Scent is recessive.

Bummer. Is there different levels of recessiveness, like from somewhat recessive to very recessive? Is the scent gene carried in the mother or father so to speak?

The Rose Hybridizers Assocation has thing to say about this. I seem to remember that the belief is that scent is controlled by several genes, with various degrees of recessiveness. It's an extremely complicated thing to breed for and very unpredictible.

sounds like it's over MY head. Thanks for replying. The crapshoot continues...

Scent is definitely a crapshoot. Roses have over 400 volatile compounds (not all in one rose, however) and just how they combine and get expressed is still the subject of much heavy duty research. It is not so simple as dominate or recessive. It's more like, take 6 flavors from one shelf and 5 flavors from another shelf and take three from each batch randomly (which may mean you have two of the same) and pour these 6 all together and that's the scent for the next generation.

I guess the main question was if a scented rose gets cross-pollenated by a non-scented rose what would the odds be of it being scented. Doesn't have to be THAT particular scent after all is said and done.

Two scented parents can produce an unscented offspring. I don't know what the "odds" are but it isn't the simple 1-in-4 like blue eyes. This is further complicated by our own relatively poor nose. An "unscented" rose may still be producing compounds, but we can't pick up on them. I've spent hours on my knees trying to figure out what my cats are sniffing at.

If cats or dogs are sniffing at something, I usually don't want to know what it is.

I think scent is sort of an animal internet. A critter comes along and rubs up against a post or tree and the next critter that comes by sniffs and then it rubs and so one. Kitty MySpace.