For years, Fragrant Cloud has been my absolute favorite hybrid tea. From spring deep into autumn this rose produces huge fluorescent coral orange-red roses with an expensive-perfume fragrance. The scent has strong licorice/anise tone with citrus, damask, and spice. It's strongest, and the flowers have the biggest size and best exhibition form, in the cooler weather of fall and spring, but it's rarely without loads of colorful, fragrant blooms all summer long too. You'll have plenty to cut, even in hot weather, if you keep it well watered and fed. It has fair disease resistance too, but you should keep it sprayed. It pays off.
The fragrance will knock your socks off, and a bouquet of these is irresistible! Some blooms can reach 6 inches across. Also, the bush is neat, tidy, and compact and in the 3 to 4 foot range, even late in the season. The stems can be a bit too short for exhibition, but an extra shot of fertilizer can help. They bloom mostly in clusters, with some one-to-a-stem. Dark green leaves, husky and vigorous healthy bush. How could you not love this rose, unless of course you have an aversion to orange roses.
Fragrant Cloud is hard to beat!
Glen rosarian, zone 7a, NE Oklahoma.
Am currently growing this in a pot indoors under grow lamps; when we're past our last frost date will move outdoors but will remain in a pot. Arrived four months ago and was amazingly healthy and remains so very healthy looking, growing well and strong. Just got my first few blooms and they are just amazing. This is a wonderful rose for fragrance, that's for sure!
I want attractive, colorful, strongly fragrant roses on a bush that is attractive, upright or filled out that is disease resistant and with attractive leaves. To top it off, I'm looking for roses that work as cut flowers that endure for several days.
I have a whole ranking approach I like to share, but with Fragrant Cloud I'm going to take a different approach.
I waited a year for Heirloom to get this one back in stock. Why? Because I've owned it once before.
I've owned over 35 rose varieties, all of which are international award winners for form, color, and fragrances, etc. I'm an amateur hobbyist with roses.
Fragrant Cloud has a wonderful and strong scent.
but what sells this rose...
I had a rose garden with about a dozen gorgeous rose varieties. Graham Thomas in a 5' healthy bush with glorious golden roses covering it. Double Delight with 7 or 8 amazing colorful roses on it. Jude the obscure with half a dozen glorious roses on it...I had a white rose against the shed and Abraham Darby and Peace roses. and a handful of other colorful roses, All from Heirloom and all in bloom.
I share this to say, that I had one struggling Fragrant Cloud, with only ONE rose in full bloom.
It was literally the POP of color that dwarfed the entire garden with all of the glorious roses...
One rose, alone, in the crowd of my other beautiful, amazing roses.
Eye catching does not fully describe this rose, when it is in its full glory. The color is incredible.
The above picture is close, but when the sun catches the rose in the morning light, there is NOTHING ELSE like it.
in my experience, this rose is NOT for beginners.
But there is no other rose I've ever seen that is quite as 'bright' and gloriously beautiful as this rose, when in bloom.
YMMV
I love this rose.
Near and dear to my heart. My dear friend of many years was diagnosed with cancer; coral roses are her favorite. I planted "Fragrant Cloud" in her honour. This gorgeous rose does extremely well here in the Arizona high desert; a wonderful flower to cut and bring indoors. Highly recommended for hardiness, fragrance and cutting.