Blue Girl is my favorite scented rose.

I also love the old rose fragrance of Munstead Wood because it wafts so well in my humid garden, especially a few minutes after I water it.

Pope John Paul 2 is also a good one.

Abe Darby has it all here beauty and scent.

Evelyn smells great but doesn't bloom that much here. I stuck her in the ground between Mrs BR Cant and Rosette Delizy so they could school her, about a month ago, as a last ditch effort after almost totally losing her. What do ya know, she is actually doing a lot better. Maybe she will have loads of fragrant blooms this summer -who knows :)

Jude the Obscure smells wonderful.

Sharifa Asma was yummy as well but I lost her due to flooding after the hurricane. I am hopefully replacing her this spring.

Golden Celebration also lost due to hurricane had the yummiest fruity scent. I am replacing that one grafted onto fortuniana this time x2!!

I'm probably forgetting a bunch more lol.

I was so enamored with Blue Girl's lavender blooms, that I never planted my nose in one, SJN. How disease resistant it for you?

The Bolero is in a rectangular shaped bed with a tall centerpiece art structure, Lilyfinch. I do not think I have ever taken a pic of it... but should have because the Goodwin Creek lavender and Bolero bloom almost continuously here... :^/

It does get some black spot here. We are in a very high black spot area with up to 100F and typically very rainy summers plus I don't spray. So sometimes she gets a little black spot sheds those leaves but they grow back here so fast that it hardly matters. She seems to bloom in flushes.

I just love her. People seem to either love or hate this rose lol. She seems to be variable in terms of disease resistance. When I grew her in AZ she was flawless but then pretty much all my roses were there. Less bugs and diseases to deal with there. If you could find someone in your area that has her, you could probably get a better estimate of disease resistance. For me, if I could only have one rose this would be it.

My favorite roses for nose diving are:

1. Jubilee Celebration - always fragrant...no matter the weather.

2. Radox Bouquet - sooo strong!

3. Pink Peace - smells like Fruit Loops

4. Soeur Emmanuelle - fabulous yummy myrrh

5. Acapella - smells like banana foam candies

6. Memorial Day - old rose fragrance

7. Peter Mayle

8. Chandos Beauty - raspberry old fragrance.

I can't wait for spring!!

Carol

Oh SNJ, it is drier here than AZ, no disease pressure to even mention. However, our near future move will take us to an area with more humidity. I have already been compiling lists of roses to purchase in the future, that are reported as being disease resistant in specific areas or just overall.

Oh, Carol, I forgot about Memorial Day. Another one of my favorites too!! Nice list and fragrance descriptions.

St. Cecilia is on my radar due to your images, Lilyfinch, thank you:). What a bonus that it has a great fragrance too...

Fragrant Cloud and Firefighter as my all-time favorites. FC will stink up a room with a single bloom and FF has one of the strongest classic rose scents around.

BOLERO - It's powerful fragrance carries in the air like no other rose I have ever had. Over the next couple years I plan to replace many of the front of border minis with Boleros since I do not expect it to get much over 2' for me in my zone.

Why grow fragrant minis (there are so very few fragrant minis from which to choose), at my rose bed's front to hide naked knees when I can grow Boleros in place of them?

POPE JOHN PAUL II - The exquisite looks draw you in, and the fragrance holds you. Grafted on Dr. Huey seems to be the way to grow it in my cold climate. It had four flushes for me, extraordinary. Seems to want to stay under 3'...that's OK. Planted deep and heavily winterized will keep it thriving, hopefully.

FIREFIGHTER, SCEPTER'D ISLE, MADAME ISAAC PEREIRE, GRAND DAME, DAME DE COEUR, EVELYN, LADY ASHE, PINK DON JUAN, MILWAUKEE'S CALATRAVA, DEJA BLU, SWEET ARLENE, SCENTSATIONAL, WINTER MAGIC, FLAWLESS, IRISH HOPE, AUNT HONEY, APRICOT CANDY, and QUIETNESS all have remarkable, memorable fragrances, but not like PJP II and BOLERO.

