I think the cut flower trade is geared toward roses that transport well since so many are grown in South America. There are lots of roses for the home garden that have fabulous fragrance.

My understanding is that the oils in roses that give them fragrance are counterproductive to long vase life, therefore the more popular flowers grown for commercial cutting end up being those with longer vase lives and therefore less fragrance.

A florist told me that florists use unscented flowers due to people who are sensitive to the smells in their homes.

I think florist flowers smell like mold.

I don't buy florists Rose's. I buy rose plants to enjoy, and plant them. People should know by now, that would be a waste of money. Plant a rose, I'll always have Rose's then :) My Rose's smell awesome, but I do grow mostly Old Garden Roses.

I agree with all of the comments above. Many people don't want highly-scented flowers as centerpieces, or as funeral flowers -- they don't want the flowers to draw attention as much as be a backdrop for an important event. Also I have noticed that the fragrance of some roses changes over the course of the life of the bloom. This leads me to suspect that florist roses are bred as scentless purposefully in order to avoid rancid fragrances, since so many of them are designed to be kept for extended periods of time.

Hello everyone, thank you for your responses.

That's an interesting point about hybridization, I guess hybrids are being developed for their smell when it comes to home gardening, but the longevity of the flower is the focus for more commercial hybrids that are grown abroad and have to still be good looking after travelling thousands of miles.

So far I have found that smell is not nearly as important as appearance for people who buy flowers, which surprised me a bit. People also said they would not necessarily buy flowers more often if they smelled better. It's all very interesting.

I would like to get some more responses to build a stronger case and adapt the project if needed, so if you could please forward the link to the people you know who might be interested in the subject I would be very grateful! And of course I will get back with more results.

Here's the link again: https://goo.gl/forms/nswGm4iK12ULHcEv2

Thank you so much for you replies and Happy Women's day!

Sniffing at a beautiful rose or lily and getting no scent is every bit as disappointing to me as a beautifully prepared meal which is without flavour. The beauty of the flower becomes sterile, like a wax work of a beautiful woman.