Thank you for the info. So this is like it took the color from the grandmother (Mary Rose) and the number of petals from the mother (Dark Lady) :-) Will this affect the plant? Can I propagate it?
20 years it the patent, you can propagate it, but you need to use AUSromeo as the name is trademarked or copywritten on the red one, I guess you could name the sport Bill Shakes 21...haha Does it still have the same scent?
I bought a plant of AUSromeo three years ago and eagerly awaited the flowers and was looking forward to a distinct improvement in the health and vigor of the Austin reds. I shovel pruned the plant after it's first flowers. The leaves were absolutely covered with rust and would soon defoliate after contaminating every plant nearby. The three flowers it produced were lovely -- rich crimson and very fragrant. I cannot, however, have a rust magnet in my garden, so William Shakespeare 2000 has no place in it.
