Fragrant Cloud is the hybrid tea that set the standard for scent. Mathias Tantau of Germany introduced it in 1963. It won the American Rose Society's James Gamble Fragrance Award in 1970, and in 1981 the World Federation of Rose Societies voted it the World's Favourite Rose. The fragrance is strong and complex, a rich damask with citrus, fruit and spice, and you can often smell it from a few steps away. The flowers are large, about 12 cm across, with 27 to 35 petals in the classic high-centred hybrid tea shape. They open coral-red and age to geranium-red. They come mostly one to a stem, which makes them good for cutting, and repeat in flushes from early summer until frost. The plant is upright and thorny at about 90–150 cm, with glossy dark green foliage. It's an older variety and prone to black spot and mildew, so give it full sun, good air flow and a little attention through the season. It's hardy to zone 6, and in zone 5 and colder it needs winter protection.

The hybrid tea grown for its fragrance.