Straw, thank you for the information.

Straw, i have several darlows enigmas and how big they get here in Elgin, Il is usually a direct result of how deep the snow cover was, and how cold the wi ter was. This year, we had some snow and nothing below -10 degrees, the bushes started off at about 4 feet tall. I am guessing they will get to around 7 or 8 feet tall and at least that wide

This one is in full sun, so it remains upright, picture was taken today, i expect it to grow another couple feet tall and wide. I am 5'8".

Thank you, Al .. that would be too big for me. I'm asking Roses Unlimited for Lyda Rose (partial shade). Years ago that died in poor drainage clay and I miss its sweet scent.

Definitely Memorial Day, it gets me every time

Kristine - that's wonderful!!! I love Memorial Day!! It must smell wonderful with all of those blooms!

Carol, I think you have grown memorial day? It's very fragrant. I don't grow it but noted it as 1 of the top fragrant roses at a regional rose garden. Kristine, what a gorgeous picture! I wish we could compare in terms of blackspot pressure. I am sure garden I visit sprays but it's tough to judge what really does well. @sharon2079, when looking at the ratings Be sure to notice how many people have contributed. It's based on contribution so someone may have a rose that does poorly in their area and they are the only person rating. However for you it made do really well. If I see a lot of ratings and they're all good Then that is a good indication. I'm sure you look at all of the comments also as well as the gardens they're grown in.

Years ago, I think it was the summer of. 2002 I was meandering around Oaklands public rose garden ( now named Morcom park amphitheater of roses) and I was drawn to the west side of The Florentine garden, which is planted with Old Roses. There in the corner growing in quite a bit of shade were two plants of R. moschata, a rose that fascinates me, because it's been grown in England since at least the mid-1500's and it was grown in Spain and Portugal before that. Although considered to be a wild rose species there are no extant plants in the wild anywhere.

Now I have a R, moschata in my "Moonlight White Garden". in the very center, winning pride of placement for its' gorgeous foliage, wafting scent, and darling little white roses. It blooms here from May through mid-November. The scent reminds me of a crushed vanilla pod blended with true musk. I wish I could make an essential oil out of the blooms.

Lux.

Lux - you make the fragrance sound wonderful, even though I hate the smell of vanilla (except in baking)...you make me want to smell it. :)

Vaporvac - yes, I have Memorial Day. I love this rose!!!

Memorial Day is a magnificent thing. It has impressed me from its introduction as the spiritual descendant of the old Sweet Surrender, only with strong peduncles (no hanging heads) and chronic disease. The incredible scent and gorgeous blooms are shared traits. https://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.6068

It's a rose I always want to have. :) :)

Al -- thank you for the photo of the whole bush and you for a height check. That is one healthy floriferous rose plant! What is the rose with pink flowers behind you? It looks healthy too!

Hi Rosesmi5a, the rose to my right is Therese Bugnet. It is fragrant, very winter hardy and one of my first to bloom. Its canes turn a pretty shade of red in the winter. I have a few of them and they seem to be susceptible to borers, or somethething that makes the older canes die back. This year, I am using

bayer systemic poured around the roots to see if that will help. This variety sends a lot of root runners as far as 10 feet away, it wants to take over.

Those pesky borers! They have killed more than their share of rugosas/rugosa hybrids here. I have used Bayer systemic for trees & shrubs on my magnolias when Magnolia scale attacked them. It provided a full year's protection!

Me too, Bayer systemic saved my royal star magnolias against scale a couple of years ago. I hope it works with my Therese Bugnet. I am also trying it on my Judd Viburnums which have some kind of weird malady where entire branches are dying.

If not limited by roses, southern magnolia, sweet olive, winter sweet, brugmansia, gardenia. these have great fragrance to me and definitely wafts.

roseswise: fun in the sun has very nice and strong fragrance. one of its parents are life of party, that haven been praised a lot in this thread. Julia Child after 2 years finally smells good and it wafts also in a rainy day!

