Scentimental Journey

Ok, so the title is the obvious pun. . .but it's not entirely inappropriate.  Though I was still seeking out that George Burns rose that attracted me in the beginning, I was having a real devil of a time finding it.  I was starting to get an idea of how many other striped varietals there are out there.  I decided it was time to pick a new buddy.

Find this gorgeous rose here!

I chose the Scentimental from Jackson & Perkins for a few reasons; firstly, I wanted a rose with a strong scent, and this rose has one of my favorite, richest musky-rose scents ever.  The plant is heat resistant, which I had, by now, realized is important in my sunny backyard.  It's also a repeat bloomer, and being greedy for more pretty flowers to enjoy, I really wanted that!  

Around this time I decided to aim for container gardening.  My neighborhood has a pretty significant rabbit population, and while I love watching the bunnies play in my backyard, I did want some protection for anything I planted.  I also realized that at some point I'll probably move away, and if I do I want to take my roses with me.  Keeping an eye out for large planters has become a habit!  For roses, I make sure they're very large, so the roots have lots of space to spread and grow.  

Most of my roses have come either banded or bare-root.  I usually start them in a smaller planter, especially if they're banded, and then move them to a larger, permanent home after the first year.  With the Scentimental, this worked very well.  The first year, it was a quiet producer, but I got amazingly fragrant blooms.  The stems were thin, having some trouble supporting the glorious heads, which made for charmingly nodding blooms.  By the second year this trait faded, as the plant got stronger.  Blooms are 4-inches wide, strongly scented, loose and double, often with ruffled petals.

Now in our third year together, Scentimental gives me frequent and numerous blooms.  She is largely disease-resistant, though with all the rain this year I've had to keep an eye on black spot.  The blooms do not last more than a few days in the vase, with a few exceptions; it helps to mind when you cut the flowers and get them after a good watering the day before, and early in the morning.  The petals are lovely for drying into potpourri or sachets, as they retain a lot of their scent if dried carefully.

Deadheading this rose is a good idea, and careful pruning is a must.  I fertilize regularly, and feed those eggshells to my roses!  The rose has a nice 4-foot height and width, making it ideal for container growth; they can also be grown as rose trees.  Scentimental is definitely one of my favorites.  With its multiple shades of pink and white, it pairs well with other flowers for display.

Succeeding with Scentimental inspired me to go for yet more striped roses.  The hunt for more continued - leading me to new nurseries and a big order of new friends!  Next time - get Hypnotized!