scepter'd isle - does the smell get any better?

5 years ago

I planted scepter'd isle this year bc I loved the way it looks, it doesn't have a lot of thorns, and it seems to do well in the not super sunny spot I have for it. But man, the smell really bothers me. This is the first austin i have planted where I can't stand the scent. Can anyone tell me if the smell of the rose changes with the age of the plant?

Otherwise, I am taking suggestions for another with similar flowers/disease resistance/lack of thorns...

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User

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Sorry grow power, but I'm only going to sing its praises to you. I think this rose is one of the most fabulous Austins anyone can buy, and as I said to someone here in my country recently, it should be in everybody's garden who loves roses. It would be fair to say that we probably don't compare the scent of it here, to something undesirable, as I often read on these forums, but more what we really want in roses - a powerpacked punch of a scent. One of the most scented roses out there, and I've got it planted with some old varieties noted for their scent too.

It's described as myrrh like so many are, but I think of it as a strong floral honey, and I love honey, so that's fine by me, but it gets better with age, so if you are looking for it to change, you're going to be disappointed and perhaps this rose isn't for you...

Not to mention, that it's an absolute floral beauty in its own right.. without any of the droopy tendencies some of these roses are known for..

Health - exemplary.... What more can I say...?

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Comments (10)

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
5 years ago
I had the same problem with Glamis Castle, of which someone described the scent as being similar to a used diaper pail. Add to that vicious thorns and an ungainly growth habit in my garden and the bush soon went to rose heaven. I felt such relief when it was gone.
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Heritage was the first rose that got me hooked in Austin roses. Mostly clean lush green foliage. A lemony scent that wafts around. Yes, the petals drop very quickly but there are lots of flowering buds waiting to be open. It also have octopus arms - canes that sprout longer than others. But its still beautiful because the canes are flexible, the leaves very nice looking and has few thorns. So with these merits, why wasn't t I satisfied with Heritage and made me go searching for other DA roses? Its because at that time I wanted a rose with deeply cupped bloom form with many petals neatly arranged inside the cup like a piece of art. Such bloom form can only be found in DA florist roses, but luckily over the time I am enchanted by Evelyn, Claire Rose, Tea Clipper, Mayor of Casterbridge, Jude the Obscure and Munstead Wood. Will I grow Heritage again? Maybe if I have a big garden. But i think i have outgrown it. The Generous Garden and Gentle Hermonine resemble like Heritage but both roses are not avaliable in my country. I wish we could have the Generous Garden - looks so scrumptious in photos! I never really consider Sceperd Isle because I don't like the name and the upright roses-sometimes cupped and other times too opened and blouswy. Plus the medium pink is not as soothing than Heritage shell pink which can look delicate and soft to it. Heritage makes a good rose for a cottage garden setting. Very simple and calming look. If you want some "acrobats" in your garden, i.e roses with complex petals arrangements go for Evelyn, The Generous Garden, St Swithun Jude the Obscure etc.
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well, yes, it does get BS, and towards the end of July, quite a lot. It is almost naked in my neighbours garden right now (but so is my Graham Thomas). Terrible next to a wall but if grown in the open, it can hold it's own a bit better. I have already stated that Austins are not my choice for disease resistance - I have seen them grown remarkably well, just not in my garden. If you can get your hands on any of Louis Lens roses (I am loving Matchball and Jaqueline Humery), they are very healthy. There is also a rather good modern rose called Sweet Haze which has been a star in my garden - great panicles of pink roses with white centres, very healthy, Might be a Tantau rose? I don't really have that many pink shrubs (Penelope is nothing like as healthy as I would like) but I am also enjoying a moss rose, Madame Louis Leveque, lovely clean glaucous foliage, still putting out a few blooms. Fritz Nobis is a good rose (at my college) as, I think, many Kordes roses are. Finally, I have been hugely impressed with the health of the spate of hulthemias around - Harkness roses have a really good one I hope will be available in the US, Alissar, Princess of Phoenicia.
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Above are bush shots of my Scepter'd Isle from last spring...I think it was four years old at the time and had been hard pruned late winter. It gets tall & wide here during the growing season, but not overly floppy as others described. It's almost a non stop bloomer even in full sun in our high summer heat & planted in front of a metal shed that reflects even more heat, but blooms have fewer petals and a more open form during summer. It will blackspot some in our high humidity. I personally love its scent, but I don't mind myrrh/anise fragrance in a rose as long as it's mixed with something else (for comparison, to me Wollerton Old Hall has a pure myrrh/anise scent that I don't like at all). SI's scent is strong & wafting, so if you don't like it, plant it a distance away.
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Darren Harwood
5 years ago
Seriously?! This rose smells insanely good! I can’t imagine how anyone can find this scent offensive. Wow!
Darren Harwood
5 years ago
I took 2 cuttings last week from mine - I want more of it! Haha.
cedemas
5 years ago
Mine has a delicious scent when fresh. But after a few hours after cutting it does get rank. I've noticed the same thing with Abraham Darby. There must be some rancid terpenes, which are unstable, that give off unpleasant odors after a time.
portlandmysteryrose
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Grow Power, I think you are finding your nose's camp as you settle between the enthusiastic myrrh lovers versus the league of not-so-much-thank-you-anyway anti-lovers! Sceptre'd Isle was a winner of the Royal National Rose Society’s Henry Edland Award. (Yes, for fragrance). If you like myrrh, S'dI is packed with that particular scent and will happily knock your socks off! However, if you experience a Pixar Inside Out "Disgust" character moment every time you stick your nose in a bloom, I'm thinking you should either choose a different rose or refrain from sniffing for all eternity. I suspect that although weather can play a role in scent intensity and prevailing fragrance notes, your S'dI will always be powerfully myrrh scented. Period. Myrrh is not my favorite scent, but I have grown and enjoyed Ingrid's despised Glamis Castle. GC was okay for me in what was then a cooler climated Portland, and it blended nicely in a vase with old rose perfumed friends. That said, I do understand how, especially in certain climates or under certain conditions, Glamis might reek of diaper pails. Even now, after my daughter has long since moved on, I recoil at that oh-so-distinctive and pungent smell and would be extra displeased if my dining table centerpiece boasted the wafting bouquet of urine soaked Huggies. I'm just sayin'.... :-) Carol
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
5 years ago
Carol, you really cracked me up. I have a feeling that even my long-gone, never-regretted GC may be a much better bush and may even reek, oh I mean smell differently. I certainly hope so.
User
5 years ago
cedemas... each to their own nose here.. no problem with that, it obviously has a strange scent to some, but I've had a few of these delicious blooms in a vase now and it's stronger and sweeter than ever. I adore this rose, that's all I can say... maybe climate? I don't know...
grow power (zone 10a, alameda ca)
Original Author
5 years ago
Sigh... i agree with all those that say it's a beaut... I love the way it looks :( Maybe I will try gentle hermione... it has a similar look, I guess I will be posting in the exchange forum.
Plumeria Girl (Florida ,9b)
5 years ago
I don't have any roses that smell Myrrh. Some people loves it and some don't. I have not smell it before do I can't say but I would love to have that rose.

I love my Abe and I have same climate as Cedemas. I believe it is personal preference.

Jin

scepter'd isle - does the smell get any better?

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ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

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scepter'd isle - does the smell get any better?

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grow power (zone 10a, alameda ca)Original Author

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