Rose Gardening

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There are several types of roses – hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, shrub roses, climbing roses, miniature roses, antique roses, ground cover roses, patio roses, and rambler roses. 

I must say here that the hybrid teas are my favorite.  I consider them the best roses among all types of roses.

I say that because I enjoy cutting roses for inside my house.  They also provide a beautiful rose gardening experience for your backyard.  Hybrid teas tend to be tall bushes that produce large blooms.  Even though I cut roses for inside use, there are still plenty left for a beautiful rose garden.

I also enjoy climbing roses.  I will cover that type of rose in a future post.  They require different care from hybrid teas.

I have also grown grandifloras and floribundas.  Although these types of roses can be beautiful, they are not ideal for cut flowers.

Listed below are what I consider to be the best roses.

1.    Mister Lincoln – This is my all-time favorite rose.   It has long lasting blooms.  It has a beautiful deep red, velvety bloom.  It’s great for cut flowers and is very fragrant.  It is considered a tall rose with long, strong stems and medium green foliage.  Its bloom size is between 4 to 6 inches.  Mr. Lincoln is considered by many to be the best red rose.  All-American winner.

2.    Chrysler Imperial – This is another very nice red, velvety rose.  The rose is very fragrant and is excellent for cut flowers. It grows to 3-6 feet tall and is 3 feet wide.  It does have a few drawbacks.  It should not be grown in cooler climates.  Plant it in zones 6-9.  Because mildew and blackspot are potential problems, make sure that each bush has good circulation and gets early morning sun.  All-American winner.

3.    Peace – This is the best selling hybrid tea rose of all time.  It has very large yellow blooms with pink edges.  It is fairly resistant to blackspot and mildew.  It does well in zones 5-8 and grows to about 4 feet tall.  All-American winner.

4.    Honor – This is my favorite white hybrid tea rose.  It has only a slight fragrance.  It does well as a cut flower.  It is fairly disease resistant.  Foliage is a dark green.  It does well in zones 5-9 and reaches a height of 4-5.5 feet.  All-American winner.

5.    First Prize – This is my favorite pink hybrid tea rose.  It has medium fragrance.  As you can see by the picture, it has a beautiful early bloom that develops into a large bloom.  It generally grows to 5 feet tall but can be much larger.  It has dark green foliage and does well in zones 5-9.  It can be susceptible to mildew and blackspot.  All-American winner in 1970.

6.     Tiffany – This is a nice pink rose.  It does best in warmer climates.  The rose has a nice fragrance.  It can be subject to disease.  It is an excellent cut flower because of the duration of its bloom.  All-American winner.

7.    Medallion – I have always liked this rose.  It produces very large, creamy apricot blooms.  Its foliage is dark green.  This hybrid tea is fairly disease resistant.  All-American winner.

8.    Brandy – This rose has a very rich apricot bloom.  It has only a mild fragrance.  It

does best in cooler weather and can be subject to blackspot.  It grows to 5 feet tall or more.  It is grown in zones 5-9.  All-American winner in 1982.  This hybrid tea rose requires good air circulation and does best with early morning sun.

I have grown many types of roses over the years.  Many have not performed well.

Listed above are those that I consider the best roses.   The list is not long.  After I found roses that I liked and did well, I stuck with them.  I can vouch for every one of them.

I will let you know of other roses that should be added to the list. If you come across some that you recommend, please let me know and I will gladly check them out.

There are several types of roses – hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, shrub roses, climbing roses, miniature roses, antique roses, ground cover roses, patio roses, and rambler roses. 

I must say here that the hybrid teas are my favorite.

I say that because I enjoy cutting roses for inside my house.  They also provide a beautiful rose gardening experience for your backyard.  Hybrid teas tend to be tall bushes that produce large blooms.  Even though I cut roses for inside use, there are still plenty left for a beautiful rose garden.

I also enjoy climbing roses.  I will cover that type of rose in a future post.  They require different care from hybrid teas.

I have also grown grandifloras and floribundas.  Although these types of roses can be beautiful, they are not ideal for cut flowers.

Listed below are my favorite hybrid teas.

1.    Mister Lincoln – This is my all-time favorite rose.   It has long lasting blooms.  It has a beautiful deep red, velvety bloom.  It’s great for cut flowers and is very fragrant.  It is considered a tall rose with long, strong stems and medium green foliage.  Its bloom size is between 4 to 6 inches.  Mr. Lincoln is considered by many to be the best red rose.  All-American winner.

Mr. Lincoln

2.    Chrysler Imperial – This is another very nice red, velvety rose.  The rose is very fragrant and is excellent for cut flowers. It grows to 3-6 feet tall and is 3 feet wide.  It does have a few drawbacks.  It should not be grown in cooler climates.  Plant it in zones 6-9.  Because mildew and blackspot are potential problems, make sure that each bush has good circulation and gets early morning sun.  All-American winner.

