Strongest scented roses
10 scented varieties for a garden |
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
Fragrant roses are well known for their captivating scents, and one of the greatest pleasures of gardening has to include strolling between these beautiful, blousy blooms, breathing in the delicious perfumes.
Scent adds another dimension to your garden and is an increasingly sought after quality in roses, so is one of the elements to consider when planning your rose garden ideas.
Fragrant climbing roses can scramble over an arbour or pergola; potted roses placed on a patio next to a seating area, and shrub or tree roses planted near a window or next to a path to perfume the air.
Fragrant roses to plant
As well as their gorgeous range of flowers forms, ‘roses are enormously variable in fragrance, so it’s good to try and include all different types of fragrant roses in your garden,’ advises world leading rosarian Michael Marriott .
When you are considering how to plant roses, a key decision is the position of your sweet smelling choices.
‘Plant fragrant roses where you can best enjoy their scent, such as beside a path, next to a seating area, and at nose level,’ says garden designer Jo Thompson .
1. Fragrant rose 'Desdemona'
(Image credit: Alamy / Deborah Vernon)
Rosa 'Desdemona' has a terrific Old Rose fragrance, described as having hints of almond blossom, cucumber and lemon zest.
The bushy shrub rose has beautiful pale, pink-hued blooms and is a favorite of garden designer Richard Miers .
'Fragrance is always something I look for when choosing roses for my clients,' Richard says.
To enjoy more of the fragrant rose blooms around your front or back yard in the most cost-effective ways, learn how to take rose cuttings and nurture young rose plants.
2. Rosa ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’
(Image credit: Alamy / R Kautzsky)
'Dark pink flowered Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’ Is one of the best climbing roses. It is free flowering and thornless, with an extremely strong fruity fragrance with hints of raspberry,’ says garden designer David Stevens .
'Most people want any plant to provide interest over as long a period as possible and fragrant roses such as climbers, floribundas and Hybrid Teas can flower from as early as May, right the way through to Christmas, albeit with less flower towards the end,' adds David.
Climbing roses usually repeat flower throughout the season, and it is important to know how to prune climbing roses to get a profusion of the best flowers, year after year.
Climbing fragrant roses can be trained to scramble up and over arbours or pergola ideas to surround you with the fragrance on all levels.
3. Rosa ‘Margaret Merril’
(Image credit: Alamy )
Rosa ‘Margaret Merril’ is a quintessential floribunda with an award-winning, sweet, citrus perfume. It is a favorite of Rosebie Morton of scented flower bouquet supplier The Real Flower Company , who described it as being 'my raison d’etre behind my career'.
This upright shrub rose with clusters of flowers is an ideal choice for borders, especially placed close to a pathway as a shrub for the front of the house to welcome visitors with its sweet fragrance.
Rosebie is passionate about restoring the growing of exquisitely fragrant roses and flowers, just as nature intended, and uses sustainable garden ideas, which in turn help to improve and enhance the natural scent of the blooms.
4. Rosa ‘New Dawn’
(Image credit: Alamy/ Jason Smalley)
A climbing rose with a sweet, fruity scent and glossy foliage, fragrant rose ‘New Dawn’ produces lots of medium sized, soft pink blooms.
‘I plant this for height, fragrance and its long flowering period,’ says designer Jo Thompson.
She recommends designing a rose garden so that you are enveloped by the blooms around and overhead.
5. Rosa ‘Munstead Wood’
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
'Rosa ‘Munstead Wood’ bears sumptuous, very deep crimson velvety petals,’ says David Marriott.
It has an Old Rose fragrance with notes of blackberry, blueberry and damson. It is perfect for growing at the front of a border where its perfume can be better appreciated, or in more of a formal rose bed.
6. Rosa ‘Lady of Shalott’
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
With a pleasant, warm tea fragrance, with hints of spiced apple and cloves, 'Rosa ‘Lady of Shalott’ was bred by David Austin.
