A guide for gardeners
Rose groups without the confusion
One rose can be a shrub rose, an English rose and a cut-flower variety all at once. That is not a mistake: different names answer different questions.
Garden role
How a rose looks and grows
This level helps you choose a site, a support, a container and the overall character of a planting.
Hybrid Teas
They usually have large, showy flowers on long stems, either one per stem or with a few side buds.
The year 1867 and the variety La France are traditionally taken as the start of the modern rose era, but this is a historical reference point, not a description of every variety.
See 151 varieties →Floribunda
Flowers are usually borne in clusters; the bushes are valued for long flushes of bloom and a bold splash of colour in the garden.
‘Blooms all season’ means repeat flushes with proper care, not a continuous guarantee in every climate.
See 105 varieties →Grandiflora
Combines the flower form of Hybrid Teas with a tendency to form clusters, like Floribunda; the bushes are often tall.
The class originated in the USA after the introduction of Queen Elizabeth in 1954. Boundaries may differ in other systems.
See 6 varieties →Shrub roses
Shrub roses of different heights and shapes that do not fit neatly into narrow classes.
Hardiness, fragrance and size should be checked on the individual variety card: the word ‘shrub’ on its own does not guarantee them.
See 162 varieties →Climbers / climbing roses
Long canes are tied in to walls, arches and pergolas. Many varieties repeat flowering, but vigour depends on the variety and the climate.
They are not vines: the canes do not cling to supports on their own.
See 98 varieties →Ramblers
Usually vigorous roses with long, flexible canes and large clusters of small flowers.
Most give one very heavy flush in early summer, but there are exceptions; height does not always reach 5–10 m.
See 6 varieties →Groundcover roses
Low or arching, spreading bushes for slopes, the edges of beds and mass plantings.
They do not grow without care, and they are not propagated by dividing the bush the way herbaceous perennials are.
See 23 varieties →Miniature and patio roses
Compact roses for the front of the border and for containers. Patio roses are usually larger than miniatures, but the boundary depends on the classification system.
A small bush does not automatically mean it will survive winter in a pot without protection.
See 14 varieties →Origin
History and breeding line
These names explain where a rose comes from, and they can overlap with the shape of the bush.
English roses
The David Austin line combined the look and fragrance of old garden roses with repeat flowering in many modern varieties.
The first was the once-flowering Constance Spry (1961). This is a recognisable breeding group, not a universal botanical class.
See 71 varieties →Hybrid Musks
Mostly spreading bushes with many flowers in clusters. Many classic varieties are linked to the work of Joseph Pemberton.
They tolerate partial shade better than many other roses, but the abundance of flowering depends on light and variety.
See 26 varieties →Old garden roses
Gallicas, Damasks, Albas, Centifolias, moss roses and other classes that took shape before the arrival of modern Hybrid Teas.
Not all old roses flower only once. Chinas, Teas, Bourbons and Noisettes brought the ability to repeat flowering.
See the current selection →Remontant roses of the XIX century
A selection of repeat-flowering old groups: China, Tea, Noisette, Bourbon, Hybrid Perpetual and related varieties.
It can overlap with ‘Old garden roses’: this is a convenient site filter, not a separate international class.
See 19 varieties →Polyantha
Compact or medium bushes with large clusters of small flowers; an important link in the history of how Floribundas emerged.
We check size and repeat flowering for each specific variety.
See 6 varieties →Rugosa
Rosa rugosa and its hybrids often have wrinkled leaves, large hips and good hardiness.
Do not transfer the winter hardiness and resistance of Rugosa to all species roses.
See 3 varieties →Canadian series
Explorer and Parkland were bred for Canada’s cold climate.
Real winter hardiness depends on the specific variety, the site and how it is overwintered; the words Hybrid Kordesii alone do not make a variety Canadian.
See 6 varieties →Purpose
For cut flowers and floristry
These are practical market categories. They do not replace the garden classification of a variety.
Spray roses
Several flowers form on each stem, which makes them handy for bouquets. In other catalogues, such varieties may also be called Floribundas or miniatures.
Do not treat the number of flowers per stem as a mandatory ‘5–10’.
See 7 varieties →Cut roses / Florist’s Rose
Varieties selected for long stems, transport and vase life; many of them are grown in controlled greenhouse conditions.
A weak fragrance is common, but it is not a rule for all cut roses.
See 38 varieties →