Roses: the most fragrant

The most fragrant old and botanical roses

Les « roses à parfum » : plus ou moins utilisés par l’industrie de la parfumerie, ces rosiers proches des espèces botaniques exhalent un parfum suave, puissant, à son apogée lorsque la fleur s’ouvre le matin. Ils ont engendré de très nombreux rosiers anciens, toujours très appréciés pour leur authentique et merveilleux parfum de rose tel qu’il est perçu dans l’inconscient collectif.

Rosa gallica Officinalis - Old Gallic Rose

This is the Provins rose: very old, close to the botanical species Rosa gallica, this rosebush has an uncommon vigour. This not very tall bush produces abundantly, in summer, semi-double and silky flowers of a bright carmine pink, revealing a heart of yellow stamens, which exhale a pure scent of old rose. Extremely hardy, it tolerates shade and survives, unaided, in old gardens, without watering and without treatments. A solid, healthy and perfectly reliable plant from the North to the South of our country.

• Flowering time July, August
• Height at maturity 90 cm

See the product sheet

Rosa centifolia Muscosa - White Moss Rose

The May rose or Grasse rose is a natural variety of the hundred-leaved rosebush, with an unmatched and recognisable scent. It is a somewhat gangly bush with a supple habit, whose branches and even the buds are curiously covered with a fragrant and resinous greenish moss, with a balsamic scent. The cabbage rose and some of its descendants are still cultivated, mainly in France and Morocco, for the extraction of their essence which is used in luxury perfumes.

• Flowering time July, August
• Height at maturity 1,30 m

See the product sheet

Rosa damascena Trigintipetala - Damask Rose

This is the 'Bulgarian' essential oil rose, cultivated in the Kazanlăk region for its richness in essential oils. This upright bush, the size of a man, produces a single flowering in summer, with a powerful scent. Its semi-double roses, somewhat loose, measuring 6 cm wide, gather 30 pale pink petals, hence its other name Trigintipetala. In cultivation, it requires deep, fertile soil, rather cool, and a very sunny exposure.

• Flowering time July, August
• Height at maturity 1,80 m

See the product sheet

Rosa x rugosa 'Roseraie de l'Haÿ' - Rugosa Rose

This rosebush produces flowers with a powerful and suave scent. They adorn a vigorous and healthy bush, with very thorny vegetation and crinkled foliage, in June and again in September. Hardy and undemanding, it tolerates sea spray and sandy soils.

• Flowering time June to November
• Height at maturity 2 m

See the product sheet

Rosa Mme Issac Pereire - Bourbon Rose

Impressive, this large bush or small climber is a vigorous variety, with lush foliage that lavishly displays large, very double flowers of a bright carmine pink, from which emanates a heady and intoxicating scent.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 2,50 m

See the product sheet

Rosa rugosa Blanc Double de Coubert

A beautiful bush with a dense and bushy habit, this rosebush can become a small free-form tree. This amazing hybrid of the Japanese rose bears double flowers of pure white, very fragrant. Its foliage is very healthy and beautifully coloured in autumn. Perpetual, it also offers lovely red fruits in autumn.

• Flowering time July to October
• Height at maturity 1,50 m

See the product sheet

Rosa Souvenir du Dr Jamain

A bush the size of a man, capable of climbing up to more than 2.5 m. It delivers, from May to October, in a glorious scent, large, well-double roses of a dark, velvety wine-purple. Such is this wonderful old rosebush that excels in shaded areas. It can be trained as a bush or as a climber, according to individual preferences...

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 2,50 m

See the product sheet

Rosa alba Great Maidens Blush

A historic rose with double, somewhat loose flowers, shaped like rosettes, blooming flat in a refined, powdery scent, unlike any other. It is a vigorous bush, with slightly drooping branches adorned with disease-free grey-green foliage. Its flowering is very abundant in summer, but not perpetual. The flowers of its ancestor Rosa (x) alba, much less rich in essential oil than Damask roses, are used to produce an essence of lower quality.

• Flowering time July, August
• Height at maturity 1,50 m

See the product sheet

The most fragrant English roses

Combining the charm of old roses with the floribundity of modern roses, English roses offer us complex, intense, and highly diverse fragrances.

Rosa Constance Spry

This is the very first variety from David Austin, which is the origin of an entire generation of exceptional roses. Its flowers are large and beautiful, and its flexible stems allow it to be grown both as a bush and as a climber. Each rose is a deep and full cup that retains a generous, powerful, enchanting fragrance with oriental connotations of spices and incense. This rose is not perpetual and is quite susceptible to diseases.

