You’re Going to Want to Stop and Smell These Roses
See top picks from David Austin’s most fragrant roses in colors ranging from ivory to crimson
Whether you’re planting your first rose or need an excuse to tuck in just one more, fragrant English roses are about as irresistible as they come. They offer the best of both worlds: the romantic blooms and fragrance of old-world roses with the disease resistance and vigor of modern hybrids.
Plant a fragrant English rose beside a garden gate and catch a trace of sweet vanilla, almond blossom or classic tea every time you pass, or clip a handful of stems to bring the perfume indoors. Whether you’re looking for a cutting rose or a rambling climber, here are our top picks among David Austin’s most fragrant English roses.
Plant a fragrant English rose beside a garden gate and catch a trace of sweet vanilla, almond blossom or classic tea every time you pass, or clip a handful of stems to bring the perfume indoors. Whether you’re looking for a cutting rose or a rambling climber, here are our top picks among David Austin’s most fragrant English roses.
The salmon-pink blooms of ‘Boscobel’ last from spring to first frost, with a complex fragrance like elderflower and almond mixed with rich, woody myrrh.
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (USDA zones 5 to 9; find your zone)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 3 feet tall by 2½ feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
When and how to prune your roses
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (USDA zones 5 to 9; find your zone)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 3 feet tall by 2½ feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
When and how to prune your roses
2. ‘The Generous Gardener’: Best rose to train over an arbor. This delicate blush variety is gorgeous when trained to drape over an arbor or a covered gate. The luminous soft-pink blooms, held on arching stems, look almost like waterlilies floating amid a sea of glossy green leaves.
Enjoy the classic old-rose fragrance of ‘The Generous Gardener’ in the garden or picked for bouquets.
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 31.7 degrees Celsius (zones 4 to 9)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 31.7 degrees Celsius (zones 4 to 9)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
3. ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’: Best rose for a colorful accent. One of the most vivid roses, ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ begins with tight deep orange-red buds and opens to reveal cupped blooms in shades of tangerine and peach with a suitably fruity fragrance. The brilliant blossoms stand out against the medium green-to-burgundy foliage.
Plant ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ in containers as a standout accent or as a focal point in garden beds. It grows best in well-draining soil with slightly drier conditions.
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 9)
Water requirement: Low to moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 9)
Water requirement: Low to moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
4. ‘Claire Austin’: The most elegant rose. ‘Claire Austin’ is one of the most elegant white roses, and it stands out in the garden both for the beauty of the blooms and for their enticing vanilla-and-myrrh fragrance. The blooms are exquisite in all stages, from nearly round white-green buds to snowy cupped blossoms.
Trained to climb over a wall, ‘Claire Austin’ has a graceful arching habit — wonderful for displaying the ivory blooms.
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 8)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 4½ feet tall and 4 feet wide; 8 feet tall as a climber; can grow larger in warm climates
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 8)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 4½ feet tall and 4 feet wide; 8 feet tall as a climber; can grow larger in warm climates
5. ‘Golden Celebration’: Best rose to arch over a fence. With a rich scent that smells like a fresh container of black tea, this golden stunner is a fabulous, fragrant addition to gardens. The large yellow flowers bloom on repeat for months. Long stems make them ideal cut flowers.
‘Golden Celebration’ is a vigorous grower and is best sited at the back of a garden bed or allowed to spread over a fence.
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 9)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 4½ feet tall and wide; can grow larger in warm climates
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 9)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 4½ feet tall and wide; can grow larger in warm climates
6. ‘Gertrude Jekyll’: Best rose for highly fragrant cut flowers. A single stem of ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ can perfume a room with a classic old-rose fragrance. Cut a number of the blooms at various stages of opening for continued fresh fragrance. ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ has a tall, fairly narrow growth habit, and its stems are particularly thorny. Don’t let this discourage you from growing it — this beauty is worth it. Position plants at the back of mixed borders or against walls.
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 31.7 degrees Celsius (zones 4 to 8)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
7. ‘Munstead Wood’: Best rose for moody drama. Rich velvety blossoms the color of a full-bodied wine set ‘Munstead Wood’ apart. This exceptionally fragrant English rose has classic old-rose scent with layers of blackberry.
‘Munstead Wood’ blooms consistently for months with shallow cupped blossoms and ruffled interior petals. It has a bushy growth habit and can be kept as a compact plant with annual pruning.
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 10)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 3 feet tall and 2½ feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 10)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 3 feet tall and 2½ feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
8. ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’: Best rose for nonstop blooms. ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’ is about as carefree of a shrub rose as you can find. Tolerant of both humid and dry heat conditions, this vigorous plant pumps out nonstop blooms from spring to frost.
The pink blooms of ‘Princess Alexandra of Kent’ are large and showy, with a classic tea fragrance mixed with lighter citrus. Grow it as a container plant to bring color and fragrance to the patio.
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 10)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
More
See the Gorgeous New English Roses
How to Prune a Rose
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 26.1 degrees Celsius (zones 5 to 10)
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide; can grow larger in warm climates
More
See the Gorgeous New English Roses
How to Prune a Rose
1. ‘Boscobel’: Best rose to plant by an entrance. ‘Boscobel’ is a highly fragrant English rose that stays compact and bushy. Plant it by the front door or in a pair flanking a walkway.