Moses

My favourites are:

Firefighter - deep and strong old rose fragrance that last till the petals are dry

DD - Lychee and rose and consistent

Evelyn - Rose and a tiny bit of Myrrh, stunningly beautiful fragrance in cooler weather

Papa Meilland - old rose and a better note than Firefighter but not as strong or long lasting

Barbra Streisand - Strong old rose with a little lemon

Perfume Delight - rose plus a refreshing spicy top note

Ebb Tide - rose and Clover. Extremely nice but I think I have become allergic to its pollen because I have been over-sniffing this one and it makes me sneeze every time now.... :(

PJP II - Fresh fragrance

Memorial Day - Strong and consistent sweet rose

Fragrant Cloud - very good and super strong. Best in cooler weather. In the heat there is too much anise note for my liking.

Felicia - rose and musk, fragrant in late afternoon and evening still.

New Zealand - one of the few that are stilly very fragrant at night

Absolute favorites: Jude the Obscure & Gertrude Jekyll.

Runner ups: Rouge Royale, Dee-Lish (I better stop there)

Fragonard has the strongest scent of all the roses I grow but it’s hard to describe because the scent is so intense.

Felicia is wonderful!

Moses - my PJPII was a bareroot last summer. Even so..it had a lot of blooms for a bareroot...but no fragrance...I'm really looking forward to this coming summer to smell it!!

BenT - my Neil Diamond is coming to its 3rd year (I think)...it still has no fragrance. Bummer. I'm also still waiting for my Beverly to become fragrant. I'm getting Dolly Parton - I like what you've said about it!! :)

Carol

May I ask, where did you get your Fragonard, Dave?

I saw Fragonard at a nursery that carried a lot of imports. It caught my attention from across the way. I almost purchased it, but for some reason feared it would have become too large. Having my roses plotted out, I just did not know where it would go. Think I may have missed out

Hi Desertgarden -

I purchased Fragonard from Agave Farms last spring. I have wondered if they’re going to ship roses again this year. That was a nightmare last spring but now it feels like it was worth the hassle. I hope you can still get it. It has the most beautiful foliage! The blooms last a long time and look beautiful at every stage. It has also stayed healthy for me. I would hope these Ludwigs varieties become more rather than less available with time.

That is where I saw Fragonard, Dave. Forgot that you were part of the buying frenzy/fiasco. We took a little road trip and visited the nursery. I do not think he will be shipping roses in the near future. Based on communications with him fairly recently, I do not get the sense that he is set up for that. I think he is still getting his head around owning the nursery.

I agree with many of the ones above and would add:

Nahema - I so enjoyed the two I have on an arbor/gate structure. A lovely experience at the entrance of the garden. They're still babies and I'm hoping for a lot next year.

Jardins de Bagatelle - Another baby, but really lovely sweet fragrance.

Cream Veranda - I wish this was a larger bush. Not super strong, but a really fresh scent.

Sweet Juliet and Munstead Wood - Prolific bloomers in my climate and their fragrances float throughout the garden.

I'd like to see that Bolero with lavender, too. White and purple is one of my favorite color combinations.

Wow! Some really great and new to me roses! I generally buy for fragrance so the choice is difficult. I'll start with my roses from last year and prior. Of those, I love the fresh apple scent of New Dawn (of course) and Viking Queen. My NOID Anne Boleyn/Eglantine is always fragrant as is Summer Romance, Munstead Wood and Tess. Sugar Moon was my favorite from last year and it smells REALLY similar to Bolero. First Crush is amazing and so different. Blossomtime was another winner along with Aloha, Felicia and Cl. Clotilde Soupert! However, the "winner" from this year is probably Cl. Crimson Glory. I hope to get a couple of bush versions for cutting at some point. I was an idiot for passing them by at Lowe's last year, but I'd yet to see and smell mine in flower. Its reputation is well-deserved.

