Mine are too young for me to have an opinion but I want to listen in. Goodness, Kate, your Buff Beauty is beautiful.

Hybrid Musks are probably my top class of shrub rose (after species) and especially Louis Lens many lovely creations. True, he has a tendency to overuse Ballerina but his roses are a perfect fit in my allotment (settling into an untidy but generous strip of chaotic fruit and veggies).
Kate, I also have Buff Beauty but mine is a pale imitation of your lovely plant. However, Jacqueline Humery (although I could have picked half a dozen) has proved an indomitable rose despite being mugged and shaded by more vigorous hooligans (helenae, Aimee Vibert) along with gigantic foxgloves. Jacqueline has been utterly healthy, startling in its purity, enthusiastic in its rebloom and unfazed by bad behaviour on my part (various supports have fallen on it, I have stepped on it, vicious digging practically on top of it).
A modest but charming rose, just good enough to squeeze Moonlight off top spot (you see what I am sneakily doing here).

My favorite is Robin Hood. It was the rose that opened my eyes to the huge world of vintage and antique roses. After numerous failed attempts at growing the hybrid teas I picked up at the local nurseries, I'd given up on roses. Eventually I came across a specimen, of what I eventually identified as Robin Hood, growing in my neighbors yard. she'd had it for decades, and allowed me to take cuttings. They rooted very easily. In my yard, it is 100% disease free with no spraying, in mostly shade. It has a huge spring flush, and a lovely spicy fragrance. Due to being in so much shade, I don't get much repeat out of it, but I plan on rooting some new ones in sunnier locations. People always admire this rose in bloom and I've rooted and given away many of them to friends and family. Partly for sentimental reasons, but also deservedly so, this is my favorite hybrid musk.

Lyda Rose has been great for me. I have 2 growing in semi-shade (less than 5 hours of sun). At just under 2 years old they are totally disease free, require little care and bloom frequently. Lyda has a great fragrance too.

I also grow Lupe's Buttons, New Face and Darlow's Enigma.

Lee

Here are Ballerina (left) and Lavender Lassie (right). They are growing in partial shade, but are still doing fine after 20 years.

Jackie

They don't like my heat and poor soil here, and so I only had Felicia for about five minutes, but she is probably my favorite, with Lavender Lassie as second choice, mainly because it's not a great rebloomer.

Ingrid

Menja does very well for me and the bees love it.

I love Bubble Bath. It really does have the scent of what i remember of Bubble Bath. It arches, and grows right into my SDLM and Duchesse de Brabant.

Sammy

Buff Beauty is my favorite, but I also like Kathleen very very much.

I have Cornelia and Kathleen in my own garden, since that's all I have space for.

They are all of them beautiful.

Lynnette, what a beautiful plant. I wish you'd post more pictures of your garden, if this one is any indication.

Sammy, the combination of those three roses sounds wonderful. Pictures next spring, please?

Monarda, Cornelia and Kathleen are great choices. Hope to see them in bloom.

I'm realizing once again that hybrid musks seems to be order-made for more humid and rainy, and also overall cooler climates. Not strange considering where most of them were bred.

Ingrid

I've never seen Menja before. It's beautiful.

'Wilhelm' and its sport 'Will Scarlet'--but in fairness I should add that those are the only two I've grown!

Easy for me since I only have one that is bigger than a solo cup, Secret Garden Climbing Musk

I sent Menja budwood to Palatine Roses a couple of years ago, so you will be able to get Menja next year. I see they are sold out for this year. I also will be sending some of the Hybrid Musk called New Face.

Here is another photo of New Face. The flowers are bigger than a normal Hybrid Musk but the bush looks like Ballerina
size.

THis is a great thread. I forgot about Penelope. I have 4 of them, and they are beautiful. They bloom much of the time, and are very pretty. In the spring they tend to have more color than in the summer when they look white.

I am also going to get another Ballerina. I did not understand how to remove old wood, and mine just faded away. Now I know more about pruning.
Sammy

New Face is beautiful also, Lynette. It's wonderful of you to share Menja. I've never ordered from Palatine, but I might have to now.

Mine are young so I don't have any personal photos but of course there are tons on HMF. Felicia was a real beauty for me this summer. Never without bloom and full of wafting beautiful fragrance. I love this rose. Nothing really special about her just easy and pretty.
Nur Mahal I really love. She came late this summer but put on several feet of cane like a climber...thin and lax. No disease.
Francesca came late in the season too. (Like October) so I haven't seen her bloom but I love the unusual shape I've seen in photos.
Same with Buff Beauty.
For spring I have Lens' Verdi coming (one of the roses Catsrose mentioned in her symphonic grove).
And after the raves on Robin Hood I may have to order that one as well.
I really enjoy HMs and Noisettes (and teas, and chinas and polys).
My favorites change every day!
Susan

Those of you with larger collections of hybrid musks really need to take pics next spring and show them off to the rest of use. I'd love to see the bushes actually growing in the ground.

