Image Credits: Photography by Tinashe Mamombe

Do you know that there are several types of roses that you might have come across but never knew they were roses .Here are some of the types of roses you may need to know .

Modern Garden Roses
Modern Roses are those varieties bred after 1867. Most people imagine these types when they think of roses. Classification of Mod types of floern Roses can be complicated because many have Old Garden Roses in their ancestry, but they are largely classified by growth and flowering characteristics. Unlike Old Garden Roses which bloom once a year, Modern Roses bloom continuously. They also have a larger bloom size and longer vase life, but lack fragrance, and are less hardy and disease resistant.

Climbing Roses
Although climbing roses do not actually climb like vines do, they have stiff, upright canes that can be manually trained along a support. Some canes can reach upwards of fifteen feet. Climbing roses produce more flowers when grown horizontally rather than vertically. They are commonly attached to walls, fences, and trestles. They tend to have large flowers and are almost always repeat bloomers.

English / David Austin Roses
Although not officially recognized as a separate class, David Austin sometimes called English roses are highly popular among consumers and retailers. David Austin started breeding roses over 50 years ago with the goal of creating a new group of roses that featured the best characteristics of both Old and Modern Roses. The hundreds of varieties of David Austin roses have the rosette form and heady fragrance of Old Roses with the repeat flowering capability and wider colour range of Modern Roses. Despite their popularity, they are susceptible to disease and not as hardy as other varieties.

Floribunda Roses
Floribunda roses are a cross between a Hybrid Tea and Polyantha roses. Each stem produces a cluster of large blossoms in the classic Hybrid Tea shape. Floribundas can be found in a variety of colours including orange, yellow, pink, purple, and white. They are generally disease resistant and tend to be hardy and easy to care for. These roses are known for their stocky, rigid shrubbery, and often used in landscaping in public parks and spaces.

Grandiflora Roses
Grandiflora roses are a class that was created in the last century to classify crosses between Hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses that fit neither category. They are a combination of the graceful blooms of the Hybrid Teas and the repetitive growth cycle of Floribundas. Grandiflora roses have large, showy flowers that are produced on long stems, either singly or in clusters of three to five blooms. Their shrubs are generally larger and more upright than Hybrid Teas. Although hardy and vigorous, they tend to be less popular than Hybrid Teas or Floribunda roses.

Groundcover Roses
Also known as “landscape” roses, this type of rose was developed to fulfil the desire for a garden rose that offers colour, form, and fragrance, but is also easy to care for. They tend to reach max height at three feet, though some only grow as tall as one foot, and are usually wider than they are tall. Typically groundcover roses are disease and pest resistant, repeat flowering, low growing, and low-maintenance.

Hybrid Tea Roses
Hybrid Tea roses have been the favourite of the Modern Roses, and come in a very diverse range of colours. They are known for their long, upright stems, which make them an extremely popular cut flower. Hybrid tea roses have large, well-formed, pointed blooms, which can be up to five inches in diameter. They are the least hardy of modern roses and have a reputation for being high-maintenance.

Miniature Roses
Miniature roses are miniature versions of Hybrid Tea roses. They have petite stems, leaves and flowers, and are hardy and versatile plants. Miniatures come in a wide range of colours including pink, orange, white, and yellow. Most miniature roses bloom continuously for two to three weeks at a time. They are often marketed and sold as houseplants, as they grow well in containers and are only six to eighteen inches tall. They also work well in narrow borders and small garden areas.

Polyantha Roses
Polyantha roses are known for their prolific bloom from spring to fall a healthy plant could potentially be covered in flowers. They typically have large clusters of small flowers, and come in shades of white, pink and red. Polyantha roses remain popular due to their reputation as low-maintenance, disease resistant, and hardy plants. They are ideal candidates for containers or small gardens.

Rambling Roses
Rambling roses, or ramblers, are vigorous growers with numerous clusters of small to medium-sized blossoms, and long, flexible canes. They are often once blooming, but may be repeat or continuous. If they lack a support system, ramblers will grow along the ground and cover anything in their way, such as buildings, cars, plants, and trees. But if well trained, ramblers may be used to decorate structures such as arches and pergolas.

Shrub Roses
Shrub roses include a wide variety of roses that do not fit into any other category. Many are a cross between Old Garden Roses and Modern Roses, and combine traits from each. Generally, they are hardy, easy-care plants. Bloom style may be single, cabbage-like or anything in between, and fragrance level varies. Most shrub roses are repeat bloomers, and their growth is generally graceful and spreads easily.

Old Garden Roses
Old Garden Roses, sometimes called heritage or historic roses, are a traditional class of roses bred before the arrival of the hybrid tea rose in 1867. These roses are known for their strong fragrance, high petal count, bloom shape, disease resistance, and ability to withstand the cold. They generally bloom once a year during the summer months.

Alba Roses
Alba roses are hybrids that are some of the oldest garden roses, dating back to before 100 A.D. They have tall, elegant bushes with lovely blue-green foliage and white or pale pink blossoms. Alba roses bloom once in late spring or early summer and are among the hardiest of roses—they are disease-resistant, low-maintenance, and can tolerate shade and cold conditions.

Bourbon Roses
Most likely a cross between Damask and China roses, Bourbon roses were first introduced in France on the Île Bourbon in 1817. They have lovely full blooms in various shades of pink, white and red, and often have an intense and heady fragrance. Bourbon roses typically have very few thorns or none at all. They can be trained to climb, and are repeat-bloomers.