The Classifications of Rose Bushes

Old Garden Roses

• Gallica, damask, alba, centerfolia and moss roses are usually cold hardy and fragrant old European roses. China, bourbon and hybrid perpetual were roses discovered before 1867. The Romans cultivated once-blooming, fragrant damask roses in white to pink shades. Moss roses have fragrant, fuzzy buds. Alba roses are tough, cold-tolerant, fragrant roses. Bourbon roses are large, vigorous shrubs. Hybrid perpetuals were created from crossing bourbons with other roses. China roses brought reliable repeat blooms and wider coloration to the breeding pool.

Shrubs and Climbers

• Shrub roses have vigorous growth, winter hardiness and disease resistance, with a free-flowering habit and rounded shape on plants of 6 feet tall or more. Some may be trained as climbers, producing canes up to 12 feet long. Modern rose breeders including David Austin and Dr. Griffith Buck have brought more colors and fragrances to the commercially available choices. Climbing roses produce long canes that may be attached to supports vertically or horizontally on a trellis or along a fence. Some climbers are the result of a "sport," a genetically mutated cane from from which a climbing form of the original rose is cloned.

Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras

• Hybrid tea roses have high centered and classically formed flowers, borne singly on a long stem. Hybrid tea roses may have a fragrance ranging from strong, such as in Double Delight, to none. Grandiflora roses have a similar bloom form to hybrid teas, but the flowers may be clustered. Queen Elizabeth, among the most widely grown rose bush in the world, is a typical example of a grandiflora rose. Choose hybrid tea and grandiflora roses for a rose cutting garden.

Polyanthas and Floribundas

• Polyanthas are short bushes with a prolific flowering habit, bred and marketed in France as early as 1875, according to the Maryland Geological Survey. Crossing a hybrid tea with a polyantha resulted in the first floribunda rose bred in 1912 by Svend Poulsen of Denmark, who wished to produce abundantly flowering plants suitable for cold winters and short summers. Floribunda roses flower prolifically in clusters on compact bushes up to 4 feet tall. Floribunda roses are appropriate for massing, as low hedges or for container cultivation.

Miniatures and Mini-Floras

• A tiny pink rose growing in a pot in Switzerland was noticed in 1918. Tom Thumb, bred from this rose, became the foundation for modern miniature roses. Miniatures have blossoms in size across from that of a small child's fingernail to that of a quarter. Plants range from less than 1 foot to more than 4 feet tall. The American Rose Society recognized mini-flora roses, developed by J. Benjamin Williams in 1973, as a new category of roses in 1999, when he gifted to them the Mini-Flora trademark. Mini-flora roses are larger than miniatures and smaller than floribundas, with a free-flowering habit on vigorous plants up to 4 feet tall.