Varieties of roses with photos and descriptions

There is not a single garden plot where at least one rose bush would not grow. Changeable fashion has not touched this delightful flower, only priorities are changing – hybrid tea varieties are fashionable today, climbing roses tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, perhaps, miniature or standard varieties will come into fashion. Now there are about 25 thousand varieties, and according to some sources, all 50, and their number is growing with each new season. We will help you understand the variety of these wonderful flowers and present to your attention varieties of roses with a photo.

A bit of biology

In fact, a rose is nothing more than a collective name for varieties and species of the genus Rosehip, which, in turn, is represented by more than three hundred species. A man isolated a rose from other flowers, cultivated it, through selection, long-term selection and through repeated interspecific crossing, he received a huge number of plants that were diverse in color, habit and smell. Therefore, there is no such thing as a genus or species of Rose. Speaking about the types and varieties of roses, we, from a scientific point of view, make a mistake, we should talk about the varieties and varieties of this wonderful flower in every respect.

In fairness, it should be noted that there are uncultivated varieties of wild rose, which nature initially endowed with extraordinary beauty. They do not look like spectacular fragrant double roses, but they have their own charm. True, they are not found in our gardens as often as they deserve.

A bit of history

Those flowers that we see today in gardens and parks around the world are by and large the result of crossing two branches of cultivated roses that came to us from the east and from the west.

Roses of the West

Probably, a person first showed interest in roses at the same time as the invention of writing or the wheel. In Crete in the second millennium BC, the walls of the palaces were painted with roses, their images were also found on the tombs of the pharaohs. Theofast, who is rightfully considered the “father of botany”, was the first to describe the varieties of roses and their care, and the ancient Greek poetess Sappho was the first to call the rose the “queen of flowers”, singing in verse.

The ancient Greeks were the first to specifically cultivate roses in their gardens and even grew them in pots for decoration. And the Romans had a real cult of this flower – they ate the petals for food, prepared wine and cosmetics from them, the rich Romans even slept on fragrant petals.

Roses of the East

In ancient China, roses were grown back when the civilization of the West had just emerged. The Chinese were the first to obtain rose oil and used it as a protection against evil spirits and in perfumery. The rose also grew in ancient Japan. But in these countries, she could not compete with either the lotus, which was then considered the king of flowers, or the chrysanthemum.

Oriental roses were small, almost devoid of fragrance, but completely covered the bush and bloomed throughout the season in several waves. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, traders brought them to Europe. A century later, the first aristocrat came to our continent – a tea rose, which had a beautiful glass and a charming aroma, but was very thermophilic.

Combination of oriental and western roses

It was from the Chinese small-flowered and tea roses, as well as from the frost-resistant, but unattractive varieties that grew in the UK, that new varieties of roses were obtained. They combined the duration of flowering and the attractiveness of oriental flowers with resistance to prolonged cooling of western ones.

But the real rose fever began only with the advent of the Bourbon rose, which combined the best features of the eastern and western relatives. They remained popular until the beginning of the twentieth century and are still sometimes found in catalogs of rose varieties.

We can safely say that the flower owes its fantastic popularity to the unification of the species characteristics of its western and eastern predecessors.

modern roses

Repair roses bloomed long and profusely, but they lacked beauty – they were, frankly, rustic. In addition, their large spreading bushes did not always fit into elegant European front gardens. The tea roses were beautiful and smelled great, but they weren’t hardy.

Thanks to the painstaking work of breeders in the second half of the nineteenth century, the first hybrid tea rose appeared. This can be called a new era in the selection of this flower. Hybrid-polyant varieties, floribunda and other varieties began to appear. The pink boom has not stopped so far. Every self-respecting rose nursery puts up thousands of varieties for sale every year, claiming that the best varieties of roses can only be bought from them.

