Flowers HORTICULTURAL MU Guide PUBLISHED BY MU EXTENSION, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA muextension.missouri.edu Roses: Selecting and Planting Christopher J. Starbuck and Mary Kroening Department of Horticulture Roses are one of the world’s most popular flow- ers. Their beauty and delicate fragrance have universal appeal. Roses are well adapted to many different envi- ronmental conditions. They are useful for cut flowers and many landscape effects. Since they are the product of centuries of breeding and selection, many shapes, forms and colors provide endless types to select from and use. New varieties of roses are constantly being intro- duced. The All-America Rose Selections organization evaluates new rose varieties in test gardens through- out the country and each year presents awards to the highest rated new varieties. For information, write All- America Rose Selections, 221 N. LaSalle St., Suite 3500, Chicago, IL 60601. Figure 1. At all stages of flower development, the hybrid tea The American Rose Society evaluates both old and rose rovides clasic beauty with universal appeal. new varieties and publishes ratings in Handbook for Selecting Roses. It is available by writing the American Red — Chrysler Imperial, Oklahoma, Mr. Lincoln, Rose Society, P.O. Box 30,000, Shreveport, LA 71130- Olympiad 0030. Red blend — Mon Cheri, Granada The many types of roses available offer selections Red white blend — Double Delight for almost any situation. Hybrid tea, floribunda and Pink — Royal Highness, Sweet Surrender, Sheer grandiflora are the most commonly planted types. Bliss, Dainty Bess These require a rather vigorous pest control program Pink blend — First Prize, Chicago Peace, Touch to maintain them in a vigorous, productive condition. of Class Shrub and species roses require little or no pest con- Yellow — King’s Ransom, Oregold trol. Once they are established they grow and flower Yellow blend — Peace, American Heritage, Broad- for years with very little attention. way Different types of roses are described here and Orange — Tropicana, VooDoo a few varieties highly rated by the American Rose Apricot blend — Brandy Society are suggested as an aid to the beginning rose White — White Knight, Pristine, Pascali, Honor grower. Varieties are listed by major color or as blends. White blend — Garden Party Blends are those varieties with flowers that are not a Mauve blend — Paradise solid color. Floribunda — Developed from crosses between Hybrid tea – The most popular of all roses today hybrid teas and polyanthas. Flowers are intermediate (Figure 1). It originated from crosses between hybrid in size between the two parents, but they have the same perpetuals and the tea rose imported from China in the form and substance as hybrid teas. Floribundas are 18th century. Flowers are large, many with a delicate slightly hardier than hybrid teas and produce a greater fragrance. Plants are vigorous, but not as hardy as most abundance of flowers. They tend to grow lower and “old-fashioned” shrub or hybrid perpetual roses. bushier than hybrid teas, which makes them suitable Following are some of the hybrid tea roses that for mass plantings. Following are some rated highest have received high ratings by the American Rose Soci- by the American Rose Society: ety. Space does not permit a complete list. Red — Europeana, Red Pinocchio, Sunfire $. 75 G 6600 Printed on recycled paper Pink — Cherish, Gene Boerner are such popular varieties as America, Blaze, Don Juan, Pink blend — Sea Pearl New Dawn and Golden Showers. Yellow — Sun Flare, Sun Sprite Climbing hybrid teas — Originated as seedlings Yellow blend — Little Darling or chance sports of hybrid tea varieties. They gener- Yellow orange — Chrisma ally don’t flower as heavily as the bush forms and White — French Lace, Ivory Fashion, Iceberg have about the same susceptibility to winter damage Mauve — Intrigue as the hybrid teas. Therefore, most need some winter Grandiflora — Resulted in crosses between flori- protection. Flowers are identical to the hybrid teas of bundas and hybrid teas. This group combines the free- the same variety. Examples of this type are Climbing flowering characteristics of the floribundas with the Crimson Glory, Climbing Picture and Climbing Peace. size and quality of the bloom of the hybrid tea. Climbing floribundas — These also originated as Plants are generally fairly tall growing and vigor- sports of the original bush varieties. They are slightly ous. Some of the highest rated varieties include: hardier than the hybrid teas but normally benefit from Red — Ole, John S. Armstrong, El Capitan winter protection. Representative varieties include Red white — Love Climbing Goldilocks, Climbing Pinocchio and Climb- Pink — Queen Elizabeth, Camelot ing Summer Snow. Yellow — Gold Medal Pillar — Roses of this type are intermediate White — White Lightnin’ between bush types and climbers. Canes are long but Polyantha — Flowers are smaller than the