Rosa x
Rose
Mature Size, Growth, Longevity
Miniature to dwarf to groundcovers to shrubs to vining/trailing/climbing. Height: a few inches tall to 15-20' tall and wide, or spreading/climbing even more with time. Rate is often medium to fast, depending on available water, nutrients & sunshine. Some dwarf and miniature varieties are short-lived, while many roses live for generations.
Native Range
Kentucky Native — Many roses are native to Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, central & southern Europe, & various sections of Western Asia. Several rose species are native to the U.S.. Rose hybrids have come from all across the world.
Flower and Fruit Details
Rose flowers, less than 1" to several inches in size, few to many petals, in about any color. Many white, yellow, red, pink, purple, orange, peach, bicolor or multi-color. Extended bloom, April to frost. Rose fruits are called "rose hips", composed of achenes inside an enclosed structure, (a receptacle), oval, oblong, rounded or urn-shaped. Usually red, orange, yellow, or brown in, 1/4" to over 1". High in Vitamin C.
Leaf and Bark Features
Deciduous: Leaves alternate, odd-pinnately compound, w/ 3-13 leaflets, dark green above, lighter green beneath, often serrated along the margins. Most roses are deciduous; some evergreen or semi-evergreen. Deciduous types have little to no fall color; some yellow. Stems often green in youth, gray-tan-brown with age. Scattered prickles ("thorns") usually present along stems, at various densities. Sometimes thornless.
Culture and Care
A spray, fertilizer & pruning regime is often necessary to keep many rose types in good health over the years, since they are subject to numerous problems. Most roses would be somewhere in hardiness from Zone 2 to Zone 9. Powdery mildew, black spot and canker diseases often serious, plus rose slugs, Japanese beetles, thrips & aphids. Rose rosette virus & cold temps are concerns.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts
3-season interest: Spring, summer, & fall. The are about 200 different rose species, but by the time you add all the hybrids & cultivars, you are in the tens of thousands!
Suggested Uses
Specimen, cut flowers, borders, hedges, trellises, fences, fragrance gardens, sun gardens, conservation plantings, difficult sites (certain adapted varieties are drought and salt tolerant), & where long, extended summer bloom is needed.
Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA
The following taxa are (or were) represented in the collections at Boone County Arboretum. Additional taxa may be available in the trade that are not included here.
Rosa x 'Angel Face' // Angel Face Rose
Shrub. A large floribunda rose introduced in 1968 by Swim & Weeks. It gets 3-5' tall. Flower colors are deep lavender, mauve & mauve-blend. Hardy Zones 5-10. Flower shape is double-bloom. It is very fragrant, blooming repeatedly from late spring to early summer. A shrub, but can be trained as a tree form. It is somewhat shade-tolerant. Blooms on new wood. Prune early to promote new growth. Varying degrees of thorniness. Prefers pH 5.6-6.5. Leaves are blue-green to silver-gray. Does well in beds or containers. Tolerates heat and drought. May get thrips & black spot. Does well in beds or containers. Flowers are 3.5", ruffled, w/ 25-30 petals. Rich, dark-green foliage on a spreading plant. A hybrid cross of ('Circus' X 'Lavender Pinocchio') X 'Sterling Silver'.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'Auskitchen' // Princess Anne Rose
Shrub. Flowers are double, w/ about 85 narrow, heart-shaped petals. New flowers are deep cherry pink to nearly red when young, fading to deep pink or purple-lilac, w;/ a ruffled texture. Compact, upright growth, w/ thick, succulent, glossy foliage. Large clusters of flowers over a long time period. Individual flowers open in succession. Very disease resistant. Fragrance strength is medium. Only gets 30-36" tall and 18-24" wide. Zone 5-9. Repeat bloomer, from late spring to frost. Good for beds, borders & containers. Plant near a doorway, patio, deck or pathway, where you can enjoy its fragrance. Excellent cut flower. Needs full sun & moist, well-drained soil. Takes clay, acid or alkaline. Draws butterflies.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'Ausmove' // Tess of the D'urbervilles® Rose
Shrub. Large, 3-4" diameter, fragrant, double, June-July crimson-red flowers, deeply packed w/ loosely-packed petals. May start blooming in late May. Reblooms in flushes from late spring until autumn frost.. Gets 4-8' tall & 3-4' wide. Zone 5-9. Needs full sun. Prefers moist, well-drained soil, but takes clay/acid or alkaline. This is a shrub rose that is also a short, compact climber. Excellent where space is limited. Foliage of large, dark green leaves. Can get 6-8' tall when trained as a climbing rose. Plant it near a path, deck or patio where you can enjoy the wonderful fragrance. Excellent for cut flowers. Excellent resistance to disease. Bred by David Austin. Named after the heroine of Thomas Hardy's novel. Attracts butterflies.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'BAIpome' // Pink Gnome™ Rose
Shrub. 18" tall, 24" wide. Needs full sun. Very fragrant. Zone 4-9. An Easy Elegance Rose. Compact, with a tight, round habit. Tiny buds open to tiny, pretty, cup-shaped hot pink flowers with white on the inside and yellow stamens in the center. Blooms cover the plant all season long. Disease-resistant. Low-maintenance. Excellent for cut flowers. Dark green foliage of glossy, oval, compound leaves throughout the season. No fall color. Fruits are showy red rose hips in late fall. Good in mass plantings, border edging, in containers, or as a groundcover. Lives about 20 years. Avoid low, wet areas. Needs moist soil. Takes clay, acid or alkaline. This is an inter-specific hybrid.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'Blaze' // Blaze Climbing Rose
Shrub.