If I had to do it all over again, Towandaaz, a different white rose would have been selected. It was really nice, to begin with, but the Goodwin Creek Lavender has been growing at a more rapid rate than Bolero. The bed is next to an extended patio at a point where you can look across part of our property. My DH did not want his view obstructed by roses etc. Bolero was selected because it is fragrant and figured I could keep it in the 2-3' range. None of the Boleros are even 2' yet. The problem is the Lavender are already approaching 3' tall, and just as wide. The Bolero will catch-up, the lavender can be trimmed, but right now it is at an awkward stage.

My Sugarmoon has its first bloom on it right now,Vaporvac. I really want to see and more importantly, take a whiff of its blooms. Due to its placement and the sun positioning, I doubt if it will actually open.

Zephirine Drouhin would be the one for me.

Princess Charlene de Monaco. I could carry a bloom around all day just to keep that fragrance with me. Lisa

While the fragrance varies on these roses they all have what I consider a typical Old Rose fragrance. My favorite when it’s at its best is La France. They are all wonderful though! Firefighter, Francis Meilland, Tiffany, Pink Peace, Forgotten Dreams, Melodee Parfumme, English Perfume, Memorial Day, Liebeszauber (when it’s fragrant), Sunsprite, La France, Chrysler Imperial, Royal Amethyst, Bewitched, Souvenir de la Malmaison, Kathleen Harrop, Zephirine Drouhin, Mme Isaac Pereire, Reine des Violettes, and Mme Ernest Calvat.

The following roses have a scent I’ll try to describe:

Beverly and Orchid Romance both have a pleasant citrus like fragrance, although they are not exactly the same

Double Delight has a consistently strong fragrance that I would consider spicy, I like it, but not my favorite, love the rose though!

Lemon Spice is very pleasant and does have what I would consider an almost lemony scent, could be my imagination, love it!

Buxom Beauty has an overpowering fragrance that’s almost as garish as the rose itself!

Grande Dame, a pleasant spicy scent.

Aloha - If this rose was consistently fragrant it would be my favorite! On the rare occasion I do detect a fragrance, it is most pleasant.

Sara Ann - great description of the fragrances!

I'm loving this thread.

Carol

Sara-Ann

Very interested in two of your roses...

Buxom Beauty: Does it withstand the hot Oklahoma summer ok?

Aloha: Is the fragrance highly variable? I bought one from Chamblees recently, it had 4 blooms, I agree it has a wonderful scent.

Ben, Buxom Beauty has never been an overly vigorous rose for me, but it does seem to withstand the heat fairly well. Most of my Kordes roses are on multiflora, including Buxom Beauty and it is the only one that is not a vigorous grower. I have read some complimentary comments from other forum members though.

Aloha’s fragrance is fairly consistent, but I can’t always detect it, it is quite lovely though. Mine blooms fairly good every year, with the most blooms in the spring, then a few scattered ones, and quite a few in the fall. It can put on a lovely display. I’ve had it for about 15 years.

Most of the roses in my garden smell good but nothing is too strong or wafting for me ,maybe because the heat & sun here make the fragrance oils evaporate away ?

I like to smell :Mr.Lincon , Grand Dame , PJP II, Memorial Day , Beverly , Double Delight ,Fire Fighter ,Nahema , Sharifa Asma .

Fragrant Cloud only has a fragrance during cooler weather for me .

I have several that I absolutely love to put my nose into it and take a deep breath. I love Outta the Blue ..... it is just out of this world in scent. I love Nahema and Sharifa Asma as well. A few of my favorite HT are Chrysler Imperial, Sugar Moon and Pink Peace, Beverly, and Neil Diamond. I have a few that others seem to like and my husband thinks they smell pretty good to, but I can't smell a thing..... grrr. That would be Fragrant Cloud, and Oklahoma..... but they are still pretty and I still enjoy them even though I can't detect any scent.

Sharon and Pink Rose - my Fragrant Cloud didn't have any fragrance for me after two years, and it started to get smaller and smaller...so I gave it the heave ho.