'The shrub rose has lovely deep orange blooms flushed with yellowy-pink that repeat-flower. It is a hardy and reliable fragrant rose, so is a great choice for beginners,' explains gardening writer and photographer Leigh Clapp.
As with all roses, know when to plant roses, and where to plant them, to ensure they have the right growing conditions to deliver the best results.
7. Rosa ‘Rambling Rector’
'For a vigorous rambling rose, you will find white Rosa Rambling Rector, with its powerful, musky scent, hard to beat,’ says David Stevens.
'As opposed to repeat flowering climbers, fragrant rambling roses tend to produce a spectacular but single flowering time,' he adds.
However 'there are some modern rambling roses that work beautifully in a naturalistic planting design, and will repeat flower through the summer months and into fall,' advises garden designer Colm Joseph .
8. Rosa 'Evelyn'
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
Beautiful David Austin shrub rose ‘Evelyn’ has shallow cupped flowers flushed soft apricot and pink with a rich, fruity scent. It is a recommended variety to grow in Zone 7 by US rose consultant Paul Zimmerman .
'Rest assured this one is very fragrant,' he explains.
As with mixing plants generally, 'be careful with mixing roses. They should be chosen in relation to the space they occupy, and the surroundings,' explains David Stevens.
There will be some varieties of fragrant roses that do better in different climates, so check the ones recommended for the zone in which you live, or the position they will have in your yard.
9. Rosa ‘Bella Rosa'
(Image credit: Alamy)
Rosa 'Bella Rosa' is a patio rose with multi-toned lemon petals suffused with pink edges and a delightful fragrance, ideal for a compact design,’ says David Stevens
As a patio idea, smaller shrub roses are ideal for planting in containers around a seating area where their beautiful scent can be enjoyed to the full.
Choose hardy varieties such as this one that will require less maintenance.
10. Rosa ‘Paul’s Himalayan musk’
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
Fragrant rose 'Paul’s Himalayan musk' has beautiful, little, rosette-shaped flowers that are a lovely pale pink colour and have a wonderfully strong, musky fragrance.
'Although it is only once flowering, its blooms are borne in great abundance, making a magnificent display. An exceptionally tall, vigorous climber, it produces many long, slim, flexible branches which trail gracefully, hanging down elegantly from their support,' explains Leigh Clapp, so is a great choice as a flowering climber.
Which roses are most fragrant?
Old garden roses, also known as antique and historic roses, which mostly flower once, tend to be the most richly fragrant roses. The classic perfume is found in gallica roses and their hybrids, such as damasks, while clove scents are found in musk roses.
Modern roses are repeat-flowering, with diversity of form, color and fragrance, with some being more scented than others.
These include hybrid teas, floribundas, climbers, miniature and David Austin English roses.
Versatile shrub and tree roses can take the combined characteristics of the old and modern, so can be very fragrant.
Wild roses are considered the wildflower type of rose. Wild Roses, or 'species roses,' typically have a single bloom and can have a wonderful scent, as nature intended, to attract pollinators and wildlife.
'While repeat-flowering roses will probably be the basis of your rose garden, include ones that flower only once as they are often the most showy, tend to be healthier and many are beautifully scented,' advises Leigh Clapp.
Which color roses are the most fragrant?
While darker colored fragrant roses tend to have a more powerful fragrance than lighter colored varieties, each rose and color will have its own unique scent that will appeal for different reasons.
Red and pink roses can have a more classic old rose smell, while paler yellow and white roses tend to boast a lighter, more citrus perfume, or orange roses a fruitier scent.
Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, 'people react to fragrance differently and while the perfume of one rose might be attractive to some, it might not be to others, particularly if it's very heavily scented,' advises David Stevens.
He recommends to visit to an established rose garden to see and smell different varieties. Or bury your nose in fragrant rose plants at nurseries and garden centers before buying to see if you like the specific scent.
