Mention Jude in a garden forum, and it seems anyone familiar with this variety will instantly begin relating a story of how they were lured by its exotic scent. This is an ideal specimen for winning over the hearts of the skeptical; its stunningly powerful, sugary tropical fruit notes seriously are sufficient to make the mouth water. In my garden, this unique variety fills a wide area (read: nearly our entire small yard) with notes of candied lemon peel, mango, a bit of grapefruit and melon. The scent is the reason you buy this rose, and it is reason alone.
Again, we must remember that David Austin’s breeding focuses on garden plants — not blooms for the floral trade — so these are short lived blooms. I also don’t find them quite as nice to look at as some other varieties. But it’s hard to imaging the generations of seedlings that they must have sifted through and re-bred to obtain this kind of unique and intense scent.
Pros:
- A truly unbelievable scent — one plant when in bloom can fill an entire area with the aroma of a tropical fruit salad
- Even individual blooms carry enough scent to startle the unsuspecting
Cons:
- Wear gauntlets when pruning — Jude is vicious and among the most well armed roses I have ever seen
- Not as strong a repeater as some other varieties
My Source: David Austin Roses
