There are many different types of roses. To observe and learn about roses in your district, visit your local public rose gardens. There you can discover landscape ideas and new introductions and smell and touch rare and unusual varieties. Look for roses you like and observe their growing habits.
Hybrid teas produce large, well formed flowers in a wide range of colours on upright stems. They make a good garden display and are beautiful cut flowers.
Floribunda roses produce an abundance of flowers in a wide variety of colours. Borne in clusters or trusses, the flowers are less suitable for picking than those of the hybrid teas but they provide a greater display of long lasting garden colour.
There is a vast range of climbing and rambling roses. Ramblers have long, pliable stems and bear large trusses of small flowers. They produce several strong stems from their base each year. Climbers make strong stems from any part of the plant and their height potential is far greater than that of ramblers.
Shrub rose is a general term used to describe hybrids between wild species, hybrid tea roses and floribundas. They are extremely varied in habit, leaf shape and flower form.
Species roses are those which are grown in their original wild form. They produce single, fine-petalled flowers, mainly in spring, followed by a display of decorative berry-like hips in autumn. They are particularly resistant to pests and diseases and require little pruning apart from the removal of soft tips and straggly growth.
Old roses encompass a broad group including Species, Old European, Tea and China roses. In recent years there has been a great upsurge in interest in them, due to their good garden qualities. They are particularly fragrant and hardy, and have a delightful, informal character. Also called heritage roses, they are growing in popularity and there are specialist growers in most states.
Miniature roses look like tiny floribundas, but have miniature leaves and flowers in perfect proportion. They normally grow between 20–50 cm high and are almost thornless. They can be used for edging, growing in containers, rockeries, window boxes or indoors as temporary houseplants.
‘BONICA’
Arching canes smothered with pastel-pink, double blooms on a small-growing bush make this a good choice for a wide pot.
‘CHINA DOLL’
Endless blooming from spring to autumn is a feature of this tiny bush. The small roses have an old-fashioned appearance.
‘FRIESIA’
The most yellow of yellows on a neat, mid-sized bush – what more could you want!
‘SATCHMO’
An old favourite with clusters of vibrant red blooms.
This information is from the Yates Garden Guide: fully revised & updated 44th edition, HarperCollins, $39.99. You can have this information and so much more at your fingertips by purchasing the Yates Garden Guide, available at all leading bookstores and Bunnings stores.
