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Pittsburgh Rose Society

Classes of Roses

Roses are classed according to their growth habits and their position along the
genealogical pathway of rose development, the oldest being the “wild”, or
species, roses. Next is the Old Garden roses, developed by crosses from species
roses gathered in various parts of the world dating back at least to the Romans?
Finally there is the Modern Roses beginning in 1867. It is helpful for rose growers
to be able to identify different classes of roses. It is useful for gardeners to be
familiar with the rose’s classification, mainly to help with understanding their
growth habits and pruning needs. The problem of disease resistance also comes
into play. As a rule, the more modern the rose, the more prone to disease
attack. More recently introduced shrub and landscape rose have been bred with
disease resistance as one of their primary goals. However, when selecting a rose,
if it is not advertised as “Disease resistant” black spot and mildew will be a
problem. There are many subdivisions of Old Roses. For more information, go to
the American Rose Society web site or visit the site of one of the antique rose
growers.

Modern Roses are further divided into the following groups:

Hybrid Tea roses bear the familiar florist-look blooms, described as “high-
centered,” on upright bushes, usually with one or just a few blooms per stem.

Floribunda roses are bushy shrubs that produce clusters of 3 to 15 blooms,
typically smaller than hybrid teas. Floribundas are useful when mass plantings are
desired or in mixed perennial beds because of their constant bloom production.

Grandiflora roses have attributes of both hybrid tea roses and floribunda. These
are usually larger bushes that produce hybrid-type blooms that grow in clusters.

Shrub, groundcover, and landscape roses are available in a variety of shapes and
sizes, typically more compact with lower growing habits. These bushes bloom
with cluster of blooms that tend to cover plants all season. These plants are also
more disease resistant making them good choices for mass-plantings, borders,
and patio containers.

Climbing roses produce long, arching canes with abundant blooms, but unless
specified, usually bloom with mass of flowers once each season. They require a
fences, arbors or trellises to support the long canes.

Miniature and Miniflora roses are generally smaller bushes with petite rose
blooms and smaller leaves. Miniature rose plants can grow up to three feet tall,
with miniflora even taller. Most of these bushes are very winter hardy primarily
because they are grown on their own roots which will come back even if the
branches suffer winter kill to the ground line.