Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Deciphering rose description tags can be confusing due to technical terminology describing growth and flowering habits. Below is listed some of the most common forms.
• Floribunda: Floribundas develop medium sized flowers in clusters. They repeat bloom throughout the season and are usually stiffly upright.
• Grandiflora: Flowers are similar in size to hybrid tea roses and, like hybrid tea roses, grow on longer stems but in clusters of 2-4 flowers. They repeat bloom throughout the growing season.
• Hybrid Tea: Hybrid tea types are the traditional long stem roses given during holidays such as Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. One rose is born per single stem. They repeat bloom throughout the growing season. Growth habit is upright and more narrow than wide. Fewer varieties are hardy in colder areas of Utah such as Logan, Huntsville and Morgan. Check the tag to be sure.
• Shrub: Roses placed into this category often simply do not fit into others. Some bloom only once per year while others repeat throughout the season. Many are very low maintenance and disease resistant. Consider such series such as Meidiland, Knock Out, Parkland, Care Free and Morden. These are usually more cold-hardy than other types.
• Groundcover: Sometimes referred to as landscape or carpet roses, these are unique in that they are low growing and spreading. Most modern types repeat bloom.
• Climbing: These do not twine around objects like many true vines. However, they produce extremely long stems that need to be trained onto a trellis or fence. Growing roses in the yard often develops into a hobby where experimentation is expected and actually fun. The following list contains selected roses that are popular, generally easier to care for and adapted to Northern Utah. Be aware that hundreds of varieties exist, though. Garden centers usually have at least one employee that is knowledgeable about roses. When in doubt, seek them out for help.
• Iceberg: Developed several years ago in Germany, this rose i considered among the best white rose for the home landscape. It is cold hardy to around 20 degrees below zero and relatively disease resistant. Iceberg is a floribunda and is fragrant. It is also useful for cut flowers.
• John F Kennedy: This popular white, hybrid tea rose is heat tolerant and blooms freely. It is additionally fragrant.
• Peace: Beautiful and extremely popular, this is a hybrid tea that gained its name because it was developed during World War II. In fact, delegates present at the peace signing with Japan were given a flower from it. It is fragrant and its flowers are multi-colored, with colors that transition from pink to yellow. Many similar cultivars exist including Desert Peace, Chicago Peace and Climbing Peace. It is also an All American Rose Selection.
• Queen Elizabeth: This is one of the most popular roses of the last forty years. It is a grandiflora type and flowers are soft pink. It is not cold hardy outside of the Wasatch Front and other warmer areas of Utah. A climbing form exists.
• Rio Samba: Rio Samba was an All American Rose Selection in 1993.It is a hybrid tea and is colored similarly to peace but with brilliant yellow flower petals that transition to red tips.
• Mister Lincoln: An All Rose Selection from 1964, Mister Lincoln is arguably the most popular red hybrid tea rose ever produced. It is adapted to many areas of Utah, usually has few problems and is very fragrant.
• Double Delight: An All American Rose Selection in 1978, it has remained one of the most popular hybrid tea roses at local garden centers. Double delight gets its name from its bicolor flowers containing shades of white and red. It is extremely fragrant.
