Rose The Lark Ascending

‘The Lark Ascending’ is a deciduous modern English Shrub rose and has fast become a favourite rose among modern shrub roses. Graceful semi-double apricot blooms appear in airy clusters on an upright shrub form. It also has a light tea and myrrh scent, and exceptionally healthy foliage - a combination that differentiates it from both traditional hybrid teas and older shrub roses. Its popularity among both landscape designers and home gardeners underscores its significance as a bridge between heritage rose aesthetics and modern rose reliability. It is not only a beautiful shrub rose for gardens and mixed borders, but also an important case study in contemporary rose breeding - demonstrating how disease resistance, continuous bloom, and garden adaptability can be achieved without sacrificing fragrance or form.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

FLOWERING

‘The Lark Ascending’ is a repeat-flowering rose, blooming in flushes from late spring through autumn. It has continuous blooming throughout the season, each flush is abundant; in full swing, a mature shrub can appear covered in blooms, yet due to the open growth, it never looks clumped or heavy. The floral clusters arise on lateral branches off vigorous main canes. The rose also produces basal shoots which contribute to new flowering growth.

The blooms of ‘The Lark Ascending’ are semi-double to double, usually bearing about 20 - 22 petals per flower. The petals are arranged in a cup-shaped (cupped) open bloom form, creating a loose, informal look. Each flower is medium-sized, around 6 - 8 cm in diameter (approximately 2.5 - 3 inches).

The coloration is often described as a warm apricot shade, splashed with gold at the centers. In botanical color terms, the petals are a soft apricot-orange with lighter, almost translucent edges and deeper gold towards the base; newly opened blooms may show a richer apricot-peach tone that softens to pale apricot or creamy peach in sunlight. When comparing the coloration to the Royal Horticultural Society color chart it falls into group RHS 23A to 23C (orange-yellow group), though an official RHS notation is not uniformly reported in literature). The center of the bloom reveals a boss of golden stamens, especially as petals reflex with age. This gives the open flowers a luminous, almost wild-rose aspect despite their larger size and cluster arrangement.

Buds are pointed ovoid and peach-colored, developing in clusters. Each flowering stem typically carries small clusters of up to 10 - 15 blooms that open in succession. Notably, the blooms are well-spaced within the cluster, ensuring an airy appearance and reducing congestion that could promote disease. After peak bloom, spent petals drop cleanly.

‘The Lark Ascending’ is not known for significant hip (fruit) production, as deadheading is usually performed to encourage rebloom, and if any hips are formed they appear small and not very ornamental.

Fragrance:

The rose variety ‘The Lark Ascending’ has rather a light fragrance, often described as having a soft scent of Tea and Myrrh. Interestingly, the fragrance can change as the flower ages: fresh blooms may have a mild Tea rose scent, while older blooms emit a subtle myrrh note. Gardeners typically notice the fragrance best on warm, still days or when blooms are gathered for indoor display.

PLANT

The rose variety ‘The Lark Ascending’ is classified as a Shrub rose (family Rosaceae) and is part of David Austin’s English Shrub Roses collection. It is a deciduous shrub rose with an upright, gently arching growth habit and ample foliage. Mature plants when well-established reach approximately 120 - 150 cm (4 - 5 feet) in height and spread by 90 - 150 cm (3 - 5 feet) wide, forming a large, open-branched shrub with a tall, airy growth form. The canes of this rose are well-armored with prickles (thorns) of moderate size, which are sharp, as is typical for shrub roses. The canes have a slight reddish tint when young. The plant tends to throw long shoots in the growing season and those tall, upright canes and clustered bloom habit make it suitable for creating a tall, airy mixed border effect, as the blooms are held at varying heights from the ground upwards on the plant. No taxonomic confusion exists around this cultivar – it is clearly a complex hybrid of garden roses, not a species or subspecies. It falls into the broad group of Rosa × hybrida (cultivated hybrid rose). Horticulturally, references sometimes list it as a Modern Shrub Rose (English Musk Hybrid), hinting that some Musk rose (Rosa moschata) genetics might be in its background (the term “English Musk” has been applied to certain semi-single Austin roses.

Rose ‘The Lark Ascending’ seems particularly adapted to damp climates, it has high disease resistance in rainy weather and can also handle heat. After introduction, it has been grown widely: reports of successful cultivation come from the UK (across England and into Scotland, with winter protection in colder areas), Western and Central Europe and thrives in Mediterranean settings as well, and North America (from as far north as Maine/southern Canada to the American South and West). Its ability to handle a range of climates can be partially attributed to the diverse genetic background typical of Austin’s roses, which often include hardy heritage types and modern hardy roses.