I'm talking to you, poorbutroserich and catsrose. Your eager public awaits. : )

Kate

Very happy to see this thread on Hybrid Musks. I really like the plant habit of these roses. Graceful arching plants. Wish I had room for more of them.
I only grow one, and it is Nur Mahal, which is a stellar performer for me. Rock solid. Absolutely no disease at all, ever. Blooms it's head off. And no thorns at all.
One that I admire locally in another garden is Cornelia. Beautiful plant.

Kate, your Buff Beauty is a stunner.

Randy

I'm a great admirer of the Pemberton Hybrid Musks, don't know the others so well. Just one? Oh, really....
Well, then, 'Cornelia' by a whisker, followed immediately by 'Francesca' and 'Pax', and a short head after come 'Felicia' (fragrance) and 'Vanity' and 'Penelope'; 'Buff Beauty' I've never grown well enough to fall solidly in love with it, ditto for 'Nur Mahal'; 'Kathleen' I also grow poorly, but what a beauty, and the same is true for 'Daybreak'. I think they'd all be in first position if I grew them well.
Melissa

I don't have a favorite to offer to this conversation, but I do have a question. Are there any fairly small hybrids musks?

Thanks,
Di

Daphne is a lovely Pemberton hybrid musk that stays about 3' x 3' in my garden, so fairly small as far as hybrid musks go. Unfortunately, I don't think it's in commerce. I think mine was from Vintage.

Well, maybe it's more like 4' x 4'.

Di, if you go to HMF and search Lens roses I believe he has some smaller ones. My Verdi is not yet here but I bought it based on HMF estimate of smaller size. If it does stay reasonably small, I will likely purchase other Lens if I can find them (doesn't seem many are offered in the US). As far as I know the Pembertons are large although as Chris said, Daphne seems smaller...
HMF is a great resource.
And yes, I will sure post photos. What gorgeous roses HMs are.
Susan

I only grow Ballerina, but love the masses of blooms she produces, as do neighbors walking by. They often don't what exactly Ballerina is because she doesn't remotely resemble any rose they're familiar with. I think one favorite shown here must be Buff Beauty. Kate's photos of this rose have convinced me, though I think every photo in this thread is lovely. I'd try them all if I had any more space.
Sammy, you mentioned learning how to prune Ballerina properly. Could you tell me what the secret to this is? I don't do too much pruning on my Ballerina because I simply don't know what to do. Thanks. Diane

Lynette, that New Face is absolutely GORGEOUS. I'm so glad you're sharing the cuttings and I'll be in line to buy it when it's available!

I agree with Odinthor that Wilhelm is my favorite hybrid musk, and I grow about 15 different HMs. Wilhelm is never out of bloom, and it makes a dramatic dark statement in my partial shade area where most of the other hybrid musks and shade tolerant roses are much lighter shades. Here's a closeup from spring just getting started, with Felicia at his feet .

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My second favorite is one I got from Cliff's mother plant sale, and it has been a nonstop bloomer - Petite de Terre Franche. I don't hear about it in other places, and I suspect it's not widely for sale, but it spills beautifully around the shade bed and has a graceful effect all summer. Here it is (white one at center) with Heavenly Pink at its feet, Cornelia to its left, Darlow's Enigma at the back left, and Wilhelm making his statement in back to the right. Hybrid Musks are perfect for my kind of "rose chaos".

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I'd pick Felicia for most beautiful individual bloom among the hybrid musks, but Kate said we had to stop at two (smile).

Cynthia

I do like your HM collection, Cynthia--especially Wilhelm. If only I had more space in my garden!

Kate

Omi Oswald, a very little known HM. Pale yellow flowers. My plant is still fairly young, but it's been blooming all month, including today. Flowers are loved by bees (just missed a few when I snapped the shots) and by me! Unusual little pompoms in the middle of the stamens, sort of gives a hibiscus look. Drought tolerant, though does shutdown blooming in the worst of summer heat. Sets pretty hips. Shape is kind of a bushy, arching mound. Very healthy.

Honorable mention to Excellenz von Schubert. Gorgeous very fragrant lavendery mauve flowers, blooms in big sprays, healthy, easy care (likes neglect, yay!).

Melissa

Cynthia, that grouping of hybrid musks is drop-dead gorgeous. Your garden is really something. Next spring I'm going to be waiting for a long thread with lots of pictures of your plant groupings.

Omi Oswald is a delicately beautiful rose, really lovely with those yellow stamens.

Ingrid

Cornelia for pink Hybrid Musks
and
Callisto among the yellow,
both are the most fragrant of all among their color and class, to my nose anyhoo. and Pax among the whites.
I wish that Musk (R. moschata) hybrids were as easy to find as Hybrid Musks.

The last words the late and great Miriam Wilkins said to me were "you should come see the Menja in my garden."

Lux

I haven't been very successful growing hybrid musks in my climate, unfortunately. I do have Buff Beauty that puts on a wonderful show in the spring but doesn't bloom the rest of the year. I really like it though and love the scent!

Tessiess:

I really like your photo of the Omi Oswald. It's very charming and interesting, too, that the little buds are pink as well as the expiring petals, while the flower itself appears white. Love the pom poms.

I think I might try this one out in my garden.