Bed 252Rosa x 'Bonica' // Bonica Rose
Shrub. A floribunda shrub rose. Grows 3-5' tall and wide. Spreading, arching growth habit. Large clusters of double, soft/medium pink/pastel pink flowers, each 3" wide, with 50 petals. Blooms all summer. Fruits are abundant… bright orange/orange-red rose hips in fall persist into winter. Early spring and mid-summer fungicide applications may be needed in wet seasons, even though it does have resistance to black spot and mildew. Tolerates air pollution. Very hardy. Zone 4-9. Makes a good hedge. Summer mulch is beneficial. Attracts butterflies. No fall color. First raised by Meilland in 1982. AARS Winner in 1987. 'Picasso' is one of the parents of this hybrid rose.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'BUCbi' // Carefree Beauty™ Rose
Shrub. A floribunda shrub rose, upright-arching, bushy & compact. Medium height. Good scent. Flowers are large (to 4"), fragrant, semi-double, medium pink in color, in small clusters. Zone 4-9. Grows 3-5' tall and 3-4' wide. Blooms June to frost. Attracts butterflies. Good hedge plant. Glossy, dark-green foliage Showy fruits are orange rose hips in the fall, persisting well into the winter. First hybridized and raised by Griffith Buck, of Iowa State University, in 1977. Excellent disease resistance. Parentage of this hybrid cross is 'Prairie Princess' X a seedling rose.
Bed 255Rosa x 'ChewHocan' // Lemon Zest Rose
Shrub. A mounded habit shrub rose with a beautiful, bright canary-yellow flowers with dark yellow/orange stamens in the center. Flowers do not fade to white. Reblooming. Blooms spring and summer, on new wood. Lots of blooms, and self-cleaning flowers. Gets 2-3' tall and wide. Zone 4-9. Glossy green foliage is very disease-resistant. Does not need spraying. Little pruning needed. Serves as a "thriller" in containers. Good as a specimen in the landscape, or in a mass planting. Introduced in 2000. Won the 2015 American Rose Society's Award of Excellence.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'ChewNiceBell' // Italian Ice Rose
Shrub. Blooms on new wood, late spring and all summer, June-August, with orange buds opening to yellow flowers, becoming pink on the margins as they fade, with a hint of orange, making a beautiful blend of colors, all present at one time. Colors are similar to the 'Peace' rose. Flowers are lightly-scented, semi-double, with 24-30 petals per flower. Mounded habit. Gets 18-30" tall & wide. Dark green, glossy foliage. Very disease-resistant. Highly-resistant to black spot disease. Does not need spraying. Reblooming. Long blooming. Does not need deadheading. Flowers are self-cleaning. Little pruning needed. A Proven Winners® variety. Works great in landscapes or containers, where it plays the "thriller" role. Zone 4-9.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'Demokracie' // Blaze Improved Rose
Shrub. A reblooming, climbing rose, 8-13' tall, 3-6' wide. Showy, double to semi-double, red, slightly fragrant, cupped flowers in profuse clusters from May to fall frost. Flowers have 26-40 petals. Attracts butterflies. This is one of the best red climbing roses, with large, 3.5" flowers. Dark green foliage. Tolerates pH 5.6-7.8. Good cut flower. Zone 5-9. First discovered by Jan Boehm in1935.
Bed 252Rosa x 'Golden Showers' // Golden Showers Climbing Rose
Shrub.
