Hi debbiep I sent you an email. Thanks Brenda

I get very little scent from Sombreuil (the large-flowered climber). Occasionally its scent wafts down the side yard where it's planted, but that's it. SDLM is only faintly fragrant to me, too. Blush Noisette is said to be one of the most fragrant, and I barely get anything from it. My allergies diminish my sense of smell, I know. Visitors come to the cemetery rose garden declaring that the scent bowls them over as soon as they get out of the car, and I barely notice it. I had a few days of sinus clarity this spring, and was astonished at the fragrance. The damask scent, fortunately, penetrates my congestion, as do musks and a few of the teas. Anita

For anyone who likes research, here is a nice article on fragrant roses as cut flowers: http://horttech.ashspublications.org/content/18/4/734.full Field Performance of Cut Flower Rose Cultivars in Mississippi Crofton Sloan1,2 and Susan S. Harkness1 +Author Affiliations 1Mississippi State University, North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, P.O. Box 1690, Verona, MS, 38879 Next Section Summary Rose (Rosa) cultivars from two breeders, Meilland Star and W. Kordes Söhne, were planted in field beds at Verona, Mississippi, to evaluate cut flower production potential. Seventeen cultivars of an outdoor cut flower series of roses from W. Kordes Söhne and nine cultivars of the Romantica series from Meilland Star were planted in adjacent field beds. The number of stems produced per plant and stem length were measured to assess the field production potential of cut flower stems in Mississippi. Based on 2 years of assessment, the best performing W. Kordes Söhne roses were ‘Fantasia Mondiale’, ‘Masquerade’, and ‘Pinguin’, averaging three to 12 stems/plant per month that were at least 30 cm long, and the best Meilland Star cultivars for outdoor cut flower production were ‘Frederic Mistral’, ‘Michelangelo’, ‘The McCartney Rose’, and ‘Traviata’, averaging three to 20 stems/plant per month that were at least 30 cm long. These cultivars performed well during the heat of the Mississippi summer.

Carol, In my garden Neptune is amazing both as a plant and the color. The scent is nowhere near as strong as Blue Moon but pleasant. You know I spent years only buying blackspot resistant roses and most had little scent. But now, everything I thought I knew about roses and black spot I just chucked out the window. IMO there are just too many variables and here in Southern PA cool nights and warms days are common in Spring. So, blackspot on some anyway. And I wondered why Aloha which should be very disease resistant and vigorous rose despite being own root looked pathetic and had black spot. I figured out it is because it is on an arch near a mature Colorado Blue Spruce and apparently those are water hogs. So I guess what I am saying is that we can talk about which roses are blackspot resistant, but placement on your property matters so much I am not sure that it matters. I never thought about what plants were within their own root zone and what THEIR water needs are. Mission for 2017: to be a better keeper. I will keep diseased leaves cut daily and removed. And fortify the roses with the fish emulsion + seaweed I just bought from Amazon.com as well as enriching the soil and adding manure when my new load finally rots down. I will keep to a better watering schedule weekly or more in Summer. I will battle Japanese Beetles as best I can and not let that keep me inside. And I am going to buy bushy roses that are first and foremost extremely fragrant and secondly hold in a vase. If they are supposed to be blackspot resistant, too, so much the better. This year I am making a commitment to enjoy my roses more, blackspot, Japanese Beetles or not. While I have placed my order for this year, next year I am going to find a place for Gertrude Jekyll. English /cottage gardens are my thing I guess and she was voted the #1 rose in Britain. That one is a no brainer.