This is the hybrid tea rose Double Delight. "Lemon ice dipped in strawberry sauce" is one way that this rose has been described. The fragrance is very itense, but difficult to describe; you have to smell it to appreciate it.  Here's a shot of the first bloom in 1999.  I don't know that I've ever seen a Dougle Delight blossom that's been anything less than gorgeous!

Double Delight is putting on quite a flush to finish out 1999 -- here's a sample!

The Double Delight standard has produced its first blooms for 2000.

Double Delight has begun blooming, Memorial Day weekend, 2001.

It's Memorial Day weekend of 2002, and right in step with last year, Double Delight has bloomed with its wonderfully scented blossoms adding just the right touch to the front porch.

It's the last day of May, 2003, and Double Delight has begun to open one incredibly lovely, incredibly fragrant blossom.

Double Delight has begun its second flush at the end of July. If you click on the photo below, you will see this beauty in its full high resolution.

It's the second of November, it's unusually warm here in Jersey, and Double Delight is once more in bloom.

Double Delight had a hard time of it in the winter of 2003-2004 but has come back and has now begun to bloom in late May.

Double Delight is now my only tree rose and grows from only one side of the stalk; the bud on the other side is dead as the winter of 2004-2005 was not kind.  It's now June 2005 and despite my earlier fears that it would follow all of the other tree roses it has prospered and burst into bloom.

Even with our mild winter of 2005-2006, the Double Delight tree couldn't make it for another year.  It started to put out some growth but a frost did that in and that was the end of the story.  This being one of my special roses and having the luxury of time, I called Jackson & Perkins and a new Double Delight tree is in the front yard garden, not far from where the old one was planted.  It will hopefully do as well for as many years.  Here it is just after planting.

Funny thing about plants.  Sometimes they behave in ways that are beyond human ken.  Take Double Delight.  For weeks after planting, it did nothing, sitting there lifeless.  I called J&P and they said "probably something wrong with it, no problem, we'll send a replacement in a few weeks."  And then, just about the time they were supposed to send the replacement, obviously Double Delight knew it was going to be replaced because shoots started to come out of it from just about every cane all at once!  I called but the replacement had already been picked and shipped and they said just enjoy it.  So first, here's the original Double Delight tree, as it has almost miraculously sprung to life after weeks of seeming death.

And here's the replacement, planted 23 June 2006.  The original is on the north side of the house.  If you peruse the rose pages, you'll find that the roses on the north side (front) of the house tend to wake up later and bloom later than the other roses.  So, I've put the replacement on the south side of the house where things tend to do very well.  It will be interesting to compare how they behave over time.

It's now 13 July and the replacement tree has broken bud, substantially faster than the original.

It's now 24 July and one of the Double Delight trees has its first bud.  Surprisingly, it's on the one in the back yard!  From freshly planted to rosebud in just one month!!

And here, at the beginning of August, is the first unfolding flower of Double Delight.  In the back yard garden, of course, and it smells wonderful too!

Just one day later ...

Just two days later and the blossoms, though starting to fade, have developed much more red color.

The Double Delight tree in the front yard has clearly gotten jealous of the one in the back yard and has now formed its very first bud. 

Double Delight in the back yard garden is in the process of opening another bud.  The fragrance is already both strong and heavenly.

One day later ....

Here, at long last, at the end of August, is the first flower of the Double Delight tree in the front yard.

A couple of days later and you can see how the flower turns more red as it ages.

Not to be outdone, the Double Delight tree in the back yard has popped another blossom, slightly the worse for wear after all our recent rain.

It's getting toward late October and the Double Delight tree in the backyard has opened a number of beautiful blossoms.

November and still going strong.

We're in mid-November now and the Double Delight tree that's in the back yard just won't quit!

26 May 2007, Memorial Day weekend, brings the first bloom of Double Delight.  This is on the tree in the back yard.

A few days later, we have the first bloom on the front yard Double Delight tree.

And now, another in the back yard.

Double Delight in the back yard is taking off.

The Fourth of July has this flower on the backyard Double Delight tree.

It's now 16 July and the backyard Double Delight tree has exploded into bloom once again.

The Double Delight tree in the front yard must be jealous as it's also opening up buds!

Back to the backyard ....

Late August and going strong!

September has both trees in bloom, front yard and back.

The end of September and still going strong!

It's now getting toward the end of May 2008 and the Double Delight tree in the back yard has begun to bloom.  The fragrance is heavenly!

The Double Delight tree in the front yard has now also bloomed.

And now, back to the back yard!

In July, both the front yard and back yard Double Delight trees are in bloom.

In May of 2009, Double Delight is doubly delightful, with both the front and back trees in bloom.

On the Double Delight tree in the back yard, I found this gem.  It's Double Delight by scent, but it's pure snow white!  Methinks I have a sport!

And into August.

The Double Delight tree in the back yard garden gave us the first rosebud of 2010.  That rosebud has become swollen, the sepals have pulled back, it's intensely fragrant, and I suspect that very shortly I will have my first rose of the year.  After the winter that was, I need my roses!  I almost lost this tree the other day -- the winds heaved it and it bent over to the ground, ripping out the bamboo stakes that I had put in when I planted it in 2006.  Fortunately, the stem only bent, didn't break, and I was able to stand it upright, now anchored by two of my 2x2 PT stakes that will never give way!

The first of May brings the first of roses!  The bud above has opened into a beautiful, intensely fragrant flower.

From another angle.

A day later finds the rose aging, showing more red.

Other buds are also now opening.

Double Delight has gone to town!  The following four photos were taken from the dining room window (which can be seen in the photos above) and are of new flowers that seemingly opened overnight.

As May progresses, we get more and more blossoms.

Double Delight is in its spring flush!

The Double Delight tree in the front yard, facing dead north, has begun to bloom.  The difference between the two trees is astonishing!

The Double Delight tree in the back yard has once again begun to bloom.

Even the tree in the front yard has borne more blooms.

Between the two trees in the back yard and the front yard, I have a profusion of Double Delight that is unmatched!

It's 21 May 2011 and the Double Delight tree in the back yard has started to open its first bloom.

In late May, the Double Delight tree in the front yard has also begun to bloom.

And back to the back yard ....

Between the two trees, we have quite a Double Delight show this year!

The tree in the front yard produced this beauty at the end of Jume.

The tree in the backyard, having taken a short break, is back to producing blooms in early July.

On 19 April 2012, Double Delight (the tree in the back yard) tied with Zephirine Drouhin for the honor of opening the first bloom of the year, a full month early!

Last Updated: 03 Mar 2023

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