Livin’ Easy rose is a classic, a Floribunda garden rose with electric orange flowers and pretty exceptional disease resistance. Give Livin’ Easy plenty of sun and good air circulation in the garden, and you will be repaid with waves of roses from a shrub that stays in good health.
Thousands of garden rose cultivars have been foisted upon gardeners in the last century. Introduced in 1992, Livin’ Easy is the rare garden rose that bears beautiful flowers and is actually disease resistant. Highly recommended.
The roses are large, 4″-5″ across, and borne in clusters throughout the entire growing season.
The flowers are beacons, a fluorescent orange, and rose gardeners will get plenty of long-stemmed roses out of Livin’ Easy.
It tends to grow somewhat upright, Grandiflora style. Livin’ Easy is a disease resistant garden rose, shirking off blackspot, rust, and mildew. It likes heat and lots of it. You will get the best disease resistance and flower production if you give Livin’ Easy as much sun and heat as you can muster. So many roses go dormant in the heat of summer, but Livin’ Easy will stay strong even in the heat of the South.
Livin’ Easy is often listed as being hardy into zone 5. Gardeners who attempt to grow Livin’ Easy this far north might consider containers as an option. In zone 5 and zone 6, be prepared to cut back dead canes drastically each spring. This should not deter you as growth is strong once summer comes.
Scientific name: Rosa x ‘Livin’ Easy’
Common name(s): Livin’ Easy rose
Rose Class: Floribunda
Size: 3′ to 6′ feet tall.
Fragrance: Citrus, light
Bloom period: Remontant, borne in both clusters and long-stemmed singles.
Winter hardiness: Zone 5b-9. May need winter protection at upper limit.
Of note: Unusual vibrant orange roses with good form on a shrub that remains quite healthy without spraying. Extremely disease resistant by modern rose standards. Good cultural practices still required (air circulation and plenty of sun). Also known as ‘Fellowship’ and ‘Easy to Love’.