Foliage:

There is an abundant quantity of the foliage on the plants of this rose variety. The number of leaflets on normal mid-stem leaves varies from 5 to 7, including the terminal leaflet. Leaves are pinnate, each leaflet ovate with serrated edges, the colour of the foliage varies from medium green to deep green colour. The texture is semi-glossy on the upper surface, matte beneath. The foliage of this rose is healthy and showing good resistance to diseases.

Disease resistance:

‘The Lark Ascending’ has exceptional disease resistance, it rarely succumbs to diseases, even in climates prone to common rose afflictions. Many sources and trial reports highlight its vigorous, healthy foliage that remains largely free of black spot (Diplocarpon rosae), powdery mildew (Podosphaera pannosa), and rose rust (Phragmidium spp.).This means less defoliation and spotting in humid summers - a significant advantage for organic or low-spray garden. Growers in different regions (from the UK to continental Europe to North America) consistently rate its black-spot resistance as very high. It is also noted to be heat tolerant: its blooms and foliage endure hot summers without balled petals or sun-scorch, and its apricot blooms tend not to fry quickly in sun – in fact. Additionally, this rose tolerates partial shade; it is listed as suitable for partial shade, meaning it can still bloom reasonably with half-day sun, making it versatile in garden placements.

In terms of cold hardiness, it is rated to USDA Zone 5 (−23 to −29 °C) and is listed by some sources as hardy to about −15°C (approximately RHS H6, or USDA Zone 5b). With heavy winter mulch and protection, it may survive zone 4 winters (anecdotal reports and Canadian sellers list it as zone 4 with protection), but consistent performance is best in zone 5 and up.

The cultivar name ‘The Lark Ascending’ is a direct reference to the famous musical composition The Lark Ascending by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958). This piece, originally inspired by a poem of the same name by George Meredith, is an evocative violin romance that symbolizes the flight of a skylark ascending into the sky. The rose’s breeder, David Austin, was known for naming many of his English Roses after literary and musical figures; in this case, The Lark Ascending rose was “named after the much-loved piece of music by Ralph Vaughan Williams”, as noted in official descriptions. The etymology thus evokes the “idea of elevation and freedom, capturing the essence of larks singing in the sky” – imagery that aligns with the rose’s habit of blooms “ascending” on tall stems and its uplifting presence in the garden.

English Shrub Roses

Since its debut, The Lark Ascending has been recognized for horticultural excellence. For example, it received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (AGM) (awarded circa 2012–2022) – an indicator of reliable performance in UK gardens.

In North America, it won the Chauncey Beadle Award for Best Shrub in the 2016 Biltmore International Rose Trials, where roses are assessed over two years for vigor, bloom, and disease resistance.

The Lark Ascending has also been featured in numerous rose gardens and trials in Europe and North America, consistently noted for its exceptional health and vigor, and prolific flowering.

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

The precise parentage of ‘Ausursula’ / ‘The Lark Ascending’ has not been publicly disclosed by the breeder. David Austin’s breeding program often keeps detailed parentage proprietary, especially when involving unreleased seedling parents. Officially, references list the parentage as “unknown (seedling x seedling)” or simply do not list any, indicating it is the product of Austin’s internal breeding lines.

BACKGROUND OF THE VARIETY

‘Ausursula’ / ‘The Lark Ascending’ is a distinctive addition to the English Roses. It emphasized its graceful semi-double form - unusual among Austin’s predominantly full-petalled introductions, of a pleasing apricot, that are produced from the ground upwards and are held in large heads of up to fifteen nicely spaced blooms.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

In breeding ‘Ausursula’ / ‘The Lark Ascending’, the objective likely included adding a healthy, pollinator-friendly variety to the collection. Unlike very double roses, this semi-double allows easier bee access; indeed, it’s often marketed as bee-friendly. This shows a modern trend: rose breeders are reintroducing simpler flowers to appeal to ecological gardeners. Given that some of Austin’s earlier singles (like ‘Royal Jubilee’ or ‘Kew Gardens’) were well-received, ‘Ausursula’ / ‘The Lark Ascending’ fits into that niche of an ornamental landscape rose with wildlife value.

COMPARISON WITH THE CLOSEST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CULTIVAR

When comparing ‘Ausursula’ / ‘The Lark Ascending’ with other roses of similar class or color, it is one of relatively few semi-double, almost wild-look English Roses (most Austin roses are very full-petalled). Its nearest “siblings” in appearance might be ‘Morning Mist’ (Ausfire), an earlier orange semi-double, or ‘Tottering-by-Gently’ (Auscartoon), which is single yellow rose variety. The ‘Ausursula’ / ‘The Lark Ascending’ stands out for its open form and cluster blooming. It has sometimes been confused with a climber because of its height, but it is a true shrub, though can be lightly trained on a low support if desired due to its long canes.

USDA 5