Rose Classes A Guide to Different Types of Roses
Buying a rose can be confusing: they come in so many different shapes and sizes! There are several different types, or classes, of roses. These classes can be broadly divided into two categories: modern and antique. Knowing which a rose's class can help you choose one that is appropriate for your location and climate.Modern classes of rosesModern roses are roses whose class was created after 1867. Modern roses include Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras, Floribundas, Polyanthas, Modern Shrubs, and Large-Flowered Climbers. These types come in variety of bright colors and are usually found in multi-petaled forms.Hybrid Teas are the most popular type of roses and are the ones that most people think of when they imagine a rose. Prone to diseases, these roses usually consist of large multi-petaled blooms opening from pointed buds atop thick, thorny, and often bare stems. These bushes are usually 3 to 6 feet tall, and the long stems make them ideal for use as florist's roses. Chrysler Imperial and Peace are both Hybrid Teas. The class Grandiflora is only used in the U.S.: it refers to tall Hybrid Teas (over 5 feet) like Queen Elizabeth. Floribundas are small (2 to 5 foot) shrubby roses used for hedges. Floribundas include roses like Iceberg and Nearly Wild (a single-petaled variety.) These roses are less valuable as cut flowers than Hybrid Teas, but more appropriate for landscaping. Polyanthas are the parents of Floribundas. Most popular in the early part of the twentieth century, these are smaller (1 to 4 foot) shrubs with small, full blooms. Usually found in pastel colors, this class of roses includes the Fairy and Dick Koster.
Modern Shrub roses is a catch-all class that includes English shrub roses, Kordes, and Buck roses. Coming in a variety of colors and forms, these roses work well as landscape shrubs. Knockout and Austin roses are examples of Modern Shrub roses. Large-flowered Climbers are climbing roses that have blooms similar to Hybrid Teas. American Beauty, New Dawn, and Don Juan are all Large-flowered Climbers. Antique or Old-Garden rosesUnlike Modern roses' bright colors, older classes of roses tend to be in found in less variety of colors. The most common classes of antique roses are Chinas, Teas, Noisettes, Bourbons, Albas, Hybrid Perpetuals, Damasks, and Ramblers. Chinas, Teas, and Noisettes do best in warmer climates. Chinas are usually small (3 to 5 foot), twiggy shrubs with a plethora of small blooms. They tend to bloom almost constantly, have very little fragrance, and some blooms change color as the age. Old Blush, Martha Gonzales, and Mutabilis are examples of Chinas (Mutabilis is one of the few Chinas that gets big-over 12 feet!) Teas are the parents of modern Hybrid Teas. The blooms are similar, but the stems are very thin, they are less cold-hardy, and the bushes are less susceptible to diseases. Tea bushes exhibit a beautiful vase-shape and are taller than Chinas (5 to 7 feet.) Safrano, Mrs. Dudley Cross, and Duchess de Brabant (Teddy Roosevelt's favorite) are all examples of Tea roses. Noisettes, despite their French name, were first grown in America, and are the first and most famous American class of rose. Noisettes are tall, have few thorns, and have flexible canes that can be trained as climbers. Madame Alfred Carriere and Champney's Pink Cluster are examples of Noisettes. Bourbons and Hybrid Perpetuals are antiques that are suitable for either warm or cool climates. Bourbons are tall (5 to 8 foot) dense shrubs with full blooms usually pink or red or striped. Bourbons are famous for their fragrance! Great Western, Souvenir de la Malmaison (sometimes said to be one of the most fragrant roses ever), and Zephrine Drouhin (usually trained as a climber) are good examples of Bourbon roses. Hybrid Perpetuals are very similar to Grandifloras. The shrubs are tall (4 to 7 foot) and upright with thick canes (appropriate for cutting.) The blooms on Hybrid Perpetuals are huge (some up to 7 inches across!), old-fashioned cabbage-type blossoms. Hybrid Perpetuals were crossed with Teas to create Hybrid Teas, which exhibit Tea-type blossoms on a Hybrid Perpetual-type shrub. General Jaqueminot and Paul Neyron (maybe the largest rose bloom ever) are examples of Hybrid Perpetuals. Albas, Damasks, and Old European classes do best where it's cooler, so I do not have much experience with them. These roses usually bloom only once or twice a year. Albas are tall (4 to 6 foot) shrubs with light color blooms. Celestial is an examples of Albas. Damasks are incredibly fragrant. In fact, they are the roses that rose oil is distilled from. They are farmed in Eastern Europe for this purpose. Autumn Damask and York & Lancaster are Damask roses. Rambler is a catch-all class for large old-fashioned climbing roses and can sometimes include Species climbers. Mermaid is a species rambler, and it's thorny canes can reach 25 feet! Lady Bank's canes can be 30 or more feet long, and the largest rose in the world is a Lady Banks rose. Most Ramblers are between 12 and 20 feet tall. Ghislane de Feligonde and American Pillar are two of my favorite Ramblers. There are many other types of roses, for example: Rugosas, Hybrid Musks, Mosses, and Species roses. Hopefully one of these types of roses will be suitable for any garden.