Rose classification

Everyone needs a clear classification of roses – amateur flower growers, breeders, biologists, nursery workers, landscape designers. But now it is very blurred, since it is often impossible to trace a variety to the original species due to repeated crossing, and selection has been going on for many centuries. In addition, when a new variety is introduced, no one makes sure that it clearly fits into the existing boundaries – they simply create a beautiful flower. So it turns out that constantly some roses stand out in a separate group.

With the names of varieties, confusion also constantly occurs. Many breeders have devoted themselves to working with this fertile and grateful material, often inventing the same flower, independently of each other. Here it is customary to act as in invention – whoever registered the first grade, he gave it a name, and is considered the author.

Even with the international classification of roses, everything is complicated, something is constantly changing, being renamed, and even when translating, you can make a mistake. We will focus on the classification given by Dr. David Gerald Hession.

Hession currently holds honorary doctorates from three universities, has been awarded an MBE, and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as a non-fiction best-selling author. He has received many awards for his development of the theory and practice of horticulture, and each of his books is immediately translated into almost all major languages ​​of the world. The doctor has written about 20 books on gardening, accessible even to non-biologists (for which he is criticized by colleagues), with a circulation of more than 50 million copies. Landscape designers and gardeners around the world jokingly call his work their Bible. I would also like to say that David Gerald Hession was born in 1928 and is now alive.

First, we will give a division of roses according to the characteristics of leaves, flowers, fruits, methods of growing them, and then we will give the actual classification of roses with photos and names.

How to grow roses

Each rose needs to be shaped. But it is better to do this, in accordance with the characteristics of the bush inherent in a particular group. So, a rose can be grown as:

• creeping – shoots grow in breadth, covering the ground, but in height they usually do not exceed 30 cm;
• miniature bush – does not exceed 40 cm in height;
• Low standard – the height of the bole is about 30 cm;
• dwarf bush – grows up to 60 cm;
• Bush – more than 60 cm;
• Semi standard – the trunk does not exceed 75 cm;
• Standard – stem about 1,0 meters;
• Crying standard – the height of the bole is about 1,5 m. Such a rose is not formed in the form of a ball, but the branches are allowed to freely fall down, constantly limiting the growth of lashes with pruning;
• columnar – with the help of garters, pruning and supports, the plant is formed in the form of a column up to 2,5 m high. Such pruning requires a certain skill, but is not difficult;
• I’m weaving – the stems are allowed along the support, they must be tied up, since they themselves will not curl. The length of the lashes depends solely on the varietal characteristics and pruning.

Division by flower type

Roses are very diverse in shape, color and even the smell of flowers. Let’s see what they can be, maybe even discover something new for ourselves.

Number of petals

A rose flower can be:

• simple – varieties with less than 8 petals;Variety “Ballerina”
• semi-double – a glass with 8-20 petals;Variety “Jacqueline Hamery”
• terry – 21 petals or more.Variety “Jupiter”

In turn, terry roses are divided into:

• moderately terry – the number of petals is from 21 to 29;Sort “Paisley”
• medium terry – 30-39 petals;Variety “Dsarest”
• densely terry – more than 40 petals.Variety “Princess Margaret”

petal shape

Rose petals can have a different shape:

• flat;
• wavy;
• bent;
• jagged.

petal coloring

Roses, in addition to having a variety of colors, can be painted unevenly. Their petals can be:

• monochromatic – they are painted in only one color, although as they fade, some varieties may change shade;Variety “Golden Domes”
• bicolor – the outer and inner parts of the petals have a different color;Variety «Osiria»
• multi-colored – as the color of the petals blooms, the color of the petals changes and flowers of different colors can be on the same bush at the same time;Grade “Gloria Day”
• mixed – the inner part of the petal is painted in several colors;Variety “Nostalgia”
• striped – each petal is painted in at least two colors, with one forming stripes;Variety “Abracadabra”
• painted – the petals have a main background color, over which spots are scattered, a feathery pattern or an eye at the base of a different color.Regensberg variety

Glass shape

This is where nature and breeders have worked hard! Whatever forms of flowers roses do not have, a glass can be:

• with a conical center – an eternal classic, the inner petals are collected in a cone, and the outer ones are bent;
• with loose center – the middle has an indefinite shape due to loosely closed inner petals;
• falling apart – at first a flower of the correct form, but when fully opened, the petals open so wide that you can see the stamens;
• spherical – all petals are concave and form a ball, the most dense in the center;
• cupped – terry petals form a bowl without covering the center;
• square – a very interesting glass, when the petals do not form a cone, but form separate sectors, which are most often four (very rarely there are varieties with two or three centers);
• flat – according to the name, this is a flat flower, slightly concave in the middle, often with a few petals of a regular size;
• rosette-shaped – a flat glass with a slightly concave center, the petals are short, numerous, and arranged in regular rows;
• pompous – forms an almost round convex flower with numerous short petals arranged in regular rows.

rose leaves

Usually the leaves of roses have 5-7 segments and a smooth surface, but there are several varieties with more than 7 segments, and the leaves of the Wrinkled Rose and its cultivars are covered with deep grooves.

leaf surface

Here is a classification of rose leaves according to the degree of reflection of sunlight:

• highly shiny;
• brilliant;
• matte;
• wrinkled.

Color of leaves

Usually, all adult leaves are colored in different shades of green, and only young ones can have a red tint, but varieties with a bronze color are increasingly appearing:

• light green;
• green;
• dark green;
• bronze.

But there are exceptions to this rule – several varieties of shrub roses retain their red color until autumn, and some white rose hybrids have a bluish tint. The leaves of the Wrinkled Rose change color by autumn, and become very picturesque. Perhaps these differences will be fixed and transferred to other varieties, then the list will expand.

rose fruit

In fact, it is recommended to cut rose flowers before the end of flowering so that the plant does not waste energy on the formation of fruits. But in some varieties, flowering does not occur again, and the fruits are very decorative. If you allow the seeds to set, you will see that in different varieties the ovary can be:

• rounded, large, red;
• rounded small red;
• rounded small black;
• oblong;
• the spiky one.

And perhaps the Wrinkled Rose, which you are fed up with, has large red fruits that can be covered with deep beautiful wrinkles.

Flowering period

Everything is simple here. Roses can be:

• once blooming. Usually their flowering occurs in June-July and is no longer repeated. In autumn, individual flowers may appear, but this cannot be called repeated flowering.
• Re-blooming. These varieties have two or more flowering waves. They bloom several times a season, and modern breeding strives to create just such varieties. Remontant roses also have several waves of flowering, but in the intervals between them they do not stand without buds, their number simply decreases somewhat. They can bloom until frost.

fragrance

One of the important characteristics of roses is their scent. It can be heavy, spicy, fruity, and intensifies in hot, humid weather. There are varieties that smell stronger when the buds open or before the end of flowering. But it is customary to separate flowers by aroma as follows:

• without the fragrance;
• slightly fragrant;
• fragrant;
• very fragrant.

Rose classification

We will give the classification of roses given by Dr. Hession, give a brief description of several varieties for each of the groups and present to your attention photographs. Perhaps someone likes other varieties more, but there are so many of them that you can only enjoy the full variety by browsing the catalog.

Tea Hybrid Roses

The most popular group, which is grown in the form of a bush or on a trunk. Under normal conditions, the bushes have erect shoots and grow, depending on the variety, no higher than 150 cm, the usual size is 90 cm.

Very fragrant flowers are located on long flowering stems singly or with several lateral buds. A glass with a cone-shaped center of medium or large size. Coloring is varied.

Variety “Baron Edmond de Rothschild”

Bush up to 110 cm high with large leaves. The flowers are crimson, most often solitary, with a diameter of up to 11 cm and 45-42 petals, very fragrant.

Sort “Alexander”

Bush about 150 cm high, with dark green, highly shiny leaves. Red flowers with 22 medium-sized petals, very fragrant.

