Rose Types: Different Varieties Of Roses In Your Garden

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A rose is not just the symbol of love, it’s the embodiment of romance in its finest sense. If you have even a remote interest in roses, you’ll undoubtedly know that they come in many varieties. In fact, roses vary in shape, color, and aroma so wildly that you can create a floral arrangement of just roses, and not two of them will look the same. That’s not an exaggeration. Roses come in types and each type includes many varieties. It’s safe to say that rose gardening is a science on its own.

If you are flirting with the idea of growing your own rose garden or exploring the wonderful world of roses, this article covers everything you need to know about rose types. Read on to find out the best rose types to grow.

Climbing Roses

Nothing says romance than a rose plant climbing on your wall and spreading its intoxicating fragrance across the garden. Climbing roses can be trained to climb on walls and fences and drape porches and patios. Keep in mind that these types don’t climb on their own like a vine. They don’t have the tendrils that latch onto a post and climb up. But they have a sturdy stalk that you can train and guide along a pillar or a trestle.

On average these types can grow to 15 feet high. However, there’s a caveat here. They tend to have more blooms when they grow across rather than upwards. So make sure you have enough horizontal space to allow them to spread out and produce as many flowers as they can. Climbing roses usually bloom more than once per season and some cultivars bloom throughout the season. They need more care and pruning than other types. The most popular varieties of this type include Rosa Eden, Rosa Crimson Glory, and Rosa Joseph’s Coat.

English Roses

One of the most popular rose types. People flock to buy these roses and gardeners love them because they are easy to grow. English roses are not considered a separate type of their own. They are in fact a cultivar. David Austin bred many rose species to create a new cultivar that blooms longer, has more vigor, and grows a fuller bush. Over the years more than 200 varieties have captivated people’s imagination with their deep colors and rich aromas.

Despite all these qualities, English roses are known to succumb to diseases much easier than other types. They’re not hardy types and need extra care to grow successfully. You can use them as border plants or train them to climb over rails and pergolas. The most favored varieties are Rosa Golden Celebration, Rosa Renaissance, and Rosa Abraham Darby.

Floribunda Roses

Named after the way clusters of flowers grow out of the same stalk and bloom together. On average you can get three flowers or sometimes double flowers on one stem. They bloom continuously from the late spring all the way to the fall. The roses are usually smaller than other varieties but since they grow in clusters, they make a great impression. They come in different colors ranging from red, pink, orange, and white.

Some varieties grow in bushes while others branch out. Overall, they’re easy to care for since they are disease resistant and hardy plants. They serve many purposes in rose gardens, border blooms, or as hedge plants. These are the favorite roses in parks and public spaces thanks to their rigid shrubbery. They have great ornamental values in lawns and gardens especially Rosa Angle Face, Rosa Iceberg, and Rosa Golden Beauty.

Grandiflora Roses

This type has been around for almost a hundred years. It’s a crossbreed between Floribunda and Hybrid Tea roses. The idea was to create a new cultivar that combined the hardiness of the first type with the ravishing blooms of the second. This new breed has the best of both worlds. They produce clusters of flowers that have the beauty of the Hybrid Tea type. The shrubs are fuller and have more blooms than either of those natural types.

They also have an upright stature and vigorous growth which make them stand out. However, they never get as popular as the original species and they remain to this day a niche taste that only a few like to grow. Some varieties that might catch your fancy include Rosa Pink Parfait, Rosa Queen Elizabeth, Rosa Strike It Rich, and Rosa Mother Of Pearl.

Groundcover Roses

This type likes to spread out and crawl rather than climb or grow upright. But that’s not the only quality that distinguishes Groundcover roses. They also tend to have a lot of thorns that cover the stems as well as glossy leaves. They are best grown as landscaping plants thanks to those attractive leaves.

The shrubs grow between one to three feet tall but tend to grow horizontally more. They are easy to care for so you don’t have to be a skilled garden to start your rose garden with this type. Groundcover flowers are not fussy about soil type and can grow on slopes or rocky areas. The best features of this type are their disease resistance, recurring blooming, and low-growing. Some of the most unique varieties are Rosa Coral Drift, Rosa Flower Carpet Amber, Rose Pink Drift, and Rosa Avon.

Hybrid Tea Roses

Hands down one of the most popular rose types for floral arrangements. Any time you walk into a home and see cut roses in a vase that look stunning, they must be Hybrid Tea roses. This popularity is not unwarranted. Hybrid Tea roses grow out of long stems. Each flower has up to 50 petals and comes in a variety of colors.

The full bush grows to 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide so they need space to grow. That said and despite all these qualities, you won’t find this type growing in many gardens. Mainly because this type is not disease resistant and takes a lot to make it grow successfully. Some of the best-known varieties include Rosa Double Delight, Rosa Papa Meilland, Rosa Apricot Candy, Rosa Peace, and Rosa Charles de Gaulle.

Miniature Roses

As the name implies, this type was designed specifically to remain compact and not take up much space. But since great things come in small packages, these roses which hardly grow more than 10 inches come in various colors and shapes. You can grow them in beds, containers, or as borders to rose gardens.

They are a cultivar of Hybrid Tea roses that retained the best qualities of that hybrid but kept its size to a minimum. The flowers bloom in different colors including yellow, pink, white, and orange. Not just that, but when they bloom, the flowers stay open for up to three weeks at a time. Rosa Venus and Rosa Sugar Baby are some of the most popular varieties of this type.

Rambling Roses

Don’t let the name rambling roses fool you. These are some of the most exquisite and tidy looking roses you can grow in your garden. They just tend to have overarching stems that spread out and climb. With Rambling roses, you can plant them near a trellis and train them to climb and spread their cheerful colors.

But these are not the only landscaping values of these roses. If you happen to have a dim corner, an ugly tree trunk, or a part of your garden that you’d like to hide, Rambling roses can come in handy. The flowers grow in clusters of up to 20 small blooms on a single stem. That said, these are not repeat bloomers. They only flower once either in the late spring or early summer. The flowers remain in bloom for a couple of weeks and then call it a season.

If there’s one rose type you would like to start in your garden, I recommend any of the varieties of Rambling roses. They are disease resistant, will tolerate any type of soil including poor soil, and grow well even in partial shade. Some of the varieties to consider include Rosa Albertine, Rosa Francois Juranville, and Rosa Banksiae Lutea.

Shrub Roses

These are the product of crossbreeding old roses with modern types. Here too you can find a wide variety of roses that suit your gardening style and needs. The bushes vary in size, shape, color of blooms, and care needs. They are tough plants that resist disease, drought, and are famously low maintenance. On top of that, they bloom from late spring till the fall making them some of the longest blooming roses you can come across.

As for landscaping designs, Shrubs roses are great for screens, borders, beds, and hedges. After Rambling roses, this is the type favored by many gardeners. You can try out some popular varieties such as Rosa Double Knock Out, Rosa Rhapsody in Blue, and Rosa Scarlet Meidiland.

Damask Roses

Originally from the Middle East, these roses were first brought to Europe from Damascus in the late thirteenth century. Since then they have gone through many changes and improvements to make them adjust to cooler climates. The two main distinguishing features of these roses are their tendency to sprawl and their exquisitely strong fragrance.

There are two subtypes of Damask roses. The first is the Summer Damask that blooms once during the summer months. The other type is the Autumn Damask that blooms in the early summer and another time toward the end of the summer.

When you consider a rose type to grow in your garden, you should look for a type that is disease-resistant, easy to train, and versatile. Some types need plenty of space while others such as Miniature Roses won’t grow over 10 inches. Also factor in the bloom season. Some types bloom from the spring to the fall while others have a short bloom season.