'Ebb Tide'

Beautiful color, great fragrance, mannerly shrub.

Neptune is nice and has a wonderful scent. The new Sweetness rose from J&P looks pretty nice too but I don't know about the fragrance. Angel Face is a good purple/mauve rose too with a very strong scent.

Wild Blue Yonder - wonderful ruffly blooms, fragrant, luminous color, gets better every year. Ebb Tide has not done well in my hot climate even with afternoon shade, lovely rose though.

Ingrid

The Prince is my favorite for both color and scent. It is a nice dark purple with a good scent. Ebb Tide's blooms are smaller than The Prince and blooms in sprays, but unfortunately I can't smell much from it which might be my nose or my plant. The color of the two is very similar. If you want more of a lavender then Melody Parfumme is a good rose. If you want a lavender with red edges then Blue River has been a great performer for me but that one is harder to find.

Ebb Tide! It is really purple and has tons of buds. Mine is a standard. It is preparing to amaze me.
Kathy

I had Wild Blue Yonder but managed to kill it because I grew cannas too close to it and they shaded it out. Here is what the bloom looked like though. I just ordered another one.
{{gwi:226132}}

1-Rhapsody in blue (which is actually more a "rhapsody in purple" !!)
2-Rugosa Hansa (very hardy)
3-Gallica William lobb (once bloomer)
4-David Austin's Falstaff
5-David Austin's William Shakespeare
6-rugosa roseraie de l'hay (more red than purple but not really red; very hardy)

I second "Rhapsody in Blue". The most purple rose I have.

Intrigue, by Warriner. They say the shrub is not pretty, I wouldn't know. I got mine with the house, it was completely neglected and in shade, and still bloomed and was fragrant.
Masha

Blue Nyle is amazing.
Liane

Blue Girl and Heirloom (hybrid teas),and Angelface (florabunda) are all very nice as well
.

The mini - Sweet Chariot!

yep, Sweet Chariot is fantastic, and at least at my house, Angel Face has a lot of fans. Shocking Blue looks very pretty at the nurseries where I've seen it, Intrigue and Neptune as well. But the only purple/lavender that has ever tempted me besides Angel face is Barbra Streisand, and that is saying a lot because I am not a lover of purple roses. Don't know about the growth habit of any of these though, just the blooms.

Thanks for the mention of Intrigue. I loved this rose - pretty flowers, great scent, bloomed plenty in lousy conditions. I would probably plant three in a little triangle to get a more filled out look.

-Greta

I LOVE Angel Face!!! This might be the only rose I would spray, if need be, I am THAT fond of her. That said, Barbra Streisand had an amazing scent, too. Didn't survive my winter, unfortunately.

Ebb Tide has scent for me, and blooms quite heavily. I had Intrigue, it was indeed a pretty rose with a great scent. I gave it away as a housewarming gift because i was accumulating too many roses!

Alot of these roses, like angel face and Intrigue, are really mauve or red/purple, but not a true purple or lavender. It amazes me how rose sellers, and many growers like us, are willing to call some of these roses purple!! My first so-called purple rose was Purple Passion. Not even close to purple in reality!! Nice plant though. I still have it. Now, Ebb tide, really is a true purple, and so is The Prince. I am sure there are a few others, too. But true purples and lavenders are few and far between. The others are just pink!!!! Sorry. OH, I have Shakespeare also. So NOT purple. Just a rich dark pink. In the fall it's a crimson red. Never a true purple or even close to it. I adore Intrigue, and I have seen them look purple at times, but not generally.

I'll second Neptune for a true lavender with a GREAT smell. I go out and drink in that smell when it's in bloom, and I love the true purples... agreed on how too many mauves are called purple.

I think this photo gives a good sense of the color, and the petals often ruffle like this as it opens.
{{gwi:248301}}

I love Heirloom HT, not really purple but a non-pinky mauve, if you will. In my area, it does need to be sprayed but the disease resistance seemed to improve somewhat with age.

I would suggest Blue Girl which is a hybrid tea. I believe someone else suggested this as well. Not much scent but the blooms are gorgeous!

For some reason I can't remember how to add a picture otherwise I should you how gorgeous this rose really is. It truly is my favorite and I've had her here in WI for over 4 years.

I just potted up Enchanted Evening. It is a VERY SWEET smelling rose!!! In my cooler zone it is lavender.

