COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE • UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, LEXINGTON, KY, 40546 ID-118 S. Bale and R. Durham, Horticulture; T. Phillips,Roses Plant and Soil Sciences; L. Townsend, Entomology; N.A. Ward, Plant Pathology oses have many landscape uses. They can be placed as accent plants or used to form hedges or ground cov- ers.R They offer a rainbow of colors and a variety of forms and fragrances, and their sizes range from miniatures to tall climbing plants. Roses may be grown under many cli- matic and soil conditions and, with care, thrive and pro- duce flowers for many years. Rose Classifications Hybrid teas are nearly always Classification lines and grada- double-flowered, but some are tions are not clear since roses are semi-double-flowered or single- highly crossbred, so a functional flowered. In most cases, the flowers system is used to classify them. are borne singly. Buds are usually How roses are used depends on long and pointed. Hybrid teas grow their growth habits (as bushes, from 2½ to 5 feet tall, and their hedges, shrubs, climbers) and stems tend to be long, making flowering characteristics (number them excellent for flower arrange- of flowers per stem, single versus ments. double flowers, fragrance). The Hybrid teas do not produce as following classifications are based many flowers as some other rose Roses are used differently based on their types. They also do not form a growth habits and flowering characteristics. on the functional uses of outdoor roses. strong bush, but many canes arise from the plant base. They vary in Bush Roses hardiness and frequently need win- Bush roses are self-supporting ter protection. Many are fragrant. and grow upright. They bear Floribundas are probably the flowers primarily at the top of the most popular class of roses world- plant. Some types of bush roses are wide because of their profuse landscape or shrub roses, hybrid blooming. Their relatively large teas, floribundas, grandifloras, and flowers are borne in clusters. Flori- miniatures. bunda stems are shorter than those Landscape or shrub roses of hybrid teas, making them less gained popularity with the phe- suitable for flower arrangements. nomenal success of Knock Out® and The plants are bushier in appear- generally are lower-maintenance ance than hybrid teas and ideally than other modern roses. Knock are planted in groups of three or Out® has a pedigree of floribundas more. Fifty plants massed in a bed and a shrub rose ‘Carefree Beauty.’ create a real show. Agriculture and Natural Resources • Family and Consumer Sciences • 4-H Youth Development • Community and Economic Development EXTENSION old wood, so pruning in winter and early spring removes potential flowers. The beauty of old roses is in large, well-established plants, not tightly pruned, little bushes. Polyanthas and Hybrid Polyanthas This group fits somewhere between old-fashioned roses and modern floribundas. They were -de rived mainly from Rosa multiflora crossed with tea and China roses. They are hardy and flower freely in clusters with individual flowers that are small and low-growing. These roses are not as popular as Roses come in a variety of colors, forms, fragrances, and sizes. they were in the early 1900s. Ground Cover Roses Grandifloras are vigorous plants to be considered a miniature, but with the free-flowering, cluster- still distinct from floribunda or Ground cover roses have vigor- ing characteristic of floribundas hybrid tea types. ous canes that crawl outward and and the perfect form of hybrid only slightly upward. They form Heritage or Old-Fashioned Roses teas. Their flowers are larger than a broad carpet, almost prostrate those of floribundas but not quite Old Garden Roses (OGR) is the or slightly mounded. Some bloom as large as those of hybrid teas. The American Rose Society designation only in spring; others are ever- plant is taller than floribundas and for rose types that existed before bloomers. hybrid teas (5 to 6 feet tall) and 1867, when the first hybrid tea rose David Austin Roses makes a good background plant. was released. Modern rose classifi- English hybridizer David Aus- Flower colors are not quite as vivid cations include hybrid teas and any tin developed a new line of roses as those of hybrid teas, but they other class that was created in 1867 that combines the hardiness and provide a mass of color for garden or afterward. disease resistance of old-fashioned decoration and have individual Heritage or old-fashioned roses roses with certain characteris- stems long enough for cutting. have irregular growth habits. They tics (repeat blooming and double are extremely hardy and often Miniature roses (patio roses) flowers with fragrance) of modern are compact, well-branched, dense resistant to diseases and insects. tea roses and floribundas. Da- plants with leaves and flowers that An ordinary garden can turn into vid Austin roses range in height complement