People keep saying Fragrant Cloud smells so powerful for them. I do not smell anything but detect a mild smell in cool weather .First year it was a blooming machine but now it is 2 year old and on my shovel prune list because it declined after hurricane Irma and keeps getting cane die back .plus it did not bloom much this Fall .and it is a disease magnet . the blooms are lovely but blow fast here .

Pink_rose and Carol

I’m convinced much of the Fragrant Cloud material out there is bad budwood in genetic decline. I tried FC runts from four different places before I got a good one...FC by nature is vigorous, very well branched and exceedingly scented. I got mine from K&M on Fortuniana (I think you could do Fort, Carol, since you garage anyway).

My FC from them shot to 5 feet after 3 months, every bloom has had great scent

After 1.5 months

After 3 months, Fragrant Cloud at 5ft has outgrown her pot:

BenT - I think you're right about Fortuniana too...but have no idea where I'd get that rootstock. I've thought of that before too. I nteresting about the decline of FC ... I just thought it was a crappy rose. Yours looks fabulous - love the colors in the 2nd shot!!

Carol

For me it would be the following in no particular order:

Firefighter

Pope John Paul ii

Double Delight

Memorial Day

Munstead Wood

Twilight Zone

Grande Dame

Boscobel

Elle

Heritage

Julia Child

Dizzylizzy - I've always considered getting Boscobel, but I've always steered away, because hmf members say it has a medium fragrance. So yours has a strong fragrance?

Carol

In no specific order, but these are the strongest and most pleasant ones for me. There are other very strongly scented ones like Fair Bianca and Sunsprite- but I don't find them as enjoyable as these.

Heirloom- Fruity rose fragrance

Perfume Delight- Like Rose scented products. People often describe it as Damask rose?

Baronne De Rothschild- Like Perfume Delight but even sweeter

Beverly- Like Perfume Delight but with herbal notes to it. A very unique and exotic scent.

Munstead wood- fruity old rose fragrance- very delicious and addicting.

Double Delight- Lychee/sweet/spicy scent. (The most consistently fragrant rose for me).

Chrysler Imperial- Hard to describe but it's like Perfume

Mister Lincoln- Lychee/citrusy

Elle- very unique sweet rose fragrance- like cotton candy!

Pope John Paul II- citrusy;soapy

Dan - I really want to get Perfume Delight again. Mine got some sort of cane canker, so I ditched it. I love the fragrance though!! Superlative! My Baronne Edmund de Rothschild has finally decided to bloom...but not much fragrance yet. I love your descriptions!! Wish it were summer now. :)

Carol

Carol, of all the roses I listed, Boscobel probably has the mildest scent, but it is definitely fragrant for me, and it is great in a vase. It is a good bloomer as well. I really like it. I would say it is moderately fragrant. Hope that helps.

Thanks, dizzylizzy. :) That does help.
Carol

I enjoy nose diving just about any rose, even the ones I find stinky or repulsive (those, for entertainment purposes). For pure enjoyment, there are a few, some that I grow and some that I do not. In no particular order, off the top of my head. Probably a lot more, as I look over other people's choices. As they say, YMMV, since every nose is different.

Abraham Darby - fruity deliciousness

Mister Lincoln - just to wallow in rich luxurious old rose

Munstead Wood - similar to Mister Lincoln, but a little sweeter and less lychee

Alnwick Rose - Raspberry sorbetto

Jude the Obscure - tropical fruit that I wish I could bottle

Lady Hillingdon - cantaloupe and apricots

Evelyn - sun ripened peaches

Bolero - water lily and marshmallow cream

Iceberg - honey, honey

Bishop's Castle - warm classic rose

Memorial Day - sweet rose

Savannah - warm, sweet rose. I haven't had enough sniffing on this one recently to describe it properly.

Double Delight - citrus

William Shakespeare 2000 - violets

Carding Mill - Juicy Fruit gum

Marie Pavie - musky, with more low notes than any other rose I've smelled.

Heritage - lemon

R. rugosa alba - I get just a hint of sandalwood in the rich old rose

mystery white rose in California - tropical flowers and sharp citrus that was almost swoon inducing from 20 yards away, with just 2-3 flowers on the plant. I wish I knew what it was!