• Flowering time July
• Height at maturity 1,50 m

See the product sheet

Rosa 'Spirit of Freedom' - Climbing Rose

This large rose with a broad habit and grey-green foliage has all the characteristics of old roses. Its large, very full, round flowers, with a pronounced myrrh fragrance, display a colour that is both very soft and vibrant, turning lilac pink at ripeness. Generous and healthy, perpetual, it can form a beautiful backdrop or be trained as a climber.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 1,20 m

See the product sheet

Rosa The Pilgrim - English Climbing Rose

Its roses are large, very double cups, almost pompom-like in petals, in a gradient of yellow, exuding a pronounced and original spicy fragrance. This magnificent rose can be grown as an elegant bush or a small climber. This rose is healthy and vigorous.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 1,80 m

See the product sheet

Rosa Charles Darwin- English Rose

These very globular roses are among the most intriguing that can be observed in David Austin's creations. Their colour, changeable and quite indescribable, is neither yellow nor apricot but more subtle, almost rosy champagne in our very sunny regions, while in cooler climates they appear more yellow with an amber reflection. Their tea rose fragrance with anise notes is as original as it is delightful. This bush rose is vigorous, perpetual, dressed in matte and resistant foliage.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 1,10 m

See the product sheet

Rosa Crown Princess Margareta Auswinter

Quite large flowers, formed into well-ordered rosettes of a soft and luminous hue, whose strong and fruity fragrance evokes that of Tea roses. The bush is robust and particularly healthy, distinguished by its breadth and slightly trailing habit, ideal for the back of borders. It can also be trained as a small climber.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 3 m

See the product sheet

Rosa Boscobel - English Shrub Rose

Very double rosette flowers, beautifully formed, in an intense salmon pink tone. The roses, which irresistibly attract the eye, exude a powerful floral and fruity fragrance, reminiscent of hawthorn with hints of elderflower, pear, and almond. The medium-sized bush is vigorous and very healthy. It also withstands rain well.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 1 m

See the product sheet

Rosa Scepter'd Isle - English Shrub Rose

This very pretty rose, a descendant of the musk rose, produces almost continuously numerous modest-sized pale pink cup-shaped flowers, with a deeper pink at the centre, revealing a heart of yellow stamens. They bloom on a rather upright, healthy bush, in a fragrance of old rose with notes of myrrh.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 1,10 m

See the product sheet

The most fragrant modern roses

Robust, blooming all summer and fragrant, these modern roses of the latest generation combine all the qualities. Today, fashion is plural, in the world of tailoring as well as in that of roses. Just as the great couturier no longer imposes the height of the hem, modern roses confidently display themselves alongside their English sisters with perfect complexions and keep company with their crinoline ancestors in the gardens of flower enthusiasts. Without any of them overshadowing the charm of the others.

Rosa 'Aloha' - Climbing Rose from 'Max' Series

(Boerner & Perkins, U.S.A, 1949). A modern rose of old-fashioned style, with a bushy or climbing habit depending on the training size. Floriferous, vigorous, and disease-resistant, it produces very full roses of bright pink colour warmed with salmon highlights, endowed with a powerful fragrance typical of old roses. Its abundant, dark, glossy foliage, very healthy, is an additional asset.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 2,25 m

See the product sheet

Rosa Generosa Chantal Mérieux

(Guillot, France, 1999). A bush rose with divergent branches that create an impression of charming disorder. Its large double flowers of rose shaded with carmine exude a powerful rose fragrance with notes of raspberry, myrrh, anise, and even cider depending on the hour and day.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 1 m

See the product sheet

Rosa Bossuet Aigle de Meaux

(Guillot, France, 2004). A remontant bush rose, whose flowers tinted with rose-purple offer a powerful spicy fragrance. The colour of the roses stands out beautifully against dark green glossy foliage. They are stunning in bouquets.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 80 cm

See the product sheet

Rosa André Le Nôtre - Modern Hybrid Tea Rose

(Meilland, France, 2011) This rose from the Romantica series will undoubtedly charm lovers of old roses, while displaying a strong remontant character and the fine health of a modern rose. Its large flowers bloom with a sublime fragrance of cabbage rose. This variety has won several prestigious international competitions.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 1,10 m

See the product sheet

Rosa 'Claude Brasseur' - Hybrid Tea Rose

(Meilland, France, 2006). Very large, perfectly formed flowers, beautifully coloured from lavender mauve to pink, which astonish especially with their pronounced fragrance of 'blue' rose with notes of lemon verbena. This variety is remontant and its mid-matt dark green foliage is resistant to diseases. Excellent cut flower.

