Hayward' cuttings. I wanted to find out more information about it before trying to track it down.

Bruce, I have emailed the Victoria State Rose Garden at Werribee Park to see if they still have it as the photos on HMF were taken there and asked if it is possible to purchase propagating material from them. Will keep you posted.

It's messy. According to the Tealadies, the rose sold in Aus as Adam (and the one labelled "The President" at Pt Arthur) are probably Mme Berard. The rose sold in Aus as Mme Berard is E Veyrat Hermanos.

Yes... "Adam"'s tale is a messy one, however, I wonder whether we ever had the real 'Adam' here? I know a few years back when the Heritage Rose Soc. came to Tas they thought they had found the real 'Adam' growing down near Launceston (from memory... don't quote me on the location... was a while back they told me). It turned out to be something else (again... I don't remember what). What sparked my interest in "Adam" (I'm using the Tea book's manner of nomenclature with double quotes for ones that aren't the real one in commerce and single quotes for those that are) is looking at the pedigree of 'Australian Beauty'... for two reasons; the first is that it is a Tea and is fertile and the second is it seems to make good looking progeny... I wanted to know if anyone grew it ('Australian Beauty') to describe how it grew as I'm interested to know whether it takes after its Tea parent or its Hybrid Perpetual parent to give me more of an idea of what to put it with. I'm assuming "Adam" is diploid, as most Teas seem to be, in which case 'Australia Beauty' is probably a triploid because my understanding is that most HP are tetraploids... so... I'm really trying to get a feel for how it will breed and what to put with it to further our goal of breeding roses for Australian conditions.

Bruce... good news... Werribee Park has got back to me and has told me we can have cuttings. All we need to do is send them a pre-paid self-addressed package. I'll take care of that for you and send yours with mine. I'm having a few medical issues at the moment so am not sure when I will get to it but it will be before June when they start their pruning.

Thanks Simon, best of luck with your health issues.

Simon, MVH is a Tea - and sets hips!
Hope you're feeling better.

Thanks Dave, That's why I bought it... that and "Adam"... am starting to feel like a pin cushion... off for more blood tests this morning

Got word back from a gentleman called Wal Johnston, president of the Friends of Victoria State Rose Garden, who advised me that whilst we were welcome to obtain cuttings of AB, the plant itself is very prone to mildew... do you still want me to pursue this for you Bruce? My feeling is that the mildew susceptibility is probably quite climate influenced and that it probably got this from "Adam" as a lot fo the Teas (down here at least) seem prone to mildew attack. The fact that it is also a climber suggests to me that it may indeed take after its Tea side more than its HP side.

I don't think I made myself clear enough - there were roses known as Adam and President in Australia when Aus Beauty was bred (see Anlaby list in the Tea book). So I don't think the faults of Aus Beauty can be blamed on the rose incorrectly identified as Adam in the 1970s, and introduced into Aus in 1980. I'm hoping to get Aus Beauty for the Early HT collection at Renmark - it will be interesting to see how it does there.
Good luck with the health things.