Different Types of Roses for Your Garden
When first dipping your toe into the world of rose gardening, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the rose varieties available at your fingertips. The different rose types, breeds, and level of care required by each is enough to make anyone’s head spin. That’s why we want to break it down and make it easier for you to choose your perfect rose that will fit perfectly into your garden and lifestyle.
Rose Type Categories
In the vast world of roses, there are a few main types every gardener should be familiar with:
Hybrid Tea Rose
Suitable for gardeners of any skill level, hybrid tea roses are the most classic and recognizable type of roses. Their stems are long and sturdy, growing upright at about 3-6 feet tall with one beautiful blossom. They come in a wide variety of colors and can be cut to put in a vase and shown off to the world.
Shrub Rose
With their many blossoms, shrub roses are an excellent choice for providing a mass of color to your landscape. With an adequate amount of sunshine and fertilization, these beauties will bloom throughout the entire season. They’re also hardy and disease-resistant, making them ideal for beginner gardeners.
Climbing Rose
Climbing roses bloom repeatedly with long stems that can grow anywhere from 10-15 feet, or even longer. They should be attached to a sturdy structure on which they can spread out and make a statement in your garden.
Rambler Rose
Unlike climbing roses, this untamed beauty blooms once a year with masses of small, fragrant flowers – growing anywhere from 12-50 feet. If you don’t have access to much horizontal, sprawling space, rambler roses could fit perfectly into your garden.
Floribunda
With multiple flowers blooming on one stem, floribundas are the roses that keep on giving. With their cluster-forming growth habit, they make great cutting roses for bouquets or other indoor floral arrangements. They are some of the longest lasting roses and can cover a large space in your garden.
Grandiflora
If you like the idea of the structure of a hybrid tea rose combined with the clustered flowering of a floribunda, the grandiflora rose may be the perfect fit for your garden. It reaches a height of about 4-5 feet and features large, high-centered blooms.
Special Breeds of Roses
At April & Ashley, we give each and every one of our roses the utmost attention and care. But there are a few standout breeds that we’d like to give special mention to. These breeds require minimal expertise – making them excellent options for the novice rose gardener.
This breed of the hybrid tea rose gives off an air of grace and elegance with its large, fuschia-colored blooms. Julie Andrews is suitable for zones 6-9.
Perfume Breeze by Enrico Barni 
With its soft pink hues and strong fragrance, this climbing rose is a lovely addition to any garden structure. Perfume Breeze is suitable for zones 5-11.
Anuschka by Rosen Tantau
A magenta-colored breed of the floribunda rose, Anuschka’s blooms are large and abundant. It’s suitable for zones 5-11.
Circle of Life by Rosen Tantau
This peach-colored floribunda produces voluminous blooms that will look stunning in your garden, or can be cut for a beautiful indoor bouquet. Circle of Life is suitable for zones 5-11.
Choosing the Right Rose for Your Garden
As much as we’d all love to choose the rose we find most visually appealing, there are other important factors to consider before settling on one:
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Climate - Certain roses grow better in certain climates. It’s important to know your hardiness zone so you can choose the rose that will thrive where you live.
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Disease Resistance - While roses are tough plants, they’re susceptible to several types of fungal diseases. It’s never a guarantee that your rose won’t be affected by one of them, but there are disease-resistant rose varieties you can choose for a better chance at avoiding them. You can learn more about the 5 Most Common Rose Plant Diseases and How to Treat Them.
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Bloom Time - If you just can’t wait to see your rose come to life with its first blooms, you may want to choose a shrub rose – which typically blooms every 30 days. If you’re in no rush, you can consider a floribunda – blooming every 45 days – or a hybrid tea – blooming every 60 days.
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Personal Preferences - Your garden is a reflection of you. With all the possible color schemes and fragrances, growing roses is an opportunity to express your creativity. Do you prefer a more subtle beauty or do you want to make a statement? Think about how you can intertwine your personality with the space you have to achieve your desired garden aesthetic.
These are just a few elements to consider when getting started on your rose growing journey. If you’re just getting started, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Growing Rose Bushes for everything you need to know from planting your rose in the ground to maintaining its blooms.
With so many gorgeous options available, choosing a rose for your garden is no easy task. Think about the climatic conditions of your area, the time you have to put into caring for your roses, and the aesthetic you want to achieve in your garden – and hopefully you’ve narrowed it down just a bit!
Have more questions about the wonderful world of roses? We’ve got you covered. Head over to April & Ashley for more helpful tips and tricks.
Happy Gardening!
April & Ashley