Rachel is senior content editor, and writes and commissions gardening content for homesandgardens.com, Homes & Gardens magazine, and its sister titles Period Living Magazine and Country Homes & Interiors. She has written for lifestyle magazines for many years, with a particular focus on gardening, historic houses and arts and crafts, but started out her journalism career in BBC radio, where she enjoyed reporting on and writing programme scripts for all manner of stories. Rachel then moved into regional lifestyle magazines, where the topics she wrote about, and people she interviewed, were as varied and eclectic as they were on radio.
Always harboring a passion for homes and gardens, she jumped at the opportunity to work on The English Home and The English Garden magazines for a number of years, before joining the Period Living team, then the wider Homes & Gardens team, specializing in gardens.
Top Scented Roses | BBC Gardeners World Magazine
Roses are well known for their scent. Rose fragrances can be categorised into types such as fruity, Tea, myrrh and musk. As well as the types of fragrance, some roses are dramatically more fragrant than others. These are the roses to grow next to a path, bench or front door so you can take advantage of their scented blooms as you sit or walk past them. Scented roses make excellent cut flowers, too, offering a sensual treat as well as being visually striking.
As a general rule, the most fragrant roses are English Roses and Old Roses. However there's a wide variety of shrub and climbing roses that offer a wealth of fragrance for your garden and home.
More on growing roses:
- How to take rose cuttings
- How to deadhead roses
- What to grow with roses
- How to grow climbing roses
- How to grow rambling roses
- How to look after roses in autumn
Browse our list of the most fragrant roses, below.
1
Rosa 'St Ethelburga'
Top roses for scent - Rosa 'St Ethelburga'
Rosa 'St Ethelburga' is a strongly scented, old fashioned hybrid tea rose. It flowers prolifically from late spring into autumn.
- Buy Rosa 'St Ethelburga' from Crocus and Waitrose Garden
2
Rosa 'The Generous Gardener'Top roses for scent - Rosa 'The Generous Gardener' (photo credit: David Austin Roses)
'The Generous Gardener' is a shrub rose with a traditional musky old-rose fragrance and double, soft pink to pale white-pink flowers. Grow it as shrub or trained against a trellis as a short climbing rose.
- Buy Rosa 'The Generous Gardener' from David Austin
3
Rosa 'Boscobel'Top roses for scent - Rosa 'Boscobel'
The flowers of Rosa 'Boscobel', also known as 'Auscousin', have a strong myrrh fragrance with hints of elderflower, pear and almond. It's a bushy shrub rose, with red buds opening to large, salmon-pink flowers throughout summer.
- Buy Rosa 'St Ethelburga' from David Austin
4
Rosa 'Munstead Wood'Top roses for scent - Rosa 'Munstead Wood' (photo credit: David Austin Roses)
The dark crimson blooms of Rosa 'Munstead Wood' have very fruity fragrance. It's a classic English shrub rose which flowers over a long period, and has good disease resistance. Grow at the front of a border.
- Buy Rosa 'Munstead Wood' from David Austin
5
Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton'Top roses for scent - Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton'
Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton' has a fruity fragrance. It's a tall, English rose with red buds that open to orange flowers. Grow it at the back of a border.
- Buy Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton' from David Austin
6
Rosa 'Gertrude Jekyll'Top roses for scent - Rosa 'Gertrude Jekyll'
Rosa 'Gertrude Jekyll' is a classic English shrub rose with a beautiful fragrance.
It flowers continuously all summer and makes a lovely cut flower.
- Buy Rosa 'Gertrude Jekyll' from David Austin
7
Rosa rugosa 'Roseraie de l'Hay'Top roses for scent - Rosa 'Roseraie de l'Hay'
Rosa rugosa 'Roseraie de l'Hay' is a large, dense rugosa rose with fresh, green leaves and wine-coloured flowers with a good fragrance. It can be trimmed into a flowering hedge and is tolerant of poor soils.
