Bourbon Rose 'Madame Isaac Pereire': The Fragrance Queen of 1881

Introduced in 1881 by Garçon, 'Madame Isaac Pereire' (also known as La Bienheureux de la Salle) is widely considered one of the most powerfully fragrant roses in existence. This Bourbon rose carries the sumptuous, heavy perfume that made the class famous—rich, spicy, and impossibly sweet, it can scent an entire garden on a warm evening.

Botanical Profile

The blooms are large, fully double, and quartered, in a rich magenta-purple that fades to lilac-grey at the edges—a hallmark of Bourbon roses. They appear in flushes throughout the season on a vigorous, arching shrub that can reach 6-8 feet, or be trained as a climber. The foliage is large, leathery, and prone to mildew in humid climates—a small price for fragrance this extraordinary. 'Madame Isaac Pereire' represents the peak of 19th-century French rose breeding, where perfume was paramount. For the fragrance gardener, it remains an essential cultivar—a living perfume bottle uncorked by the sun.