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My friend Carl called me at work a couple weeks ago and gave me this lovely quote: “The fragrance of the roses remains on the hand that bestows it.”
I wondered how I could incorporate it into a column, and, voila! It came to me — with his assistance, of course.
The majority of people bemoan the fact that, with the amazing increase in disease resistance in newer rose varieties, fragrance is often sacrificed.
This is true, unfortunately.
So finding roses with intense fragrance and strong disease resistance is somewhat of a challenge.
In another 10 years of brilliant rose hybridizing, this column will likely be obsolete, but for now, hand-picking the right varieties is essential.
Listed below are some of my favorites. They all have incredible fragrance and all have at least strong disease resistance, if not amazing.
Remember to use Rose Defense, a non-toxic disease and bug spray, every two weeks during the spring months, especially to ward off mildew and blackspot.
Do not wait to see disease. Spray before you actually see it and keep it away. Once you have disease, you will continue to fight it throughout the season.
Simply be proactive with spraying. It will make rose growing much easier.
Abraham D’arby — An apricot David Austin 5-foot, English-style bloom that is simply lovely and prolific. Austin roses tend to have thinner canes, so putting them next to dahlias and roses to help hold them up is a great idea. Superb disease resistance.
Double Delight — An oldie but goodie. This red-and-white, 4-foot hybrid tea is absolutely beloved because of its prolific bloom and intense fragrance. One of the first roses I grew, and I have always loved it. It can get mildew if you don’t give it at least six hours of sun, so spray with Rose Defense during the spring months to be on the safe side.
Fragrant Cloud — I once had a woman tell me this rose was actually “too fragrant” — go figure. It is a shorter, stocky orange-red hybrid tea. Give it plenty of Terosa Rose Food and extra compost, as it is a heavier feeder. One bloom will perfume an entire room. That was an unintentional rhyme, by the way.
Just Joey — A gorgeous apricot 3- to 4-foot hybrid tea with tremendous disease resistance and heavenly fragrance. The blooms are large with frilly edges. In the winter, cover the base of the rose with extra compost, because it doesn’t like winter very much.
Memorial Day — This pink 5-foot hybrid tea created by the incredible Tom Carruth of Weeks Roses is so fragrant and so disease resistant. It’s simply a spectacular rose. If you like pink, and you like plenty of cut flowers, this is a “must have.”
Mr. Lincoln — Still a red hybrid tea, other reds are compared to Mr. Lincoln. It needs full sun here in our climate, and it needs to be watched for mildew during the spring, but this stately beauty named after Abraham Lincoln is amazingly fragrant.
Neptune — Lavender is the weakest color in the rose world, often succumbing to disease and early death during a rough winter, but it’s always fragrant. However, this 5-foot luscious hybrid tea is a delightful exception.
Tons of exhibition-style blooms, typical of a hybrid tea, carry a lovely perfume and superior disease resistance. Yummy!
Scentimental — A 3-foot red-and-white striped floribunda that has incredible fragrance. She looks beautiful next to any red rose, and even right next to “Double Delight,” as they have the same colors. The two in a vase would be something.
Secret — A James Gamble Fragrance Award winner, this pink 4-foot hybrid tea sports deep pink edges and an intensely sweet, spicy fragrance. We didn’t get this beauty in the store, but Heirloom Roses (online) and Fred Edmunds (online) both have it.
Sunsprite — A much-beloved, bright yellow, early blooming 3-foot floribunda with deep green, shiny, disease-resistant foliage. The first rose to bloom for me in my first rose garden 30 years ago on Mother’s Day. I still remember looking out my window and seeing it in the morning sunlight. That was it! I was bit by the rose bug, never to look back again.
Therese’ Bugnet — A hot pink rugosa rose — disease resistance is its middle name. It hates pesticides, so don’t spray any of it on its beautiful lime green foliage. Very thorny, very fragrant and supposedly deer resistant — at least in some places of the country. Maybe not the deer world on Fox Island, but it’s worth a shot. The deer don’t touch my Therese’ — and she is right in their line of sight in my back yard.
Since there are more fragrant roses yet to talk about, I think I will continue this discussion in my next column.
There are some other fragrant roses we must talk about, and then there is the rose I believe is the most fragrant in the world.
But you will have to wait three weeks for that.
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