It may be a little too soon to tell, but after walking around my garden this morning, 'Scentuous' may have jumped to the number one spot for me. Why? Voluptuous flowers, cupped form that holds, color that doesn't fade to an ugly color, minimal thrips damage, vigor, abundant blooms, doesn't hang on to the dead-heads and really incredible fragrance. It fulfills in ways that Abe and Sonia and Princess Charlene de Monaco do not. On the downside, it's not as thrips resistant as 'Desdemona', and 'Desdemona' has the advantage in bush form (so far), but 'Scentuous' has much larger flowers, and better fragrance (and that's saying a lot, since 'Desdemona' has a wonderful fragrance). I don't know if 'Scentuous' can grow own-root, whereas 'Desdemona' does just fine own-root. I'm pretty blown away by 'Scentuous'.

The problem with this question is that it keeps changing as new roses are opening for the first time.

No doubt, Kristine. Perhaps that's the fun of it, lol!

Nose, you enabler. You keep posting your beautiful Scentuous blooms. I want it to replace Olivia, but it's not happening this year. I like the definite pink, and the many petals with some wave to them. But most of all, I like this rose's hybridizer. Diane

Ah, Diane, payback! lol! Olivia is brand new to me this year, but she definitely has qualities. Her flowers last much longer than those of Scentuous, for one.

Nose, I hope you can tell me more about Scentuous as the season progresses. I haven't noticed my Olivia's blooms lasting very long, either. A long lasting pink Austin for me is Boscobel. Diane

Diane: how do you like the scent of Boscobel compared to Olivia? Thank you.

Oh, dear. I haven't noticed much of a scent on either of them. But I need to see how they smell this spring (they aren't blooming yet). Just Colette and Ebb Tide have started blooming so far. I'll get back to you. Diane

Julia Child, a floribunda. Butter yellow and so florific! We have moved, and I cannot locate a photo. But her first ever bloom had about 50 buds/flowers!

Leeza, I agree that Julia Child is a wonderful roses, and is high on my list of must haves. Diane

Is Julia Child a really hardy rose? How does it do own root? I do not mind getting a grafted rose as long as it is unpatented and it does well own root so I can propagate it.

Julia Child is still patented. I got the two above in 2006 (first year on the market), and they are still going strong grafted on Dr Huey. I also have a five year old Julia who is own root. That rose does well and is a nice med-large size, but it doesn't hold a candle to the two above. I'd still go with grafted. Julia is what I'd call fairly cold hardy. Probably not suitable for zones 5 and colder, but I'm zone 7 and have never had winter dieback with these Julias, grafted or own root. I rarely have winter dieback on any rose, and have never had a rose die overwinter due to cold. Diane

Diane - I absolutely adore your JCs!!!! Is there another rose that I've ever heard of that does THAT well?? I don't think so. :)

@Diane Brakefield I love your red door.

Thanks, Magpie. It's turquoise on the other side. Diane

Carol, how in the heck am I following you so early in the evening? I glad to see you have bounced back from the fun and games yesterday. And thank you for all the nice things you say. See you on the seasonal thread--you'll have the equivalent in posts of a book to read. Diane

Diane - turquoise and red!!! I love that!! I have green walls... LOL COLOR!! Yeah, I'm trying to catch up...and I left the ones I have to concentrate more on (Straws threads for example) for tonight. :)

Carol, it's a straight shot to our backdoor, which has a turquoise frame to match the front door. We also have a 1950s metal turquoise drink cart with various paraphernalia on it, including at least one teapot. The cart is posted close by the back door. Green walls sound lovely. We have lots of goldish yellow ones and pale yellow ones. Lots of red, too, including red walls in the dining room. My bed-sit is pale pastels--haha. Sorry to disappoint anyone guessing that I'd have bright red walls in my bedroom. Diane

Note crazy red wall.

I'll add some green walls and counters to that! LOL

The green walls nearly match the green walls in my bathroom, Carol. I love that color. My whole bathroom is green, in fact. Diane

When I looked at the paint swatch, I thought...oh, that's basically white with a tinge of green. When I saw the whole downstairs painted like that, I had a bit of a panic!!! It was actually fluorescent when it was first applied. It's toned down a bit. Now I love it...it's so spring-like in the winter. My daughter said that she likes it...but how in the world are we going to sell it when it's time for us to go to a home. I said that will be your problem. LOL She laughed. Don and I love the green...but it took awhile for me.

