I bought 8 bands from LongAgoRoses in May and June of 2021. The best and strongest scents were from Felicia and Leander. Felicia was wafting musk and old rose. Inhaling Leander was like in heaven, the scent gets stronger in cool fall. I was impressed how Leander blooms lasted 6 days in the vase. Wenlock had better scent than Tradescant, and Wenlock is low thorn. Low-thorn roses like Felicia, Leander, Wenlock, and Nahema don't like my dense clay. These are slow to grow in my sticky & dense black clay, or in potting soil made dense with mix-in alfalfa and lime. These prefer light and fluffy soil. If I had to do it all over again, I would fix both potting soil and dense clay with gypsum to make soil lighter and more fluffy for these low-thorn roses. Nahema's blooms are exquisite, but best for loamy and fluffy soil. Below is Nahema's bloom as 1st-year own-root, the petals are thick like butter frosting on a cake, and the smell is a blend of exquisite rose and fruits, simply WOW. I never see blackspots on Nahema (upper branches are thornless). Nahema gets my vote as the most exquisite blooms with the most addictive and enchanting scent (way better than Evelyn's peachy scent). One bloom of Nahema gives me more enjoyment than any of my 140+ fragrant roses. Below Nahema is stingy but it's worth it. I'm tempted to get it again after it died in my zone 5 winter years ago. A friend nearby has Nahema as own-root for over a decade, so perhaps I need to dig deeper for drainage. I don't see blackspots on below Leander either, but my dense clay isn't best for it. Below blooms of Leander knocked me over with its strong scent, it's musk and old rose, pure heaven. The bush is very low thorn: Below yellow Well-being beats Jude the Obscure in the deliciousness of its scent, like a juicy tropical desert. I got so tired of pinching Well Being's buds off for my zone 5 winter-survival .. I gave up, it ended up with 15+ blooms in its 3rd flush as 1st-year own-root:

Thank you so much for the photos, Alana. The blooms are very similar. Ombrée Parfait is as rich and yummy as OdJ. I know that some of the purple Gallica varieties do have smaller blooms than others such as CdR, for one. Your OP looks like it boasts CdR's form and white-based petals (petal part emerging from the receptacle--whatever that portion is called) crossed with Tuscany Superb's burgundy wine coloring. Pretty! :-) It will be interesting to see how the blooms on OdJ compare to OP's as your plants mature. My garden is increasingly becoming saturated with purple OGRs! Of course, that's a good thing, right? I continue to wait for OP/Alice Vena plus another purple Barden rose or two...plus, perhaps, Tour de Malakoff. I wish I could cram William Lobb into my tiny lot! Then I start ambushing friends with my gifts. Carol

Weeks introduced three roses that year Perfume Factory, Fun in the Sun, Queen of Elegance. They were quite similar in bloom habit, blooming mostly in clusters , with relatively big flowers. I think any of them could have fit any of the categories, Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora, Floribunda. They chose PF to be the HT, FiTS to be the GR, QoE as Floribunda. I would have definitely chosen QoE as the GR, she’s by far the most vigorous. But I think all three are very good roses with much to offer, that’s what is most important.

Thank you, Stephanie, for the tip of Garden Tutor Soil pH Test kit strips. I find that soil pH test via a solution (red-cabbage juice) is more accurate since it takes at least 1/2 hour for the minerals in soil to dissolve in water. I tested soaking coffee ground in red-cabbage juice, at first it was acidic (pinkish), but after 1/2 hour soak, the solution became clear, coffee ground is known as a buffer. Same with rose park nearby, they scattered a layer of gypsum on top of their clay. I scoop up 1 heaping Tablespoon of their soil and tested in red cabbage juice. At first the solution turned pinkish (acidic), from the 18% of sulfur dissolved first. After 1 hour, the solution became very blue (alkaline), from the calcium of gypsum being slowest to dissolve, plus the alkaline minerals in soil was slow to dissolve. SARENA: for the reason above, it's best to mix gypsum 1 month in advance into soil, and let rain or a few waterings release its acidic sulfur to dissolve minerals in soil (rather than to corrode roots). Since you are in a high-rain climate, it's good to have solid minerals on top to buffer acidic rain, such as a thick layer of Worm Casting (pH 7.4), or your clay (if alkaline like mine at pH 7.7). Vermiculite is to improve moisture and to hold nutrients, plus to make potting soil fluffy for wimpy own-roots. Perlite has zero nutrients but good to MIX-IN so roots can have more oxygen for growth. Own-root roses like moist but airy soil. Both vermiculite and perlite is best mixed into potting soil. One rooting method recommended by University of CA at Davis is to mix 1/2 vermiculite (for moisture & cation exchange) plus 1/2 perlite (for aeration).