English Roses, Hybrid Tea Roses, Floribunda Roses, Grandiflora Roses, Miniature Roses, Climbing Roses, Rambling Roses, Shrub Roses, Groundcover Roses
There are many different types of roses. With over 150 species and thousands of hybrids, the rose world is incredibly diverse in form, color, vigor, and fragrance. Some varieties are compact enough to grow in containers on the patio. Others are perfect candidates for the mixed border or for climbing up a wall or a pergola. To help you sort through the differences and pick the right one for your needs, you will find below the most popular types of roses grown today.
Nothing sets off a house like a Climbing Rose in full bloom trained against the walls or draping the porch. Climbing Roses are vigorous shrubs with long, arching, stiff, and thorny stems that are well adapted to training on arches, arbors, obelisks, pillars, fences, trellis, and walls. They produce an abundance of large, single, or clustered, often fragrant flowers. Unlike Rambling Roses, most Climbing Roses usually repeat flower throughout summer and fall. Most bloom two or more times every season: first on old canes and then on the current season’s growth. However, several cultivars bloom continuously throughout the growing season. Climbing Roses require more care and attention than Rambling Roses. They need annual pruning and training.
Rambling Roses are vigorous shrubs with long, arching stems which emerge from the base of the plants and are easy to train on trellises, over archways, and pergolas. They are useful for scrambling through bushes and into trees, covering unsightly objects or large expanses of walls. Rambler Roses are a spectacular sight when in full bloom. They typically produce an abundance of small, often fragrant flowers held in large sprays, sometimes up to 20 blooms per stem. Unlike Climbing Roses, most Rambler Roses bloom once in late spring or early summer for several weeks. They may not repeat flower, but they make up for it with the massive quantities of blooms they produce in their main flush. Their long canes are smothered in roses, forming impressive cascades of colorful blooms. Tough and reliable, Rambling Roses are generally healthy and disease resistant, tolerant of partial shade and poor soils. They require less care and attention than Climbing Roses.
| Hardiness |
4 - 10 |
|---|---|
| Plant Type | Roses |
| Genus | Rosa, Rosa - English Rose, Rosa - Floribunda Rose, Rosa - Grandiflora Rose, Rosa - Groundcover Rose, Rosa - Hybrid Tea Rose, Rosa - Rambling Rose, Rosa - Shrub Rose |
| Exposure | Full Sun, Partial Sun |
| Season of Interest |
Spring (Late) Summer (Early, Mid, Late) Fall |
| Soil Type | Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand |
| Soil pH | Acid, Alkaline, Neutral |
| Soil Drainage | Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained |
| Characteristics | Plant of Merit |
Highly popular, English Roses combine the rosette form and perfume of old roses with the color range and repeat-flowering habits of modern roses. As a Rose breeder, David Austin’s achievement is marrying the romantic “English Rose” look with reliable garden performance, vigorous growth, full bushes, disease resistance, and prolific season-long bloom. Over English Roses have been released over the past 50 years, and many of them have received the highest rewards. Their graceful, shrubby habits make them ideal for mixed borders or large containers. Many varieties can also be trained as climbers or used to create flowering hedges.
Floribunda means a profusion of flowers. Single to fully double, the flowers are borne in large clusters on strong stems and are produced continuously from late spring to fall. Although the blossoms are smaller than the Hybrid Tea roses, they are produced in such quantities that they make a big impact. Floribunda roses are free-branching shrubs with an upright or bushy habit. Generally disease resistant, they tend to be hardy and easy to care for. Perfect for beds and borders or flowering hedges.
Grandiflora roses are a class created in the last century to classify crosses between Hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses that fit neither category. They combine the graceful blooms of the Hybrid Teas and the repetitive growth cycle of Floribundas. Grandiflora roses have large, showy flowers produced on long stems, either singly or in clusters of three to five blooms. Their shrubs are generally larger and more upright than Hybrid Teas. Although hardy and vigorous, they tend to be less popular than Hybrid Teas or Floribunda roses.
Groundcover roses are spreading and trailing shrub roses, mostly with prickly stems and glossy leaves. They bear clusters of numerous single to fully double, sometimes fragrant flowers, and usually bloom nonstop. They are wonderful for covering banks, slopes, or rocky areas, where they display a colorful flower carpet all summer long. They tend to be extremely disease resistant and require little attention.
Hybrid Tea Roses are some of the most prized cut flowers. Undeniably beautiful, they boast large, perfectly formed, high-centered blooms on long, elegant stems. Available in an extensive range of colors, many emit a delightful fragrance. They are repeat-flowering, free-branching shrub roses of an upright or bushy habit. Perfect for beds and borders, they are excellent for cutting. They are the least hardy of the modern roses and have a reputation for being high-maintenance.
Most shrub roses result from crossing Old Garden Roses and Modern Roses. They include a rich variety of shrubs in size, color, growth habit, and fragrance. Most shrub roses are reliable, tough, disease resistant, and repeat blooming from late spring to fall. Usually heavy blooming with smaller flowers but in greater quantities than the hybrid tea and floribunda roses. They are perfect for screens, hedges, beds, and borders and as specimen plants. Generally, they are hardy, easy-care plants.
Photo courtesy: David Austin Roses (www.davidaustinroses.com)
| Hardiness |
4 - 10 |
|---|---|
| Plant Type | Roses |
| Genus | Rosa, Rosa - English Rose, Rosa - Floribunda Rose, Rosa - Grandiflora Rose, Rosa - Groundcover Rose, Rosa - Hybrid Tea Rose, Rosa - Rambling Rose, Rosa - Shrub Rose |
| Exposure | Full Sun, Partial Sun |
| Season of Interest |
Spring (Late) Summer (Early, Mid, Late) Fall |
| Soil Type | Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand |
| Soil pH | Acid, Alkaline, Neutral |
| Soil Drainage | Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained |
| Characteristics | Plant of Merit |
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Create a membership account to save your garden designs and to view them on any device.
Becoming a contributing member of Gardenia is easy and can be done in just a few minutes. If you provide us with your name, email address and the payment of a modest $25 annual membership fee, you will become a full member, enabling you to design and save up to 25 of your garden design ideas.
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