Disease resistant roses are increasingly easier to find. Such was not always the case.
I’ve seen many garden roses over the years. Easy to grow, disease resistant roses seem few and far between at times, but here are some winners to consider for your garden. These are the ones I would plant if my life depended on their success. These roses are not just tough. They are also beautiful. They will give you a better than fighting chance if you give them any love at all.
If you are not able or willing to prepare the soil properly, incorporating lots of organic material such as compost, then your best chance is with Knockout roses or perhaps New Dawn, a lovely tough rose that can even handle some shade.
Rosa palustris can handle swampy conditions. Developed at Texas A&M, Belinda’s dream is excellent in hot climates.
Altissimo is my favorite red climbing rose in the garden. It is officially designated a large-flowered climbing rose. I looked a long time to find a red climber that I could sign up for by …
Basye’s Blueberry rose was introduced in 1982. Clear pink semi-double flowers with yellow stamens are produced in May in the South. Basye’s Blueberry is largely disease resistant. In addition, it is virtually thornless. Fall color …
Belinda’s Dream is considered the finest garden rose introduced by respected rose hybridizer Dr. Robert Basye. Introduced in 1988, Belinda’s Dream bears beautiful pink blooms on a largely disease-resistant garden rose. A legendary figure in …
Before there were Knock Out roses, there was Carefree Beauty, an aptly named garden rose as there ever was. Truly beautiful clear pink fully double roses are freely produced in loose clusters. Carefree Beauty is …
Chestnut rose (Rosa roxburghii) is a fine old rose. Chestnut rose is tough, reliable, and recommended primarily for gardeners interested in historic or old roses. The double form featured here was discovered before the species form, …
A classic tea rose, Duchesse de Brabant was introduced in 1857. Hardy zones 7-11, Duchesse de Brabant bears soft to bright pink fully-doubled roses of classic cupped old rose form. Fragrance is reliably intense, and …
Fru Dagmar Hastrup rose was found and named by Knud Julianis Hastrup, who was native to Denmark. This rose is also referred to as Frau Dagmar Hastrup. Rugosa roses are easy to grow and the …
The original Knock Out rose (Rosa ‘Radrazz’) bears vibrant hot dark pink roses often referred to as cherry red. This first introduction was simply called ‘Knock Out’ rose and it was aptly named. The flowers are …
Knock Out roses are ridiculously disease resistant. Knock Out roses are also easy to grow, cold hardy to zone 4, remontant, and have nice flowers. More than 80 million Knock Out roses have been sold …
Mutabilis, a China rose, is a perfect first rose for beginners. Mutabilis’ flowers change so quickly that the overall effect is a tapestry of color. Flowers are copper, pink, or deep magenta depending on their age. The …
New Dawn is a rarity in rose gardening: a beautiful garden plant. Individual flowers may not win a rose show, but when those pale pink roses open by the hundreds in mid-spring, the lesson is …
Old rose Perle d’Or is a joy in the garden. It is a Polyantha rose introduced in 1884 by Francis Dubreuil (who has a fine deep red garden rose as a namesake). I’ve known Perle …
Rosa gallica officinalis is considered the first rose cultivated in a garden setting. It is called the apothecary’s rose. Rosa gallica var. officinalis is a rose intertwined with human history. Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans …
Rosa palustris, swamp rose, is a species rose native to the eastern United States. It is called swamp rose with good reason. Rosa palustris likes boggy, wet areas.
Prairie rose, Rosa setigera, is a species rose native to North America. Blooming in late spring to early summer, Rosa setigera bears single form roses with pink petals and yellow stamens. Prairie rose is a …
‘The Fairy’ rose is grown in many gardens eighty years after its introduction and with good reason. ‘The Fairy’ is a tough, gorgeous garden rose that will help even the beginning gardener succeed. Covered with …
Therese Bugnet rose is a Rugosa. Typical of Rugosa roses Therese Bugnet is cold hardy and disease resistant. Also typical of Rugosas, it flowers with a single flush in spring. As the weather cools in …