flori- not quite as vigorous as climbers, and the wood tends bunda but borne in larger clusters. Plants are hardy, to be too stiff to bend along a fence or trellis. Therefore, bushy and relatively disease resistant. They are excel- they are normally trained against a post for support. lent for mass plantings and borders. Varieties are more Examples of this type are High Noon and Pillar of Fire. limited and flowers are not as suitable for cutting as They are often listed with climbing roses. the previous types. Outstanding varieties available Creeping — This group can also be categorized include China Doll, The Fairy and Mrs. R.M. Finch. with the climbers. These roses have very pliable stems Miniature — Dainty little rose plants are replicas that make them suitable for use as groundcovers of their larger relatives. Flowers are small and plants because the stems normally lie close to the ground. range from 6 to 12 inches in height. Leaves and even They may be trained upward, however. Most suitable thorns are perfect miniatures. Plants are bushy and for a groundcover is the very hardy Rosa wichuraiana, most are quite hardy. They are useful for low edging or memorial rose, which has been used in the breeding and in rock gardens. Many varieties are available from of many newer climbers and ramblers. Other creeping specialists in many colors and blends. types include Max Graf, Little Compton Creeper, Coral Tree — Hybrid tea or floribunda varieties are Creeper, Carpet of Gold and White Banksia. grafted on top of a long stem or “standard.” Tree roses generally need support and are susceptible to winter “Old,” shrub and species roses injury. They make interesting accent plants. To avoid Shrub — The term “shrub rose” is often given to winter injury, wrap the top with burlap and protect a miscellaneous group of species, hybrids and variet- stems with burlap and evergreen boughs. ies. They have also been listed as “old-fashioned” roses Climbing — This category includes all varieties of although new varieties have been developed. They are roses that produce long, vigorous cane growth that can a hardy group of roses with a wide range of flower be trained on fences, trellises or posts. Climbing roses forms and colors. don’t climb in the sense of many other plants. They don’t There are many uses for these types in the land- twine or have tendrils that make them self-supporting. scape both in the shrub border, as screens, accent Several different categories of climbing roses are avail- plants or even in foundation plantings. They compete able with slight differences in hardiness and culture. better with other shrubs than hybrid teas. Most are Ramblers — An “old-fashioned” type of climber. heavy feeders and tolerate a wide range of soil con- Plants are vigorous and fast-growing. Small flowers in ditions. Most of them have greater disease resistance large, dense clusters are produced only in spring. Foli- than hybrid teas. They normally bloom once a season age is glossy and plants are hardy, but most varieties — in June. A few newer varieties are repeat bloomers are susceptible to a foliage disease called mildew. They and produce a crop of flowers in fall. are generally being replaced by newer climbing types. Hybrid perpetual — These are the roses that form Everblooming climbers — Vigorous growers that the link between the roses of the early 1800s and the are relatively winter hardy. They do not produce the roses of today. These are the roses that were crossed constant bloom of hybrid tea roses but have larger with the tea rose of China to form the hybrid tea. They flowers in smaller clusters than the ramblers. The most are vigorous, hardy roses with good disease resistance. abundant flower production is in the late spring with Most are repeat bloomers, although their largest crop scattered bloom during the summer and fall. Included of flowers is produced in spring. Page G 6600 Rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa) — This rose and its and the continuous bloom throughout the summer. The hybrids are easy to grow and have extreme vigor and majority of modern shrub roses are on their own root- hardiness. Their hardiness makes them ideal for windy stock; if they die back to the crown in the winter, they and exposed sites. Many varieties grow up to 6 feet tall, will recover vigorously each spring from the roots. but they can be kept shorter with pruning. Rugosas Parkland — Canadian rose breeders developed bloom throughout the season and in the fall develop the Parkland series of roses for their ability to do well good orange foliage color and bright red hips. The foli- under extreme winter cold and drought conditions. age has a rough surface and dark green color. Flowers The most popular of the Parkland series are the Morden are both single and double, and come in many colors. shrub roses, including ‘Morden Blush’, ‘Morden Cen- Rugosas are excellent for screens or hedges where large tennial’ and ‘Morden Fireglow’.