Where does your son live?

The David Austins have wonderful scent and I have to say are my favorites a lot are re-bloomers, or is a hybrid tea or florabunda more what you looking for. Is there a color preference?
Fragrant Cloud has won a lot of firsts on the show table as being most fragrance at our parlor shows over the years.

Annette

He lives in Victoria and has excellent soil and not too much shade. Annette, thanks for your suggestion, I had thought about David Austins but with my deer problem, I haven't grown roses for ages. I'll pass it along to him.

Easiest and most reliable would be Hybrid Rugosa roses. Can't use these in a vase but otherwise they are far less problematic than most other hybrid roses. And they smell good. See American Rose Society rose buyer's guide for ratings. I think they put the highest rated roses on their web site each year, so to that if you don't have access to a garden center or library that has the complete printed guide you can still see which ones came out on top in the survey.

Dotty,

For me, roses are a lot like rhododendrons as far as deciding which one and where to site it. I really never set out to have roses but I would always ask myself where I would view the spot from or when I would be in the spot to enjoy. Because of our weather here in the PNW, the when was always mid to late summer. So I chose roses (so often that I now have over 50). Fragrance was usually a priority but color, bloom type, and plant structure usually came first. I think when you look at the where it's going first, the color choice gets narrowed down along with the shape of the mature plant that would fit the spot. Then you simply choose one that is fragrant :-)

Here's a bouquet I cut this morning for my wife. I picked everyone of these using that method.

{{gwi:1082646}}

Dotty, I'd recommend a hybrid multiflora like Ghislaine de Feligonde, or perhaps a tea noisette like Alister Stella Gray or Crepuscule. The hybrid musks also bloom throughout the summer and fall, smell wonderful and are very clean plants, although their bloom repetition is slower than the tea noisettes and noisettes. I'd recommend Buff Beauty, Aptos, or if you're looking for something smaller, Bukavu or Ravel, Sibelius, or Mozart. All of these roses are very fragrant with "old rose" scents, clean foliage, and most can be ordered from Rogue Valley Roses or Vintage Gardens in the states. Many are available in Canada from Old Rose Nursery on Hornby Island or Pickering Roses. The owners of Old Rose would be very helpful in making your choice.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Old Rose Nursery

I second having a look at the Old Rose Nursery, some of the Roses I have come from there, they do a lot of their own propagating so the roses I have from them are growing on their own roots, big benefits when we have a hard winter.

Annette

I would avoid Fragrant Cloud. Beautiful color and scent, but not disease resistant. I second the suggestion for David Austin (aka English) Roses although my experience with them is a little limited. I have three small ones planted just last year in less than ideal spots. They came through the cold with absolutely no problem, to my surprise. I did not cover them and the temps here, with wind chill in December were a bit below zero. Hardy indeed!

The actual temperature is what matters when talking about plants. 'Ghislaine de Feligonde' froze badly this winter on Camano Island. Down near Seattle, no problem. Difference would be difference in low temperatures between two sites. Many hybrid roses are damaged by 10-15F.

Wind chill does matter when talking about its effect on evergreen plants - granted that it wouldn't matter much (if at all) in regards to rose hardiness. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a cold wind could further damage exposed canes when the roots are frozen and unable to take up water. Considering our low temps were about 5F without regards to wind I was pleasantly surprised to sustain little to no damage among the English Roses. Many of the Hybrid Teas and Floribundas I grew in the past would've been toast. Burnt toast.

>Wind chill does matter when talking about its effect on evergreen plantsWhat background information do you have on this?

Boxofrox, what beautiful flowers! I will pass along all the suggestions including your thoughtful points about structure and siting the plant. The Old Rose Nursery is good -- I didn't know about it. They went to a nursery and got overwhelmed by the many choices there so perhaps this thread will help narrow the field. Thanks all.

It sounds like there have been many good suggestions made. I wouldn't contradict those at all, but I'd also like to say I've have great luck with the hybrid tea 'Double Delight'. Mine has been very easy maintenance, healthy, good bloomer & heady fragrance. I have a few rugosa roses, including 'Hansa', and their fragrance is great, but 'Double Delight' outperforms them. It has been a very popular rose & is probably still easy to find in nurseries.

My favorites for scent and health combined here in z8 include Lady Hillingdon, Jude the Obscure, Clementina Carbonieri, and Deep Secret (a modern with unbelievably scented classic hybrid tea dark red blooms).

We have 50+ Roses. Everyone who visits loves the Ingrid Bergman above all others. It's a Jackson Perkins creation,i think. At least thats where we got them from.

I have passed along your suggestions, thanks to all who responded. Patrick, I used to have a Double Delight and it was lovely -- I'd forgotten about it since the deer ate it so long ago! They are leaning towards a David Austen rose and when they decide, I will post. thanks again. I was on a garden tour last Sunday and took this picture of a beautiful rose -- but not much fragrance. Just a pretty picture.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1082644}}

You should look up "Fragrant Lavender simplicity" A supposedly care free shrub, with a heady scent. The blooms are small but you get a lot of them. I don't have this rose but I would like some. Heres a link to some pics/info on FLS http://www.helpmefind.com/plant/l.php?l=2.38295.0

Memorial Day would be another I would suggest. My blooms are usually about 4.5" or bigger, with a nicely strong scent, and the petals have an interesting shape. It's listed as disease resistant, and mine doesn't have a lot of thorns. This is one of my favorites this season.

Here is a link that might be useful: Memorial Day