On Thu, 2 Jun 2005 15:24:20 -0700, "Jan" wrote:

Could you tell me what you think is the most fragrant rose bush..
I need some fragrant ones...

My favorite fragrant pink at the moment is The McCartney Rose. It has
grown extremely well for me, and it provides plenty of highly fragrant
blooms.

For reds, Oklahoma and Papa Meilland have already been mentioned.
They're related, and Mr. Lincoln and Chrysler Imperial are part of
that same family. I've tried all four and found I like Chrysler
Imperial best.

I like Papa M but haven't had much luck with it in the summer heat -
it tends to shut down and not bloom in hot weather. Mr Lincoln can be
trained to give you massive blooms (my first Mr. L bloom is what got
me hooked on growing roses) but the bush shape is just awful. Think
"rose on a stick" and you have Mr. Lincoln's growth habit. Oklahoma
and Chrysler Imperial have both performed well for me. Chrysler
Imperial got off to a slow start its first year, but by year 3 it had
become a star of my garden.

My other two favorites for fragrance are Double Delight and
Scentimental. Each of those just about knocked me out driving home
with them in bloom in 7 gal. containers. Double delight is a
white/red blend. Scentimental is a freaky striped thing - ultra cool
to look at in addition to the great fragrance. A funky rose with
funk...

Note that these are all modern HT/Floribunda types - not the world's
greatest landscape varieties. But they produce incredible cut
flowers.