Probably 'Gertrude Jekyl', AKA Galloping Gert for her habit of growing ten feet or more, straight up. I much prefer the musky perfumes and beauty of 'Jude the Obscure' and 'Evelyn', the latter of which is not happy where I live now, alas.

For pure "rose" fragrance Gertrude Jekyll hands down. For a more unusual fragrance Jude is the most enjoyed by myself and visitors.

Grace e

I nominate Evelyn or Munstead Wood--both have beautiful scents. Eglantyne and Brother Cadfael aren't bad, either. I'm not that wild about Jude's scent, though. Any of these roses I've nominated can be the most beautifully and strongly scented, depending on specific conditions. Diane

Since my Gertrude Jekyl has never bloomed in 4 years, I can't judge that. To my nose, Sharifa Asma has the most toe-curling scents. I haven't been able to detect anything from Munstead Wood (sorry Diane) but my nose is noticeably defective at rose scents. Evelyn & Jude the Obscure are only 2 years old and also haven't bloomed, so I can't judge those.

Obviously you're not going to get agreement on this one, so you'll have to plant them all and decide for yourself (smile).

Cynthia

Gertrude Jekyll, Munstead Wood, and Young Lycidas have the strong old rose fragrance that makes me swoon.

Side note, my DH has a nasty cold that is negatively impacting his sense of smell. When I returned to home from work yesterday, he told me about the fragrance of a red rose in the yard that has a magnificently strong fragrance. When I walked with him to see which rose he was referring to, it was Munstead Wood.

I always hear great things about Munstead Wood but have never grown it.

I love Jude the Obscure and Sharifa Asma. But my first Evelyns have buds and I have high hopes for her too.

Sharifa Asma, Abe Darby and Golden Celebration. Jude has an interesting fragrance but it doesn't do a thing to MY toes

Ha ha, I've had a lot of those tricky cart jumpers here too! And could Munstead's thorns be any worse than New Dawn's?

In my OPINION, (which is not as experienced an opinion as most folks in here), out of all the DA roses I've smelled, the fragrance that has always stuck out to me the most was Abe Darby. My Golden Celebration wows me with its delicious citrus fragrance every spring, & it is a close second to Abe, also the newer rose "a Poets Wife" has been impressively fragrant for me this spring, but Abe is just such a strong, delicious mix of citrus and rose fragrance, it was love at first smell, in fact it is the only rose I've ever purchased based on fragrance alone. I also have Munstead Wood, Evelyn, & Young Lycidas, and although all three are beautifully fragrant, Abe is my overall favorite for fragrance.

Evelyn is not always intensely fragrant in my garden, but when she is (usually in Autumn)... She is WOWOWOWOWOWOW! Delicious!

If we are talking purely intensity of fragrance, I don't think any of the Austin roses quite compare to roses like Mr. Lincoln or Chrysler Imperial. And just as "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", fragrance is in the nose of the sniffer. Yes, many of the Austins have beautiful and/or unusual fragrances, and to my nose some awful fragrances. I'm not going to give you a clear answer as to which rose is the strongest, because even talking just intensity, it is difficult to differentiate between the intensity of different fragrances. Is this peach fragrance more intense than that sandalwood fragrance? Peach is by nature softer than the sharp fragrance of sandalwood, which adds a tactile note (feels prickly or sharp in the nose like ammonia does) i.e. Evelyn vs. Radio Times. Also, it is difficult to distinguish intensity because of emotional response. A fragrance may seem stronger because we have an emotional connection to a fragrance, either good or bad, i.e. Glamis Castle, which gives me both the "ick" of mothballs, but also the tactile response. Interpretation may vary also since roses may have different intensity at different times of the day. Is a rose that is much stronger but only at a certain hour of the day more fragrant than a rose that smells less strongly but consistently throughout the day? Also, the wafting quality mentioned elsewhere may make some think that the rose is strongly fragranced, when sniffing up close doesn't add strength (i.e. the olfactory receptors are saturated at low dose, and add to that if you have a lot of those receptors it will seem stronger than if you have few of those receptors). To my hypersensitive nose, Alnwick Rose has the most wafting fragrance, and roses like Gertrude Jekyll, Jude the Obscure, Munstead Wood, Abraham Darby, Bishop's Castle, all have similar intensity, but different fragrances (richer, fruitier, sharper, sweeter, more powdery, spicier). You've just got to sniff 'em and see what you think.

Nose, that's interesting that you think that Mr. L and Chrysler Imperial have the strongest fragrances. Even though they do not fit into my color scheme at all, I bought them recently because of the raves about their scent. Their relative Lemon Spice is fabulous to my nose.

