They are "nearing retirement age". The husband works from home, the wife has reduced her nursing schedule to only a few days a week. They enjoy spending time on their patio during the day when they can -- they've recently had a lot of stone work done there, and it's really a beautiful place to enjoy a nice day.

I know I can smell my 'Marie Pavie' from my front door, about fifteen feet away, on a warm, humid day. Same with a few others -- 'Bubble Bath', "Darlow's Enigma", 'R. moschata', 'Reverend Seidel', "Secret Garden Musk Climber", 'Baltimore Belle', and 'Clotilde Soupert'. Generally, the "wafters" don't really fill your nose with scent from afar like you'd get from sniffing something up-close. It's more like being able to catch the scent of honeysuckle before seeing the plant -- noticeable, but not overpowering. Generally, roses with heavy Synstylae ancestry will be among the best "wafters". I'm just looking for specific cultivars that are known to "lightly scent the air" and are about this size and habit.

I'm wondering about 'Autumnalis' aka 'Princesse de Nassau' and similar non-Tea Noisettes. I know they're a rather similar related bunch, but which are ones I should investigate further?

:-)

~Christopher

Chris, I have Darlow's Enigma, DE has very light fragrance, not strong at all in my garden. I can smell it when I openning the door. It's about 8' tall not too far from the entrance. Clotilde Soupert, I can't smell it, may be it's still too small. I hope Secret Garden Musk Climber has stronger fragrance than DE. They'd need a rambler which has thousands of blooms in order to perfume the patio......1 -3 rose bushes won't do the job. There is a flower tree called Ylang-Ylang, it makes Chanel No. 5 perfume, very fragrant, repeat flower. I tried to grow Michelia champaca 'alba' tree once in a pot, 1 bloom can perfume a whole room......

Perhaps someone can recommend a rose in that size range, as that's where the difficulty comes in for me. At least in my zone, most of the roses you've mentioned would get bigger than 5'x5'. The varieties that came instantly to my mind were the Pemberton Hybrid Musks. 'Cornelia' first, a definite and very sweet wafter, lovely rose, and it might be possible to keep it within those dimensions. Its natural habit is lax and spreading. 'Felicia' has a wonderful wafting scent and is shrubbier than 'Cornelia', that is, less lax. It isn't as beautiful a rose, though still nice, but the fragrance is to die for. I don't know how it is for disease resistance in your area, nor 'Cornelia'.

I think to get wafting you have to have an abundance, at least of roses. My Cornelia wafts, I finally realize, but only during spring flush, not later because our northern exposure and surrounding buildings mean too little light in fall when sun is too low on the horizon for a big repeat, though some blooms, yes. I once saw a planting of three (at least) Golden Wings at Longwood Gardens, which I could smell from the path, 10 away, but my one specimen, reaching for the light, doesn't do this. I love Golden Wings the more because of this memory, nevertheless.

Russell Page planted three bushes of Blanc Double de Coubert together by a gate for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in their garden in France. Blanc Double is deliciously fragrant at night, unlike most other roses, but you would have to deadhead religiously, since its faded blooms are unsightly. The bush is spindly, that's why he planted three, probably.

May I suggest, though it is not a rose by any means, a bed (or even a few specimens) of the annual Nicotiana "Marshmallow". Last summer three of those scented my entire yard, and it was was quite attractive, too. (This year I couldn't find plants or seeds but I am on the lookout for next year). The pink, Dianthus "Rose de Mai," also wafts for me, as did Phlox pilosa and pale Phlox divaricata "Dirigo Ice". Slugs seem to get both of these, and 'dirigo' seems to be unobtainable, sadly. I would go all out to protect it if I could only find it again.

Thanks -- I have been thinking of other non-rose plants, and some have already been mentioned. My Dianthus 'Rose de Mai' is great -- and is still blooming now, as are a few other Dianthus I have. I also grow some Nicotania which I got as seed from Select Seeds -- Nicotiana alata x mutabilis ‘Bella’ and Nicotiana x sanderae ‘Cranberry Isles’ -- and I can smell both in the garden at night. I was also surprised by the fragrance coming from basic bought-by-the-flat Petunias. These and other things were in my head, but I'm still hoping for roses that can scent the air. Perhaps for this specific spot I'll look more for something that simply "fits and goes" and use other things for wafting scent.

BUT ANYWAY....for those of you with experience with the old non-Tea Noisettes, which are the most fragrant? I'm looking at a few, as well as some other hybrids of 'R. moschata' as possibilities.

:-)

~Christopher

Something that makes this even more challenging is that what 'wafts' for one person doesn't necessarily 'waft' for another. My wife can't even smell most of my favorite roses. A nose is not not just a nose when it comes to roses.

I agree with Melissa that a big part of the problem is that you are asking for midgets. Blush Noisette may be that small. Mine is tiny. It rarely blooms because it rarely has leaves because it is too prone to blackspot. It is a problem with a lot of the non tea noisettes north of their ancestral homeland.

Felicia. Best wafter rose out of my near 300. Champney's Pink Cluster next. None of my T/N waft like these. Honeysuckle "late Dutch" best wafter in garden.

