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I bought my first David Austin roses 2 years ago and they're flowering nicely on my balcony (in a large container) - however one thing I've found is that the blooms, although pretty, are extremely heavy and tend to droop. I have to end up tying the stalks to a cane trellis I've constructed just to prop it up a little.

Anyone else have the same problem with these roses, and what do you do about them?

vg

Did you prune the roses at all earlier in the year?  http://www.davidaustinroses.com/english/Advanced.asp?PageId=1920
This would have got rid of the more spindly stems which would have helped.
Also depends on what type of rose - some of them are meant to arch.

...my 3 in the garden are all from last year but are ok.

Do the blooms form correctly???

There are several, like the lovely orange flowering Pat Austin, that do droop from the bloom weight, but also tend to have more of an arching than upright habit. Others, like Gertrude Jekyll, are more upright.

I wish I could attach a photo. I have the lovely pink "Wisley", very multilayered petals. It could be my lack of pruning this winter, but the roses have been drooping since I got them - and they were pruned down to a stump at the garden centre. Yes, the blooms do form properly. I like the roses but I guess I'll try to be harsher with my pruning next spring to see if it makes any difference.

vg

Hi VG.  Wisley is an arching rose:

"The rose ‘Wisley’ bears magnificent large, cupped blooms that nod gracefully on a fine, arching shrub, so that in the mature plant they look directly at us. The flowers eventually open wide to form a more shallow cup and reveal numerous inner petals and a beautifully quartered centre. The colour is richest, pure deep pink; contrasting perfectly with rather shiny, rich green leaves. The fragrance is unusually fruity, with more than a hint of citrus, combined with the Old Rose scent." (David Austin website)

Your 'drooping' is the plant's natural arching :)

Thanks.... :D
I guess they are not really suitable to be grown in a pot, since this natural arching means that all the blooms face downwards and look a right mess!

veg

Quite a few of their roses seemed to 'droop' on the stand at Chelsea, I think it is normal.  I have a new one that is the same but felt better when I saw their stand.  It was beautiful... :)

I have 1 that grows straight up and although it's a climber you never see the true beauty of the rose. There is nothing better than roses hanging down thru an arch