Bed 252Rosa x 'Meikanaro' // Sunshine Daydream Rose
Shrub. A grandiflora rose, 5-6' tall, 4' wide. Zone 5-9. Large, 3.5" flowers, cup-shaped, butter yellow color. Often w/ golden center. Outer petals age to cream color. Great for containers & cut flowers. Little fragrance. Needs full sun. Avoid low, wet areas. Dark green, glossy, oval leaflets on compound foliage. Excellent disease resistance. Blooms at the tips of branches from late spring to mid-fall. The fall fruits are not ornamentally significant. No fall foliage color. Prune in late winter/early spring. This is a good plant for sustaining honeybees. Makes a good accent plant, hedge or screen, and good in mass plantings. Lives about 30 years. Likes moist soil. Takes clay, acid or alkaline. Urban/pollution tolerant. This is an interspecific hybrid.
Bed 253Rosa x 'MEIzmea' // Carefree Spirit™ Rose
Shrub. A somewhat flat, open cup/bowl-shaped flower, with 5-7 red petals and a center that is yellowish, ringed in white. A true red, hardy landscape shrub rose. A descendant of 'Carefree Delight', w/ better disease resistance, and red flowers that don't fade. 2009 AARS winner. Very glossy, dark green foliage w/ great disease resistance. Zone 5-9. Gets 5' tall & wide. Habit is mounded, bushy & compact. Needs full sun. Large, showy clusters of bicolor, deep cherry-red, 2" diameter flowers w/ a white "eye". Adaptable. Performs well throughout the country. Slightly fragrant. Continuous bloom from late spring through fall. Introduced by the Conard-Pyle Company.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'RADrazz' // Red Knock Out Rose
Shrub. A floribunda rose. Disease-resistant (especially to black spot), hardy, long-blooming (May-October). Single, lightly-fragrant, deep cherry-red flowers blanket the plant from May to autumn frost, each to 3.5" wide, w/ 5-7 petals. Attracts butterflies. Showy orange-red rose hip fruits in fall. A mounded plant, often quite compact, 3-4' tall & wide, but may get 6' tall & wide, w/ purplish-green foliage. Needs full sun to part shade. Will bloom w/ only 3 hours/day of direct sun. Tolerates air pollution. Zone 5-9. Good for hedges and containers. Developed by William Radler in Wisconsin, introduced by Conard-Pyle in 1999/2000 for near-total disease resistance. Very susceptible to rose slugs, however, and recently has been hit with rose rosette virus.
Bed 165 - Bed 204 - Bed 205Rosa x 'Radsunny' // Sunny Knock Out® Rose
Shrub. Fragrant, single, bright yellow, 3-4" flowers mature to a cream color. Continues producing an abundance of flowers all season long, from spring through fall. Flowers show more yellow color during cooler temperatures of late spring and fall. Excellent resistance to powdery mildew, rust & black spot fungus. Forms an excellent low hedge. Also good in the cutting garden, rock garden, cottage garden, mass plantings or in containers. Upright, fast-growing, to 3-5' tall & 3-4' wide. Repeat bloomer. Fertilize during growing season. Best in full sun. Prune annually, late winter/early spring while still dormant. Zone 4(5)-9. Takes clay soil. This is the most fragrant of the Knock Out group. Flowers are self-cleaning. Orange rose hips in the fall.
Bed 168 - Bed 184 - Bed 214Rosa x 'Radtko' // Double Knock Out® Rose
Shrub. A "maintenance-free", repeat-blooming, self-cleaning, upright landscape shrub rose, blooming late spring through fall frost, w/ shiny, candy-apple red flowers w/ a slight spicy fragrance. Superb resistance to black spot & downy mildew. Flowers 3-4" diameter, double/semi-double, w/ 18-25 petals. One to five flowers per cluster, w/ up to 25 blooms per flowering branch. Gets 3-4' tall & wide, w/ a compact, mounded to rounded habit. Fertilize during growing season. Prune late winter/early spring while dormant. Needs full sun. Foliage tinged burgundy, & beneath; lustrous purple in fall. Good accent plant or low hedge. Zone 5(4)-9. Introduced 2004 by the Conard-Pyle Company. Breeder: William Radler, in Wisconsin.
Bed 254Rosa x 'Radtkopink' // Pink Double Knockout® Rose
Shrub. A bright pink flowering rose w/ double flowers, self-cleaning, "maintenance-free", & w/ a slight spicy fragrance. The solitary flowers are 3-4" in diameter. Excellent disease resistance, especially to black spot fungus and downy mildew. Repeat bloomer. Grows to 3-4' tall & wide, w/ a rounded, upright, bushy habit. Needs full sun. Makes a great accent plant, container plant, cottage garden plant, or low hedge. Fertilize during the growing season. Prune while dormant, late winter/early spring. Zone 5(4)-9. Deep green foliage w/ blue & maroon highlights, and maroon undersides. Fall foliage turns to deep purple. Becomes drought-tolerant with age. Hot-pink blooms spring through fall (May-Oct).