Variety “Blessings”

A bush about a meter high with green, highly shiny leaves. Coral-pink, slightly fragrant flowers with 30 petals bloom until late autumn. The variety is resistant to wetting.

Roses floribunda

Moderately tall bushes up to 150 cm high (usual size – 60 cm) with sprawling erect numerous shoots. Weakly fragrant flowers of large or medium size are collected in racemose or corymbose inflorescences, and usually several buds open simultaneously. Floribunda roses bloom longer than hybrid tea roses.

The color and shape of the glass of this group is the most diverse, but the beauty of the glass is usually inferior to the previous group.

Variety “Rumba”

Low bush up to half a meter high. Orange-red flowers with a diameter of 6 cm are collected in brushes, in which there can be up to 15 buds.

Sort “Deutsche Welle”

Bushes 1,2-1,5 m high. Purple flowers, 8-10 cm in diameter, fragrant. Flowering continues throughout the season.

Variety «Leonardo da Vinci»

Branched bushes 0,7-1,0 m high. Blooms all summer with unusually beautiful pink flowers up to 10 cm in diameter, collected in inflorescences, 2-5 pieces each.

patio roses

In the 80s of the last century, they were separated into a separate group from the floribunda group. These roses are compact bushes up to 75 cm tall, with a normal height of about 50 cm. Weakly fragrant flowers have a variety of colors and glass shapes.

Variety “Anna Ford”

This hybrid is sometimes referred to as miniature roses, sometimes as a patio. Bush about 45 cm covered with dark green leaves. The flower with 20 petals is orange-red at the beginning of flowering, fading to orange before withering.

Variety “Svit Magic”

Bush up to 40 cm high. Very beautiful apricot flowers.

Variety “Perestroika”

Rose is very good. Bush up to 45 cm, with dark green shiny leaves. Flowers with 42 petals and yellow flowers.

Miniature Roses

A fairly new category, the popularity of which is constantly increasing, but the price does not drop. They grow in the range of 25-45 cm, the flowers can be either small, only 2,5 cm in diameter, or “large” – up to 5 cm.

Variety “Bush Baby”

The bush reaches a height of 25 cm and has matte green leaves. Small salmon-pink flowers have a very attractive shape.

Variety “Mr. Bluebird”

The miniature bush is covered with purple flowers. The only drawback is very weak branches.

Pur toi variety

A bush with a height of only 17-22 cm with white flowers and a yellow center is very beautiful and has gained immense popularity in Europe.

Ground-cover roses

Ground cover roses were singled out in a separate group in the 80s of the last century. They, in turn, are divided into:

• flowers with horizontal shoots, 20-25 cm high, can cover an area of ​​about 3 meters;
• flowers with creeping shoots 40-45 cm long;
• arcuate-drooping flowers with shoots up to 1 meter.

Usually their flowers are medium-sized and odorless, most often white, pink or red.

Variety “Kent”

A drooping bush with shoots barely reaching 90 cm. It differs in that it forms a neat, almost round bush. Flowering is repeated, the flowers are white, semi-double, moisture resistant.

Sort “Magic Carpet”

The first ground cover rose to be voted best rose of the year. A drooping bush with shoots about 1,5 m long and fragrant lavender flowers that bloom until autumn.

Variety “Suffolk”

This repeat flowering variety is suitable for growing in hanging baskets. Its shoots reach a meter, the flowers are red, semi-double.

Climbing roses

Flexible or rigid, depending on the variety, shoots can reach 3 m or more. They are single or re-flowering, with a variety of colors, shapes and glass sizes. Their flowers can be semi-double, simple or double.

Variety “Baltimore Belle”

The length of the shoots reaches 2 m, double white-pink flowers with a diameter of 5 cm are very beautiful. The only drawback is that it blooms once, however, for a month.

Variety “Dortmund”

The shoots of this re-blooming rose reach 2 m. The flowers, although simple, are very showy, reaching 12 cm in diameter.

Variety “Erinnerung an Brod”

A very showy re-blooming variety that can grow up to 3 meters long. Flowers with a strong aroma, double, purple-lilac.

