Hi fellow Texan! I'm in the Dallas area, which I suppose isn't quite as humid as where you are, but here's a list of my most fragrant roses (several spelled incorrectly, sorry): Marie Pavie (has to be deadheaded, does best if sprayed, but its scent carries across the whole yard) Jaques Cartier (didn't like last summer, but generally my best bloomer) Paul Neyron (best if sprayed, but doesn't need it. Beautiful blooms) Gideon Lincecum (powdery mildew- has to be sprayed) Bayse's Blueberry (Doesn't fade in color and blooms in 100 degree heat, no diseases) Souvenier de St. Anne (a little blackspotty, but smells great and blooms a lot. I don't have to spray, but it would look better if I did.) S. de Malmaison (great bloomer, a little blackspotty. I don't spray her and she's fine) Sweetpea (a little blackspotty, nothing bad, reblooms quickly if deadheaded) Louise Odier (First bloomer of spring, no problems, great rose- but nearly died last summer.) New Dawn (healthy and vigorous-no spray needed) Albertine (healthy and vigorous-no spray needed, but only blooms once) Thomas Affleck (Holds its color well, smells good, has to be sprayed) Maggie (Smells great, no diseases. Highly recomended) And my favorite: Madame Isaac. This rose gets blackspot, doesn't bloom a lot, and isn't really vigorous in my climate. But those few blooms are the best thing I've ever smelled and worth growing just for that. Seriously- nothing smells better. It's worth the hassle. I grew Conrad for a while, but didn't find the scent that great, plus it's really thorny. Hope this helps & I would love to hear what does well for you. This year, I'm shovel pruning troublesome roses and haven't decided what to replace them with.

Thanks everyone for chiming in with responses! That is an important cautionary note, Thorntorn, about rose breeders having a possible agenda in promoting the fragrance of their own roses when they may be marginal at best. Certainly Delbard and Kordes roses do not come to mind when I think of fragrance, and I take Clements' statements of "highly fragrant" on a majority of his roses with a skeptical eye, since at least my poor nose can't detect much fragrance in most of his roses. Still, my impression of the Delbard book as a whole was an attempt to break down the components of different rose scents as "recipes" and celebrate the joy of smelling roses - most of the examples of scent combinations in the rest of the book were from OGRs. Also, until recent years I assume that fragrance was a not high priority in rose breeding, when more visual pursuits like high centered HTs or health concerns like BS resistance or hardiness have taken more precedence. For me in zone 5, those health/hardiness concerns are one of my highest priorities and I love the whole clan of (mostly) scentless Kordes and other types of roses. If I have to sacrifice wafting fragrance for that health I gladly will, but I'm glad there are the OGRs and new breeders like David Austin who have brought fragrance back into their lines. Regardless, I agree with you that it's too much work most of the time to try to detect (or imagine) a scent in a rose that is at best stingy with the scent. It's like trying to train my palate to detect the difference between a $10 bottle and a $50 bottle of wine. I can already tell the difference between truly cheap and a $10 bottle of wine, and frankly I don't WANT to develop a taste for expensive wines - I already have a taste for expensive roses! Sometimes the descriptions of rose scents are rather like those wine taster guides - who wants the taste (or scent) of "tar" or "smoke" in either one? For me, though, that doesn't mean that roses that don't have much in the scent department aren't worth wasting my time on. With my poor nose, I'd probably be stuck with a dozen or two roses that I could actually smell under normal conditions, and the intriguing look of roses like Red Intuition is totally worth it in my yard even though I can't imagine it having any appreciable scent. I realize that folks like Thorntorn choose roses with fragrance as a top priority, and that's part of the great thing about growing roses - that there's enough diversity of form, scent, growing habits, colors, and other types of roses to satisfy your own personal priorities. I totally agree with Suzy that what speaks to us about a particular rose is very individual and a complex combination of our experiences and priorities not just something that could be prescribed about the rose. So I agree with Mendocino rose that I wish my nose were better, but I'll settle for enjoying the look of most of my roses and the scent of a few select dear ones. I love the idea kittymoonbeam had to literally drink in some of the scent of those few favorites - I can't see doing that to try to coax a reluctant scent from a rose, but that would be so fun to try with my dear toe-curling fragrant Frances Dubrueil! Cynthia

Deb, thank you for bringing this mystery back to the forefront. I'd forgotten about it, except for a faint tickle in the back of my mind. My hosta collection is indexed on my Windows computer, have yet to discover a way to transfer it to the Macbook in new software/apps. I have Summer Fragrance. BUT, if it is listed at NHH I will order it definitely from them too. I had Essence of Summer (from Warwick Essence I think) but the crown rotted over our wet winter and it did not come back. I have Paradise Sunshine which is said to be fragrant, in the Paradise naming lineup. Let me get the old Windows computer fired up and I'll be back later. Problem is, that computer is not connected to the internet for searching. It blew a fuse I think....don't know how to fix it. I have several with Summer in the name....including Kevin Vaughan's Summer Fragrance. I got it from Hornbaker in 2012, my first big year fascinated by hostas, and I ordered over 200 unique varieties. Others with "Summer" include Summer Music, Summer Breeze, Summer Serenade, Summer Lovin. Summer Serenade had a green eyed sport, not sure what it would be, so I was searching the Piedmont Gold family tree to see if there was already a green sport. It was a sport, incidentally, because I had to cut the crown apart. I've moved the two plants after separation into more sunshine, to see what changes to the leaf color occur with more light. (My Brother Stefan sport wound up being a real Brother Stefan when more light revealed its mid-leaf color....just saying, not connected to this question at all.) I totally expected to have our house remodel done before mid June 2015, but no such luck. The driveway is torn up laying new sewer lines, new irrigation lines while we have such an event in progress, and my gardening is suffering. We'll have to rework the back garden areas too, where heavy equipment compacted the soil, before I can sod the lawn and such as that. I cannot leave it to the DH, he would try to do it himself and I want it done professionally. He is truly not able, at 82, to endure such a project. I want to make sure he has a good arm to reach for his wallet! :) More on the topic of Summer Fragrance later. I'll check for pictures.

Perle's scent is very light. Her apricot blooms fade more quickly in sun, but they are charming either way. Perle is quite thorny and grows into a substantial bush. In its shadier location, my Perle can easily top 6 feet even when pruned regularly. Her buds are like tiny high centered Hybrid Tea buds. She is very healthy. Like Marie, Perle blooms late spring through fall. Something else to note about Marie Pavie: she's thornless. Carol