Sorry, I was rushing when I posted and forgot to mention that the climate in which mine dies back is zone 4 Minnesota. There's no doubt in my mind that at least in zone 5b and south, it probably doesn't suffer any dieback at all. Now as for the scent, I've smelled plenty of synstylae roses (both species and their hybrids) and this smells quite like multiflora usually does to me - musty, not musky as most others do. Different noses for different roses, though, remember? Don't expect to know what you'll think before you experience it for yourself. Meanwhile, if you have a less than ideal spot for a rose, this one is a good overall landscape plant, I think. It gives a lot without asking a lot.

Darlow's Enigma was named by Mike Darlow, who found it in an ole lady's yard in Oregon. The ole lady mentioned that the name was something like ___________ (the talk from a very experienced Oregon rosarian is that the old lady said "something like Cascades"), and Darlow couldn't remember the name she said. The enigma is this rose's real name. As for the scent, I can smell it when I drive by the plant, which is right by the entry gate to my yard. The scent is nice, detectable from 10 or 15 feet on a warm day (or maybe that's just the size of the damned plant!), like many Hybrid Musks which are actually Hybrid Multifloras. I would rank it a 7 on the scale of roses whose scent wafts on the air, a different process from scent you get when you stick your nose inside the bloom.

How big it spreads will have to do with how much sun it gets. In a "specimen shrub" full-sun spot, it will be more compact and self-supporting -- but still not a "small" plant. If it's planted in more shade, it will start growing like a climber, reaching taller and wider but not as dense in growth. This explains the wide difference in size estimates posted. :-) ~Christopher

Mine is three years old and is planted a foot away from the west side of the barn. It gets about an hour of direct sun in the afternoon but is then in the shade of tall pines. It's six feet tall and 4 feet wide. I just happened to read about The Gift on High Country Roses' site. They have this to say: "If you've ever had to fight Darlow's Enigma into submission, this is a great alternative." edit: I'm in zone 5 in NH. It used to say that next to my screen name but I don't see that now...