DIRK'S ROSE BIBLE : Rose Fragrances

There are almost no other plant families with so many different types of fragrances as the rose family. Rose fragrance has enchanted humanity throughout history and in nearly every civilization. Rose fragrance makes us feel better, it makes us relaxed. The expression: "Stop and smell the roses" is just that, stop and look around you and admire the beauty of what you see.

Rosa Damascena, the Damask rose has been used for the production of rose oil for millenia. It was a very expensive thing and used for beauty, worship and healing. Today it's used for beauty and even in foods.

But how many different rose fragrances are there? Well, you have five main categories: Damask or Old rose, Tea, Fruit, Mirrhh and Musk. Besides these five we have countless of roses which combine these fragrances in their flowers.

The Damask or Old rose fragrance is regarded as the typical rose fragrance you'd expect a rose to smell. Alba, Gallica, Damask and Centifolia roses... all have the Damask or old rose fragrance. Some in poor intensity but others in very high intensity. In the 19th century rose breeding really took off in Europe and there were many varieties of new roses which also carried the Damask fragrance. Many Hybrid Teas carry this old rose scent. Good examples are Étoile de Hollande, Papa Meilland, Mister Lincoln and Oklahoma.

Fruity fragrance is also very common in rose varieties. Rosa Wichuraiana passed her fruity fragrance on to all her descendants. Look at the Wichuraiana Ramblers like Paul Noël and the Barbier Ramblers, they have a strong apple 🍏 fragrance. Fruity smells are especially present in Modern roses like Hybrid Teas, English roses, Floribundas etc..

Jude the obscure and Lady Emma Hamilton have a very strong exotic fruit fragrance and Pope JPII has probably the most intens lemon fragrance of all. Abraham Darby is another good example of fruit. Mme Isaac Pereire has the strongest raspberry smell you could imagine mixed with Old rose fragrance.

Tea scent smells like fresh tea leafs and came from the China roses. It was passed on to the Noisettes, the Teas, Hybrid Teas and English roses. Good examples are Lady Hillingdon and Crown Princess Margareta.

Mirrhh is controversial, you love it or you hate it. It reminds of sweet anise and has nothing to do with the Mirrhh from the Three Kings. It came from the Ayrshire ramblers, offspring of Rosa Arvensis. Rosa Ayrshire Splendens is a good example of strong Mirrhh scent. So it seems that Belle Isis from Parmentier got its Mirrhh scent from those Ayrshire roses. She passed it on to Constance Spry, the first English rose from David Austin. So Constance Spry wasn't the first rose with Mirrhh fragrance, it was the Ayrshire roses.

Musk fragrance comes from Rosa Moschata, native to the Himalayan mountains. It is a strong fresh clove fragrance and was passed on to the Noisettes, Teas, Hybrids Multiflora (Musks) and to many ramblers and Scramblers. Interesting to know is that the Moschata or Musk fragrance comes from the stamens and not from the petals. Good examples are Rambling Rector and Paul's Himalayan musk.

So those are the five main rose scent families. Most roses today have a combination of some of these five giving them a very complex fragrance palet. My personal favorite is old rose (Damask) mixed with fruit and La France and many Bourbons are good examples.

So stop and smell the roses!