Fragrant roses

So here it is, the list of rose varieties that we actually never wanted to put together - a warm welcome to the FRAGRANT ROSES

At first glance it seems quite simple, but putting all rose varieties with a fragrance into one list definitely has its pitfalls. 

Fragrant roses: which varieties belong here ?

​There really are roses that can be perceived by the nose, but whose fragrance is not necessarily found pleasant by everyone. Another problem is that of the more than 1600 different cultivars most actually have a fragrance, so a compilation of roses with fragrance would not be very helpful, or would reflect 90% of the range - minus the roses with a poor fragrance or none at all. 

If we limit ourselves to the strongly fragrant rose varieties, things become somewhat clearer, but we would still be at a selection that most rose lovers would find of little help because of its sheer size. 

What remains is only to consider the strongly fragrant roses with an unusual scent note and those that give off a more or less 'ordinary', but outstandingly strong fragrance. 

And with that, the next stumbling block in this undertaking is already rolling towards us:
What exactly is an 'unusual scent note' or a 'good' rose fragrance ? And will everyone judge the rose varieties we classify as such in the same way ?

For example, some people have no problem with a Remontant rose whose fragrance strongly recalls a hygiene product - but customers have also turned straight to the next variety for that reason. Heavy myrrh or musk scents can likewise polarise - much like raisins in cheesecake. Not quite as drastic, but similar is the case with all too fruity-fresh scent notes; whether citrus or banana usually makes no difference - some insist that a rose should smell of rose and of nothing else. As for what exactly 'rose fragrance' is, not even scientists can answer that precisely. So one will inevitably put a foot wrong here and there. The perception of smells and fragrances is simply a very subjective matter.

Another aspect is the assessment of the fragrance strength

If you take a single flower as the yardstick, most cluster-flowering roses with fragrance, and thus most ramblers, would simply drop out. And nature itself plays a trick on us here, too - roses do not smell all day long, nor in all weather, at all locations and in every stage of flowering. In rain, for example, the rose fragrance is gone pretty quickly - which keeps giving us interesting lectures at the rose markets. 

Tip: buying fragrant roses is not quite so easy. For a rose to develop its full fragrance, it must not only be in flower, with dry and, if possible, warm weather. The more weakly scented but larger-growing rose varieties in particular should be fully grown and well established. The experience and advice of other rose lovers is sometimes worth more than the impression gained in the rose nursery or on a visit to a rose market. 

So what matters is to consider the overall strength of the rose fragrance to be expected under optimal conditions in relation to the size of the rose shrub or of the climbing rose or rambler rose.

You will guess it - even without going into further detail such as top and base notes, fragrance pyramids or similar 'tools', sooner or later you arrive at a sobering realisation:

it is impossible to make a reliable statement that suits everyone about whether the fragrance of a particular rose at the intended location corresponds to what is wished for or expected. 

Therefore, with some trepidation, here is a list of rose varieties that we believe - without guarantee - deserve the name 'fragrant rose' - within their class:

dropped out: non-fragrant roses, roses with a fragrance perceived as bad, roses with an average/normal fragrance (unless they smell very strongly and thus stand out), scent notes that are not perceived as bad but by many as unpleasant or not rose-like, fragrant roses not robust enough to be recommended