Rosa Dannahue - David Austin shrub rose

The English rose Dannahue™ is enchanting with its clusters of very double roses, in round, deep cups, in a soft apricot that fades to cream. Their fruity fragrance, clearly perceptible, combines fresh notes of lemon, lychee and apricot. Flowering is generously repeated from summer until the first frosts on a dense bush, wider than it is tall. Its healthy foliage, tolerance of partial shade and good performance in containers make it particularly appealing for smaller gardens.

Dannahue™ belongs to the Rosaceae family. It is a deciduous shrub: its branches persist in winter, but its foliage falls in autumn. Its official cultivar name is 'AUSA6B15'. It was bred by Carl Bennett for David Austin Roses, at Albrighton in England, and then introduced in 2023. It belongs to the group of English shrub roses. Its launch was inspired by the "Hands Off Mangrove" garden, designed by Danny Clarke and Tayshan Hayden-Smith for the Grow2Know organisation and presented at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2022. Part of the sales was donated to this British organisation, which seeks to make gardening more accessible.
This rose develops fairly vigorous, upright and branched growth, which spreads with age. An established plant pruned once a year reaches 1.10 m in height and 1.25 m in spread. The young shoots are tinged with purple, and the stems bear leaves composed of five to seven oval, toothed leaflets. The adult foliage, dark green, matt and slightly leathery, remains abundant until autumn. The ovoid buds, orange-yellow in colour, open into small, very full clusters. Each flower measures nearly 6 cm in diameter and has around thirty satin-textured petals. Initially globular, it opens into a deep, rounded cup, with the outer petals gradually curling back. The centre of the corolla, a warm apricot, quickly softens, while the outer petals turn cream. The petals fall cleanly after flowering instead of drying on the bush. Their moderately intense fruity fragrance is clearly perceptible in mild weather. Flowering is repeated in closely spaced waves from June until the frosts. This variety has good resistance to powdery mildew, black spot and rust. It tolerates light partial shade, although it flowers more abundantly with several hours of direct sunlight. Its hardiness is rated at -15 °C.
The name Dannahue was not created for the rose: it is Danny Clarke's real first name. Danny Clarke is a British gardener and presenter known by the nickname The Black Gardener.

In a small garden or mixed border, Dannahue™ can be planted on its own or in groups of three to form a broad, very floriferous bush. English rose Desdemona, with pearly flowers that are pink in bud, can accompany it in partial shade. In a sunnier position, Penstemon 'Blackbird'  will mingle its clusters of burgundy bells with the creamy apricot roses, while Aster × frikartii 'Mönch' will flower alongside them with large lavender-blue stars from July to October. This David Austin rose also makes a beautiful pairing with Clematis integrifolia, a herbaceous plant with violet-blue bells, which flowers for the first time in May-June, then again at the end of summer.