1. ‘Claire Austin ‘ (Introduced in 2007)
This is David Austin’s premier creamy-white climbing rose . It is widely celebrated as one of the finest white roses in his entire collection. [1, 2]
- Appearance: It starts as pale lemon-yellow buds that unfurl into large, deeply cupped rosettes. The petals form uniform concentric circles of soft creamy-white, often retaining a gentle buttery glow at the center. Each flower is exceptionally dense, packed with over 120 silken petals.
- Fragrance: It exudes a powerful and complex myrrh fragrance , accented with notes of vanilla, meadowsweet, and heliotrope. [1, 2]
- Growth & Habits: Highly versatile, it can be grown as an arching shrub or trained as a medium climber reaching 11 to 12 feet tall . It features matte green foliage and is remarkably shade-tolerant, requiring only 4+ hours of direct sunlight. It repeats its blooms reliably from late spring through fall. [1, 2, 3, 4]
2. ‘Claire Rose’ (Introduced in 1986)
- Appearance: The flower begins as a tightly cupped chalice before slowly opening into a flat, many-petaled quartered rosette. It creates a beautiful two-tone effect , where the outer guard petals fade to a pale, luminous near-white while the deep central quarters retain a soft shell-pink color. [1]
- Fragrance: Unlike the 2007 variety, it features a strong, distinct traditional tea rose scent with musky undertones. [1, 2]
- Growth & Habits: It grows into a vigorous, upright shrub of about 4 to 5 feet tall in moderate climates, but can easily be trained to climb over 8 to 12 feet in warmer climates. It is highly prized by florists because it yields some of the longest-lasting blooms of any David Austin variety, holding its form beautifully for over a week in a vase. [1, 2, 3]
