Well hello!! :D Thank you for another great thread. I grow David Austin and a few old roses but no floribubdas among them. I therefore got very excited when I saw 'Earth Angel'. It seems to have old-rose/English rose type blooms and most importantly for me, great fragrance.

So 2 questions and 1 discovery:

1. How strong do you find the fragrance?

2. What do you think is the most fragrant floribunda?

3. For anyone in Europe, please note that 'Earth Angel' is a name only used in the US. It can be found here under the name 'Herzogin Christiana'. https://www.rosen.de/gartenrosen/adr-rosen-roselax/herzogin-christiana-kordes-rose 

Hello Sean

I’d give Earth Angel a 7 out of 10. Good scent, but there are stronger.

My tiny Well Being (Harkness) plant has only bloomed ONE flower so far, but I swear it is the most fragrant floribunda flower I have ever sniffed in my own garden or anyone else’s or any public garden , lol.

Bolero, which I‘ve had much longer, also deserves consideration for ‘most fragrant’.

BenTBent, THANK you! :D To think-think- I HAD a Well Being! I cannot recall the performance as it was at my allotment and ai was relocating at the time. But Bolero looks THE BUSINESS!! :o0 I mean... Earth Angel LOOKS wonderful, with the old world charm of those blooms but to read the rave reviews of Bolero! Now I'm seriously reconsidering.

I am so excited for my Earth Angels to bloom. Based on your feedback I think I might have put them too close together though! This is their first year own root so I doubt they'll get 4-5' wide with 7'+ canes but sounds like I'll be spacing them apart a bit more next year lol

Bolero

Earth Angel

Both are beautiful but if I could only have one it would be Bolero. It is so healthy and fragrant.

So, is Bolero the US translation of 'Lady Romantica' in Europe?

Sean,

If I were you I’d bring my shovel to the old residence and retrieve Well Being for the new garden. Ask nicely or steal it back, I don’t care!

Like Kristine, I’d easily choose Bolero over Earth Angel. It’s a better plant with far better repeat, and a stronger, more delicious fragrance. The Bolero that is well loved on this forum is MEIdelweiss, while Lady Romantica is MEIperette, they’re not the same.

Another floribunda with outstanding scent is Life of the Party, it’s new for us Stateside, yellow with pink edges, similar in color to Peace.

BenT hahahahaha! I may indeed have to resort to Well Being because Bolero is no where to be found online in Europe. I even checked the breeder Meilland's website and zip... nada! :( Pity...

When EA is good, she is VERY good and when her blooms are perfect, few can surpass her, but mine are poor bloomers and inconsistent in form and color.
Bolero was new last year, but between my limited experience with it, and the fabulous reviews on the forum, it would be my choice. I don't recall anyone ever giving Bolero a thumbs down.

I planted my 2 Earth Angels 18" apart because I thought they were going to be very small plants, but they shot up and out so quickly they were hindering each other's growth. I hope they do better this year since I moved one. I would love to see them overcome their poor reviews.

EA seems to be like Eden, (I think it looks like Eden's little sister), in that it performs very well for some, and is a dud for others and not much in between.

I would pick Bolero over EA too because Bolero repeats so fast and EA is my slowest to repeat despite dead heading.

Thank you all for sharing your invaluable advice and experience. I was often spoiled here in Europe because while my heart bled for so many of you who wanted David Austin roses that are no longer in mainstream circulation (The Prince, Tradescant, Othello, etc.), I was usually able to find nurseries that stocked them this side of the world. I would have happily have even sourced and posted plants to you if they could get past your customs!

But now I know your pain, as I am searching high and low but cannot find Bolero! Not even on Meilland's own website.

Many times plants are taken out of production due to (1) unpopularity, (2) a better plant was created or (3) hybridizer found out it wasn’t as good as that person expected — spindly small blooms, too much disease etc.

Austin found that many of his early roses pretty much disease resistant in England, when they crossed the pond to the USA developed blackspot. He has had to create more disease resistant roses for the US market such as Queen of Sweden.

Thanks Jazzmom516, that makes sense. I'm not sure why it wouldn't be considered to be a good performer here in Europe though, especially given that France has such a range of climates.

Sadly BenT, I think I will give Well Being a miss. :( I read a lot of responses here that said it is not too generous with the blooms. I also recall that the one at the allotment wasn't exactly a profuse bloomer either.

