ROSE REVIEW: JAMES GALWAY

Do you love pretty pink roses? If so, this review is for you. James Galway is a David Austin rose which has light pink flowers. First introduced in 2000, it’s an English climbing rose. The rose was named after the famous British flautist, Sir James Galway who has over 30 million records sold worldwide. James Galway is applauded throughout the world for her exceptional beauty. I couldn’t agree more!

James Galway does surprisingly well in our hot, dry, Arizona climate and it’s been in my garden for four years blooming profusely in the spring. Spring blooms are the most prolific, with some additional flowers in the fall. There are very few flowers in the summer because of the high Arizona heat often reaching above a100 degrees. Since it’s a climbing rose, it grows along the pillar of our patio. Unlike other climbing roses, this one has very few thorns which I consider to be key benefit.

Benefits

• Soft pink color and beautiful blooms – The soft pink blooms with unusual petals is so beautiful! I love the color of this rose and it has an almost vintage look to it.
• Climbing rose – This is a really great rose if you are looking for a climber with pretty flowers and less thorns. In my experience, it grew quickly and flowered more profusely in the second year.
• Excellent cut flower – Due to its unusual form, it performs well as a cut flower adding interest and beauty to floral arrangements. Below is a pic of the roses from our garden arranged in a vase.

• Disease resistance – Over the past four years, there weren’t any diseases that is encountered in our garden. This year, I saw some Thrips and Aphids which were treated easily with Neem oil. These bugs need to be managed early in order to avoid causing the damage to the flowers. In Arizona, due to the very hot summers, the leaves of the rose tend to become brown and is not indicative of a disease. It usually perks back up in the fall and looks great again.
• Size – David Austin’s rose catalog indicates that the average size of this climber is approx. 12 ft. Our rose is approx. 10ft but we keep it trimmed to match the beam it’s growing on.
• Easy to grow – I have experienced very few issues with growing this rose. I follow some basic rose care tips and I’ll share of my best tips soon!

How to Order

I ordered a bare root version of this rose directly from David Austin Nurseries. In the US their nursery is located in Tyler, Texas and the rose arrived in perfect condition. They offered a five-year guarantee which is nice since these plants are not the cheapest. If you do experience any issues with the rose you need to send pictures and having the tags helps too! They won’t refund your money but will replace the rose. I usually plant each rose along with the original tag until it’s well established.

Note: This is NOT a sponsored post and I’ve included the order information for your convenience. The information contained within this post is information I’ve gathered based on growing this particular rose for several years.

Roses are relatively easy to grow and these plants do well with some basic care. Let me know if you have any questions or need more information on this rose. I’ve created a flower-arranging guide just for you. Take a look at my free flower arranging freebie here.