In 2003, at the nursery of David Austin Roses Limited, Bowling Green Lane, Albrighton, England, an unnamed seedling was selected to be the mother and an unnamed seedling was selected to be the father. The resulting seed was sown in January 2004, from which a number of seedlings grew. The best of these seedlings was then selected and from this plant, in July 2004, 8 buds were taken and grafted (using the 'T-budding' method) onto Rosa Laxa root-stock outdoors. The following year, in 2005, the variety was considered good enough to be increased by grafting to 30 plants. Next year, in 2006, the increase was up to 200, and two years after that, in 2008, it was increased to 1,500. In 2010 the variety was increased by further budding to 5,000, sufficient budding for a commercial introduction in May 2011.

This invention relates to a new and distinct variety of shrub rose plant named ‘AUSblanket’, which was originated from the cross-pollination of the two ‘unnamed’ and unpatented seedlings of Rosa hybrida....The following description is of 1 year-old rose plants of the new variety grown outdoors in Albrighton, Britain in the month of June.