Heaven scent

Are you like most people and feel let down when you bury your nose in a beautiful rose only to find it lacks fragrance?

One solution is to grow roses with real perfume power. But there are some pitfalls. Roses offer us a wide choice of fragrant varieties in all colours, flower forms and plant types but the perception of roses’ aroma is highly subjective. A rose one person finds highly scented may seem to have little or no fragrance to another. When I score roses in trials for fragrance, the wide variation in marks for individual varieties never ceases to amaze me.

Weather plays a key role in the detection of fragrance. Generally, warm, calm, humid days maximise our detection of aroma; on cold and damp days the reverse is true. Then there are those very strongly scented varieties that we can delight in almost all of the time.

The gardener faces a dilemma if forced to choose between one rose that is near perfect in every other respect but has no fragrance and another that is a feeble performer but has a powerful fragrance. Part of the problem is that it’s incredibly challenging to breed for fragrance. When breeders cross two highly fragrant roses, many of their seedlings may have no or little aroma.

There are also several negative qualities, such as poor disease resistance and poor vase life, linked to strong fragrance. So often, if a rose scores well for fragrance, it will have at least one undesirable characteristic. However, it is reassuring to note that many breeders are making fragrance a priority, creating some wonderful, scented roses that are easy to gro

Other fragrant roses to grow

Hybrid teas:
• ‘Auckland Metro’ – white.
• ‘Chartreuse de Parme’ – magenta pink (Fragrance winner at Rose of the Year 2002).
• ‘Clodagh McGredy’ – apricot.
• ‘Fragrant Cloud’ – brick red.
• ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ – white.
• ‘Lasting Love’ – dusky red (2006).
• ‘Love Me Do’ – cream with pale apricot flush (2007 Rose of the Year fragrance winner).
• ‘Matawhero Magic’ – bronzy orange.
• ‘Waimarie’ – mauve pink.

Floribundas:
• ‘Blueberry Hill’ – lilac.
• ‘Friesia’ – yellow.
• ‘Midnight Blue’ – purple.
• ‘Outta the Blue’ – magenta/lavender.
• ‘Scentasia’ – creamy yellow.
• ‘Scentimental’ – red and white striped.

Climbers
• ‘Climbing Nahema’ – soft pink (2005 Rose of the Year fragrance winner).
• ‘Compassion’ – pink/apricot.
• ‘Emily’s Rose’ – soft pink.
• ‘Fourth of July’ – red/white striped.
• ‘Leaping Salmon’ – salmon pink.
• ‘Sir Edmund Hillary’ – creamy white.
• ‘Taffeta’(patio climber) – creamy white.

Austin roses:
Many Austins are fragrant but try the following:
• ‘Abraham Darby’ – peachy pink/creamy yellow reverse.
• ‘Evelyn’ – apricot.
• ‘Falstaff’ – deep crimson.
• ‘Mary Rose’ – rich pink.
• ‘Sweet Juliet’ – peach.

Miniature/patio roses:
Few of this type of rose are strongly fragrant but the following have a noticeable fragrance.
• ‘Beauty Secret’ – red.
• ‘Moon River’ – silvery lavender.
• ‘Orchid Lace’ – lavender lilac.
• ‘Sweet Chariot’ – lavender purple.

Hayden’s Top 12

‘Paddy Stephens’ (hybrid tea)
This is the best rose to come from our own Sam McGredy, which is saying something considering the many great roses he has created. It is easy to grow, has great disease resistance and long stems that are good for picking. Its blooms are a blend of coral pink.

‘Racy Lady’ (hybrid tea)
This tall grower has perfectly formed, creamy white blooms, is spectacular in a vase and easy to grow, although you need to give it some room. It is quick to repeat. I consider it one of the best roses released in the past 10 years.

‘Matawhero Magic’ (hybrid tea)
This rose has blooms of a unique shade of bronze-orange that may not appeal to everyone, but its distinctive musky fragrance will. The blooms are not big but you get a lot of them.

‘Serendipity’ (floribunda)
Yellow roses are often hard to grow, but this one is easy and is probably one of the healthiest roses sold. Overall, it’s a great garden rose that repeat-flowers quickly.

‘Scentimental’ (floribunda)
New Zealanders tend not to like striped roses, but I do. This deliciously fragrant rose is one of the best all-round performers. Its blooms are a blend of red and white stripes and the plant is bushy and easy to grow. Unfortunately, its blooms don’t last long in a vase.

‘Hot Chocolate’ (floribunda)
This rose has blooms of an unusual russet brown and old fashioned appearance. It is bred by New Zealander Nola Simpson, who has done a lot of breeding in this colour range. It will be a talking point in any garden.

‘Dublin Bay’ (climber)
This popular red-flowering climber seems to have been around for quite a while. It is quick to establish and covers itself well with flowers and foliage but won’t grow huge like some climbers. It can have some disease issues but I think it is superior to any other red climber on the market.

‘Sally Holmes’ (shrub/climber)
This peach-flushed, creamy rose can be grown as a large shrub or even better as a climber. Don’t be put off by it single blooms if you prefer doubles because it makes up for them with sheer flower power and disease-resistance.

‘Dusky Dancer’ (shrub/climber)
This versatile roses covers itself with masses of large clusters of small, dark red blooms. It can be grown as a shrub or as a small climber against a wall or fence, is healthy and seemingly, always in flower.

‘Graham Thomas’ (Austin)
One of the best known and grown Austin roses in New Zealand, this rose has deep yellow blooms. It is a vigorous grower and fragrant as well, but can be slow to repeat bloom. I recommend growing it as a climber.

‘L.D.Braithwaite’ (Austin)

One of the best Austin roses. It has quartered, crimson red, pleasantly scented blooms, is very healthy and does not get tall and floppy like some Austin varieties.

‘Dinky Pinky’ (miniature)
I don’t grow many minis but this is my all-time favourite. It produces masses of perfectly formed, salmon pink blooms and is extremely healthy. Don’t be put off by the name.

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