I am froufrou Nana who wears baggy Chinese sweatpants and old T-shirts, but my bedroom is a pale muted pink with pale green carpet. I have long pale pink shears on the windows, while my furniture is white, and my beloved overstuffed, worn out rocker is covered in a soft rose print. I wouldn't dare show a pic of that worn out thing. But I'm addicted to it. I think you're doing exactly the right thing by pleasing yourselves and not worrying about some future day when you might have to sell your house. It will probably need new paint by then, anyway. Down with tan. Diane

I detest beige!!!! Hate, hate, hate beige!!! LOL It actually makes me feel down. Pale green carpet...it's like you're out in the garden. Love! So right...it will need new paint by then. :)

Madame Anisette..but if I could pick a few more then mother of pearl, crazy love, florentina, of course Evelyn...my augusta Louise, garden delight are just starting to out out their very first bloom..so this could change :)...and if only Ingrid bergman had fragrance, she would be close to the tippy top of the list..:)

Ok... if I had to pick just one... Bolero. It’s a perfect rose in EVERY single way in my garden.
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It Also makes a wonderful cut rose for a vase... and the scent wafts... this is a hard thing to do in hot and dry Southern California conditions. My friends growing roses in humid climates have a much more pleasurable experience with fragrances wafting through their gardens. In order to smell most roses in Southern California… I have to bury my face in its blooms.
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It’s a blooming machine, grows into a perfectly round tidy bush without any pruning. Holds onto its blooms nicely without shattering too quickly... but also has the ability to self deadhead.
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Has the most wonderful fragrance of sweet lychee tropical fruit combined with floral notes of rose perfume.
It has tolerated shady conditions as well as full sun conditions and has performed equally well in both conditions for me.
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It’s Wonderful for use in cooking, drinks and rose water. While the description says it’ll grow to about 3‘ x 3‘... My 8 year old Bolero has grown to 4 feet tall by 5 to 6 feet wide. This is because I’ve never pruned. This is a rose I want to someday grow a big hedge of.
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A few photos of Bolero at different times of the day.

Rose: Bolero...
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my post got cut off before I could finish waxing on about how wonderful this rose has been to me... 🤣
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It’s EXTREMELY healthy. I grow roses using organic growing methods and don’t spray. Other than maybe some raw apple cider vinegar solution for my roses that sometimes get powdery mildew... (Princess Charlene de Monaco). Bolero has never come down with any disease issues and I pretty much just neglect it and toss some horse compost around once every few years when I’m topping the soil with compost. It’s a rose that has thrived on neglect for me. I’m a busy mom... and lazy Gardner... so I don’t have time for fussy roses that under perform. I want maximum bloom power for minimal effort. 🤣
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It’s only susceptibility was chili Thripes last year... I just let it run it’s course. This is the only time I’ve ever had to give it any extra attention. This year I took preventative measures when prepping it for dormancy and it’s spring flush. It’s come back stronger and more beautiful than ever!
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I can go on and on about this rose... but I’ll stop now... 🤣
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Here’s a few photos and link to a video I made.
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Video: https://www.instagram.com/tv/COYyWBtHSfP/?utm_medium=copy_link

@Ann-SoCalZ10b SunStZ22 Your photos are absolutely beautiful, it's no wonder you love it most.

Ann - you really, really make me excited for my Bolero to grow!!! Your Bolero is exquisite...and you are so right....it would make a mind-blowing hedge!! Oh SWOON!!!! and WOWZA!!!

That is an outstanding rose, Ann-- Just luscious and exquisite and all of Carol's superlatives above. Those photos make want to grow Bolero so much. I can see why you said it's a bloom machine, and it's good to know it does well in the vase. How does it stand up to heat, sun, and dry air? It looks more delicate that it is, I'll bet. Diane

I agree with Ann. My choice would also be Bolero. I had a bed of 12 Bolero at my previous garden. The maximum number of any single variety of rose I grew at the time was 3... (Blush Noisette, Annie Laurie Mc Dowell, Ebb Tide, Love Song, White Pet, Duchesse de Brabant, and Angel Face).. If I could have acquired 12 Annie Laurie Mc Dowell's... for sure.!!!.. now that is two... but only two...

Diane-

The above may have answered your question about Bolero in the desert... oh, and that bed of 12 was in full sun!!

Bolero! What a great choice!

One of my Boleros is next to the mailbox in full blazing sun all day and it is just full of the .most incredible blooms

It would be a perfect choice if you could only have one.

wow. bolero looks beautiful!

how do these blooms fade? I tend to not like white flowers (like white camellias and gardenias) because they turn an ugly yellow or brown as they die off.

I think it generally fades really well... it can self deadhead... if you don’t have time to do it yourself.