My poor first Evelyns are trying to open and I keep bothering her. The first sniffs definitely agree with my nose so I'm getting very excited about this one!

You specified meters away. I'd say Sharifa Asma. Had it under my kitchen window. On warm days with the window open it perfumed the house. You could also smell it coming up the walkway. Her and Sugar Moon are the only two I can say that about for certain.

My champion "wafter" is not an Austin, and it took this rose three years to come into its own, and that is Augusta Luise. Wow. Another reason I love that rose. Brother Cadfael can do some serious wafting, too. One disadvantage we have here is the dry desert air which decreases outside wafting. When brought indoors, the roses take an hour or two, and then the wafting begins. This wet year may be an exception, though. Diane

Augusta Luise is a Tantau rose, right nanadoll? My all time favorite scent is from Tantau and I'll bet it's not a coincidence that yours is so good.

Don't have too many austins yet. Only 10 so far. Fragrance is not that important to me. I want good growers & bloomers. Fragrance is a bonus. But the one I love the smell of the most is Benjamin Britten. It smells wonderfully fruity.

AnnK NCalif with 40+ fragrant Austins wrote in HMF: "Leander is always moderately fragrant but this past spring it had the best scent of any rose in my garden. I kept visiting it over and over just to keep inhaling the fragrance! "

From Straw: Leander knocked my socks off with its scent, beating the most fragrant 34 Austins among my 150+ fragrant roses: (Sharifa Asma, Munstead Wood, Evelyn, Abe. Darby. Golden Cel.. Radio Times, Mary Magdalene, St. Cecilia, James Galway, Young Lycidas, Jude the Obscure, W.S. 2000, Pat Austin, Christopher Marlowe, Wise Portia, Queen Nefertiti, Gertrude Jekyll, Eglantyne, Scepter'd Isle, Charles Darwin).

Leander died this past worst zone 5a winter, but I'm getting it again for spring 2023 .. the scent is similar to hybrid musk Felicia. Leander's scent is strongest with acidic rain.

I only have a handful of scented Austins but Gertrude J is super powerful for me - like sticking your nose in a bottle of perfume.

I am excited about Gertrude Jekyll, Desdemona and Munstead Wood. Just got them last month (MW to come next spring). I cannot wait to see them bloom

@forever_a_newbie_VA8 you will love GJ. Such an incredible rose. It did really well for me this summer with about 80+ blooms in the main flush:

Munstead Wood is on my most wanted list but they have officially retired it in the UK ☹️

Good luck with your new roses!

@strawchicago z5 all these great Austin scented roses you name they don’t do on the UK DA website 🙁 (Sharifa, Evelyn and Leander). For Eveyln it says it’s best suited to US climates.

Alfie your GJ is so pretty! And I have always heared people praising its fragrance!

It is a shame DA decides to retire MW and other good roses.

Interesting to read this again 5 years later. This year I bought a Mr. Lincoln and was surprised to find that although the fragrance is very strong, it is not my favorite. I still agree with what I said 5 years ago: stronger is not necessarily better. For me, quality is better than quantity. Is there an Austin that has both? For me, yes! In my dry high altitude climate, many Austins with wonderful fragrances don’t have great fragrances outdoors where it disapates rapidly. These roses don’t waft (the criteria specified by the OP). So that eliminates Munstead Wood, Abraham Darby, Princess Alexandra of Kent, Sharifa Asma, Boscobel, Evelyn. Wafting Austins whose fragrances I enjoy are Bishop’s Castle, Alnwick Castle, and Desdemona. Bishop’s Castle in full bloom fills my garden with a cosmetics-like sweet fragrance. I can smell the raspberry sorbetto fragrance of a single blossom of Alnwick Castle from yards away. Desdemona’s lemonade and Hendrick’s gin fragrance reaches me from a yard away. I didnt have this rose 5 years ago.

I wonder what rose @Civil Servant decided upon?

Nose, I have the same problem as you do--very dry air that eliminates rose wafting scent outside. Inside the house, things improve a lot. As I've mentioned before, Rouge Royale has by far the strongest scent of all my roses, and I made bouquets all summer of RR so I could enjoy the scent in the house, plus this rose lasts well in a vase. Alfie and I discussed the incredibly bad decisions of David Austin Roses on another thread, agreeing that dropping Munstead Wood defied logic. Who drops one of their best selling products? Munstead is one of my best scented Austins and a continuous bloomer in my garden. In fact, I have two Munsteads with a Twilight Zone sandwiched between them, and they bloom en masse and seem to get along OK. So, Munstead Wood has become my top Austin, and one of my top three roses of any type. And Austin drops it. I'm so sorry for all those who want to grow this rose but can't find one. Diane

Munstead Wood in October

in June

My Munstead Woods (2) have almost no fragrance outdoors, but if I cut them, particularly if I put them in a closed container like a food storage container for a while with some water, when I open up the container, it smells incredible.