• Flowering time June to November
• Height at maturity 80 cm

See the product sheet

Rosa Parfum de Grasse

(Adam, France, 2007) Remarkable for its radiant colour that warms the heart, this rose also delights with its powerful fragrance with fruity notes, as complex as the bouquet of a very fine vintage. An accommodating rose, not very sensitive to diseases, remontant, perfect in borders and remarkable in bouquets.

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 90 cm

See the product sheet

Rosa Broceliande - Hybrid Tea Rose

(Adam, France, 1997) A modern rose that does not go unnoticed in the garden, both due to its large double flowers of variegated colour and its powerful fruity fragrance. This award-winning variety is also very resistant to diseases. A treasure for homemade bouquets!

• Flowering time July to November
• Height at maturity 85 cm

See the product sheet

Rosa Sophie Rochas

(Delbard, France, 2017). A creation that highlights fragrance, without neglecting the elegance of the flowers or the plant's resistance. The complex fragrance of its large double and frilled roses is analysed as follows: harmonious, refined, with a powdery floral base note of lilac and rose, and a top note of grapefruit and lemon aroma, it recalls the 'Femme' fragrance by Rochas and pays tribute to feminine elegance.

• Flowering time July to October
• Height at maturity 70 cm

See the product sheet

Rosa La Rose de Molinard - Hybrid Tea Rose

(Delbard, France, 2008) No less than 14 medals have rewarded this rose whose name evokes that of a famous perfumer from Grasse. Its roses release a complex and intoxicating fragrance of old rose, where notes of pear, apple, as well as exotic fruits and citrus can be detected. In the garden, this rose also impresses with its vigour and stature, allowing it to be trained like a small climber. Its final asset is excellent natural resistance to diseases, recognised by the prestigious German ADR label.

• Flowering time June to November
• Height at maturity 1,75 m

See the product sheet

The right location for a fragrant rose bush

To make the most of its fragrant flowering, place your rose bush near a pathway, close to the entrance or not far from the terrace. Some varieties, which are small in size, are well-suited for pot cultivation, allowing flower enthusiasts who lack a garden to enjoy their sweet scents on a balcony or small terrace. Avoid grouping different varieties of fragrant roses or pairing them with highly fragrant and simultaneously flowering bushes, to prevent creating a sort of olfactory “cacophony.” Fragrant roses prefer companions of colour!

The fragrance palette of roses:

The fragrance of roses is much more complex than that of other flowers. It is composed of hundreds of different molecules produced and released primarily at the level of the petals. Three categories of molecules are responsible for the scent of roses, among which are terpenes, volatile yet extremely fragrant. These are components also found in the essential oils of many aromatic plants. These molecules include geraniol, citronellol, eugenol, and nerol. They are what give the rose’s scent its floral, musky, myrrh-like, or fruity note.

Finally, know that the scent of a flower is somewhat its genetic fingerprint, its DNA, as well as a message delivered to pollinating insects. In the case of the rosebush, as with most flowers, the fragrance disappears as soon as it is no longer essential, after pollination. This may explain why heavily hybridised, sterile roses are often devoid of scent.

• The scent of old roses: sweet, rich, and powerful yet always balanced, it is the fragrance that most evokes the rose in the collective unconscious.
• The scent of musk: coming from the stamens, it never dominates the fragrant composition of a rose but often betrays its belonging to the line of Rosa moschata, multiflora, R.filipes, or Rosa arvensis. The ‘musk’ of roses serves to attract pollinating insects and to protect the pollen from pathogenous agents like moulds.
• The scent of tea: these are delicate and refined aromas that can evoke the moment one opens a box of tea. They also blend with notes of damp earth, violet, iris powder, and whisky malt. This tea component is often found in flowers with yellow or white colours, which are distant descendants of Rosa x odorata Ochroleuca.
• The fruity scent: some roses possess a particularly complex fragrance where notes of apple, pear, raspberry, grape, or even apple can be detected. Initially present in some Bourbon roses, this fruity fragrance has been found through hybridisation with Chinese roses combined with aromas of tropical fruits like lychee, mango, or even guava.
• The scent of myrrh: comparable to those of certain aromatic plants, the spicy, woody, or balsamic aromas of some roses evoke incense, an oleoresin harvested from exotic bushes called Commiphora. In the language of perfumers, however, a “myrrh scent” more often evokes the smell of musk chervil (Myrrhis odorata). The botanical roses Rosa arvensis and R. wichuraiana are responsible for the ‘myrrh’ component in their descendants.

If the mystery of the fragrance of roses fascinates you, also discover this article: “The rediscovered scent of roses“.