To me Graham Thomas' fragrance is light, sweet tea. I wasn't wowed by it but didn't dislike it. If this rose would have lasted in a vase I might have kept him, but I couldn't use him as a painting model because his blooms shattered in a vase too quickly for me, and on top of that he tried to absorb the sidewalk in front of my house. When in bloom he was spectacular. I've replaced him with Grandmother's Hat -- hopefully I can teach her not to grab pedestrians, unlike old Graham -- pruning and tethering did not keep him in check for long. If I ever live on a farm and want a 10+ foot tall rose hedge I'll think of him first.

Magnus,

Sometimes a rose with a lousy scent will blend so well with a neighboring rose's scent, or the scents of several other rose varieties blooming nearby at the same time, that it's liability becomes an asset.

I wasn't particularly fond of the scent of Marie Pavie I grew some years back, being like Rose Milk hand lotion, a cheap commercial hand lotion sold in the USA, but it blended very well with the clove scent of the numerous hybrid rugosa bushes blooming nearby.

Moses

Moses, it is interesting that you find GT’s scent so offensive. I consider my GT not winter hardy enough and BS too much, but the fragrance is certainly a plus, which is a very pleasant complex tea scent that feel sophisticated. I was reading that some people has the gene that make cilantro smells like soapy vomit to them, and I wonder if GT has some type of aldehydes in it’s scent that triggers different responses.

claire

Magnus, I am horrible at identifying scents so I was wondering if you were any better? I like the fragrance of Desdemona, what does it smell like to you?

Different people definitely smell roses differently. I see enthusiastic reviews of Julia Child's fragrance but it is the only rose that I have ever refused to buy based on scent alone, I saw a beautiful bush at Home Depot but it reminded me strongly of a musty cellar. And all the reviews say that Iceberg has a poor, barely-there fragrance but I get a lovely strong scent of sweet green apples. So I think a lot of it is subjective.

So true, many of us have noses that march to the beat of a different drummer, certainly I appear to. I detect barely a whiff of anything discernible from Julia Child, and Pretty Lady Rose has a strong scent to me.

Moses

Very interesting! To me Julia Child smells of bananas.

Graham is OK. I certainly wouldn't call him my favorite. He blooms well in the spring then black spots dramatically and only blooms sporadically after that. His fragrance is, eh, nothing to write home about. He gets a lot of octopus arms too. For me Golden Celebration is the better DA rose.

I think Julia Child is a much better rose in my garden. Usually really healthy, blooms all the time and smells like licorice!

It looks like the roses that get chosen are just the most widely known, recognizable names.

I tried to grow Graham Thomas in So. CA, and found it to fit Ben's description of 'stingy, sickly and fleeting', and I would add leggy.

Another thing. Im in a Facebook group for david Austin rose
Lovers and among most of the member it’s a favorite and no one has nothing negavitive to say about him I was surprised to hear these comments on here .

I'd put my Golden Celebration up against any Graham Thomas out there--ha (beautiful photos, Kenneth). But my favorite yellow is still Julia Child, two of which I've grown since 2006, and a third, own root, grown for four years now. For continuous bloom and lovely, rounded growth habit, Julia can't be beat. No disease problems here, but I know that can make or break a rose for a lot of you. Diane

I have julia so I know what you talking about lol

Moses -

1st year Rose Noobie here. I will say this. What led me to looking into planting roses was because I saw a beautiful GT climbing up a wall and this was what gave me the -push- to add roses to the garden, even though previously I felt they were thorny blackspotting beasts that weren't worth the effort or space to plant them

Oursteelers the fragrance of Desdemona for me ranges from dirty laundry to cheap air freshener. Those are the closest scents I can compare it to lol. In it's first year it was unbearable but it's "improved" more 2nd year onwards and is more consistantly fresh.

It's nothing to write home about but the blooms are so stunning en masse. I really should take a picture this summer of it's first flush...