Carol

Hi, just got back from the nursery, and remind me ... what exactly is wrong with Sterling Silver? I know everyone hates it, but only Sterling Silver and Shocking Blue looked great. Neptune and Lagerfeld were looking a little sorry.

Heirloom is one of the work horses of my garden and its gorgeous! Please consider her! She is on the right-I'll have new pics in a week.

{{gwi:248303}}

Most the bluer blues (which are mostly purple at best) are stingy bloomers and disease magnets. For the most part, I think they're best grown by serious enthusiasts who like to spray a lot. Now, some are amazingly beautiful and some have amazing scent -- I cannot tell a lie. But I think the amount of spray and effort per square inch of blossom is way too burdensome for me, anyway...

Heirloom (purple, definitely not blue) grows easily in my area. So does Ebb Tide. Those are two I would definitely consider if I were looking for that color category.

There are a number of fragrant lavender/purple roses, some of them have been mentioned. Silverado is also a nice one. I don't know where you are, but Plum Crazy is another one worth mentioning along with Fragrant Plum. Charles de Gaulle is fragrant.

The Sterling Silver issue is a toss-up. It is a very fragrant, clear lavender, hybrid tea with what is usually referred to as decorative form rather than show form. That is nothing unusual. With the right conditions, it can produce some showable flowers. Sterling Silver actually has the Peace rose somewhere in its parentage and was one of the early lavenders to come out on the market. It is also finicky about its climate. I have one here. It is the florist's strain from Vintage Gardens, and it did reasonably well last year. It is not very cane-hardy and does not like the late freezes we get in March and April. Mine died back quite a bit, but is trying to recover. Many of the commercial suppliers of this rose have introduced mosaic virus into the lines, and the chances of getting one with the virus are pretty good. I don't know exactly to what extent it hurts the plant, but I have it on a couple of plants in my yard. Sterling Silver is not the most ambitiously vigorous grower either. It takes its time and appears to prefer more moderate temperatures rather than high heat. That is not unusual. It also is quite blackspot prone, typical of lavender roses and fragrant roses. If kept healthy, this rose can do well, but it has to be watched and sprayed. I do believe that the florist strain of the variety that I have does better than the usual ones sold. If you want one to try, I would see if Vintage Gardens has any more. It may be on backlog. I have been of the opinion that this rose has gotten a needlessly bad rap when if given some good care it might be a nice variety. It sure has a good color and fragrance.

Daisy, Your Heirloom pics are stunning! Is the color accurate? My Heirloom is truly a workhorse also, but it has never been that color of lavender. It's much more pinkish. I would faint if it ever looked like yours!

Rochesterroseman-Thanks, and oh yes she is definitely lavendar. She is easy care here. I have Purple Passion too, which is somewhat darker but not as well budded or long lasting. Otta the Blue is just tolerable and really not a beauty for me. I have alkaline soil and a passion for the blues and purples. Sterling Silver died the first winter.

Royal Amethyst!!!

Daisy, alkaline soil? Is that what makes the lavenders more pronounced? My soil is slightly acidic, which I have read is ideal for roses. But since you said that, maybe I can add something to the soil by my lavenders to make the soil more alkaline. Hmmmmmmm I wonder if that would work.

Rochesterroseman-I would hate to have you disturb good soil--(ofcourse for the sake of science...)I only meant that surprisingly my soil is more alkaline (booo) and the color is still very nice. -Do you use epsom salts at all?

Daisy, I have used epsom salts in the past. Why do you ask? I never noticed any particular effect on the roses, so I stopped using it. I know that the acid/alkaline composition changes the colors of hydrangeas, that's why I thought that it could do something for roses as well. The only rose I grow that is truly purple is Ebb Tide. All the rest like Melody Parfumee, Heirloom, Intrigue, purple passion, William Shakespeare, and others, are pinkish.

If you don't mind once-bloomers, there's Capitaine John Ingram {{gwi:248304}}

or Belle de Crecy

{{gwi:248306}}

BdC's colors change like crazy, but she goes purple for me, and smells FANTASTIC. Both seem to be healthy as horses without spray.

Rochesterroseman---Wm Shakespeare is pinkish? (wow!) no...he is really red here. Hmmm...I'm not a chemist but I have to believe it is somehow your soil conditions.
Very nice roses Lucretial-some beautiful blues!Rochesterroseman-how are the colors of your climatis or what-ever else you may have there? Petunias? Do you have any blues like Lucretial is showing? I think epsom salts helps color clarity but only guessing that more may be involved in this situation. Maybe some parts of the country we just have what we have.(wow-is that profound or what?)

