Explore the vast array of rose varieties, including time-tested beauties that would have thrived in great-grandma’s garden, as well as modern breeds developed for easy care. You’ll find ideal options for almost any location among the palette of beautifully blooming possibilities, from petite miniatures to massive climbers and other types. Narrow your choices by identifying some of the roses that grow best in your region, and then select the optimal places for them in your garden.
CLIMBER: For dramatic effect, the long, arching canes of these vigorous growers can be guided to ascend fences, scale walls, and twine over arbors, pergolas, and trellises.
FLORIBUNDA: These bushy 2- to 4-foot tall plants put on a summer long show of flowers in abundant, colorful clusters. Plant them in beds or borders, and see why they’re so popular—especially in smaller gardens.
HYBRID TEA: A single, perfectly elegant blossom on a long stem distinguishes the most widely grown of all roses. Choose from among more than ten thousand types of hybrid teas. They bloom repeatedly throughout the growing season and provide fabulous cut flowers.
GRANDIFLORA: These shrubs reach 4 to 6 feet and exhibit the best traits of both their parents: the hardiness, ongoing blooms, and clustered petals of floribundas and the classic form of hybrid teas. Grandifloras are also valued for their disease resistance and their stature as background plants in the garden.
MINIATURE: Beloved for their petite charms, plants in this group feature an assortment ranging from 6 inches to 6 feet. Their miniature flowers and leaves grow in proportion to the plant. Most are just right for small spaces, edging beds, or accent containers.
OLD GARDEN: Heirloom roses adapt to many landscape uses and extreme climates. These tried-and-true varieties boast blooms with luxuriant, soft-colored petals and exquisite fragrances. Each of the groups within this realm—Alba, Bourbon, Centifolia, China, Damask, Hybrid Perpetual, Moss, Noisette, Portland, Species, Tea—includes impressive prospects to treasure in your garden.
SHRUB: Outstanding among modern roses, this continually growing selection takes various forms, from neat bushes with small clusters of long-lasting flowers to tall arching and sprawling plants. Easy-care shrub roses work well in hedges.
SPECIES: As native wild plants from around the world, these drought-tolerant and disease-resistant roses typically survive in difficult conditions. Suited to informal naturalistic gardens, species roses display fall fruits called hips that both birds and people relish. Belonging to the same family as apples and crab apples, rose hips have a tart flavor and also contain high levels of vitamin C. They are often used in herbal teas, jams, and jellies.
For more rose inspiration, see “A Gallery of Roses” on page 63 of the Gardens of Bliss 2016 issue of Victoria.
Your publications are beautiful, but we gardeners have a complaint. I know I am not alone in saying we wish you would identify the roses and other plants in your photos. The garden publications and garden blogs that I value and follow are ones where each and every plant, shrub and flower is identified. I purchased your latest garden issue, and though pretty, I found it to be a disappointment and of no value because of this omission. It leaves me feeling that your garden writers are not gardeners.