Susan

Christopher, I know that 'Multiflore de Vaumarcus' is a more compact clustering Noisette than many others of the type. I've only seen (and smelled) it once, and it was somewhat larger than 5X5', but it was completely untended, unpruned, unweeded...

It was pretty, but not much different bloom-wise from other clustering Noisettes. But it was very, very, deliciously fragrant, even in mid-day, triple-digit heat.

As far as I can tell, you (or they) would have to get it from RVR, and it isn't listed as being in stock just now. HMF says Angel Gardens also carries it, but I didn't see it at their site... perhaps worth a phone call?

Sorry, but I can't immediately think of any others that stay reasonably small and waft...

Good luck,

Virginia

ETA: Roses Unlimited has it listed on their site as 'Multiflora de Vaumarcus'...

Here's another thought (or two):

http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.66366

http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.66367

Rose Petals has both listed as being currently available, and you can get 10% off orders of 1-gallon roses from them with this code: sesor3sel1 (coupon is good thru 30 Sept.)...

I can't say if they are more or less fragrant, or about the same as 'Multiflore de Vaumarcus', but if the stated size of 5' is correct, they may be better choices size-wise...

Virginia

Hi Christopher. I planted Blush Noisette last year, and it definitely wafts! It took me aaaages to figure out what the beautiful smell was that I could detect from my bedroom window at night, because it doesn't smell like a rose; it's like an unusual, sweet/spicy, pink peppercorn type fragrance. Can't wait for it to bloom again this year! I was impressed that it's few blooms were so fragrant in it's first year.

My other favourite wafters are oriental lillies, confederate jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides), pink jasmine (jasminium polyanthum), and honeysuckle (serotina, belgica, japonica and x americana... x heckrottii is also OK). I'm also really liking stock this year, so I'm going to try some night-scented stock as well as the usual garden variety.

PS. The blooms of BN don't look or smell like much close-up though, I'm afraid.

Oh, and freesias! They're just starting to waft around the garden here now.

Perhaps they might interplant a few non-rose wafters in amongst the roses, as insurance? One of the best wafters I know is a non-rose: Sweet almond verbena. Chicago Bot Gar says it can be kept to a 3' shrub with pruning, and we can smell ours from a good 15' away. Blooms in late summer in this climate, and has a lovely, sweet fragrance. http://www.chicagobotanic.org/butterflies/blooms

Would you care if it wasn't an old rose? Beside Marie Pavie, the only other rose that I have that will waft is Sweet Chariot when it's in full bloom. It would probably fit well into a 5'x5' spot and would look very nice with other old roses. It's a very forgiving rose but I don't know how it would behave for them. I hesitated to suggest it since their situation may be far different from mine, even though I am also z7.

might i suggest two none rose plants for wafting fragrance, they do very well here in Lahore Pakistan, infact they smell much nicer then noctrum cestrum .... night blooming jasmine.

atrabotrys smells like apples and bananas wafts long distance.

indian motia <plz chk botanical name> hands down the best fragrance you will ever experience, travels about 10 feet or more in air.

plz chk from your garden center if these plants will work in your weather if yes , then just go for indian motia .

Thanks muks! I looked up the common names of the two you mentioned. Artabotrys is known as ylang-ylang here, and Indian motia is Jasminium Sambac, most likely 'Belle of India'.

Unfortunately I don't think they'll like your weather Christopher.

'Nastarana' grows to be c. 5' x 3 and 1/2 feet wide and I can smell it from several feet away. I have a bowl of its' blooms held up so its petals don't rot,,with fragrant Roman myrtle on my dining room table beside a bowl filled with R. moschata so I can admire its' very pretty petaloids and pollen granules up close. I lust for the scent of R. moschata so I don't mind that it's a late bloomer, that and the fact that it is a long bloomer once it gets blooming.

I can detect the scent of 'Mlle. Cecille Brunner' a yard away from it, though it doesn't waft on the wind, plus I think the blooms are exquisite in shape and color. Best wishes to you and your friends, Lux.

Sitting here perusing the forum, I just read the title of your topic, Christopher, and suddenly realized I am at this very moment totally surrounded by the aroma of a single cut flower from an amazing wafter: 'Lemon Spice'. It also wafts outdoors, at least to 6 feet.

This is a great hybrid tea for me: good, sturdy, 5' x 4' bush on its own roots, blooms well, heat tolerant, perfect foliage (if it does blackspot, it hardly does for me, and really susceptible roses, like the Pernetianas will, even here, during the spring), and beautiful flower form at all stages. Lasts days in a vase.

I bought this as a band from Vintage at the Celebration of Old Roses maybe 6 years ago or so -- somewhat doubtfully as I had heard somewhere that it did not make a good or strong bush. Well, it is has done wonderfully for me and I am totally sold on this one -- on my list of top ten, if not top five, favorites. Now, how it might do in your area, I don't know...

I can second Lux on the 'Nastarana', too, and I keep mine pruned to about 6' x 5'.