Modern Shrub roses is a catch-all class that includes English shrub roses, Kordes, and Buck roses. Coming in a variety of colors and forms, these roses work well as landscape shrubs. Knockout and Austin roses are examples of Modern Shrub roses. Large-flowered Climbers are climbing roses that have blooms similar to Hybrid Teas. American Beauty, New Dawn, and Don Juan are all Large-flowered Climbers. Antique or Old-Garden rosesUnlike Modern roses' bright colors, older classes of roses tend to be in found in less variety of colors. The most common classes of antique roses are Chinas, Teas, Noisettes, Bourbons, Albas, Hybrid Perpetuals, Damasks, and Ramblers. Chinas, Teas, and Noisettes do best in warmer climates. Chinas are usually small (3 to 5 foot), twiggy shrubs with a plethora of small blooms. They tend to bloom almost constantly, have very little fragrance, and some blooms change color as the age. Old Blush, Martha Gonzales, and Mutabilis are examples of Chinas (Mutabilis is one of the few Chinas that gets big-over 12 feet!) Teas are the parents of modern Hybrid Teas. The blooms are similar, but the stems are very thin, they are less cold-hardy, and the bushes are less susceptible to diseases. Tea bushes exhibit a beautiful vase-shape and are taller than Chinas (5 to 7 feet.) Safrano, Mrs. Dudley Cross, and Duchess de Brabant (Teddy Roosevelt's favorite) are all examples of Tea roses. Noisettes, despite their French name, were first grown in America, and are the first and most famous American class of rose. Noisettes are tall, have few thorns, and have flexible canes that can be trained as climbers. Madame Alfred Carriere and Champney's Pink Cluster are examples of Noisettes. Bourbons and Hybrid Perpetuals are antiques that are suitable for either warm or cool climates. Bourbons are tall (5 to 8 foot) dense shrubs with full blooms usually pink or red or striped. Bourbons are famous for their fragrance! Great Western, Souvenir de la Malmaison (sometimes said to be one of the most fragrant roses ever), and Zephrine Drouhin (usually trained as a climber) are good examples of Bourbon roses. Hybrid Perpetuals are very similar to Grandifloras. The shrubs are tall (4 to 7 foot) and upright with thick canes (appropriate for cutting.) The blooms on Hybrid Perpetuals are huge (some up to 7 inches across!), old-fashioned cabbage-type blossoms. Hybrid Perpetuals were crossed with Teas to create Hybrid Teas, which exhibit Tea-type blossoms on a Hybrid Perpetual-type shrub. General Jaqueminot and Paul Neyron (maybe the largest rose bloom ever) are examples of Hybrid Perpetuals. Albas, Damasks, and Old European classes do best where it's cooler, so I do not have much experience with them. These roses usually bloom only once or twice a year. Albas are tall (4 to 6 foot) shrubs with light color blooms. Celestial is an examples of Albas. Damasks are incredibly fragrant. In fact, they are the roses that rose oil is distilled from. They are farmed in Eastern Europe for this purpose. Autumn Damask and York & Lancaster are Damask roses. Rambler is a catch-all class for large old-fashioned climbing roses and can sometimes include Species climbers. Mermaid is a species rambler, and it's thorny canes can reach 25 feet! Lady Bank's canes can be 30 or more feet long, and the largest rose in the world is a Lady Banks rose. Most Ramblers are between 12 and 20 feet tall. Ghislane de Feligonde and American Pillar are two of my favorite Ramblers. There are many other types of roses, for example: Rugosas, Hybrid Musks, Mosses, and Species roses. Hopefully one of these types of roses will be suitable for any garden.
By Vicky Harper
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