Funny but my Rouge Royale has almost no scent also.

@Diane Brakefield - yes it is gutting. Espeically for someone like me who is fairly new to growing roses then they take off the rose that everyone recommends. It is in such demand since it has been taken down from DA that it is out of stock with all UK rose suppleirs online. Need to find someone local that can give me a cutting I guess :D Your MW pictures are gorgeous.

@noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) - Straw seems incredibly knowlegable about the optimal conditions to get full scent from certian varities so maybe she might have some ideas for your MW and RR outside.

Also. what are people's thoughts on what they recommend instead of Munstead Wood?

There is a YouTuber here in the UK that absolutely adores DA roses. He is pretty much the human embodiment of DA. He does a video on their best scented roses that OP may like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPmJVTUSnYU

Young Lycidas is a bit deeper in color, just a bit more….interesting. A very romantic bloom with a draping style. Great fragrance and health.

Gabriel Oak is pretty, a bit more of a bright pink, sometimes with a tiny bit of yellow at the base. Where it beats YL for me is in its pure desire to thrive.

When I first got GO the dogs broke off a cane, worried the plant wouldn’t survive I stuck two pieces in the ground-both rooted and I am NOT good at cuttings.

This August I decided the mother plant was doing so well that maybe it could handle a little worse location (it already was in a crappy one) so I moved it. IN AUGUST. Only watered every three days and it is doing great.

I consider both must haves

@oursteelers 8B PNW - wow thanks. i have always eyed up Gabriel Oak. Is tye fragrance on Gabriel oak strong in your opinion?

Alfie, iIiI I love both GO and YL. Both draping growth habits. My YL is in a half wine barrel, my GO drapes nicely over a rather large penstemon.

YL has a deeper cupped bloom. GO reminds me more of an ORGOGRORGOGR nah! Old Garden Rose in the type of a hybrid perpetual with it's intricately knotted bloom. Not a deep cup like YL but still gorgeous. (Houzz won't let me delete typos....instead it doubles down with extra letters)

Sometimes the fragrance of GO is stronger to me than YL. They both have a delightful mix of old rose and fruity fragrance. YL can ball a little in cold wet, GO doesn't. GoGO blooms a little more profusely all season, in my garden it has a slight edge over YL but I do love them both.

Both have strong fragrance to me but my Gabriel is very upright and shrubby, no lax canes at all

GO produced much more than YL this year, but I its partially because we had such a cool and wet June that just made YL ball and mush. I took far more photos of GO this year...all of these are GO. The fragrance wafts in the garden and in the house.

YL

Here it is draping over the wine barrel, ready to burst into bloom.

It's very romantic, but then so is GO.

That's interesting, Oursteelers. My GO does have about half upright shrub canes and half draping canes. All of YLs canes are draping.

Alfie - good job on growing Gertrude so well!!! Those blooms are gorgeous!!

Ahhh...Diane!! Your Munstead Wood blooms will always be forever to-die-for in my mind's garden!! As will your AL and so many others!

Librarian - oh my heavens!!! Your Gabriel Oaks blooms are sensational!!! Those blooms!!! Aghh!!! I want one!!

Anyone grow Country Parsons. Saw this review on YouTube and seems to smell great and very powerful filling the air around it?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=azXVW5PMZbs

I’m looking for a small fragrant Austin for a pot and this seems to fit the bill. Anyone grow it?

Alfie, Gabriel Oak smells exactly like Ribena to me.

As for The Country Parson, it languised in the ground for 2 years and eventually I just got rid of it. No way was I going to let 2 bare sticks occupy a prime position for long, especially if it doesn't show any potential. I had the exact same problem with Munstad Wood, which I was excited to try growing in a pot this year because the scent was incredible but...yeah guess that's not going to happen 😐

Having said that, what doesn't grow well in the ground for me has grown much better in pots. Here I can make the soil much more looser than my heavy clay. If I mix 60% perlite with the heavy clay that's already in the garden, the roots grow everywhere and whatever rose is in that pot just erupts. You can try The Country Parson in a pot and I suspect it will probably do well for you.