their small size. They a wonderland of color and form by from 3 to 8 feet; most are bushy flower profusely, and many are adding some old roses. Many are and upright growers. They can be hardy. Miniatures are used as both also incredibly fragrant. considered low-maintenance roses garden and indoor plants. Since Damasks, albas, centifolias, and require little spraying. They miniature roses have come on the gallicas, mosses, and species are tend to be more winter hardy than market, everyone—even people spring-blooming old roses. Hybrids most hybrid tea varieties, but many who live in apartments or on small of some old roses bloom repeat- Austin varieties are susceptible to lots—has room for roses. For each edly and may be pruned any time blackspot. small plant, a soil volume of one- of the year (as with modern roses). eighth of a cubic foot (6-by-6-by-6 Repeat-flowering OGR classes Meidiland Roses include: China, tea, Portland, and inches) is all that is required. A full These roses were created by the hybrid perpetual roses. Varieties cubic foot of soil is better for larger House of Meilland in France and that bloom once a year should not miniatures and patio roses. Mini- are sometimes sold as “flower- be pruned until after they bloom flora roses are a new classification ing shrubs” rather than “roses” by for roses that have flowers too large in spring. Such varieties bloom on 2 companies in this country. They For some ideas, the rose cultivars ‘Singing in the Rain’ are easy to grow, hardy, relatively listed below are hardy in Kentucky. ‘Cary Grant’ disease-resistant (though canker They were selected because of low ‘Princess de Monaco’ is a problem), tolerant of heat, maintenance and some pest resis- ‘Carla’* and not bothered excessively by tance. This is not an endorsement ‘Cayenne’* Japanese beetles. They are consid- of these roses, but simply an effort ‘Duet’* ered low-maintenance roses. They to get you started since there are so ‘Electron’* grow 1½ to 5 feet tall and are good many from which to select. ‘First Prize’* plants for massing or hedges. The UK Arboretum & State ‘Granada’* Botanical Garden has a display of ‘Miss All American Beauty’* Tree Roses 2,000 cultivars. Some of the fa- ‘Portrait’* A tree rose is any rose grafted vorites at the Arboretum are in the ‘Pristine’* to a tall trunk. Tree roses are not a following list of cultivars. ‘Proud Land’* class of roses but a distinct garden The following list is primarily for ‘Sutter’s Gold’* form; however, most tree roses are the beginner. More experienced Floribundas the bush type. They need special rose growers can recommend winter protection and careful many more cultivars worth trying. ‘First Edition’* (orange blend) pruning. (Cultivars marked with an asterisk ‘Betty Prior’ ‘Iceberg’ (white) Climbers are resistant to black spot disease.) The website www.helpmefind. ‘Pleasure’ (pink) Vigorous roses that produce com/roses is a helpful database for ‘Eye Paint’ (red blend) long, supple canes (6 to 20 feet rose cultivar selection. ‘French Lace’ (white) long) should be trained on sup- ‘Interama’ (dark red) ports such as fences, buildings, Bush Roses ‘Summer Fashion’ (yellow blend) arbors, or any stable structure. ‘Showbiz’ (red) Hybrid Teas Weave the canes in and out of the ‘All That Jazz’ (coral-salmon) structure or use soft ties to hold ‘Brigadoon’ ‘Sun Sprite x 2’* the canes in place. Some climbers ‘Double Delight’ (red blend) Grandifloras are everblooming; others bloom ‘Olympia’ (red) once a year. ‘Headliner’ (pink blend) ‘Angel Face’* A serious problem with climbers ‘Mr. Lincoln’* (red) ‘Betty Prior’* is cold hardiness. Climbers bloom ‘Sheer Bliss’ (white) ‘Carousel’* on canes produced the previous ‘Perfect Moment’ (pink) ‘Europeana’* summer. Canes that suffer winter ‘Peace’* (yellow blend) ‘Gene Boerner’* dieback produce no blooms. Some ‘Pink Peace’* (pink blend) ‘Ivory Fashion’* people resort to growing once- ‘Summer Dream’ (apricot blend) ‘Montezuma’* blooming ramblers, shrub roses, ‘Dainty Bess’ (single, light pink) ‘Prominent’* and some modern roses as climb- ‘Pascali’* (white) ‘Queen Elizabeth’* ers. Check the cultivar list that ‘John F. Kennedy’ (white) ‘Razzle Dazzle’* follows for ideas. ‘Elina’ (medium yellow) ‘Rose Parade’* ‘Madame Violet’ (lavender) ‘Queen Elizabeth’* (medium pink) Cultivar Selection ‘Marijke Koopman’ (medium pink) ‘Camelot’ (medium pink) Deciding which roses to grow is ‘Touch of Class’ (pink blend) ‘Pink Parfait’* (pink blend) a personal choice. Everyone has in- ‘Hoagy Carmichael’ (red) ‘Love’ (red blend) dividual preferences. When you see ‘Folk Lore’ (orange blend) ‘Tournament of Roses’ (medium roses you like, jot down the culti- ‘Dublin’ (medium red) pink) var name and make sure it is hardy ‘Elegant Beauty’ (yellow blend) ‘Sonia’* (pink blend) in Zone 6 (or zones with lower ‘Garden Party’ ‘Shining Hour’ (white) numbers). If it is, find a source and ‘Color Magic’ ‘White Lightnin’ (white) get your order in early.