Wow! Moses, I just received notice of your reply above. Great info. I'm split on the DAs, but they are mainly hidden being grown as climbers so any missing foliage isn't noticeable. Heathcliff and Molineux are the best so long as I water them and Darcey Bussell is the worst. All are no spray, but I'm willing for a few. Scepter'd Isle is one of my faves as she does have an inner glow and lovely fragrance. I adore this sort of rose. Good to know she's narrow as I just stuck her any old place to get her in the ground. I'm hoping I like Pretty Jessica as much. I'll let you know how Jayne Austin and Teasing Georgia do once they are in the ground. Olivia is one I'm also eyeing up based on her rave reviews.

Thanks for all the info on GT. I'm helping a friend with a rose garden and would hate to have him plant something that requires spraying. He currently has multiple Pink KOs, La Marnes, Carefree Beauties and 2x Darlow's Enigmas so he's used to very healthy roses.

Vaporvac,

He's certainly in good hands with you advising him, and with the roses you named above he can add new bushes from a much wider range of disease resistant/proof newer roses than beginners could in the past.

Moses

Moses, how often do you spray yours for BS and what do you use? I’m getting nervous...;)

I've been using Bayer Advanced Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs for years. Starting in spring when the new growth begins, a spray every two weeks works very well for me. If I drop the ball and let my schedule lag, and black spot appears, then weekly sprays are needed, usually for the next 3 weekly sprays, then back to spraying every two weeks when control is reestablished. I use the recommended rate of 1.5 tablespoon per gallon of water.

Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer is added at 1 tablespoon per gallon per gallon along with the disease control. I have serious midge fly pressure here from Spring to Autumn. If not addressed, my flower output would trickle down to 10% by August. The insecticide also keeps the foliage clean from rose slugs. I have very little thrip, Japanese Beetle, or aphid pressure, thank God.

Spider mites are controlled with a separate spray of Tetra San 5 at about the end of June or early July. Usually only one spray of this miticide at that one time is all that is needed a season.

That's my entire spraying schedule from beginning to end.I

Moses

Well Moses, at least you GOT a bloom from Graham Thomas to dislike its scent. I've had one bush about 5 years in my protected zone 6 area and it gradually gets above knee high but I can't recall ever seeing it bloom. So much so that I bought another one, mistakenly thinking i didn't have it. I put GT#2 in a regular zone 5 spot and so far he has survived too but I'd put a capital "S" on Stingy in my zone. Great pictures though from warmer zones!

I agree that Scepter'd Isle is a steady blooming keeper of an Austin and tip hardy for me, though I don't find the blooms individually exciting. I think you'll be pleased with Olivia Rose since she's both a good bloomer and a nice bloom form.

Cynthia

@Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA Hi Moses, I am about to place an order with DA for the new season and I'd like to try Scepter'd Isle. Is she really pink as shown on DA's website or does she turn pale in the summer?

I got Generous Gardener because I thought she was pink (at least according to DA's website), but she turned out to be always creamy white in my zone 6b. Thank you!

Fragrance is really really important to me. second is color.

Kenneth, beautiful pictures! I won't be getting Graham Thomas though, he's gets too large for me and I have and really like Golden Celebration, I am surprised at the lack of enthusiasm for this rose. If I purchase another yellow rose, I am considering The Poet's Wife after reading all the comments of what a great rose it is.

Vaporvac, I am looking forward to hearing about how you like Pretty Jessica and how she does for you, I keep coming back to her and there's just some reason why I haven't purchased her yet.

Nola please let me know if you find Pretty Jessica available for purchase somewhere. I’ve been on the lookout for that one. Thanks!

Everybody's sense of smell is distinct. My sister loves loves that myrrh and I have come to like it in small combination with other scents. Jude has just a little in a fruity mix that i find nice. Early roses like Graham are too strong for me. Graham was a star in his day but i think he's been passed by other yellows. Growing papa M now for ten years I see what the fuss is. On a good day papa has the most beautiful scent of all my reds. I love Chrysler Imperial and Firefighter but when Papa is on, he is definitely the king!

I love this rose. I tried to grow it twice but it just struggled in my garden. I haven given up trying to grow it. But it is a glorious rose indeed. I love the yellow colour, bright and sunny like the perfect summer days.