Chrysler Imperial

3.    Peace – This is the best selling hybrid tea rose of all time.  It has very large yellow blooms with pink edges.  It is fairly resistant to blackspot and mildew.  It does well in zones 5-8 and grows to about 4 feet tall.  All-American winner.

Peace

4.    Honor – This is my favorite white hybrid tea rose.  It has only a slight fragrance.  It does well as a cut flower.  It is fairly disease resistant.  Foliage is a dark green.  It does well in zones 5-9 and reaches a height of 4-5.5 feet.  All-American winner.

Honor

5.    First Prize – This is my favorite pink hybrid tea rose.  It has medium fragrance.  As you can see by the picture, it has a beautiful early bloom that develops into a large bloom.  It generally grows to 5 feet tall but can be much larger.  It has dark green foliage and does well in zones 5-9.  It can be susceptible to mildew and blackspot.  All-American winner in 1970.

First Prize

6.     Tiffany – This is a nice pink rose.  It does best in warmer climates.  The rose has a nice fragrance.  It can be subject to disease.  It is an excellent cut flower because of the duration of its bloom.  All-American winner.

Tiffany

7.    Medallion – I have always liked this rose.  It produces very large, creamy apricot blooms.  Its foliage is dark green.  This hybrid tea is fairly disease resistant.  All-American winner.

Medallion

8.    Brandy – This rose has a very rich apricot bloom.  It has only a mild fragrance.  It

does best in cooler weather and can be subject to blackspot.  It grows to 5 feet tall or more.  It is grown in zones 5-9.  All-American winner in 1982.  This hybrid tea rose requires good air circulation and does best with early morning sun.

Brandy

I have grown many types of roses over the years.  Many have not performed well.

Listed above are my favorite hybrid teas.   The list is not long.  After I found roses that I liked and did well, I stuck with them.  I can vouch for every one of them.

I will let you know of other roses that should be added to the list. If you come across some that you recommend, please let me know and I will gladly check them out.

Rose gardening can be a great experience.  It takes a little extra work to grow roses, but in the end, it is certainly worth the effort.

In a later post, I will give you some suggestions on the best roses by color to plant.  But it’s better to consider other factors before selecting specific rose varieties.

Here are a few things to determine before choosing a specific rose:

1.    What hardiness zone do you live in?  You can get this information online.  Or you can check with your local nursery or garden center.  This information will give you guidance on when to plant and what specific rose varieties do best in your area.

2.    If you live in a very cold climate, select only those roses that will do well in that particular area.  Some roses do not perform well in locations that have extremely cold winters.

3.    The hardiness zone of your location will determine when to plant your roses.  If the temperatures of your winters do not generally fall below zero degrees F (and definitely not below –10 degrees, then you can probably plant in the fall or spring.  On the other hand, if you experience many days of temperatures during the winter below –10 degrees, you should definitely not plant until the spring after the ground has thawed.  Check with your local garden center if you have questions.

4.    Select only disease-resistant roses.  This does not guarantee that your roses will not be infected by some type of disease.  But in general, it should reduce the amount of time you spend on maintenance chores.

5.    In rose gardening, make sure you select a location in your yard that gets at least 5-6 hours of sunshine.  Always remember that morning sun is much more preferable than afternoon sun.   In this way, the dew evaporates from the rose much earlier in the day.

6.    If you want to use your roses for cut flowers, make sure you choose the right type of rose.  The hybrid tea rose is perfect for a cut flower bouquet.

7.    If you plan on mixing your roses with other plants in your garden, make sure that you consider the types of plants or flowers you intend to plant.  These plants should be compatible and not be damaging to your roses.

8.    You should consider planting roses with perennial flowers in stand-alone garden beds.

9.    Don’t plant your rose bed close to trees or large shrubs.  Roses need plenty of water.  The roots of trees and shrubs will compete for water with the roots of rose bushes.  This will interfere with the performance of your rose gardening.

10.    In rose gardening, consider the growth habits of the roses you are planting.  It’s best to plant climbing roses in front of fences or walls.  You may want to set up a trellis for this type of rose.

11.    Consider the color combination of the roses you plant.  You want the colors of the roses to complement each other.

12.    Consider the height and width of the mature rose bush.  Some roses grow fairly tall.  So consider that factor in determining where you plant tall roses in your garden.  Smaller garden areas may not handle a large rose bush.

13.    You can use miniature roses as edging plants in front of taller roses or flowers.

14.    Make sure that you are not allergic to the fragrance of roses.  If you are, consider those that have little fragrance.