I definitly recommend John Davis as it was one of my best season long bloomers. It can get a little mildew sometimes, but not enough to be of concern to me.

I grew Martin Frobisher and found it a good parent for breeding. It does not fit in my catagory of a continuous bloomer, but I cannot give you any numbers. My first choice for a rugosa recommenation is Will Alderman. I have occasionally made the statement that Will Alderman is the standard that I hold my rugosa crosses against. I definitely have not bettered it and the few that I think are just as good are probably not (as parent I am probably biased).

Regarding fragrance of each. Sorry, as a retired chemist, my nose is shot.

I only have John Davis, actually 5 of them forming a 25' hedge in my front yard & they are a "car stopper" when in full bloom in the Spring. They rebloom but not as heavy as the first bloom. Grow to about 5x5 for me but could be about 8' tall if given support. Completely cane hardy in my z4 area & only need to keep the rabbits under control or they'll gnaw on them in the winter. A slight scent to me but my nose isn't the greatest either & will get sometimes get PM as Henry stated.

I have had John Davis for about 3 years. It is absolutely stunning in its first bloom, just loaded with blooms...that is the characteristic that took my heart about the rose when I first saw at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. It covers itself completely with blooms. However, for me, the rebloom is much less impressive...a few blooms here and there, and sometimes nothing. There is not much fragrance to speak of. It is extremely winter hardy, very healthy, the foliage looks good and doesn't blackspot much.

My experience is similar to Vickysgarden. The re-bloom is nothing to write home about, and the fragrance is slight. That said, the initial flush lasts a full six weeks for me, the canes are very flexible and easy to work with, it has few thorns, and is cane hardy. For me, the positives of John Davis far outweigh the negatives.

It is interesting that John Davis has 2 personalities like the other Canadian William Baffin - some report mainly large spring bloom and others get satisfactory blooms all season.

My plants of both Davis and Baffin were both very old and should of been own root because I buried the bud line so far below surface level. I got good rebloom from each but as you can see from Help-Me-Find comments and from comments here "your mileage may vary".

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.1934&tab=32&qn=1&qc=0

http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.2560&tab=32

"does not fit in my category of a continuous bloomer".

How very diplomatic and tactful of you. After two seasons, I may have seen two or posssibly three flowers on my plant of Martin Frobisher. Next season I plan an enhanced fertilization regimen, and if that won't induce bloom, out it goes.

My experience with Explorer climber types is that they are not plants for the impatient. They rebloom reasonably well when 'established', but establishment can easily take more than ten years. Grafted plants are, of course, somewhat faster.

Thanks for all your's answer. I am a little bit dissapointed. I thought that these roses are blooming more like all season not only spring. I don't won't to wait 10 years for their reblooming. What's more I was counting for better fragrance. Well i thing I will cross them out of my list.

What can you suggest if i am looking for big roses with great fragrance, good reblooming and frost resistance?

Do you now roses called

Meteor
Leopold Ritter

best regards,
Agnieszka

Take a look at Rosariun Ueterson

Here is a link that might be useful: RU Link