Sweet, heady, fruity or musky fragrances, roses distill their scent throughout the day. To take full advantage of this, you need to know how to capture the best moment, when the scents reveal themselves in an ever-changing olfactory symphony. To help you make your choice, here is a small guide...
Roses with the scent of the May rose
The characteristic scent of the rose of our childhood can be found in 'Rosa gallica' considered as the quintessence of this very particular fragrance. It can be found in 'Rosa x centifolia' used in Grasse for perfumery or in modern varieties such as 'Prince Jardinier' with very pale cream flowers with a pink heart and in the award winning 'The McCartney Rose' with its fuchsia colored flowers. This exceptional rose has won over 20 awards worldwide.
Roses with fruity scents
Very present in hybrids and especially among the novelties of rose designers, fruity notes can be found in 'Bourbon' roses and modern English roses. Amandine Chanel' is an example with cherry and peach notes, as is 'Jude The Obscure' with guava and white grape fragrance, or 'Pierre Arditi' a pure white rose with exotic fruit, not to mention 'Château de Rivau' with green apple notes.
Roses with musky scents
It is the stamens and not the petals that give these roses their musky notes. The eugenol that gives off this characteristic scent attracts pollinators but also has a protective function against pollen-destroying micro-fungi. This heady scent can be found on Rosa multiflora, a very vigorous botanical species, but also on Rosa arvensis, an old rose with simple white flowers, or on Rosa mulliganii, a rambler rose ideal for adorning a pergola or climbing a tall tree.
Tea-scented roses
This delicate fragrance is reminiscent of tea, but also of damp humus, whiskey malt or iris root.
The rose 'Pegasus' with its apricot camellia flowers is a good example, as is 'Graham Thomas', a classic with yellow flowers, or 'Gloire de Dijon', one of the most beautiful climbing varieties with very double, flat-cupped flowers in a cameo of cream, yellow, apricot and pale pink, not forgetting the famous yellow rose 'The Pilgrim', which combines notes of tea and myrrh.