Out of respect for history I would choose Peace. Out of respect for history Queen Elizabeth would be my second choice. But, if I were choosing on other qualities, my most vigorous and floriferous are Earth Song, and Morden Blush, not in that order. You just cannot hold me down to one!

Mark - Morden Blush is a fabulous rose!!! I used to grow that one in another yard. Can't grow roses in the ground where I am...glacial till. So now I grow hybrid teas in pots. :)

I defy anyone to grow just one rose. [g] Julia Child has been bullet proof in my garden over a 10 year period. I cut it back very low late in the season last year, because I allowed it to become overcrowded with surrounding perennials, didn't prune out the interior branches as well as I should have and it had some foliage issues. I had to cut it back to the ground this spring but it has come back lush and full, although short this season. And that is just how amazing a rose it is. It is very productive, healthy, fragrant and vigorous. The ONE drawback, and every rose has one - is that the blooms are on the small side. So I have added other roses with larger blooms - I'm happy with all my 7 roses that I have this year. They are all looking good waiting for blooms to open.

Ask me again at the end of the season. lol Maybe one of the other roses will be the ONE I would keep.

@prairiemoon2 z6b MA sadly, I probably only have room for one rose as I have lots of shade. So that was the inspiration for this post. I’m surprised that there is such a variety. I thought there would be a clear favorite for some reason. 😂 boy was I wrong!!!!

Mamaham - Well, that is great, now you have lots to choose from! I think if you wait a few weeks, you will get a lot of photos on your thread to help you choose. I have 6 roses, none of which are in bloom yet but I will be taking photos to post once they do and really there has to be at least 3 of my roses, that I'd be happy to have if I could only have one. And I bet others here feel the same way. And look at it this way, try one, you don't like it, try another one. [g]

Maybe @erasmus_gw will see this post as she lives in NC. You could do a search to see which do particularly well for her. Although I think she make spray.

Mamaham-

I would look at my top priorities and find that rose. If I determined that looking at my garden, the rose needed to be a specific color or colors, that is where I would begin... For example, if my garden had a soft pink, lavender and white color scheme, for me, ketchup and mustard would be a no-go... I would think that I could at least narrow down the color choice to one...

Next would be right rose right place...because you want to give the rose its best chance of thriving.

My next consideration would be aesthetics ( bloom style, size, growth habits... color specifics... etc.), There are blooms that I find beautiful and some... well... not so much...

I only purchase roses that repeat bloom (personal choice driven by my growing conditions and cost/ benefit analysis) ...

Next would be other criteria... fragrance, disease resistance etc.

This is how I would go about selecting one rose If I could only grow a single rose versus one rose variety... I grew multiple Bolero... but one rose... guess I was not wrapping my mind around that.... I would get rid of something to grow multiple roses... if I could...

Roses in pots...

Lynn-in-TX- Z8b- Austin Area/Central TX thank you for your detailed comment! Yes, I have been mulling over all the items you mentioned. Then I thought it would be fun to do a poll here. It has been so interesting to see that people love all kinds of roses. For example, I don’t care for single petal roses, but some have shown up here. I did think there would be a clear favorite but I was wrong. Such variety which is fun!

My rose designated spot has room for three bushes (I think). Like you said, I will plant three of the same rose. Id love to do three different ones, but I think it will look better all the same rose. Right now my favorites are Gabriel oak and eustacia vye. But of course, they are new to the US, so there is not much experience. I guess the DA marketing works because I am obsessed. I am watching Hoang’s posts as he has one of each.

Prairiemoon - I loved my JC when I grew it. It died overwinter when my daughter left the garage door open for hours on a really cold day. It's an amazing rose!

Sorry to hear that Rosecanadian - So is it too cold there to grow it in the ground?

We have glacial till here. My husband can dig a hole (it's tough...but he did one for me)...but it's like planting a rose in a cement pot with no drainage....the one we tried died in the summer. So I have around 54-57 potted roses...changes each year. And, yeah, JC would die in a heartbeat with our winter weather. :) The glacial till is a good thing, because it got me into growing tender roses...which I never would have done if I were planting in the ground. :)

Wow! That is dedication to bringing in and out 57 planters!

Gemini everywhere love that baby

Mamaham - well...my husband is my hero. :) Even on days when I say...they can be okay outside over night (spring time)...he says no, he'll bring them in. It's good cardio. Then he uses a dolly and times himself. LOL

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6111904/does-anyone-know-this-rose
This is a bit off topic, but this nice person is looking for the name of this rose they saw on Pinterest. If anyone knows the name please help them out in identifying it.

this person also needs help choosing a no spray rose for zone 7b

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6121257/no-spray-climbing-rose-for-z7b-raleigh-area#n=1