The Albrighton Rambler Rose | David Austin 2013
THE ALBRIGHTON RAMBLER | THE RIGHT ROSES
‘Ausmobile’
English Rambling Rose bred by David Austin
David Austin
A repeat-flowering variety which, unusually for a rambler, has fully double flowers. that are small and cup-shaped. They are blush pink, fading to blush white and are held in large, gracefully hanging sprays. The petals of each bloom are beautifully arranged around a little button eye; the overall appearance being one of exceptional prettiness and charm. Named for the village where our nursery is located. David Austin, 2013.
The Right Roses: RightRoses.com
David Austin introduced The Albrighton Rambler rose for the UK in 2013. According David Austin, he named this rose to “commend the Striders, Steppers and Strollers who walk for health in the lanes and fields around the village of Albrighton, where our Nursery is located”.
Overall, The Albrighton Rambler rose is an extremely pretty rose. However, in our opinion, The Albrighton Rambler rose lacks the cutting edge to separate itself from the other previous David Austin roses such as The Lady of The Lake.
“…in our opinion, The Albrighton Rambler rose lacks the cutting edge to separate itself from the other previous David Austin roses such as The Lady of The Lake”.
The Right Roses | RightRoses.com
The Albrighton Rambler rose: The pros
The Albrighton Rambler rose has three positive traits.
First, it produces incredibly pretty blush pink, double blooms. For your information, It is very rare that a ramble can produce double blooms. David Austin has introduced to the market five rambling roses so far, such as Malvern Hills, The Lady of The Lake, Snow Goose, and Mountain Snow. However, only Malvern Hills rose can produce double blooms, while The Lady of The Lake blooms are only semi-double.
Second, it is also extremely rare that a modern rose has a button eye in each bloom. Michael Marriot, the senior rosarian at David Austin, enthusiastically suggested that “The button eye comes from true Old Roses, especially antique Gallica and Damask roses. Few modern roses have it”. So far, among David Austin roses, only four varieties have this lovely characteristic, including Munstead Wood, Port Sunlight, Imogen, and The Albrighton Rambler rose.
Third, although the blooms look so delicate, they are in fact quite tolerant of rain. The flowers are not hugely affected by rain. However, just a little detail, The Albrighton Rambler blooms do not drop cleanly from the plant. They will turn into quite unattractive brown and stay there until you deadhead them. They will not turn into rose hips either.
The Albrighton Rambler rose: The cons
Although The Albrighton Rambler has three positive traits, they are probably not enough to convince the team at The Right Roses of its superior quality. It also has three major drawbacks.
First, the bloom size of The Albrighton Rambler is small (1 – 2’’ or 5 – 9 cm). We are aware of the average size of rambling roses which are smaller than those of shrub roses. However, even comparing with a few other rambling roses such as Mountain Snow, The Albrighton Rambler also fails to beat.
Second, the color of The Albrighton Rambler is extremely delicate. However, it also can vary and fade due to the hot weather. Therefore, sometimes the blooms look quite bland as they fade a lot under the heat.
Third, The Albrighton Rambler only produces a very light fragrance. Among David Austin rambling roses, The Lady of The Lake has a much stronger scent.
Finally, The Albrighton Rambler has an average disease resistance, which is not at all very impressive. This is one of the main reasons why we failed to see The Albrighton Rambler are a better rambling rose than the earlier introduced ones.
The Albrighton Rambler rose: The similarities
Five David Austin rambling roses
Characteristics | The Albrighton Rambler | Malvern Hills | The Lady of The Lake | Snow Goose | Mountain Snow |
Fragrance strength | Light | Light – medium | Medium | Light | Light |
Repeat flowering | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Bloom size | Small, fully double flowers, cup-shaped | Fully double
Rose hips |
Semi-double flowers (2’’)
Attracting Bees |
Small | Medium- large |
Vigor | Extremely | Extremely | Extremely | Good | Extremely |
Suitable for | 6ft wall or fence, 10ft wall or fence, obelisk or pillar, standard arch, large arch, pergola | 10ft wall or fence, front of house, large arch, pergola | 10ft wall or fence, obelisk or pillar, standard arch | 6ft wall or fence, obelisk or pillar | 10ft wall or fence, front of house, large arch |
Tolerance of shade | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Disease resistance | Average | Excellent | Good | Excellent | Average |
Photo credit: DavidAustinRoses.com