Given that the World Federation of Rose Societies awards a rose every three years and a rose is never chosen twice, you can see what an artificial construct this title is. For the record, a rose is chosen for their rose Hall of Fame and although it is chosen by popular vote, "World's Favorite Rose" is not the actual title. Also for the record, Graham Thomas was chosen in 2009. Knockout was chosen in 2018. So saying that Grahan Thomas is currently the World's Favorite Rose is at best, outdated. Cocktail was chosen in 2015, but I've never seen this rose in local gardens and it is not in the public rose garden (it does look beautiful in the photos and I would like to see it planted). In any case, like People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" designation, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Oursteelers - So far I haven't found Pretty Jessica, but please let me know if you hear anything and I'll do the same! :)

Nola, I’m really hoping Palatine has it next year!

@Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA Hi Moses, I've just added the Bayer disease control and insect control in my cart. Could I ask what you use for fertilizer? Could I mix fertilizer at the same time when I do disease control? Thanks!

I was obsessed with this rose for many years and has grown it twice. It doesn’t do well in my garden. In my opinion, many roses that came after has since surpassed it. I do agree that golden celebration is a much better rose. But personally I love the colour on GT much better.

Jjpeace,

I agree, Golden Celebration and Teasing Georgia appear to be great improvements over Graham (bloom size, vigor, fragrance), too bad Graham was the Austin chosen by the World Fed, I think there are far better DA representatives. But I do like Graham Thomas more than the current winner. I’d give Knock Out a different award, ‘Most Ubiquitous and Despicable Rose in History!’

@BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14) totally agree on the Knockout being ubiquitous. When I decided to start planting roses I turned my nose up at it because it is everywhere. I didn't want my house to look like a small version of a corporate park or shopping center landscape.

Now having been growing roses for about a year, I understand why they are everywhere. I knew roses were finicky--always seeing my mom picking ugly spotted leaves off her roses, and incessantly battling Japanese beetles--but I really did not realize the magnitude. They are sooooooo needy. And everything loves to eat them. I thought I had it bad with aphids, and now the last two weeks have been a sawfly siege on top of that.

So. I at least respect the Knock Out now, lol. Almost envy it a little?

I feel the KO is mainly resistant to many forms of BS, but not all. As it certainly isn't resistant to sawfly, JBs and midge, I choose the roses I love and try to deal with their problems as best I can.

The Knock Outs around here never get blackspot, they are a wonder in that regard. They are also smothered in flowers the majority of the time. Both of my neighbors on each side have them, and then of course, they're everywhere beyond.

Exactly, but I a few that equal them in that regard that either have fragrance or charm or both. It does take a while to find what works for one's garden, though.

Man, that's what I need! I've tried to buy a lot of disease-resistant varieties but only time will tell. What are your most resistant varieties, Vaporvac? Also, are there any rose varieties that are resistant to being eaten by insects? I always hear about disease resistance but never pest-resistance. I guess everything just gets eaten? WHY are roses so freakin tasty when all of my other perennials don't have any problems?!

BenT, I completely agree with your proposed award. You can add 'the rose most likely to spread RRD throughout all gardens.'

@hugogurll That reward definitely goes to the multiflora rose. The Knock Out, in turn, acquires the disease so often because of the sheer volume of plants--same reason why RRD spread in the first place through multiflora. The Knock Out, however, unlike multiflora, does not self seed at a ridiculous rate and become invasive. The rose itself is not more or less susceptible, according to researchers at the University of Tennessee. Any rose that would have been planted in the same large quantities all across the country would have befallen the same fate. There just wasn't a rose that was as eye-catching and also able to be permanently left alone before it.

Main St, it depends on where you live and grow roses as to the disease and insect pests that plague roses. In the dry northwest (semi arid desert), we have no black spot, no RRD, Japanese beetles, chili thrips (just regular ones on some roses), rose midge, or rose slugs. As long as you can get water to the roses, they are not that hard to grow here. Of course, I spend more time on pruning and fertilizing my roses than most of my perennials and annuals because they're my favorite plants. And true, there is the occasional rose like Evelyn that seems to attract thrips damage more than other roses. So no Knock Outs for me, And here is my Golden Celebration, a wonderful trouble free rose with Boscobel, also a real winner here. These are photos from last year. As soon as I get my photo files going from this year, I'll post new ones. Diane

@Diane Brakefield Gorgeous... I am only a tad envious of your, what seems like, excellent growing conditions that are almost entirely pest and disease free?? Meanwhile I have been outside every single day for the last month squishing aphids and now sawfly larvae, LOL. I feel like my neighbors think I'm coo-coo over my roses but they don't see all the miniature pests eating all my buds and leaves. I've not had a good opportunity to spray neem oil lately either because it's been too sunny, or we've had rainstorms, no cloudy in-between.

