Some of our members have mentioned the following roses as being among their most trouble-free and best performing roses. Their initials are listed in parenthesis after the variety name. See Coastal Sources or Inland Sources for the name of the member. Please feel free to contribute to the list. Send your entries to webmaster@sdrosesociety.org.

Keep in mind that there may be a difference between favorite roses and trouble-free roses. For example, in the 2005 and 2006 Favorite Roses Surveys our members selected 'Double Delight' as their favorite rose. It is also my favorite rose with its fabulous fragrance and beautiful colors. My garden will never be without 'Double Delight' but it is far from trouble-free in my coastal garden. It requires regular spraying to keep the mildew controlled but, for me, it is worth the extra effort.

Favorite Roses Survey Results 2006

Favorite Roses Survey Results 2005

Recommended Roses: Coastal | Inland | Desert

Sources: Coastal | Inland

Types of Roses

Recommended Roses for Coastal Areas

Coastal Sources:

GM: Geri McCarron, Consulting Rosarian, Cardiff
JN: Julie Nydam, Consulting Rosarian, University City
LB: Lillian Biesiadecki, Newport Beach, "Growing Roses on the Southern California Coast", 2003 American Rose Annual
LH: Linda Hitney, Webmaster, Point Loma
MJ: Maggi Jensen, Consulting Rosarian, Organic Gardener, Point Loma
PA: Phil Ash, Consulting Rosarian, University City

Recommended Roses for Inland Areas

Recommended Roses for Desert Areas

Best Desert Roses (Word file)
(Data provided by Cliff Orent, President of the Desert Rose Society)

Best Desert Roses
(Web site of the Mesa-East Valley Rose Society)

Types of Roses

Hybrid Tea and Grandiflora:

Perhaps the most popular class of modern roses is the hybrid tea, easily recognized by the large shapely blooms containing 30 to 50 petals. Flowers are borne on long stems either singly or with several sidebuds.

The grandiflora displays not only the characteristics of a hybrid tea but also the ability to bear clusters or trusses and grow to a commanding height of 6 to 8 feet or more. 'Queen Elizabeth' was the first member of this class. Return to top.

Floribunda and Polyantha:

Second only to hybrid tea and grandiflora in popularity, the floribunda is characterized by its profuse ability to bear flowers in large clusters or trusses with more than one bloom in flower at any one time. This class is unrivaled for providing massive, colorful, long-lasting garden displays. The distinct advantage of the floribunda is its ability to bloom continually whereas the hybrid tea exhibits a bloom cycle every 6 to 7 weeks. Floribundas as a class are hardier, easier to care for and more reliable in wet weather than their hybrid tea counterparts.

Polyanthas are generally smaller but sturdy plants with large clusters of small 1-inch diameter blooms often using for massing, edging and hedges. Return to top.

Miniature and Mini-Flora:

These classes have increased in popularity due to their novelty and versatility. They can be used for edging beds, growing in containers and rockeries.... The height of the average plant is about 15 to 30 inches, and flower form and foliage are indeed miniature versions of both hybrid teas and floribundas.

Mini-Flora roses are a new classification adopted by the American Rose Society in 1999 to recognize another step in the evolution of the rose, i.e. intermediate in bloom size and foliage falling between miniatures and floribundas. Return to top.

Shrub :

Shrub roses are a diverse group of plants that don't neatly fit into any of the other rose categories. Shrubs, especially modern ones, are very popular because of their long season of bloom, pest and disease resistance and versatility in the landscape. There are 5 popular subdivisions within the class: hybrid kordesii, hybrid moyesii, hybrid musk, hybrid rugosa and shrub. They can grow from 5 to 15 feet or more in every direction given the correct climate and growing conditions. Noted for their hardiness, they are usually vigorous and produce large quantities of clusters of flowers. The unique group of roses hybridized by David Austin (often called English Roses) belong to this class. They resemble old garden roses in shape and form but are recurrent bloomers and often have fragrance. Return to top.

Large Flowered Climber:

These varieties are dominated by their growth habit, long arching canes with the ability to climb (if properly trained and tied) up fences, over walls, through trellises, arbors and pergolas. These varieties offer a wide range of flower forms, shapes and colors. Return to top.

Information on rose types taken from "2006 American Rose Society Handbook for Selecting Roses" and "Roses for Dummies."

This page last updated on August 24, 2006