A rose, is a rose, is a rose? A guide to rose varieties...

Telling one rose from the next is not always easy. There are many confusing (and sometimes very similar)names and categories of these classic beauties. Growers, exhibitors, and breeders have tried to make it an easier process by establishing “classes”—convenient categories within which to organize roses. Trouble is, the roses don’t always cooperate and there are cultivars that tread the boundaries of these artificial divisions, refusing to be pigeonholed. Nonetheless, the classes are a useful way of looking at these plants and we use them at the garden to group our cultivars.

Here then, are the classes, and some other terms you may hear from time to time:

Alba: An ancient group of shrub roses with white or pale pink flowers on arching canes to six feet or more long. It is thought that these originated from the hybridizing of the dog rose Rosa canina with Damask roses. These plants can be intensely fragrant, are bone-hardy, and do well even on challenging sites

Antique Rose: Not a class but a familiar term used to differentiate old garden roses from more modern cultivars. Like the classes themselves, there is sometimes debate over what makes a rose an “antique”. Some rose lovers say 1900, others 1945 but the most often heard date is 1867, the year the first hybrid tea, ‘La France’, was introduced.

Bourbon: With lush flowers that are often cup-shaped, this class of shrub roses originated on what is now Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. It is believed that Bourbons resulted from the breeding of the China rose ‘Old Blush’ and Autumn Damask. Members of this class will rebloom. Bourbons can be trained as climbers.

Boursalt: Climbers with long arching stems, Boursalts bloom in early summer with semi-double to double flowers that are slightly fragrant. These are nice against a sheltered fence or wall.

Centifolia: Europeans refer to these as Cabbage Roses for their shape. It is thought they resulted from a chance wild hybrid between Autumn Damask and Alba.. The word centifolia refers to the petals and literally means one-hundred leaves. Large, sprawling shrubs, these plants have thorny canes and fragrant flowers.

China: Discovered by Europeans in 1800 but grown in China for hundreds of years before that, China roses were important because they rebloomed throughout the summer (which the European roses of the day did not).

Climbing Rose: Climbing forms from bush roses. Prickly, arching but stiff stems, dense foliage, these roses have scented flowers in a variety of forms. Some bloom in spring or early summer, others rebloom.

Cluster-flowered Rose: The European name for floribundas.

Damask Rose: Another ancient shrub rose, thought to be introduced to Europe from the Middle East by the Crusaders. Glaucous, downy leaves set off flowers on short stems. Damasks are fantastically fragrant.

David Austin: Originator of the English Rose Class, Mr. Austin is a modern day rose breeder.

Eglanteria: Vigorous free-branching shrubs, sweetly scented leaves and single to double flowers that are often scented and bloom singly or in clusters of up to seven blooms.

English Rose: The newest rose class, this group attempts to marry the repeat blooming of modern roses with the form and scent of old garden roses.

Floribunda: (see cluster-flowered rose above). A modern class of “everblooming” roses with flowers presented in clusters of 3-25. These roses were bred from the Polyantha class and are similar but have larger flowers. Plants are free-branching with an upright or bushy habit.

Gallica: The oldest garden roses, these plants go back to ancient Greece and Rome. Hardy and relatively compact (usually about 4 feet), they are dense and free-branching and bloom once a year. Needing little in the way of care, they tolerate poor soil, are cold hardy and relatively disease-resistant.

Grandiflora: Another modern rose class, these are similar to Hybrid Teas with clusters of high-centered flowers on a tall shrub.

Groundcover: Spreading or trailing shrub roses. Some are summer only bloomers, others rebloom. Many have flowers all along their stems.

Hybrid Musk: A modern class with an old-fashioned look. These date to late 19th and early 20th century England. The plants have long (4-6 feet) arching canes and can be used as shrubs or climbers. The flowers are fragrant and the plants will rebloom.

Hybrid Perpetual: Old Victorian/Edwardian cultivars that were bred from hybrids between Chinas and Bourbons (later Noisettes and Portlands were included in the breeding). The class was named for the reblooming habit—which at the time was not common.

Hybrid Sempervirens: Vigorous semi-evergreen climbing or rambling roses with arching stems holding clusters of unscented flowers. These are good on fences, pergolas or informal plantings.

Hybrid Spinosissima: Low spreading, suckering, spiny shrub roses that are selections or hybrids of Rosa spinosissima. Single to double flowers are borne singly or in clusters and may be scented.

Hybrid Tea: The first modern class of roses, hybrid teas have become the most dominant group of roses because its revolutionary breeding which combined the large, high-centered bloom of the Tea rose with the long straight stems of the Hybrid Perpetuals.

Large-flowered Climber: Climbing roses that were always climbers, as opposed to climbers that have come from shrub rose varieties.

Large-flowered Rose: European name for Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras.

Miniature Rose: Little roses originally from small statured China roses.

Modern Roses: Classes of roses that originated after 1867 (but see, Antique Roses).

Moss Roses: Named for the strange mossy, fragrant protrubences on the buds, these plants have highly scented flowers. They are thorny and bloom heavily in early summer, some reblooming sparingly later in the year. The first Moss roses came from Centifolias.

Noisette: An old class from the southern US, these are primarily climbers with long slim canes, and good heat tolerance. Flowers have a spicy fragrance. They come from the marriage of the China ‘Old Blush’ and the species Rosa moschata.

Old Garden Rose: These hardy plants are from classes that originated before 1867 and the introduction of the first Hybrid Tea. These roses vary greatly in the size and shape of the plants and their flowers. They are usually very fragrant. They bloom only once but in a fairly long season in late spring and early summer.

Patio Rose: In the US a miniature tree rose; in Europe a class between miniatures and floribundas in size.

Polyantha: These roses showcase their small flowers in sprays that are well above their leaves. They come from breeding climbing varieties of Rosa multiflora and the China ‘Old Blush’, a repeat bloomer.

Portland: An old class of repeat bloomers (at the time a rare trait in Europe) originating in Italy. Flowers with great fragrance sit right above the foliage on straight stems. These roses are among the best for small gardens because they are relatively small (3-4 feet).

Rambler: Vigorous climbers with clusters of small flowers on long, arching, slender canes. These were bred from multifloras

Rugosa: Descendants of the hardy Rosa rugosa from Japan. These are named for their deeply veined and wrinkled leaves. Disease resistant, Rugosas have a long season of interest because of their summer/fall blooms, beautiful fruits, and changing leaf color in the fall.

Shrub Rose: Not an official class, these very diverse roses bloom close to the foliage and are useful for unattended use in the landscape. Officially, these are roses that don’t fit into any other rose class.

Species Rose: A wild rose that reproduces true from seed.

Tea Rose: Ancient Chinese roses that originated from the breeding of Rosa gigantea and Rosa chinensis. Teas have high centered buds, fragrant flowers, and nodding stems (see Hybrid Tea for the difference).

Quiz in the morning...

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Copyright  2006- 2007 by Carlo A. Balistrieri.
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