Shrub Roses

The largest and most diverse group. Usually it is about shrub roses that discrepancies appear in the classification. I really want to break it down into small groups. Perhaps they do not do this because not so long ago their share in total sales was only 5%. Shrub roses are usually divided into three groups:

• old varieties that were bred before the advent of hybrid tea roses;
• wild rose hips, as well as their varieties;
• shrub varieties of modern selection.

But it would be unfair to consider that these flowers are the most uninteresting. Species wild roses and their varieties are not as lush as varietal roses, besides, they usually bloom once a season, but they are very interesting. New spray roses fell into this group only because they cannot be attributed to any of the varieties listed above. Perhaps very little time will pass and a new section will appear in the classification.

We will list the most popular types without providing a description, as this is a very broad topic. So, shrub roses:

• English;
• White;
• Bourbon;
• Damascus;
• Chinese;
• Musk;
• Moss;
• wrinkled;
• polyanthus;
• Portland;
• Noisette;
• French
• Tea room;
• Centifolia;
• Scottish;
• Eglanteria.

In addition, it includes all unclassified modern varieties, including roses that are classified as Grandiflora, which has not yet been identified as a separate group, and David Austin roses.

Variety “Abraham Derby”

Incredibly popular English rose, forming a bush, reaching a height and width of one and a half meters. Repeat-blooming large strongly double flowers have a pleasant fruity aroma.

Variety “Cardinal de Richelieu”

An old, reliable cultivar that has won a Garden Merit award. A little more than a meter bush blooms once a year with fragrant velvety purple-lilac flowers of medium size.

Variety “Chinatown”

An incredibly beautiful modern re-blooming variety up to 1,5 m high is sometimes referred to as a floribunda variety.

New varieties of roses

2017 has just begun, but has already pleased us with new varieties of roses.

Desdemona variety

A variety of extraordinary beauty. Bush up to 1,2 m high with white cup-shaped flowers that have a pink tint at the beginning of flowering. It blooms for a very long time, does not lose shape even with heavy rains.

Variety “The Einshent Mariner”

A large bush up to 1,5 m tall is covered with very large pink flowers with a strong aroma. Blooms almost non-stop.

Variety “Dame Judi Dench”

Spreading bush up to 1,2 m high, peach-colored double flowers, very fragrant. A characteristic feature is that the buds are colored red.

Variety “Vanessa Bell”

A narrow bush grows to a height of 1,2 m. Lemon-colored flowers, collected in brushes, smell of honey, tea and lemon.

Choice of roses when buying

We will not bore you with a description of what condition the root system of plants should be in or what time of the year is best to buy them. We just want to explain some of the nuances to save you from disappointment.

Even buying roses in large garden centers and carefully studying the photos, we may not get what we wanted. This is due to the fact that the photo shows the most attractive of the flowers that the photographer could find. It may also happen that the image is much larger than the actual size of the bud.

Most often this happens when buying ground cover varieties. Remove one rosette in the budding stage, when it is especially attractive. But the flowers of this group usually open quickly and look very different.

And with other varieties, we often end up with a flower that is not very similar in color and size to the one we liked in the photo. The visual perception of roses more than other flowers depends on the shade and size. It turns out that we didn’t seem to be deceived, but it’s still unpleasant.

Of course, all roses are beautiful, but if you want something specific, don’t rely on photos – don’t be lazy, visit a rose nursery when they are in bloom, or buy them blooming in containers. And for residents of the northern regions, we advise you to buy only plants grown in local nurseries, because, otherwise, you risk enjoying their flowering for only one season. Most of the roses sold in garden centers come to us from Poland and Holland, where the climate is much milder. Even if the variety is suitable for growing at low temperatures, it is simply not acclimatized to them.

Conclusion

The rose is called the queen of flowers for a reason. She delights the eye, and her aroma heals the body and soul. Choose the variety you like, with good care, it will settle with you for more than two decades.