L. D. Braithwaite (Auscrim)
('Mary Rose' x 'The Squire') Austin, 1988

Date planted:  April 7, 1997
Source:  J & P, local nursery 
Exposure:  Full sun all day

Even David Austin himself finds fault with his red varieties, so it comes as no surprise to discover that L.D. Braithwaite is not without flaw.  Of all the English Roses in my garden, L.D. Braithwaite appears to be the most susceptable to powdery mildew, a common scourge in my region.

The flowers are large and attractive, and while fragrance seems to be a hit or miss proposition in this rose, my bush produces flowers that are quite fragrant, with an 'Old Rose' scent.  The crimson blooms do not fade as badly as some of his other red roses reportedly do; overall, I consider this to be a good red rose, although it doesn't quite live up to the standard set by The Prince.   He has demonstrated a marked lack of vigor in my garden and does not handle competition gracefully - poor circulation cost him most of his canes.  Because new canes have not been forthcoming, I consider this rose a serious candidate for the shovel.

NOT L.D. Braithwaite - possibly Othello. Bad plant - a 'poor dooer', disease-ridden mongrel of a rose. Blech!

Journal

May 10, 2000: Looking fairly pathetic, actually - two 4' canes, one of which I have carefully pegged and is currently throwing laterals.  I moved a bit farther from the huge hungry clump of siberian iris that was probably stealing all his food, so I hope he sill start to perform better.  There are a few flower buds, but mostly he looks like two thorny sticks.

If he doesn't shape up, I will shovel prune him and try something else in his bit of prime rose real estate.

April 14, 1999: First flower buds!

April 8, 1999: Leafing out, but without notable enthusiasm.  He is easily my least favorite English rose.

July 1, 1998:  First bloom since transplanting; I'd forgotten how wonderful this rose smells!

May 17, 1998:  The move seems to have helped.  I cut him way back when I moved him, and he's throwing out lots of beautiful, clean new foliage, and has regrown to 2' tall x 1' wide.  No flower buds yet, but I'm not surprised.

April 3, 1998:  I moved this fellow yesterday, along with The Prince.  I'm hoping that the new location will help with this rose's unfortunate mildew problem...

March 29, 1998:  I am having some mildew problems with this rose right now, which I treated with a mild baking soda/dishsoap wash, and I need to remove a lot of shabby looking foliage from last year.  It's grown a bit taller at 5' tall, but has yet to really begin filling out (it's only 22" wide).  There are some new basal breaks, so I'm sure it will improve as the season progresses.  There are flower buds and a few stunted looking, newly-opening blooms.  I doubt the recent cold nights have helped... I hope this rose does better when the weather calms down.

Summer 1997:  This has been a great rose so far; it's already over 4' tall although it has yet to fill out.  The blooms are large and very fragrant, although I gather this isn't always the case.  Other than a little bit of mildew, no disease or pest problems.

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