Sean, if you are looking for old fashioned form, and great fragrance on a repeating shrub, have you tried some of the Guillot roses? The roses I have tried in their Generosa collection have been beautifully fragrant. Sonia Rykiel has a beautiful rose/raspberry fragrance to my nose (but warning, some people have struggled to grow this rose -- I've got one in a pot in the Seattle area that does well, so I think it would do well in your climate, which is quite similar). I also really like Versigny (if you search here and on the antiques forum you will find some nice pictures of this rose in Brother Jerome's monastery garden). Alas, we can't get most of them here in the US -- you have a far greater selection than we do. If you do grow some, keep us posted about how they grow for you.

Re: Earth Angel, I have one growing in a 10-gallon container. It does OK, but would undoubtedly be great in the ground. Super nice, glossy foliage, and a pleasant scent -- not knock-your-socks-off but good. I like this rose, but I'm not devoted to it, as I am to some of my others.

Hi KS, thank you! I will explore the Guillot range.

Meilland yesterday informed me that Bolero (Meidelweis) is no longer in production in Europe! Only Japan and the USA, so conservationists among us please take note.

I therefore sought out an alternative and was recommended the wonderful Margaret Merrill, which I ordered and it was delivered today! I cheekily ordered a Jacques Cartier too and they threw in Compassion for free!! No complaints!

Margaret:

Jacques:

Compassion:

Those look so beautiful, Sean. I can't believe they discontinued Bolero in Europe. What are they thinking? Have you ever looked into The Aspirin Rose? It's a Tantou and is no longer available here that I've been able to find.

Vaporvac, it so happens that the Aspirin rose is FEATURED on the front page of that website where I bought these three plants from! https://www.dewilde.nl/nl/rozen/de-wilde-rozen/r-aspirin-rose-in-pot/10594 They have it discounted by 1 Euro. :)

Yes indeed, Meilland have ceased production. :( I did write and say that we are grateful for this amazing rose and that even if it was no longer available to enjoy in Europe, it is certainly making waves in the USA. they thanked me for my comments and said " Sadly, we can only push varieties on the market, but we cannot force growers to grow what we like." So I guess it was down to the growers, which meant it was probably down to demand.

That is too funny! What a coincidence! It is a really wonderful Rose that is very highly rated and does well with black spot from what I understand. I first became aware of it from a Blog I follow of a Belgian woman who has an absolutely stunningly amazing Garden.

Beautiful young plants. Sean. Are they own root? Too bad about Bolero, sometimes I find some really great varieties discontinued while some very mediocre one continue to proliferate.

Oh Sean, I have read your comment regarding your Well Being and I am not swayed in the slightest. I am still of the opinion that you should repossess your Well Being, it would be at most a very small felony on your part. ;-)

Just look at these soft yet lively blooms, they smell of rose and grapefruit heaven!

Jackson Perkins has only 33 Earth Angel rose trees left at this moment. If you want any don’t wait too long. :-)

How much are the trees?

It’s $44.95 for one, and $39.95 each if you buy 3. There are 31 left now. I know it’s not cheap, but to see the beautiful blooms on a tree is priceless. And it’s super painful if you have to wait until next year to get one. It costs 4 times of a lunch........ a lunch only lasts for 4 hours, a rose tree will last forever, a long term asset. :-)

"forever".......... until it ends up at my house and dies a long, slow, painful death of unknown causes.

Oh Jc. It’s a Kordes baby, tough as a diamond. That’s something you could give to your grandkids someday. :-)

haha I ended up with just 2 Kordes roses somehow.

They are both looking clean.

@Elaine lily your EA looks gorgeous. Love it ❤️. I have 1 bush in my garden, have planted it for a year. She had few small blooms in her first year and has grown very slowly since then. All the canes look fragile, but I thought maybe she needs sometime to fully establish. Looking at yours really makes me feel hopeful. Will try to take a good care of her and see how she goes this year.

Prune back any canes or stems smaller than a pencil diameter. Those smaller than pencil diameter canes will have trouble having the blooms not tilt downward.

@jazzmom516 (Zone 6b, MA): thanks so much for the tips!

Earth Angel performed quite well for me this year. It grew to about 4’. My EA is an own root.

Mine is two years old and has the long canes. If I trim them off after blooming, Will it be ok for next year? Or should I wait until spring?

Consider cutting it back, taking no more than a third when the late fall arrives. You don’t want the canes whipping around in the winter winds. In the early spring just remove any blackened or browned canes to green growth before your roses leaf out.

@RayGun (zone7bNY)

i just saw your comment with your spacing,

How much spacing would you recommend based On how wide it grew For you?