- Buy Rosa rugosa 'Roseraie de l'Hay' from Crocus, Thompson & Morgan and Waitrose
8
Rosa 'Charles de Mills'Top roses for scent - Rosa 'Charles de Mills'
Rosa 'Charles de Mills' is a gorgeous gallica rose with an intense fragrance. It's loose habit makes it ideal for an informal mixed or cottage garden border.
- Buy Rosa 'Charles de Mills' from Crocus, Gardening Express and Waitrose
9
Rosa 'Compassion'Top roses for scent - Rosa 'Compassion'
Rosa 'Compassion' bears scented apricot flowers from July to September.
A scented climbing rose, it's ideal for growing up a pergola, so you can enjoy its wonderful perfume as you sit beneath it.
- Buy Rosa 'Compassion' from Crocus, Gardening Direct and Waitrose
The most fragrant varieties of D. Austin roses
English rose `Boscobel` ®
Aroma: myrrh with hints of hawthorn, elderberry, pear and almond.
Flowers: red buds open at first into beautiful calyxes, which then bloom into classic salmon-pink rosettes. Flower diameter 8-10 cm.
Bush height: 100-120 cm.
English rose `Desdemona` ®
Aroma: Intense old rose aroma with hints of almond, cucumber and lemon zest.
Flowers: peach-pink buds open into beautiful white cupped buds with a pinkish tinge. Flower diameter 8-10cm.
Bush height: 100-120 cm.
English rose `Emily Bronte` ®
Aroma: hybrid tea roses with hints of lemon and grapefruit.
Flowers: rosette-shaped, 8-10 cm in diameter, pink with apricot hues.
Bush height: 100-120 cm.
English Rose `Golden Celebration` ®
Aroma: tea roses with a fruity character thanks to notes of lemon, strawberry and lychee (Chinese plum).
Flowers: Large, 10-12 cm in diameter, golden yellow globular flowers.
Bush height: 120-140 cm.
Flowers: Large, dome-shaped flowers 12-14 cm in diameter, deep salmon pink, with a golden hue on the back of the petals.
Bush height: 100-120 cm.
English rose `Lady Emma Hamilton` ®
Aroma: Fruity, with notes of pear, grapes and citrus.
Flowers: open, almost tangerine color on the inside of the petals, and more yellow on the outside. Flower diameter 10-12 cm.
Bush height: 100-120 cm.
Flowers: light crimson in bud, but when open they become very dark, velvety burgundy, while the outer petals remain quite light.
Flower diameter 8-10 cm.
Bush height: 100-120 cm. currants.
Flowers: cup-shaped, 10-12 cm in diameter, warm, luminous pink, surrounded by a circle of lighter outer petals.
Bush height: 100-120 cm.
English rose `Teasing Georgia` ®
Aroma: sweet, fruity.
Flowers: creamy white at the edges and golden yellow in the center, densely double, cupped, quartered, 8-10 cm in diameter.
Bush height: 100-120 cm.
English rose `The Ancient Mariner` ®
Fragrance: Intense myrrh fragrance.
Flowers: cup-shaped with many petals of intense luminous pink in the center, which fades towards the edges of the petals. Flower diameter 10-12 cm.
Bush height: 100-120 cm. stronger.
Flowers: large, 10-12 cm in diameter, deep yellow color that does not fade, with slightly lighter petals at the edges.
Bush height: 100-120 cm.
Rose English `Vanessa Bell`®
Aroma: Green Tea with limon shades
9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 Flowers: 8-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10 cm in diameter, delicate lemon color in the center and almost white on the edge.
Bush height: 100-120 cm.
All varieties of English roses >>
The most fragrant roses. TOP 10
Posted Floristics 0Comments
There are roses without scent. But this is definitely not about these varieties!
Top 10 most fragrant cut roses of 2021 according to Parfum Flower Company.
Amazing selection for touching and romantic occasions.
PRINCE JARDINIER (Prince Jardinier, another name - Alexander Pushkin)
Number of flowers per stem: 1
Flower diameter: 10-12 cm
Average number of petals: 60
Height: 80-130 cm
Vase life: 5-7 days
Large, exquisite rose with wavy, velvety petals.
