Class: Grandiflora Introduced: 1998 by Jackson & Perkins Zones: 5-9 Flowers: Deep lavender, 25-30 petals, 4 1/2" Size: 4 to 5 feet Fragrance: Strong old rose ARS Rating: 7.9

Intoxicatingly fragrant! Bred in Dorieux, France, 'Melody Parfumee' is used for making perfume (hence its name). Just walk by this bush and you are graced with the smell of an entire rose garden. The deep plum-color buds fade to a medium silvery-lavender color in the full sun. The foliage is glossy green and has good disease resistance. The growth habit does exhibit that of the Grandiflora class, being upright and rather vase shaped and bearing the large blooms in clusters. The flowers are very good as cut flowers, perfuming the entire room and holding well in the vase. This is also a winter hardy bush that is flourishing here in Zone 5 with only whatever snowfall we receive as protection.

The only thing negative I can say about this rose is that it doesn't bloom enough! Since it bears clusters of flowers that open at the same time, this rose has several periods throughout the season when there are no blooms at all. The fragrance is definitely worth waiting for though, even for someone as impatient as me who likes their roses to be constant bloomers. Blackspot did plague this bush last year, but it continued to bloom and grow despite being deprived of quite a bit of its foliage. If I had been more vigilant with my spray program, I don't think it would have been fazed by the disease at all. I highly recommend this rose because it is so easy to grow and the fragrance is everything that epitomizes a rose.

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