It is all very interesting in all ways. Evelyn grown in zone 10a is 1,853 miles from the equator so the colors I have on my plants will not be the same either. I am from Plainfield Il originally. All the tomatoes I grew up there taste different then they do down here as well. Soil and climate change things altogether! I definitely saw it firsthand when getting here in 1990.

chuckurso1 How is the scent of your Abraham Darby compared to Evelyn? Thank you.

David Austin 2011 catalog states that Abraham Darby has fruity scent with sharpness, and Evelyn has old rose and peaches.

Back in 2011 I sniffed Abraham Darby (4 feet tall dense & compact shrub) at nearby rose park and it had a SHARP citrus scent, NOT pleasant. Blooms were apricot & less petals. Two other people (Jay_Jay in the Netherlands and Brittie in Texas) reported that Abe.'s scent can be stinky.

My 2021 Abe's bloom can look similar to Evelyn, but Abe's bloom stinks up in the vase with my alkaline tap water at pH 9. Evelyn stays sweet peaches and blooms last longer than Abe. in the vase. Below is a bucket of Evelyn blooms & one orange Carding Mill and one red The Dark Lady. Short shrub Evelyn gives me at least 5 blooms per week for the vase, see below:

Below is Abraham Darby (own root) with more orange color and less petals from a friend. She said her Abraham Darby is much taller than the Evelyn rooting that I gave to her. Back in 2011, Abraham Darby at nearby rose park was the same: less petals and more orange blooms, with sharp citrus scent, can be unpleasant:

Below is my friend 2nd year own root Abraham Darby, note its being lanky & tall and upright:

My 2021 own root Abe. is much taller than my short shrub Evelyn. Below is Abraham Darby from David Austin 1993 book, note less petals and rounder & dark green leaves:

Below is deep pink bud on my Abraham Darby, note the rounder & dark green leaves:

Below pic. showing the short & many canes spreading growth of gallon size own root Evelyn (short shrub form) bought in 2011 with smaller & paler leaves and many thin canes:

Below pic. showing my gallon size own root Abraham Darby grown in 2021: larger & rounder and darker green leaves, with a few stiffer & upright canes.

Abraham Darby is bred from Aloha climber x Yellow Cushion floribunda. Below is Aloha as own root in my garden, note it has dark green and glossy leaves like its offspring Abraham Darby. Aloha is upright & compact at 2' x 1.5' as own root in my zone 5, versus its offspring Abraham Darby is at least 5 feet tall as own root here. Below Aloha is much smaller in size:

David Austin 1993 book "Old Rose and English roses" stated that Evelyn (short shrub form) has very shallow cup & forms a pure rosette, blooms more than growth, at 3' x 3', see below:

My own root Abraham Darby is tall and lanky at 5 feet, with 3 upright & thicker canes that branch well to give blooms everywhere. But my short shrub Evelyn (1993 form) blooms only AT THE TOP of many thin canes, see below:

David Austin 2011 catalog stated that Abraham Darby is cupped shaped with 70 petals, with sharp fruity scent, height at 5 x 5 feet or 8 feet as a climber.

David Austin 2011 catalog stated that Evelyn has 100 petals with old rose and peaches scent, height at 4' x 3', see below:

Below is my Evelyn bought as own root in 2012 (short shrub and I hard pruned it down to 1 foot after 1st flush, with fast repeat). Note its FLAT and VERY SHALLOW CUP blooms picked this Sept. 2026, Evelyn smells of old rose and sweet peaches:

See below pic: top blooms are VERY SHALLOW cup Evelyns (as stated in 1993 David Austin book), to compare with ONE below side-view of cup-shaped Abraham Darby:

Below is a vase of very flat & shallow cup Evelyn blooms with 100 petals arranged in a rosette. Note that blooms are flat, with old rose and sweet peaches scent. Own root & short shrub Evelyn gives me at least 5 blooms per week, for a total of more than 100 blooms per summer.

Below is a vase of Abraham Darby blooms in the front, with its deeper pink parent (Aloha blooms) in the back. Abraham Darby's blooms can look similar to Evelyn , but Abraham Darby reeks of sharp citrus scent, with deeper cup blooms which takes longer to open. I had to throw away 5 Abraham Darby blooms since they were infested with earwig bugs due to its deep cup retains water during rain.

honey murcott is the same tree as W. Murcott. Especially in Florida they confused the names. I agree Murcott is a good one but I like the other 2 for our hot climate in Phoenix and Coachella Valley as they don't burn as much fruit. Murcott caries it's fruit way out near the tips of the branches so it burns more
Fairchild is good if you don't have anything to compare it to. I pick all my Fairchild and give it to a local shelter that feeds people. They are kind of boring and don't even come close to the others mentioned.

They are not the same tree! Coming at you 17 years later.