After those descriptions, Noseometer, I am going to eat breakfast right now :). Wow, I wish my sense of smell was more discerning.

My favorite scent for nose diving is the classic rose smell, and for at least some roses I can smell it. The best of these are: Sharifa Asma, Francis Dubreuil, Maggie, Madame Alfred Carriere, Reine des Violettes, and hybrid perpetuals like Comtesse d'Oxford, Duchesse de Rohan, Old Town Novato, and the lovely Sydonie. I don't actually get much scent from a lot of the Austins people list like Heritage or Carding Mill or Munstead Wood, though William Shakespeare 2000 has a pleasant mild scent to me. There are modern roses that I can smell like Oklahoma, but a lot of the moderns that others say are fragrant I really can't smell like Firefighter or Memorial Day or Beverly or even Neil Diamond. I know our dry air cuts out any chance of wafting, but you'd think that I could get at least a whiff from sticking my nose straight in the bloom for a sniff. Occasionally I can get more scent from bringing the roses inside, but often all I get is a vaguely botanical "green" smell when others get fruit or honey or spice scents. Sigh - another of the perils of allergies I guess.

Cynthia

Cynthia - I'm with you on the dry air. Nothing wafts here...but I really wish you could enjoy fragrance better. Such a shame. If you can mostly smell damask fragrance...then at least you've got the best smell!!

Carol

Like many things, having a sensitive nose can be both a blessing and a curse. It can be a curse when, say, being on a hot crowded train, using an outhouse, driving a rental car, staying in a hotel room, working in a medical field. It's tough when I'm at the theatre or other show, when I can smell the entire partially digested dinner from the person next to me (mixed with their fabric softener, perfume, hair product, etc). My sister said its like I'm pregnant all the time (except that I'm a guy). On the other hand, I can tell if something is starting to overcook on the stove very early. When I was practicing clinical medicine, I could smell a strep throat, sinusitis, wound infection, or various other ailments almost as soon as I walked in the room. I've been to wine tastings where the sommelier was surprised and impressed (and I'm not a wine person). Sometimes I wish I could be like a dog and have no judgements on what I smell, no "good" or "bad" (and hence no theatre nausea). But then I wouldn't enjoy the lusciousness of many roses and other flowers. Count your blessings, I guess, in either case of sensitive nose or not.

noseometer

Wow ! I always wonder about people who write about rose or perfume fragrance description commercially , they must be like you .

Noseometer - Until September 2006, I had a good sense of smell, but not great like yours. During June of that year, my turbinates were roto-rootered for better breathing and my tonsils plus adenoids were removed. From 3 months beyond that surgery, until now, my sense of smell has not been the same. I have tried netti pots and all sorts of things. Prior to the surgery, I was always cleaning around the house because I could pick up odors from oil in the kitchen for example, or the bathroom did not smell fresh etc. What I wouldn't give to have more of that back....

My favorite nose dive is HERITAGE. It just smells the way I think a rose should. I try to warn myself to check and make sure no bees are in there and to not inhale any other bugs before I dive!

Noseometer - that's amazing! I'm not as good as you are...but I'm really good at catching a whiff of when food has gone bad. No one else in the house can smell it, but I do. I really think it helps with our sense of taste too. Although it limits what I can eat.

Carol

Desertgarden - I've heard of that happening with surgery. If I lose some of my sense of smell, I'm sure I would miss it too. Kind of like losing a finger or something. I hope yours comes back.

Carol - does Glamis Castle and Wollerton Old Hall smell like mothballs to you also?

Good question....but I've never smelled either. :) Sounds like it's a good idea for me not to get those 2 roses, ever. :)

Carol

Carol,

Same here with Perfume Delight for me, it always get some kind of Cane Canker! I've tried it twice and got rid of it twice because come winter the canker is throughout the stems and goes all the way down to the crown. No other rose have given me such canker problems.

Oh! I'm so glad you told me. I was going to get it again, because the perfume is so wonderful...but I'll pass on it now. Thank you!!

Carol