It is true that Melody Parfume tends to be more magenta. Her blooms do fade to lavendar though. And her fragrance is amazing. I have three of these in my yard so I always have some for bouquets. Also, like most of the purples, they seem to attract blackspot. And of course, it is close to my name:0) melanie

Iam looking for a few darkly purple roses. I wanted to try Ebb tide,and wild blue yonder. I have the lighter lavendars such as Barbra Streisand (great smell) Blue girl,and Sweetness (great scent). But iam looking for a darker purple, also has anyone planted purple iceburg roses?

Angel face-beautiful ruffled roses,great scent needs to be sprayed

Heirloom is a dog in my garden despite spraying...getting ready to sp after 2 summers and few roses- almost always has few green leaves and more yellow/ with BS

Blue girl- love it, strong lemon scent

Ebb Tide, great floribunda- huge sprays

purple passion- my favorite- Intense lemon scent but rare,great bush no bare legs

purple tiger- striped purple BS prone, small rose

sweetness- good rose, not my favorite

Intrige is an iffy one too- I have read a lot of people have trouble keeping this one

I wonder what that small orange and pink rose is in Daisy's picture?

Monniemom -- on this forum it's fine to start a new thread with your question. I think it's called Burgundy Iceberg, and my sister who grows it in a fairly hot climate isn't too happy with the color fade.

Rhapsody in Blue is a shrub rose that I like a lot -- it has medium scent to my nose and the blooms are very dark purple in my mild climate. I have Route 66 too, which is also dark purple and blooms in sprays which I like but I wish lasted longer.

Rebeccah 2009 -- I want to let you know about a couple I don't think were mentioned:
A fragrant, lavender-purple floribunda called Love Potion; along the lines of Angel Face but much healthier in my coastal garden.
A fragrant lilac-purple miniature that's really nice is Sachet.

A word of caution... in my garden, Angel Face and Reine des Violette both bloomed pink/magenta instead of purple. I was disappointed.

Love all the beautiful pics! I have Midnight Blue, which blooms a dark purple. It's supposed to smell like cloves, but I haven't detected this so far. I can't recommend it because at 2 years, it hasn't hit its stride. Its first location was too shady and the second location was so sunny, the shrub was frying. Hopefully it's third location will be the winner.

Zyperiris-FYI-the pink and yellow rose is Disneyland.
I do like Purple Passion too, which has lovely rich green leaves but blooms only half as often as Heirloom. Don't recommend 'Otta the Blue - a waste of good space. My Ebb Tide died first winter-I'd love another dark purple rose too. Incidently I have to rave about Simply Marvelous
who is mauve-and a terrific rose.(!)

It's MELODY PARFUM'EE for me it's such a work horse always blooming and the fragance is captivatting.
Harold

{{gwi:248307}}

{{gwi:248308}}

'Sweetness'

Not quite up to par with Sterling Silver in terms color or bloom shape, but it is an easier grower and bountiful bloomer (due to its Grandiflora parentage).

Twilight zone or ebb tide. Twightlight zone pictured below is deep dark purple and can smell it from the street 40 ft away .

One that has not been mentioned is Stephen's Big Purple. It is quite fragrant, but the color is variable. If the weather is cool, it is more purple. When it is warmer, the color is more of a raspberry. However, no matter what color it wants to be, it still smells nice.

I planted the massively vigorous thorny climber Night Owl. Terribly disappointed that it was only purple when nights were very cool, a rarity here in SE Virginia.

I wish I had posted some pics to helpmefind before I gave it away. Rose catalogs show it as a very intense grape-juice purple. I was led astray by their pictures!!!

Ah, how difficult this matter is for those of us who are crazy for lavender/violet/lilac/purple roses! Colour is so subjective, and does indeed seem to be so variable. I have been disappointed so many times by roses that are touted as "purple", only to find them in reality to be -at least in my soil and climate-basically carmine red. I am very picky about colour and it's definitions; to me, for example, Burgundy Iceberg and Cardinal Hume would be more precisely described as , well, BURGUNDY in colour, rather than what to me would be the true purple. Frankly I think that,to generalize one is probably "safer" with once-bloomers,but I myself am always on the lookout for repeaters in this colour range. Have you considered "Indigo "?