The term 'English Rose' was invented by David Austin to describe roses which have been bred to combine the graceful growth habit and flower form of old roses with the repeat flowering of modern cultivars.

In the late 1950's, Austin began breeding Floribunda  and Hybrid Tea roses with Old Roses, and after much patience, his efforts paid off with truly ground-breaking roses.  In order to maintain the old charm of antique roses, David Austin often 
'back-crosses' his English Roses with old roses; 
some of his best hybrids have been the result of this 'back-crossing'.

The exciting thing about English Roses is that they exhibit a graceful growth habit which makes them ideally suited for citizenship in the mixed border.  Today, other breeders are following David Austin's lead and developing their own 'English Roses'.

Besides the remontant characteristics of more modern cultivars, English Roses are available in the soft yellows and apricots rarely found in Old Roses; also, many English Roses have outstanding fragrance (English Roses with excellent fragrance), for David Austin breeds specifically for this trait. 

Because many introductions are relatively new, one must be careful in selecting cultivars for the garden.  While a specific English Rose may only grow to three or four feet in their native England, these same roses can erupt enthusiastically into very large specimens in warmer portions of America; for this reason, we have specified mature sizes for both cool and warm climates.

Finally, a warning.  English roses are exciting and groundbreaking, but most should be part of a spray program for blackspot and mildew in geographic areas prone to these afflictions.  I would truly love to see David Austin come out with a line of roses which are bred specifically for disease resistance.