Which Rose Type is Best For You?


David Austin Roses

In the early 1950s, David Austin set out to create a more beautiful rose. Sixty years on, this simple objective remains. Rose breeding is often described as being as much an art as a science. All David Austin roses have a collective style and reflect one man’s vision. All have beautiful blooms and in most cases, wonderful fragrance held on graceful attractive shrubs. A garden of these outstanding roses is hard to beat for the sheer exuberance of flowers and fragrance.

Today, most of our growing is still carried out by hand, just as it was at the very beginning. Every plant that we sell has been hand-budded, a traditional and intricate skill carried out by our experts millions of times each year.

We made sure we have the best David Austin selection around… you have told us these roses are amazing and we listened. If you haven’t seen these impressive bloomers, you need to! Climbers and shrub roses are available.

Hybrid Tea Roses

Hybrid teas are the most popular type of rose, referring to a category of roses that were originally created by cross-breeding Hybrid Perpetual and Tea roses. This means they are both hardy and typically repeat flower, producing large, shapely flowers that open from high-centered buds on long, straight stems.  

Hybrid tea roses are the standard for cut flower roses. With their iconic bud shape and petaled blooms, hybrid tea roses are well worth the effort of growing them. Although hybrid tea roses are some of the more finicky roses on the market, they can be truly rewarding. These are roses that have a beautiful form, delightful fragrance, and wonderful color options.

Knock Out Roses

If like most EVERYONE you are afraid of roses, you need to try the revolutionary Knock Out® Family of Roses! These easy-to-grow shrub roses will reward you EVERY DAY with a season-long show of blooms from spring to frost. With stunning colors to choose from, there are so many ways to enjoy Knock Out® Roses EVERYWHERE in your garden.

The Knock Out® Family of roses repeat-bloom from spring to frost, creating a stunning show of beautiful flowers!  They can fit into any landscape in most climates. Plant them individually as a focal point, among other shrubs, or in large groups to create a colorful hedge.  Incorporate perennials and annuals to create a season of color, texture, and interest.

Knock Out® Roses are the most disease-resistant roses on the market, making them easy to grow. All are self-cleaning, so there is no need to deadhead. For best performance, cut them back every year. 

Meet Petite… a miniature knock out! Petite Knock Out® is the first-ever miniature Knock Out® Rose! It has the same flower power and easy care as others in The Family in an adorable, compact size! Not only is the plant petite, but it displays smaller blooms than other Knock Out® Roses. Plant in decorative containers for your porch or patio, or in groups for a dramatic pop of bold red color 18” x 18” at maturity!

Drift Roses

Available in a range of bold colors, Drift® Roses are perfect for every style and space. These compact roses are repeat-blooming, easy to grow, and suitable for gardens big and small. Plant them individually, in a grouping, or mixed with other shrubs, perennials, and roses for a stunning display. You can see them in our parking lot, so you know they are tough and full of flowers and fragrance. One of our favorite and toughest roses!

Drift® Roses are a cross between full-size groundcover roses and miniature roses. From the former, they kept toughness, disease resistance, and winter hardiness. From the miniatures, they inherited their well-managed size and repeat-blooming nature. 

The low, manageable habit of Drift® Roses makes them perfect for gardens small to large, for planters, and for mass commercial plantings. They brighten up borders, fill in empty spaces, meander around established plants, and can control erosion on hillsides and slopes.

Climbing Roses

Climbing roses have long canes that will be covered with blooms. This type of rose is perfect for covering an arbor, climbing up a trellis, or as a floral canopy for your pergola. They are also called crawling roses for a reason. Plant your rose next to a low wall or fence and your rose will crawl along the fence and eventually cover it.

Garden Roses (Floribunda and a few Grandiflora)

If you are new to growing roses and a little worried that they might be too hard to grow in your garden, the floribunda rose is the perfect rose for you. First of all, this rose is known for its amazing profusion of blooms in a wide range of colors. These rose bushes will be covered from late spring until the first frost. In addition, these are robust plants that have great disease resistance, making them easy to grow whether you’re a beginner or a master gardener. The floribunda rose can also give you the confidence you need to try other types of roses and build your entire rose garden.  

Rugosas

Unbelievably HARDY, TOUGH, BULLET PROOF!  Extremely fragrant, pollinator-friendly, SALT tolerant, very thorny roses. Spreading, clumping rose that is wider than it is tall. Known for their hyssop! No, it’s not a tomato! Great for along the shore, especially in a naturalizing garden. Drought tolerant, poor soil tolerant… survives pretty much anywhere including planting in straight sand.

Mini Roses

With an 18″ x 18″ max in order to be considered a mini, these plants are very small and compact classic rose flowers. These short rose bushes grow dense and thick and are not fragrant at all. This makes them ideal additions to rock gardens, tight border spots, the edges of rose gardens, and patio or porch container gardens.