| Species Roses, Wild Roses, and their Hybrids (Sp) |
The original roses, hardy species are mostly large shrubs or climbers with mainly single flowers (5 to 12 petals) and big, bright red-orange rosehips. Probably the best known, Rosa rugosa is known for hardiness, wrinkled foliage and showy hips. |
| Modern Roses |
The era of modern roses began in 1867 with 'La France', a rose with the general habit of a Hybrid Perpetual and the elegant, shapely buds and free‑flowing character of a Tea rose. Breeders were quick to realize that planned parenthood could result in all sorts of new flower forms, habits and colors. By the late 20th century, 10,000 new Hybrid Teas had been welcomed into gardens. |
| Hybrid Teas (HT) |
The most popular garden roses, Hybrid Teas are loved for their fragrance and their beautifully proportioned flowers in various vibrant colors. Hybrid Teas usually produce one spectacular flower per stem, from a long, pointed bud on plants from 3 to 5 feet tall. |
| Floribundas (F) |
Roses such as 'lceberg' produce quantities of flowers singularly or in clusters of several flowers. They're only 2 to 3 feet tall and relatively compact, so excellent for bedding displays, and they blend well into a mixed border of flowers and shrubs. They're especially valuable for their ability to adapt to a wide range of temperatures and soil conditions. |
| Grandifloras (G) |
When the hybrid beauty 'Queen Elizabeth' was introduced in 1955, there had never been a rose like it, and a whole new category was created. They're bigger and hardier than Hybrid Teas, sometimes 8 to 10 feet tall, and bear flowers, usually double, on long stems, singularly or some in clusters. |
| Polyanthas (P) |
These are generally smaller but sturdy, compact re‑bloomers that form bushy shrubs with many small (1‑inch), delicate flowers in large sprays. |
| Miniature Roses (Min) |
Many of these are tiny replicas of full‑size Shrub roses, reaching a mere 6 to 30 inches tall; they are ideal for growing in a container, edging a walkway or as a low hedge. Others are 'mini' in size of leaf or flower only, and can reach heights of 6 feet! |
| Mini‑Flora (Min Fl) |
This is a new classification adopted the American Rose Society in 1999 to recognize another step in the evolution of the rose a rose intermediate in bloom size and foliage, falling between Miniatures and Floribundas. |
| Shrub Roses (S) |
This is a diverse group ranging from sprawling, low‑growing ground covers to tall mounds. What they have in common is toughness and prolific bloom. Excellent choices for hedges and landscape plantings, they grow as wide as tall are very free bloomers. (While David Austin's English roses strictly belong in this class, I've given them their own topic area.) |
| David Austin's English Roses |
David Austin's English roses are on their way to being considered a category by themselves. They have won tremendous popularity in the garden world in the past decade by combining old‑fashioned charm and fragrance with a modern re‑blooming habit. British rose breeder David Austin has developed many of these roses and given the group his name. They range widely in form and color; some of the best are 'Abraham Darby' and 'Gertrude Jekyll'. |
| Groundcover Roses |
As their name suggests, these are trailing or spreading low‑growers, mostly rebloomers with small leaves and clusters of 3 to 11 small flowers. |
| Old Garden Roses (OGR) |
Old garden roses are quite hardy, often fragrant and usually bloom only once. In 1966, the American Rose Society defined old garden roses as those types that existed before 1867, the year the first Hybrid Tea was introduced. They vary greatly in form and include the following types. |
| Alba |
Often known as "white roses," these are large, branching shrubs with clusters of 5 to 7 usually white flowers and dense, bluegreen foliage that's disease resistant. |
| Bourbon |
Vigorous open, repeat‑flowering shrubs with fragrant double flowers, often borne in threes; plants grow 2 to 15 feet tall. |
| Centifolia |
Literally, "one hundred petals," these Dutch hybridized roses are thorny shrubs with arching canes bearing clusters of large, fragrant, many‑petaled blossoms; they are also referred to as "cabbage roses." |
| China |
Small to medium Shrub roses with a loose spreading habit and small, mainly double flowers, single or in clusters, with a spicy fragrance. Sometimes re‑blooming; not hardy. |
| Damask |
Loose, graceful shrubs bearing clusters of 5 to 7 very fragrant blooms on plants 3 to 6 feet tall. |
| Gallica |
Compact, upright shrubs with brilliant, often fragrant blossoms; the oldest class of garden roses. Once blooming. |
| Hybrid Perpetual |
Vigorous, often re‑blooming shrubs with flowers borne singularly or in threes; upright, about 6 feet tall, color range usually pinks and reds. |
| Moss |
Named for the mossy growth on the stems and calyx, usually fragrant, many‑petaled blooms; 3 to 6 feet tall, generally winter hardy. |
| Noisette |
Re‑blooming, graceful climbers up to 20 feet tall that bear large clusters of up to 9 small fragrant flowers. Long, slender canes; thrives in warm climates. |
| Portland |
Upright, dense bushes, usually re‑blooming with fragrant, double flowers on straight stems. |
| Sempervirens |
Semi‑evergreen climbers; very free‑flowering. |
| Tea |
Re‑blooming shrubs and climbers with loose, sweetly scented, usually double flowers, single or in threes. |
| Climbers (Cl) and Ramblers |
Climbing roses are just roses that have a very vigorous growth habit. Roses do not actually "climb" in the sense that other plants do; they do not twine, have tendrils or stickum. Instead they sometimes hang onto something because of their prickles (thorns) catch and dig in. |
| Large Flowered Climbers (LCl) |
Most often have tall stiff canes and blooms both singularly and in clusters, and generally repeat bloom. |
Ramblers |
Flexible canes requiring support and most often flowers with small blooms in clusters which ususally do not repeat. |
Sports (Mutations) |
Sports of hybrid teas, floribundas and others, which resemble their bush counterpart except for their climbing growth habit. They usually have an outstanding spring bloom, then only scattered bloom with more blooms in the fall. |