The flowers are creamy, with a delicate pink hue, brighter closer to the center. Like poppies, they open up to the very core. The variety was bred in 2009, but has already won 12 awards.
Aroma: intense, persistent, with sweet peach and tart citrus notes.
WHITE O'HARA
Number of flowers per stem: 1
Flower diameter 11-14 cm
Average number of petals: 55
Height: 120-150 cm Vase lifespan
7-9 days
Excellent garden variety for weddings or christenings. The rose of this variety is velvety white petals with a slight mother-of-pearl on the bends. Closer to the center of the outlet, they acquire a shade of ivory with powder. Marshmallow forms form a large chic bud.
Aroma: bright citrus, with hints of verbena, green apple and fresh cut grass.
David Ostin Leonora (Leonora David Ostin)
The number of colors on the stem: 1
Flower diameter: 10-12 cm
Average Memory: 105
cm
Life expectancy in a vase 7-9 days
The epitome of classic elegance and understated style, appropriate for intimate occasions or formal occasions.
Delicate cream tones unfold into a romantic tousled flower, revealing clusters of golden stamens. The laid-back style creates a sense of quiet beauty that can't help but enchant.
Aroma: unobtrusive, subtle, fresh, with notes of citrus and cucumber. No. of flowers per stem 1-3 -9 days
This hybrid tea rose is not easy to describe, with its wavy vintage petals capable of almost endless variation. The flower begins to open in a bright copper color, eventually acquiring purple hues.
Aroma: sweet, with vanilla notes.
SCENTED WHISPER
Number of flowers per stem: 3-5
Flower diameter: 8-10 cm 7 days
Shrub rose whose color can change during the flowering period. Petals play with different shades, from coral to pale apricot. But they can also be with brown shadows, and with a hint of purple. The perfect addition to delicate bridal bouquets and romantic tabletop arrangements.
Aroma: very strong, fruity, with hints of strawberry, melon and citrus.
DAVID AUSTIN CONSTANCE
Number of flowers per stem: 3-5
Flower diameter: 10-12 cm
Average number of petals: 140 : 7-9 days
Large flower with stunning cup shape and loose rosette. Each rose is unique because it differs in shades, from light cream to deep pink. The flowers are double and extremely romantic.
Aroma: elegant, sensual, fruity, with notes of apple and pear.
ENGLISH MISS
Number of flowers per stem: 5-10
Flower diameter: 7-8 cm
Average number of petals: 60
Height: 90 cm
Vase lifespan: 7 days
Pale pink spray rose - a real classic, elegant and romantic, like something out of a Victorian garden. Although the bud quickly blooms, as if wanting to show off its golden mean, it blooms for quite a long time.
Aroma: intense, reminiscent of rose oil.
PRINCESSE CHARLENE DE MONACO
Number of flowers per stem 1-3
Flower diameter 11-14 cm
Average number of petals: 68-71 Vse:
Height:
Height:
6-8 days
Hybrid tea variety, style reminiscent of English roses.
Despite the surprisingly small number of petals, the flower is large and luxurious. Color - pastel pink with a peach tint. A magical option for mono-bouquets, bridal bouquets and "powdery" weddings.
Aroma: intense, sweet, with pronounced citrus notes.
PEONY PINK
Number of flowers per stem 1-3
Flower diameter: 8-10 cm
Average number of petals: 80+
Height: 90-110 cm Lifespan5 in vase
-7 days
Really one of the most beautiful varieties. Cool, pale pink shades of petals give this rose a special aristocracy. And small, neat buds are so similar to a peony that sometimes the difference can only be determined by the characteristic shape of the leaves.
Aroma: active, fresh, with light notes of myrtle, lemon and almond.
PINK YVES PIAGET
Number of flowers per stem: 1
Flower diameter: 10-12 cm
Average number of petals: 80 days
Unforgettable double variety, reminiscent of roses from the English royal gardens of the 18th century.