I agree that Life of the Party wafts quite a bit. Another one that has taken me by surprise is Sophie’s Perpetual. Up close it smells of anise, lemon and old rose but it wafts a pure old rose scent several feet around the shrub.

Reading my above post from last year was quite informative because I thought we were having such an awful growing season with extreme heat. This spring has been worse--freak snowstorm in May, which broke a record set in 1964 (the only other year it has snowed here in May). Lots of damage to mainly trees. Today is set for the coldest Memorial Day on record--it's predicted a high of 49F. Previous record was 50F in 1980. Right now, at noon, it's 44F. Horrible damage to several roses due to winds and heavy rain. I had to remove about 1/4 of my giant Julia Child's canes, covered in buds, yesterday, due to center splitting. I was covered in cold water in the process. We couldn't use our front sidewalk. OK. Off topic. Obviously, nothing is wafting. Nothing is blooming. Most horrible spring I can remember. Last year was wonderful in comparison. Diane

I'm so sorry to hear that! We are very hot after 10" of rain for the month of may.

So sorry to hear about your weather, Diane. It's been crazy, and getting crazier. You are getting cold temperatures, and we've been getting mid 90's since early May, and it isn't usually that hot until June. We also haven't had a decent rain in more than 6 months. There have been a few little sprinkles, but nothing significant. Even the native plants in my yard have shriveled, and the wild spaces are mostly barren, with not even grass or the native plants growing but just staying dormant, not to mention blooming. I saw one cactus blooming with one flower and the prickly pear are blooming. The air is smoky with the fires here, fortunately the fires are contained for now. Marie Pavie (irrigated, of course), put out some wafting flowers, about a third of last year's show, and Bishop's Castle put out a wafting show that got fried by the 95 degree temperatures, 50 MPH winds, and single digit humidity. I suppose I could irrigate more, but I'm trying to conserve water.

Thank you, both for your kind thoughts. Nose, that sounds like the very worst. The winds alone would be bad enough, but with a drought and those temps--argh. I think we should move. Or at the very least, swear off taking photos to remind us of this weather.

Vapor, I can't imagine 10 inches of rain in a month. That's our good year's quota. It must be a jungle around your place. Diane

That is exactly what it is! I'm still trying to mow my lower level. I'm down there with the strimmer and scythe before I can get the mower down.helped I thought I would have help, but they didn't show so I'm on my own. I put it off too late. I've already mowed the rest of my lawn multiple times so you can imagine. Haven't even started weeding. The roses are in sane, however!

With respect to the question about roses that waft their fragrance, I've noticed that my Purple Pavement does this. And it's a wonderful scent.

Also- Moje Hammarburg, which is another Rugosa Hybrid wafts. Smells like Glade Air Freshener

Happy to announce that in our climate which is bone dry, terrible for carrying fragrance, Mme. Plantier does waft for me. Maybe not across the garden, but I can smell it from several feet away and it's a lovely fragrance.

Magpie - that lower bloom with the green pip in the middle is calling to me...you want to buy me...you want to buy me. LOL

@rosecanadian Yes, I love the green! Two close ups of Mme. Plantier, the creamy centered bloom is a fresh one from when the weather was a bit cooler, the all while is a bit of an older bloom.

Magpie, your Madame P is gorgeous. She sounds like a wonderful rose. Reminds me so much of my Madame Hardy, who is a favorite of mine. I'm so glad that yours is doing so well!

Magpie - it's strange, isn't it, for a rose to fade from cream to a bright white? It's heavenly!! I looked it up and it's from 1835. Love!!

@rosecanadian Is that weird? Lol I don't have a lot of white roses so I'm not sure if that's unusual. My Sally Holmes also starts out cream/peach and ends up white.

Okay...I thought it was weird. LOL Usually cream stays cream and white stays white as far as I know.

Thunderstorms today/tonight...slight chance of tornado...probably south of us. Tornado in June?? That's more like August if there's ever a possibility.

I watered today with my rainwater hose. I love seeing how it's helping my roses. :) :)

I discovered today that ’Wildeve’ wafts. Since this rose is new to me, i don’t know if it’s always like that or just sometimes.

