Isaphan

Sorry, my Ispahan is only a year old so I haven't seen any blooms yet. It is (so far) thin-caned yet very upright, deals just fine in a very dry spot in my garden, healthy foliage though I wouldn't say the foliage is gorgeous on its own or anything. I chose it because I wanted to experience the famous scent. I think Noseometer has one and does not love it, though. I hope they chime in.

I've not grown Ispahan, so don't really know it, but I see it is once-blooming. We've grown Autumn Damask for nearly 40 years. In central Florida, it is seldom out of flower, although it makes just a few at a time during the heat of summer. It is deliciously fragrant.

First of all, don’t let my lukewarm opinion of ‘Ispahan’ sway you, as overall I think it’s a fine plant, but it's just not to my taste. More on that later. I’ve grown ‘Ispahan’ for two growing seasons, so it’s pretty new in my garden. I don’t grow ‘Autumn Damask’ but I’ve seen it growing in other gardens. I planted ‘Ispahan’ in September 2019 from the Antique Rose Emporium. I planted it because it comes from a dry desert climate similar to here, and is said to have incredible fragrance. The following spring, the blooms mostly froze in a late cold spell, but the plant has shown itself to be very vigorous in my dry climate, growing in amended fill sand, in a brutal west facing exposure. This is a big positive for me. This year it reached about 6 feet tall at its tallest point. The thorns are quite small and unimposing as opposed to the profuse scimitars of ‘Autumn Damask’. So far ‘Ispahan’ has made a rather awkwardly shaped shrub. This spring it had a nice show of smallish maybe 2” flowers of a pompon shape which I am not fond of. It has a fairly common pink color which is nice enough, but does not particularly catch my eye. The descriptions I’ve read is that it blooms for 6 weeks, and this year mine bloomed for about 3-4 weeks (I’d expect it to get better as it gets older). Mine had little fragrance this year, but I’m not surprised by that, in such a young plant. It is said to be good for cutting, but being a once bloomer, it has very short stems unless you cut into the last year’s cane and have a wand of blooms. The blooms lasted 3-4 days and were susceptible to thrips and to heat (probably not a problem in your area). The fall color was quite attractive this year, and it may be for you if you have mild long autumn weather, as this year was here. It has made no hips for me so far.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so what may be negatives for me might be positives for you. I hope this is helpful!

Now that my Ispahan is mature I much prefer it to Autumn Damask. Ispahan is about 5 feet tall (and spreading) and is covered in bloom for 3-4 weeks. My Autumn Damask is maybe 30", and though it reblooms in August or September, it's never as impressive or generous with blooms.

The big caveat would be climate. I am in Zone 4. Malcolm seems to have great results from AD in Florida. Not sure how each would play out in the PNW.

Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder-I think those are stunning pictures of Ispahan and am so wxcited it is coming in the spring

I agree, I think Ispahan is extremely beautiful.

Looking forward to seeing her in your garden pics @oursteelers 8B PNW !

I ordered Autumn Damask this year, but only because I have a small garden, so I tend to go for roses that offer "efficiency": blooms as much of the year as possible. So once-bloomers are a no-go.

If I had more space I would definitely add more once-bloomers, and Ispahan would be top of my list!

She is far more beautiful than AD to me.

Curious which one you will choose @librarian_gardener !

To me, ispahan more flowers and the prettiest bush, or growth. Ispahan is bigger, so if you are wanting something smaller than AD may be preferred, but I prefer ispahan.

I grew both for many years. ’Ispahan’ was a huge, vigorous and attractive shrub that flowered for weeks every year in a spectacular flush. It was beautiful but never developed much fragrance for me, although i sniffed it in all weather conditions and at all times of day. The lack of scent was always a huge disappointment for me. AD, on the other hand, was a rangy, lax shrub which never produced a huge, showy flush all at once. Rather it doled out a few blooms at a time. The buds were exquisitely scented but the fragrance quickly diminished in the open blooms. Since the buds opened very quickly, catching them at the right stage was key to enjoying the legendary fragrance.

Flowers, are you out there? I hope you post photos of your magnificent Ispahan, grown in zone 5, here for us to see. We've been missing you. Diane

I only have Autumn Damask (own-root from The Antique Rose Emporium).
I believe I planted it in 2017. I didn't note it and I finally forgot!
Spring 2021 it bloomed nicely. Ultra fragrant of pure rose. It died back some over its first three winters. 2020-2021 it improved in this regard; perhaps maturity? 
If it were to continue to have winter issues, I'd have to eliminate it.
It's been a once bloomer so far. Acceptably healthy. Touch of black spot by end of season. Put on good size this season. I hope it retains this.
I thought I had a photo of this in full bloom. I can't find it...

Steven

Mine only blooms once too. My AD. It a really ungainly shrub. Ispahan is beautiful. To my nose I can't smell it, it's only downfall :(

I like my Ispahan, in the ground for a year in a difficult spot. Pretty flowers and attractive foliage. I don't remember the scent which tells me it wasn't remarkable. I hope it grows tall in the spot where I put it so it can be spectacular in June-July and then be in the background the rest of the year. Autumn Damask in my climate is not supposed to grow taller than 2 feet.

Have you considered Kazanlik? It has a good size and famously scented flowers.

Ispahan below, sorry about the weeds ;)

Thank you all for this feedback so far. It sounds like Kazanlik is another one to consider. I don't have very many good spots left for once bloomers, so if I pick, it should be just one of the three. Ispahan seems to have the most beautiful blooms. It's interesting that not everyone is impressed with the fragrance.

I was also thinking that Marchesa Boccella looks similar...I have a band of MB that's new this year. Maybe I start just with that.

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw There are SO MANY roses where I'm like "wow, that's gorgeous, but it looks so much like Sidonie" (which looks just like Marchesa Boccella) that I don't buy them. I'm a sucker for that pink, petal packed button eye look, but in a small garden I can't have roses that are basically repeats of each other. I'll just have to hope that Sidonie is the best of them all lol because that's the one I've got.

I have to move mine this spring and I'm nervous to hurt it and set it back, because it made such good progress this year.

Paul, thanks for speaking up. I always appreciate your feedback, especially because your climate is so similar to mine. Im going to seriously consider the Duchesse now! Your photo is stunning.

@Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b) you summed up my situation and my weakness so well😅

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw I dug some pieces of 'Duchesse de Rohan' today - I can send you one if you like.

@User that's such a kind offer, thank you! I dont always have luck with Houzz messages. Do you want to coordinate on HMF (Librarian Gardner) or Instagram (kk.cure)?

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw I think you have messaging here turned off. I have contacted you elsewhere.

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw Oh how exciting for you!!! Can't wait to see how it does for you.

Just to say, though, Autumn Damask is a lovely thing.

And OLD plants can be very big.

What a beautiful bush and flower, Jeri.

Thanks, Jeri. Comments from both you and Kim have made me consider AD. You both have had the nicest things to say about it.

Of course, you do have to keep in mind that our garden is undisciplined, and un-planned.

My garden is not quite disciplined but it is small.

I love wild gardens!

Me too!

Beautiful picture Jeri!