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Hi all,
I'm looking to identify a rose with possibly better scent than PB and with flowers in a more orange-pink tone. The plant was growing in a friend's garden in SE England and it was at least 5 feet tall. Lantern-shaped blooms which were borne in 2s and 3s as well as singularly danced in the Summer breeze on slim but stiff, lightly prickly apple green peduncles, the ovoid flowers were only 3.5 inches wide and about 4 inches tall and kept their form - not flattening out like PB or 'Duke of Windsor' for example. When placed in a vase of water their scent production was off the charts, of strawberry, raspberry and a hint of lime. One flower could perfume a room and 2 several rooms. I preferred it to Fragrant Cloud so you can understand my eagerness to find another plant and experience that scent again.
Please suggest here some roses which it might be....?
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Fellow rose growers,
I'm trying to confirm if a plant which I encountered in a friend's garden in south east England prior to 2010 was actually a 'Norma Major'. If there were any visible differences to NM I would say the blooms were more compact and of lighter weight (since they didn't lean outwards as the photos on these pages seem to show) and of a slightly deeper though dullish and non-vibrant orange-pink.
Question: Can NM's flowers appear singularly and also in 2s or 3s ?
The high centres and the nicely folded, reflexed petals gave the impression that every bloom was taller than its latitudinal diameter (of 3.5 inches) - almost lantern-shaped. They kept the perfect ovoid spiralling form and didn't flatten out into discs of wavy petals as with 'Duke of Windsor' or 'Prima Ballerina' for example.
Question: Are NM's flowers any wider than 4 inches? That would definitely rule it out.
The colourfast blooms, unchanged by weather, had no silver-green streaky imperfections or ragged-shaped petals around the centre which itself wasn't revealed before the petals fell cleanly away after 5-8 days in the vase.
At least 5 feet tall (like NM), the prickly plant was open, rather sparsely foliated and was held against an exposed south-facing wooden shed by a single horizontal wire.
The immediate smell of the flower was only mildly 'fruity-rose' but curiously, when I put 2 in a vase of water, the next sunny morning the entire downstairs atmosphere had been flooded with an exotic 'buoyant' aroma of sweet strawberry mousse, other fruits and a hint of lime. This phenomenal scent production is the reason I am posting here for help, being similar to (but fruitier than) the 'Special Anniversary' rose of 2003 by Ted Smith UK but I stress: NOT big, cabbage-like blooms as with SA, Fragrant Cloud or Superstar etc.
I notice that NM has 2 votes of 'Excellent' for its fragrance on HMF although in the Description page it only says 'mild' and 'sweet'.
Any other suggestions for the ID. or is NM the one I'm looking for?
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I cannot ascertain if my Fred Loads will smell or not. High Country says zero FR and HMF says strongly scented. It's only a year old. What FR rating would you give it 0 to 4? And what notes? Thank you
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For me, the 'Fred Loads' rose has quite a pronounced smell and I would certainly give it 3 clouds. Both HMF and R.V. Roger (An online supplier in the UK) list it as 'Strong'. I bought one from my local nursery in June of 2024. To my nose it is fruity (strawberry) and slightly tangy but sometimes it has another perfume-like smell with less of the fruitiness. It is always more noticeable in the air than 'Super Star' for example and it is of course bee-friendly which is good.
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I planted my Norma Major rose five years ago starting out as a budded maiden from Steve Singer at Wisconsin Roses.
It took a couple of years to establish, but now that it has, it is a wonderful garden rose for me. The bush is quite healthy and seems to handle very nasty winters with ease. IT is quick to attain a height of about 5'-6' tall in the Spring and starts blooming right away. Most flushes have 30+ blooms and they are very sturdy lasting two weeks or more while still maintaining a very nice exhibition form. They are lightly fragrant and make a wonderful cut flower. The description of Norma Major states this rose blooms in flushes, but quite frankly I think it is a continuous bloomer. Once it starts blooming in the Spring it will have at least 6 or 8 blooms on it all the time. And during flushes, it may have as many as 40 or 50 flowers on the mature bush. My bush has gotten so large now that it has to be moved out of the regular bed and planted all alone because it encroaches on its' neighbors, hiding them from view. All in all this rose makes quite a stunning pink display rose for the garden that is second to none.
My one criticism of this rose is that the foliage could be more dense. It can look a bit skimpy of leaves when it is fully grown. The spacing of the stems is the problem. The stems need to be a bit closer together to give it a fuller look, but this is really nit-picking to be honest.
Other than that one very slight drawback Norma Major makes a very nice garden display since the blooms are so beautiful and plentiful and the foliage does stay quite healthy. It never shows any signs of blackspot or mildew since I have had mine this past 5 years. I do spray my roses regularly.
John
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Your sharing of your experience and expertise is greatly appreciated.
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Could 'Norma Major's scent be described as fruity?
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Sadly, he is no longer with us, Heelin, so he can't answer.
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