Nose, I saw and sniffed Wildeve at Filoli House this spring and was quite impressed! I wondered why it’s not more popular. I’ve always liked the picture in the catalog but was afraid to try it since it seems there’s not a lot of personal reviews on it.

The only rose (unfortunately) that I have that wafts is Chandos. Just gorg.

@judijunebugarizonazn8 - I've wondered the same thing. In fact the paucity of reports from people growing this rose in the US is the main reason why I haven't tried it until now. But this year I figured that it was released in 2003, and DA keeps selling it, so there must be a reason why they haven't discontinued it by now, more than 20 years later (hasn't the patent expired by now?). It's my first year with it, and I can tell you that so far it has been a good grower, and the photo is the second flush...in temperatures that have been in the mid 90's for the last few weeks! The scent is sweet and clear, reminding me of a lime rickey.

I was at Filoli a month ago, and didn't see 'Wildeve' in bloom there. I was too struck by their 'Falstaff' that made me sorely regret getting rid of mine years ago. I want it back!

Bad photo, but you get the idea:

My biggest wafters are Young Lycidas, and my two Rouge Royale. In our hot, dry air, nothing wafts outside, but inside the house, these roses have gorgeous scents. Angel Face is very good, too. Diane

Waft Bombs-- Rouge Royale

Young Lycidas in late October last year. He lightened after he was cut. The scent was heavenly, and the first I knew how wonderfully he smelled.

Diane, you are totally convincing me to get a Young Lycidas. If I can find one...lol.

I tried Rouge Royale, but it did not have much fragrance in my garden. Maybe it needed to get bigger, but I didn't like the color so I gave it away to a friend in Santa Fe...where it isn't very happy.

I know this is an old thread but is Darlow's Enigma a good rebloomer or is it a heavy spring flush and then sporadic bloom? Is it healthy? Trying to replace Claire Austin which has been a major dud for me despite a giant hole that I dug and planted with topsoil and manure, prime spot with morning and afternoon light. Weedy looking thin branches and maybe 2-3 blooms after all that.

Nose, I totally second Diane’s recommendation of Young Lycidas. This is the third year mine is in the ground and it gets better all the time.

My rose that wafts more than any other in my gardens is Perfume Breeze. I have one in each of my garden areas and the fragrance is phenomenal even in this dry climate. It really scents my whole garden. Here are some kinda crummy photos taken just now in the bright sunshine.

That Falstaff is gorgeous, Nose! No wonder you didn’t see Wildeve if you were looking at this one. The only Wildeve I saw was a tall standard and I think it was in a different section of the gardens. Falstaff, if I recalll correctly was in the upper section with a lot of other Austin’s. Wildeve was lower on the slope in a smaller garden room with a lot of other tall standards. The bloom shape was lovely. And yes, must be a reason DA continued marketing this one so long!

Oldworld, Darlow's Enigma is a constant bloomer and very healthy. Mine are large here, maybe 8 X 6 ft.

Well, I just put in a "notify me" on the DA website for when Young Lycidas becomes available. ;-). Maybe replace Olivia Rose Austin, or The Ancient Mariner, which have turned out to be duds in my conditions after 3 years of trying.

Darn, I should have gotten the Perfume Breeze that they had at Lowe's. Although I have nowhere to put it...a constant dilemma.

@oldworldroses z6aSW OH - Claire Austin was a bummer for me, too. I SO love the photos I see of her, those perfect white cups. But in my garden she bloomed canary yellow, fading to dirty parchment, and didn't have the form I loved. I'm still looking for a rose that looks like the photos of Claire Austin.