To me, the most fragrant Austin, and my favorite, is The Prince, which smells like an old-fashioned garden rose, like something that would be in a grandmother or great-grandmother's garden. Close runner-ups would be Munstead Wood, which has a very rich fragrance with whiff of berries, and Jude the Obscure, which smells like the Annick Goutal perfume, Eau d'Hadrien. I just started growing Evelyn, and the scent is not powerful (yet), but it is really unique, unlike any rose I've ever smelled. It sort of smells delicious, like you could eat it. The Alwick Rose is also one of my most fragrant, it smells like Raspberries, but also a bit like cake. Lady Emma Hamilton is really also great for scent. I don't get as powerful of a fragrance from Young Lycidas as the roses I mentioned above, but it is quite lovely, and on par with Summer Song in that they both smell great and and are original in every way. They not only have unique fragrances but colors that aren't found in other roses that i have seen, really exceptional in that way. However, while all they are both are healthy, they have sort of gangly/spindly habits, so are perhaps best planted among other plants that will sort of support and fill in for the lankiness. So beautiful though. Jubilee Celebration also gets honorable mention for original scent, in particular, and color as well, but will possibly disappear off the market soon, I have heard. There was a discussion above about the white roses. I have Glamis Castle, Desdemona, Claire Austin, and William and Catherine. None of their perfumes are that powerful in my garden, and I don't see that much of a difference in their flowers. Desdemona perhaps has the most complex fragrance. William and Catherine and Glamis Castle have that very "myrrh" fragrance that some people love or hate (so does the lovely mauve Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which I personally adore), as does Wollerton Old Hall, which has a bit more myrrh than I expected (I kept hearing things, like "honey, etc.) but does smell very sweet and rather strong (and it's only in its first summer). William and Catherine has an attractive and compact bush and is super healthy. Claire Austin needs a lot of space and mine is 15 years old and never better. Desdemona has been floppy and thrown out many octopus canes so am not super enchanted by it yet. Glamis Castle is still a newbie so too soon to tell but it has given me an impressive number of blooms in the 3 or 4 months I have had it (own root). Of the more recent additions, I couldn't get either Gabriel Oak or Eustacia Vye to take off. Emily Bronte in year two, finally, has some repeat bloom and her fragrance is really lovely, and growing on me, and perhaps rivals Evelyn's, but is a bit different. But the one rose that seems to have the most fragrance projection power has to be Mary Rose, which I planted at the end of last summer because it is supposed to bloom all the time, unlike many trickier varieties. And it really does. And the day or so, it is not in bloom, it is remarkable by the absence of its fragrance, which smells like expensive beauty products and adds a note to the overall perfume of the garden but is not the best rose to take inside because it grows in clusters. Golden Celebration smells sweet and lovely, and its cheefuly yellow color makes it remarkable, but in my opinion, the fragrance is perhaps a bit over-hyped in the marketing materials, even if also amazing. I personally don't get strawberries from it. However, mine is only in year one. Abraham Darby also has one of the most complex scents, but mine are still in there first year, so the fragrance is not that powerful yet. Hope this helps anyone trying to figure this out!

Without question for me it is Jude the Obscure. I don't know about 'from meters away' because when I'm in that part of the garden, I have to be near him. It is literally hard for me to walk away. His scent draws you in. I don't think there's another rose scent like it. Mine is not a great performer, but I have decided he will stay even if he just gives me a handful of roses a season. The perfume is worth it.

A very close second, but different, is Munstead Wood.

Agree with many others that Gertrude Jekyll has a fabulous, strong perfume that wafted. The deer decided she belonged to them. I loved her while she was here.

Now I have a bigger collection of Austin roses I would maybe add Wollerton OH to the list - if you like the unique myrrh fragrance roses, this one is brilliant. Jude the Obscure is absolutely fantastic for fragrance too. For me, Gabriel Oak and Desdemona are very nice but not on the level of WOH, JtO and Gertrude J for me. I do now much prefer the continuity of blooms as an attribute when I buy roses so although I highly rate Gertrude J for scent, overall it is brought down as the repeat is so incredibly long (7 week gap for me).

For me, I now look for a combination of scent and blooming. So far, although young, Scepter’d Isle and Desdemona fit these traits best. I would take slightly less (but still great) scent to also get great blooming any day. My new Desdemona has just had the last flower deadheaded on the flush it arrived in and there was already 12 purple shoots with a handful of green buds.

Although I don’t have them, I have heard very positive comments about both Boscobel and The Poet’s Wife in the UK.