Main St, our weather has been less than ideal here this spring, too. Way too much wind, so I was outside tying up some huge roses that had semi--collapsed (we are at the top of a hill and everything slopes downward, including a lot of roses). I'm stabbed and scratched, even with heavy gloves on. What we do for these darn plants. As far as the aphids go, have you tried just giving them a spray of water from your hose end sprayer? We got a mild infestation of aphids a few weeks ago, and a heat wave really dried them up. Our weather has been like yours, cold and rainy (in a desert) or 99F with a hot wind. Things are not perfect here, I guess. Don't worry about the neighbors. I look like a bag lady most of the time outside. Diane

I am an admirer of your garden Diane for man years. It is like rose heaven to me.

Thank you so much, jjpeace. How is your garden coming along this spring? Photos? Diane

Diane, your beautiful photos are the reason I have two plants of Evelyn, and if I ever plant another new rose it's Golden Celebration that is a top contender because of seeing your beautiful specimen over the last few years. From what I can tell it has a softer yellow color than Graham Thomas, which I feel will blend much more nicely with the roses I already have and the wild background vegetation on my hillside. Your garden is one of my very favorites here and I'm very much looking forward to spring photos this year!

Ingrid, thank you so much, and I hope those two Evelyn roses bloom like crazy for you and do not disappoint. I think Evelyn was meant to grow in California. I'm glad you're considering Golden Celebration because for me that rose is a totally trouble free, continuous bloomer. He starts off slowly, then after a year or two, explodes in size and blooms. GC's color is indeed a soft golden yellow which blends so well with his neighbor roses. And I must add that your garden is one of my very favorites on the forum, a spot of loveliness prevailing over the adversity of a harsh, but beautiful environment. I promise some photos before long. Thanks again. Diane

Hi Diane. My garden is coming along at a turtle pace. I lost 3 roses including my favourite Evelyn. Luckily I have another Evelyn. I am pegging my roses for the first time and it looks promising. Other than that, I am patiently waiting. I haven’t visited any garden centres yet as we have outbreak of covid in the community.

Diane - your rose pictures always, always inspire!

jj - I'm patiently waiting too. :) Turtle pace..yup. :) Stay safe!

jjpeace, I'd love to see what your pegged roses look like. I've never tried it. I haven't visited garden centers either (or anywhere for that matter). It does take patience when you live in a short growing season climate. One thing we can console ourselves with is the farther north we are, the longer our summer days are for a while, at least. Did you lose the three roses because of cold weather? I'm sorry to read that, and Evelyn is a favorite of mine, too, though she gave me the willies with her first blooms a little while ago--lots of proliferations popped out--ick.

Carol, thank you so much. Yes, you are patient, much more than I am, and I admire what you can accomplish in your short season--not just the roses but the other flowers you grow, I remember how you fooled me with one of your photos--lots of big blooming roses, and I didn't even see the pots. They looked great. I hope you have a repeat of that this year. Diane

According to the weatherman, it will be a hot summer. So hopefully that will accelerate more growth for all of us cold zoners, Rosecanadian. I didn’t think it was a cold winter therefore I was surprised that they died, Diane. The other good rose I lost is Chicago peace. I have noticed that the peace type roses grow for a few years and dies after. I had grown the original peace twice already. I assume they are not that cold hardy. I will see how pegging does to my roses. I noticed there are more buds but smaller at this point. Will keep you posted.

I was perusing garden.org learning about rose parentage and saw that Graham Thomas has 19 child plants! Many of which are on my wish list for the coming season. I’m sure many of you here have some of these child plants in your garden. Perhaps it could be argued this rose is one of the best parents if not simply the best on its own.

https://garden.org/plants/parentage/119/