Nose, the voles replaced Olivia for me. And in her place is my second Rouge Royale. I don't blame you for thinking of replacing Olivia. For me, her blooms looked pale and wasted from a distance, and they didn't hold up well in dry heat. But she did bloom quite a lot, but not enough. Apparently, her roots were tasty because they're weren't any left when I used two fingers to lift her 6+ foot remains. Sorry folks. that's what voles can do, and they had a city built under protection of an army of heliopsis. The helios are gone, too. I've heard good things about Perfume Breeze. Diane

Heliopsis army=vole protection

judijunebugarizonazn8 Agree with you on the wafting power of Perfume Breeze. Mine has a long 1 month spring flush in my zone 5 (from June to July), and it's starting its 2nd flush now 7/16/24. Perfume Breeze blooms best with all-day rain (we have tons of rain in July), and fertized with biochar at pH 8.6 to neutralize the acidic rain here, can smell its wafting scent outside at 10 feet away.

Below 12th year own root Evelyn at the start of its 2nd flush, pic. taken 7/4/24. Evelyn doesn't waft outside like Perfume Breeze, but it wafts INSIDE the house with its VERY SWEET peaches and fruit loops cereal scent.

I don't cut Abraham Darby for the vase since it stinks of sharp citrus after a few days, plus Abe. doesn't last long in the vase like Evelyn. Three blooms of Evelyn can waft across the room with its sweet peaches and old rose scent.

I have been sniffing Evelyn for the past 12 years to control my cravings for sweets. I credit sniffing Evelyn to stay under 120 lb. at 62 year old when husband (a marathon runner) fills the house with sweet treats. The best wafting scent in below bouquet is 12th-year-own root Evelyn (lowest pink), and Golden Celebration: make my kitchen smells like a cross between cupcakes and a florist shop. I don't need any desert with below 2 wafting roses.

My version #1 Evelyn above has OPEN STAMENS so the scent wafts more. See below Evelyn picture taken in 2010 from San Jose Heritage Rose park posted by Sue Brown in Dave's Garden with open stamens. PlantFiles Pictures: English Rose, Austin Rose 'Evelyn' (<i>Rosa</i>) by RosinaBloom (davesgarden.com)

See below OPEN STAMENS Evelyn picture taken in 2003 from Dave's Garden website (click on the pic. to see the date):

PlantFiles Pictures: English Rose, Austin Rose 'Evelyn' (<i>Rosa</i>) by RosinaBloom (davesgarden.com)

OPEN STAMENS blooms like Marie Pavie & Perfume Breeze and version #1 Evelyn (bought in 2012 as own root) WAFT more than the buttonhole like my Mary Magdalene (takes a massive spring flush of 100+ blooms for Mary to waft).

Straw - beautiful roses!! My Perfume Breeze got downy mildew really badly last year as all of my roses did (I watered exclusively with stored rain water...bad idea)...but Perfume Breeze had DM all over the canes too...so I ditched it. I would like to get it again...really great plant.

rosecanadian With so many roses (160 varieties), I have been using 100% acidic rainwater from my 7 rain barrels since 2014 and I don't have mildew since I neutralize the acidity of rain water with 2 HUGE bags (40 lb. each) of pea-gravel which I dunk into my rain-barrels.

I also top my roses with 1 inch thick of biochar (pH 8.6) burnt from my trees. I no longer pay $5 per bag to dispose of my yard waste, I burn everything (rose canes & trees & weeds & tomato branches) in a firepit to make ALKALINE biochar to fertilize roses. It's fantastic to prevent against mildew due to biochar's high potassium and calcium.

Oldworld -- I strongly second the Darlow's Enigma comment. Here in central Michigan it blooms pretty much all summer. The plants (I them stashed in nooks and crannies all over) are a bushy 8' wide by 8' tall. The ones planted in deeper shade are fewer stemmed, but they also easily reach 15' and gracefully meander over a semi-dwarf CO blue spruce. Sweetly fragrant!

ps: Straw, it is good to hear from you! I enjoyed reading about trading fragrant roses for sugary sweets. :)

rosesmi5a I love and appreciate your accurate descriptions of roses in our cold zone. I collect all your info. and put into a file so I can double check before buying any roses. Thank you for your postings !!

Straw - yeah, I won't be doing that. We're not allowed to have fires here. Just using city water is good enough for me. I'm happy you found a way to make rainwater work...very clever! :) :)

My nose is weak, so I can't really smell Darlows Enigma.