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The smell of a rose is heaven scent. Mike Donahue has known this since he was a little boy, growing up among the roses on a farm outside Albany.

Today the veteran anchor and reporter at KOIN (6 ) says the deep essence of his favorite rose reminds him of a “good-smelling woman.” This coincides with the fact that he first planted Mister Lincoln (a velvety dark red and fragrant tea rose) when he got married a quarter century ago.

Donahue’s appreciation for both love and roses has only deepened over the years. It doesn’t take long to figure out that neither is enjoyed as much at arm’s length. Fragrance is a very hands-on affair.

The most fragrant rose in history is said to be a 6-footer named Madame Isaac Pereire. This intense magenta social climber was originally called Blessing of the Bower until another Frenchman bought it and renamed his “blessing” after his banker’s wife!

John Clements of Heirloom Roses in St. Paul, Minn., says Madame’s perfume will knock you over. The smell is described as “old rose mixed with ripening fruit” which at first blush doesn’t sound very appealing to me. But then, smell is a very personal thing.

Clements took a class on smelling roses while in France. This might not seem like a tough job until you realize your sniffer gives out after about the third whiff. So the French perfume industry came up with a very satisfactory olfactory solution. The experts smell a rose for 45 seconds, savor the smell, then sniff fresh coffee beans before moving on to the next flower.

Heirloom Roses has an entire garden room where every old rose is fragrant. I mean, that’s what old roses are known for and the very reason modern or hybrid roses get a bad rap. It’s not unusual for snooty rose people to turn up their noses at hybrids or vice versa.

When rose breeders pushed for the biggest and brightest, the scent became hybrid history. Some roses have no smell at all, but the trend is heading in the other direction. Phil Edmunds of Edmunds’ Roses considers the sweet intensity of the New Zealand the best of the new breed. This light pink hybrid tea rose has an iron constitution able to fight off the worst of the rose diseases (black spot and powdery mildew) without chemical sprays.

So keep these tips in mind next time you’re shopping for the best rose for you. Oh, and some roses demand more work than others, so here’s your latest “to do” list:

• Water and feed roses (water, 2 gallons weekly; fertilizer, follow directions on bag).
• Cut off old blooms to fool the rose into producing even more.
• Stop and smell the roses.

Favorites

• Mike Donahue
  Mister Lincoln: 35 dark red petals per flower, 5-7 feet tall, may need fungicide spray for mildew
  Fragrant Cloud: 25 orange-red petals per flower, 4 feet tall
• Phil Edmunds
  New Zealand: 35 light pink petals per flower, 4 feet tall, very disease resistant
• John Clements
  Madame Isaac Pereire: dark pink petals (too many to count), 6 feet tall, virus free, may need fungicide spray for blackspot and mildew