Hey guys! @HU-196206895 So I placed mine maybe a little closer than would be recommended because I wanted the appearance of large mass of flowers and that's exactly what I got. Earth Angel rocks in my garden and the fragrance really is one of my favorites. It's also the only 'English' style flower form which I really enjoy but does not look good after a good rain unfortunately. I spaced mind about 2.5 feet from center in a triangle. The first pic is mid-May so you get a good idea on spacing and the second is peak first flush mid-June (you can see some rain 'damage'):

So just re-read my comment. She definitely throws out some big canes and fills in really nicely but I haven't moved them and am very happy with the way they fill in over the summer. In the spring I cut them way back so that limits growth. I dead head throughout the summer and depending on her growth habit will take more or less to try and control the growth and shape.

Hope that helps and good luck with yours - keep me posted! :)

@RayGun (zone7bNY) Thanks for your photos, gorgeous! visual image always helps! So 30 inches apart from the main stem to main stem? Thanks a million. Gotta plant my babies tonight or tomorrow, the first frost is on its way.

@HU-196206895 Happy to help! Thanks, it really is such a pretty rose. Even over the course of the summer you get differences in shade and fragrance so it's neat to see what you get but haven't been disappointed and she does great with disease resistance, too.

yeah about 30" from center to center has been the sweet spot for me. Good luck with yours and remember you can always move them if you need to!

@RayGun (zone7bNY) Thanks so much for your advice! can’t wait for these To grow nice and big this coming spring!

Earth Angel, p!anted 5 yrs. ago, as a gallon from Chamblee's, is a mixed bag for me.

Assets:

1. Decent spring bloom, but always the last bush to start blooming in spring.

2. Long lasting flowers, that don't ball up like you would expect a cupped, heavily petaled bloom would. It is normally rainy and humid here and 'ballers,' do their thing with reckless abandon.

3. Rock solid winter hardy to the tips. It regularly goes down to -5°F. during winter here, even lower sometimes.

4. Totally black spot free; doesn't need a fungicide spray, nic(Pol).

5. Super fragrant.

Liabilities:

1. Very poor repeat bloom, often without blooms for 6+ weeks at a time. A fall gasp, that's it for the year, folks!

2. Octopus arm canes, many of which get 5'+ long, and are mostly blind growths, too.

3. Prone to chlorosis, in 6.5 pH soil, with all the roses around it as green as Ireland!

Would you shovel prune Earth Angel if you were me?

Moses

I was very worried about one of my Earth Angels until I came here--it has an absolutely massive cane probably 8 feet tall, while all the rest of the growth is about 4 feet. I guess that's just what she does? I wish I could impart that level of vigor to the other one I have.

It sounds like your rose has a candelabra cane, perfectly normal, especially in early fall. About half my roses get these, and some candelabra are ten feet tall, particularly on the larger roses. You can trim it back if it's waving around in the wind. Lots of times these canes have buds on the very ends. For the heck of it, I'll let those bloom occasionally. Just before our bad frosts we just had, I shortened all the candelabra. Diane

Thanks Diane! I'm very new to all this and appreciate your guidance! I was thinking of trying to peg it, but that would only make sense if there were bud eyes along the cane. I might cut it back to where the other growth is, in spring. Really appreciate it!

I’m also pretty new to this and appreciate your comments. Can I jump on this thread and ask: my 2 earth angels are brand new babies, just planted last month. I’m nervous for their first winter. They are fairly small, should I cover them with a plastic bin? I’m in zone 6b/7. Ocean county NJ. If so, when?

I did mulch a few inches upwards and would for sure add more in a few weeks.

Aaron, there are bud eyes.

I see this is an old thread but did anyoen have luck growing the earth angel in a pot ? do you think growing in a pot stunts its growth ?

I have it in the ground. You would need a huge pot. It’s a floribunda rose & it not 3’ X 3’. It could be as tall as 5’ and as wide.

I'm sorry I don't know how EA would do potted. I just wanted to say the blooms last incredibly long, even through wind, rain, and also will take some hot weather remarkably well. Then all at once the petals fall. I saw this rose two years ago and passed it up, glad I finally got it.

I have 4 in large 20 gallon pots that i bought this spring. They didn’t get a huge number of blooms before the heat of zone 9b Houston weather really set in June. But what was worse was their damage which made leaves and buds tiny. I finally found Spinosad spray for the thrips and it has bounced back this fall and is going to have another flush of blooms. I’m going to leave mine in pots another year at least because I’m not sure of the right spot. They can’t take full south Texas sun for sure.

It auto corrected “thrip” to their. It was thrip damage that really hurt it.

My EAs throw up octopus canes as well, but I grow mine on obelisks and wrap them around to get laterals - and those DO bloom.