Oh btw the stuff on the leaves is a spray I had, decided to try. "Daconil" fungicide.

It looks like blackspot, which Don Juan is prone to. The Daconil is one fungicide, but it only works as a preventative. If you already have it, it won't help stop it. The Bayer advanced disease control spray (not the drench) is a better fungicide. I'm afraid DJ is one of those roses that needs regular spraying.

As to the scent, it can vary at times of year and day. The roses will smell stronger in the morning. The sun and heat tends to dry out the oils that have the fragrance.

the word that best describes Don Juan rose would be TROUBLESOME

Hrose Troublesome? Oh... that's sad to hear. But I had to have a both beautiful and fragrant climber, I have little stomach for these Rose's that look nice but have no scent - what-in-the-world is the sense to a Rose that doesn't smell!?! (personal rant)

Buford I'll have to pick up some of that Bayer Advanced and give it a try! Thanks for info!

Yeah, I almost dug mine out this spring, but decided I would try again. Right now, due to the Bayer disease control ...he is looking pretty good. Seems to need a lot of heat too. Better be good this is his last chance.

actually i'm just going by what other people have to say about this rose i'm in zone 5a i bought don juan and i;m thinking about returning it because it will probably die over winter and now i read that its prone to black spots as well

I love my Don Juan. I bought it on a whim at Wal-Mart as a #2 quality plant. I think it may take a season or two to get established--it got to about 3-4' the first summer, then I had to cut back to about 12" after the first winter, but the base wasn't winter protected (with a cone or mulch). The last two winters, I wrapped the whole thing in burlap and stuffed it with straw and mounded dirt on the base to 8" or so. The first winter it had protection was brutal (-20F without windchill for almost a week) and my other two climbing roses also had cane dieback almost to the ground, and I ended up losing the white Iceberg's new shoots due to underwatering as it recovered in its shady site. With a bigger rootball than the previous year, it grew back to 6' or so, and I bend the canes back pretty severely into the trellis for more flowering laterals, so I think it could grow taller/wider than 6' in a summer.
Last winter was very mild, so I had a few tips die (more from wind damage, I think), and probably could have left the burlap wrap off.

(BTW, I wrap the whole trellis on my climbers: I put a large sheet of cardboard around the north face of the trellis as a windbreak and wrap the burlap around the south face, attaching at the sides and stuffing with straw as I work my way up. I used the leftover straw in the spring to mulch the raspberries and give my mama duck some nesting material :)

I'm not sure it would be reliably cane hardy without some winter protection in zone 5, but it will spring back quickly. I'm in a pocket of zone 5b on the edge of zone 5a, and my Don Juan is on the southeast corner of the house, semi-protected from northern winds, so I might have a microclimate going on. I put my hardier red climber, Dublin Bay, at the northwest corner of the yard where it must get buffeted by winter winds.

I water with a soaker hose under the river rock mulch and haven't had any blackspot in 3 years, but I do spray with Bayer Advanced (3-in-one, maybe?) for the Asian beetles, which love the roses, especially the blooms.

I'm trying to get my Don Juan to climb to the 2nd story patio railing, so I will be wrapping him up each fall, but I would keep him even if I had to hack down to the ground every year. The blooms are large, deep red, velvety, and the fragrance on mine is sweet, honey-scented, and strong enough to catch your nose from a couple yards away. The pic is from the first week of June this year. I'll post the pic from yesterday morning below, as he's coming into a second flush right now...there are 3 more buds fattening up for every one you see in bloom.

In August...please excuse the project paraphernalia behind the trellis (and the weeds). This area will be made into a patio this fall, a little nook to sit and enjoy the fragrance :)

I've Don Juan for about 8 years. It is not an evil troublesome rose at all for me. It blooms big fat hybrid tea like blooms and has a nice smell. It gets blackspot like every other rose I have (I'm in Florida), but I just ignore the disease. I never spray except once in a while for our nasty chilli thrips. When the leaves drop it grows more.

{{gwi:272285}}

I love my Don Juan. Sometimes it will get blackspot, but then it just shakes it off. I never spray.

It's been blooming in these 100+ temps this summer. Just keep it well fed and watered and grow it where it will get plenty of ventilation; it will reward you with beautiful new growth.

etherealsunshine, I don't think you'll get a Don Juan to climb to a second story. It's not known to be a tall climber. But if yours does, come back and let me know. Mine have never grown that tall and often top off at 6ft.

I have maybe 6-7 Dons, all on Fort., some are old maybe 20 years now... no spray for over 2 years now...they get BS and defoliate but still bloom w/quick repeat, I have shorter roses in front of them so the bare-knees don't show... Amber your Don is lovely so full and lots of blooms compared to mine, congratulations...I wouldn't be w/o my Dons they are my favs...sally

Sally, in all honesty I'm cheating. It doesn't look like that right now. I can't remember when I took the photo, but I'd guess spring or fall. Mine does bloom fairly well all year though. You have six Don Juans!? That sounds delightful. I wish I had more space.

Mine have never looked that good, either. They're on Fort, but that hasn't seemed to help. They were gifts from my children, so they stay.

I wish my DJ looked as good as yours, it seems to struggle in this Texas heat.

Well, I lost several Dons last Fall when we had that spell of cool rainy weather, I did some pruning and they got Canker, I wasn't careful enough w/the pruners, now I carry a can of alcohol and 'snip & dip- snip & dip' and it seems to work...I'm hoping to get some Dons at FSC, they do have 1 there and promised me to make cuttings, and then I know they'll be free of virus.... usually in the winter my Dons are leafy and full, but even now they still bloom, and I don't see any Chili Thrip damage on them, it showed up on the KOs and now on Belinda's Dream, but I am not spraying, I would hate to lose BD but I want a garden that doesn't require spraying, and there are some out there that seem to have zero problems ...so we shall see... sally