One of the most beloved garden plants in the world, roses have been wooing gardeners for thousands of years.
Grown for their showy blooms and romantic fragrance, roses come in a dizzying array of forms, sizes, and types. Sorting them out can be confusing, even for experienced gardeners. With the myriad varieties of roses available, it’s hard to avoid making impulse purchases. If you start with a plan and know your limitations, you are less likely to suffer buyer’s remorse.
Here are some of our favorite varieties for low-maintenance roses that still have bloom power.
Knock Out® Roses
These easy-to-grow shrub roses will reward you EVERY DAY with a season-long show of blooms from spring to frost. With stunning colors to choose from, there are so many ways to enjoy Knock Out® Roses EVERYWHERE in your garden.
- Petite Knock Out: The Petite Knock Out® Rose is the first ever miniature Knock Out® Rose! It has the same flower power and easy care as others in the family, but in an adorable, petite size! Plant in decorative containers for your porch or patio, or en masse for a dramatic pop of color!
- Coral Knock Out Rose: A new color addition to The Knock Out® Family of roses. The unique coral color is even stronger in hot, humid climates. It blooms from spring through fall and maintains an upright to rounded habit. Young foliage is bronze red.
- Pink Double Knock Out Rose: A bright, bubble gum pink version of The Double Knock Out® Rose that is very stable and unfazed by the heat. Classically shaped flowers bloom from early spring to the first frost. This plant has superior drought tolerance once established.
Drift® Roses
Drift® Roses are groundcover roses made easy. They are a cross between full-size groundcover roses and miniature roses. From the former they kept toughness, disease resistance and winter hardiness. From the miniatures, they inherited their well-managed size and repeat-blooming nature. The low, manageable habit of Drift® Roses makes them perfect for gardens small to large, for planters, and for mass commercial plantings.
- Red Drift: The easy nature and natural beauty of Red Drift® lends to the success of this rose. The petite red flowers prove to be an elegant addition to any garden, especially when able to naturally drape over a rock wall or edge.
- Peach Drift: The Peach Drift® Rose is one of the most floriferous dwarf shrubs available. Soft peach blooms cover the plant from mid-spring to the first hard freeze of late fall. Peach Drift® Rose pairs well with existing perennials in any landscape. The mature plant is approximately 2’ by 1½’ and exhibits strong disease resistance.
Hybrid Teas
Modern hybrid roses, introduced after 1867, are sturdy, long-blooming, extremely hardy and disease-resistant, and bred for color, shape, size, and fragrance. The hybrid tea roses, with one large flower on a long cutting stem, are the most popular rose in the world. Hybrid teas are valued for their long, sturdy stems, perfectly shaped flowers, and unparalleled fragrance. New varieties of hybrid tea roses are introduced every year, but some classics simply can’t be beaten. Most hybrid tea roses are reliably hardy in USDA zones 5–9.
- Veteran’s Honor®: ‘Veteran’s Honor’ has deep, dark red blooms with a fragrance reminiscent of berries. It was introduced in 1999 to honor the men and women of the American Armed Forces and a portion of each sale goes to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Heirloom Roses
Old roses – also called “old-fashioned roses” and “heirloom roses” – are those introduced prior to 1867. These are the lush, invariably fragrant roses found in old masters’ paintings. There are hundreds of old rose varieties – whose hardiness varies – providing choices for both warm and mild climates.
- Queen Elizabeth: Queen Elizabeth is a grandiflora rose. It reaches four to six feet in height, with a spread of two to three feet. Bloom time is May, but it will rebloom off and on into the autumn. It has double blossoms that offer some fragrance. The color is pink, but with a silvery sheen to it.
It may be hard to know which roses to choose or what will grow best in your yard. We’re here to help. Email us at [email protected], or visit our stores.
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Photo Credit: Star Roses