The Many Types of Rose Bushes To Grace Your Garden

One of the most popular and beautiful flowers that can be grown in home gardens is the rose. Gardeners love them for their beauty, scent, and variety. Still, there are so many kinds of roses out there that it can be hard to decide which ones to pick. To help you choose the right rose bush for your garden, this article will break them down into their main groups.

Species Roses

Species roses, also known as wild roses, are the original ancestors of the domesticated roses we grow today. There are around 200 wild species most native to the Northern Hemisphere. They tend to be very hardy disease resistant and easy to grow. Some popular species rose varieties include Rosa rugosa, Rosa chinensis, and Rosa gallica. Species roses have simple, five-petaled flowers and once-blooming habit. They work well in informal, natural style gardens.

Old Garden Roses

Old garden roses are heirloom types like Damask, Alba, Bourbon, Centifolia, China, and Tea roses that were grown before 1867. These shapely shrubs have dense, soft leaves that produce lush flowers that smell very good. The colorful flowers have a timeless romance and charm. Even though they aren’t as resistant to disease as modern roses, old garden roses are worth growing because of their lovely scent and unique flower shapes. In the spring or summer, they only bloom once. In the fall, they may have a smaller bloom.

Modern Garden Roses

Roses today were bred after 1867 to have traits like blooming more than once, a wide range of colors, and resistance to disease and pests. This group includes most of the roses grown today, such as hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, miniatures, shrub roses, and climbing roses.

Hybrid Tea Roses

Hybrid teas are the classic long-stemmed roses associated with Valentine’s Day. They have large, sophisticated blooms on long cutting stems. Flowers are borne singly at the tip of each stem, creating a formal look. Hybrid teas bloom repeatedly from spring to fall and feature hybridized tea rose and hybrid perpetual genetics. They prefer rich soil, regular watering and good air circulation.

Floribunda Roses

Floribunda roses, as the name suggests, have a lot of lightly fragrant flowers all season. The flowers are about average size and grow in small groups along the stems, adding a splash of color to the garden. Because they don’t grow very tall, they’re great for flower beds, borders, containers, and low hedges. Popular varieties include ‘Iceberg’ and ‘Knock Out’.

Grandiflora Roses

Grandiflora roses combine traits from both hybrid teas and floribundas. They have the elegant form of hybrid teas but with bundled blooms like floribundas. The large, scented flowers make lovely cut flowers. They bloom repeatedly from spring through frost. ‘Queen Elizabeth’ is a classic example.

Miniature Roses

Miniature rose bushes grow 12″-36″ tall and produce tiny 1″ blooms. They work beautifully in rock gardens, along walkways, in containers or as edging plants. Miniatures exhibit the same traits as their full-sized counterparts but on a smaller scale. Mini floribundas, mini hybrid teas, and more are available.

Shrub Roses

Shrub roses offer versatile, carefree landscape performance. They are hardy, low maintenance plants that add informal, natural style to gardens. Shrub roses grow 4-6 feet tall and wide. Most varieties flower just once in spring or early summer, but may rebloom lightly into fall. Many shrub roses have excellent disease resistance too. Rugosa and David Austin’s English roses are two popular types.

Climbing Roses

Climbing roses have long, flexible canes that can be trained up structures like trellises, arbors, walls and fences. They are vigorous growers that produce waves of color. Most climbing roses bloom only once in late spring or early summer on old wood. But some remontant varieties rebloom on new wood into fall. Types include large-flowered climbers, ramblers and hybrid pillar roses.

This overview covers the main categories of rose bushes available to home gardeners. Keep your specific needs and growing conditions in mind when selecting rose types. Focus on choosing disease-resistant, low maintenance varieties suited to your climate. With the right selection, you can enjoy armloads of beautiful roses from your garden every year. The wide diversity of roses lets you create a landscape as unique as your personal style.