Bed 168Rosa x 'Radwhite' // White Out™ Rose
Shrub. A compact, white flowering shrub rose w/ an abundance of 3-4", single, solitary, citrus-fragrance flowers. Flowers may have yellow centers. Excellent overall disease resistance, but moderate leaf spot resistance. Moderate to fast grower, 3-4' tall & wide. Needs full sun. Tolerates clay, high or low pH. Lives 20 yrs. Makes a great accent plant, container plant, cut flower, cottage garden plant, or low hedge. Looks good in borders & mass plantings. Fertilize in March & again in June. Fruit not significant. Prune while dormant, late winter/early spring. Zone 5(4)-9. Deep green, nearly black foliage. Mulch. Repeat bloomer, w/ white blooms spring through late summer/early fall (May-Sept). From the breeders of the Knock Out Rose, but not in that series.
Bed 168Rosa x 'Scrivjean' // Honey Bun Rose
Shrub. A shrub rose, Zone 5(4)-9, only 2-3' tall & wide, blooming continuously & profusely from May to frost, w/ fragrant, 2", semi-double, blush-pink/butter yellow/creamy white flowers, in terminal clusters w/ 3-5 flowers per cluster. Needs no deadheading. Needs full sun/part shade. Good in low hedges. Attracts butterflies. Good on slopes & erosion control. Salt-tolerant. Water in morning. Mulch. Prune late Feb/early March while still dormant. Compound, glossy green leaves to 3" long have 1" ovate leaflets. Good disease resistance, especially to black spot & powdery mildew. Parents of this hybrid are 'Flower Carpet' & 'Shine On'. Landscape uses include containers, mixed borders, cottage gardens, mass plantings, & foundation plantings.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'WEKblunez' // Memorial Day™ Rose
Shrub. A hybrid tea rose, Zone 5(6)-9, 4-5' tall & 3-4' wide, blooming in May & repeat-blooming until autumn frost, w/ showy, large, extremely fragrant, double, orchid-pink flowers (to 5" diameter), w/ a lavender blush. The flower styles are pink, aging to red. Needs full sun. Attracts butterflies. Good disease resistance. Makes a good accent plant. Good in borders, hedges, mass plantings, foundation plantings, cottage gardens and rose gardens, or next to a path or window, where the fragrance can be enjoyed. An excellent cut flower w/ large, long, low-thorned, sturdy stems, good fragrance and large bloom size. Strong, damask rose scent. A 2004 AARS winner. Rich, green foliage. Prune late winter to early spring. Fertilize during the growing season.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'WEKcisbako' // Home Run® Rose
Shrub. A compact, mounded to rounded, landscape shrub rose with heavy repeat bloom, 3-5' tall & wide, always blooming, w/ 2", single, bright, rich red/true red flowers w/ yellow stamens in the center. Blooms on new wood. Blooms mid-summer to late fall. A low-maintenance plant. No deadheading needed. Needs full sun. Prefers moist, well-drained soil. Cold-hardy and heat tolerant. Salt tolerant. Good disease resistance to both black spot and powdery mildew, as well as downy mildew. Trim in March to shape. Fertilize during the growing season. Good plant for edging a large bed, or for mass plantings & mixed borders. Suited for cottage gardens & contemporary gardens. Works well in containers. Dark green, rounded foliage. Zone 5(4)-9. Introduced in 2006.
-- not currently in our collection --Rosa x 'WEKyegi' // Lemon Drop™ Rose
Shrub. A miniature rose, very compact, only 18" tall & wide. Produces an abundance of old-fashioned, lemon yellow, full, ruffled blooms that have a light, fruity fragrance, blooming on branch tips from late spring to fall. Each flower has 35-70 petals. Flower color intensifies as the weather cools in the fall. Blooms June to October. Flowers 3 or more/cluster. Prune in early March. Prefers full sun. Tolerates light shade, clay, high or low soil pH, urban conditions & pollution. Avoid low, wet sites. Great for small gardens, front edging borders, mass plantings, groundcovers, accent plant in rock gardens, cut flowers, planter boxes/containers, where it is used as a "filler". Fall color and fruits not significant. Lives about 30 years. Zone 5(4)-9(10).
-- not currently in our collection --