Yesterday I went back to my almost dormant rose garden and started recognizing a few more that I would add to my initial listing i.e: Mildred Scheel, Eroika, Le rouge et le Noire, Blue Perfume. Actually I'm following some ancestral mandate around fragrance in roses. They "have" to be fragrant if deemed being called a rose. This is from the female side of the family (late wife, mother, aunts, grandma ). Since my rose garden is a memorial garden for all of them , if given the possibility I search for fragrance. D.A's are a very interesting lot and most of them are quite fragrant although not necessarily strong. I have a wimpy Gertrude Jekyll that hopefully will overcome its linguine sized twigs and grow fat canes. Perhaps then it will be included in my above listing.
I've recently read ( in HMF) that fragrance is associated with soil fertility specifically around above ph7 manures. Apparently the higher ph draws sweetness while acidity draws old rose fragrance. Having both types of manures will allow me to assess this further these coming seasons.- I'll report back when I have direct personal data.
Arturo
