How to Choose the Right Types of Roses for a Gorgeous Garden

Roses are one of the most traditional (and beautiful) additions to your garden—especially if you want to have something that reblooms year after year, to provide you a decade's worth of pretty cuttings for floral arrangements. But choosing the right types of roses for your garden can take some research, with so many amazing options to choose from. Consider these questions as you're deciding which types of roses to include in your garden—and where to place them.

Think About How You Want Your Roses to Grow

Roses can grow a number of different ways in your garden, from petite plants like miniature roses to fill in a small spot in your garden, to grand rose plants that can climb trellises to frame a walkway. Consider the space you have—and make sure you give your rose plenty of space to reach its full growth. (You can fill in gaps with annuals while you wait for it to grow.)

Rambling or Climbing Roses

If you want to train roses over a trellis or up a wall, opt for the climbing or rambling rose, which can often grow many feet long. Note that most roses don't cling to structures like other vines and climbing plants, so you'll need to help hold it in place.

Tree Roses

Rose trees are just what you think—roses growing on a long trunked plant. They're actually created by grafting a standard rose onto a tall trunk—and they're great for gardeners who want to add height to their rose garden.

Shrub Roses

The most common growth pattern for roses, these can be smaller-scale shrubs or bigger rose bushes, depending on the variety.

Miniature Roses

These petite plants are perfect for a smaller-scale garden, or to add a little brightness to a small landscaping gap.

Choose Rose Types That Work For Your Location

Like all other garden plants, your roses will thrive best in a location that has the right conditions for them. Before you invest in a rosebush, assess the following:

Sun Exposure

Most roses thrive on full sun, which means at least six hours of sunlight per day, says Bethany Lakatos, plant expert at Fast Growing Trees. She recommends Don Juan, Dancing in the Dark, and Iceberg as varietals that do well in part shade, with just four hours of full sun a day.

The amount of sun and shade you get may be a factor you consider when you choose rose colors, too. "Red roses tend to have improved color in part shade, and light-colored roses show up well in shady spots," Lakatos says.

Heat and Humidity

While too much afternoon sun can harm a rosebush, heat and humidity can create another problem—especially if you choose a more fragile type of rose. "In hot, humid locations, fungal diseases will be more common, so picking disease-resistant roses and choosing a site that gets good air circulation will help reduce disease," Lakatos says.

Decide on a Type of Rose

Even after you've picked a growth type, there are still plenty of different types to consider. Many gardeners divide roses into these types, according to Lakatos:

English roses

Also known as David Austin roses, these combine the romantic style of cottage gardens with the improved disease- resistance of modern roses. The Queen Elizabeth rose is an example.

Old roses or heirloom roses

Old or heirloom roses usually bloom only once in the spring, but all the more reason to treasure that special bloom show.

Native or wild roses

Wild roses can be found in specialized or local nurseries, depending on your region of the country. Rosa foliolosa is native to the Western part of the U.S., while Rosa nitida and Rosa palustirs, aka the swamp rose, are native to the East. Non-native wild roses like the Rugosa rose and the multi-flora rose are invasive and should be used with caution because of their ability to grow densely, crowd out native flora, and introduce diseases like rose rosette, a serious, incurable rose disease.

Hybrid tea roses

Hybrid tea roses are large-bloomed, long-stemmed roses that are great for cutting gardens and floral arrangements—varietals include Pinkerbelle and Euphoria. These types of roses can have varying resistance to diseases, so if you live in an area with high humidity, be sure to spray preventatively in early spring with a copper- or sulfur-based product. These roses will usually bloom in cycles throughout the growing season.

Floribunda

Floribunda roses are smaller shrubs, usually between 3 to 5 feet. They tend to be healthier than hybrid teas with clustered blooms that bloom almost continuously. Some options to consider include Cherish or Julia Child roses.

Grandifolia

Grandifolia roses are a cross between hybrid tea and floribunda. The flowers bloom in clusters on top of tall stems, with a flower size that's larger than floribunda. (Try Twilight roses as a grandifolia rose option.

Polyantha

Polyantha blooms are usually smaller, making them great for hedges and borders. And they're healthy rosebushes overall. Great for hedges and borders. Pretty Polly has small, delicate blooms like fairy roses.

Make Sure You're Up to Your Rose's Care Needs

If you're a beginner rose gardener, you might want to choose an easy-care type of rose, such as floribunda or polyantha roses, which tend to be more disease-resistant. Read the care instructions on the rose variety you're interested in to make sure you're up to the task, and use plant care techniques that can keep your roses healthy.

Water from below

Overhead watering may not get deep into the ground to the roots—and can help spread diseases, Lakatos says. Use a drip system or a slow-dripping hose to give roses a deep soak once a week once they are established, or two to three times a week for newly planted roses.

Keep the bed beneath your rosebush tidy

Avoid leaving fallen leaves and other debris beneath your rosebush, as these can make it easier for disease to thrive.

Prune as needed

"Most roses will need pruning in winter when they are dormant, but feel free to prune out dead or diseased wood at any time—being sure to sterilize pruners for diseased wood," Lakatos says. Deadheading roses (removing spent blooms) can help encourage your rose bush to keep blooming.

Spray on disease preventatives early in the season

Rose varieties tend to be disease-prone—so it can be best to head off trouble before it starts. "Once the plant is infected, sprays usually aren't effective," Lakatos says. "Apply pest control sprays responsibly by the label and use as preventatives. Use a mild spray like copper, but recognize it can have some negative environmental impact on aquatic life."