Understanding the types of roses

By Melanie Mathieson
Gardening Guru

Many gardeners, desire is to grow roses in their own garden. There are many different types and varieties of roses available on the market today and although many are considered tender roses, which are roses that may or may not survive in our area and most certainly need winter protection, there are hardy roses available that have been hybridized, to survive Canada’s harsh winter conditions.
Over the past two decades, many new rose varieties have been created, especially those developed in Morden, Manitoba that are considered hardy for Canada. Many newer species were. These newer varieties, also offer roses that are considered to be relatively low maintenance. Even so, those gardeners that have rose gardens still tend to fuss with them almost daily because they want to. Once established, roses become most gardeners’ “pride and joy”.
With so many names and varieties to choose from, how do you know what to pick? Before you decide on that pale yellow with pink edges, variety you need to first understand the different types of roses and which are the best choices, for your growing conditions.
Roses can be divided into three main categories:
•Old Garden roses are considered antique roses because they had been cultivated for centuries, prior to 1867. There are many classes such as the Alba, Ayrshire, Bourbon, Boursault, Centifolia, China, Damask, Gallica, Hybrid Perpetual, Moss, Noisette, Portland, Ramblers and Tea. Typically these roses are not hardy in our climate.
•Species roses which include wild roses and their hybrids, and are typically large climbing or shrub-like bushes. The flowers are usually flat, single flowers that bloom in late spring to early summer.
•Modern roses are a broad mix of roses that were developed and hybridized from the Old Garden and Species roses after 1867. Most of these classes are what we find in nurseries today. Some of these roses are hardy for our area, while others are considered tender, which means they will not survive Canadian winters. Classes in this category include Climbing, Floribunda, Grandiflora, Hybrid Musk, Hybrid Rugosa, Hybrid Tea, Landscape/Groundcover/Shrub, Minature, Mini-flora and Polyantha.
A good first rule of thumb when buying roses is to look at the tag and the growing zone rating. You want a rose that will survive in Canadian Zone 4 or less. Be careful that the tag indicates the Canadian growing zone and not the United States zone.
Another good rule of thumb is to stick to two of the newest series for Canadian bred roses, the Parkland and the Explorer series. These are Modern roses that have been developed in the colder climates of Canada and bred to be hardy and dependable for our climate. In the 1960’s, Agriculture Canada started a rose breeding program that yielded the Explorer roses that are hardy to minus 40 degrees Celsius, making this a popular species not only in Canada but in other countries that have harsh winters. Today there are 19 varieties of Explorer roses, ranging from low groundcovers to shrubs and climbing roses. Explorer Rose varieties are easy to recognize as their names are taken from those that shaped Canadian history and include:
Alexander Mackenzie: Medium red; base of petals light yellow; very hardy; disease resistant; two metres tall, 1.5 metres wide; good as a short climber.
Champlain: Bright red; ever-blooming.
Charles Albanel: Medium red; hardy; disease resistant; low-growing.
David Thompson: Red, profuse bloomer; hardy; black spot resistant; compact.
De Montarville: New variety; upright growth habit reaching 1.5 metres; good repeat blooms and disease resistance; deep pink buds open into mottled, medium pink, semi-double.
Frontenac: Deep pink, double blooms in clusters of six to eight; many flowers and good repeat bloomer; disease resistant; grows to 1.5 metres.
Henry Hudson: Semi-double blooms white, occasionally blushed pink if nights are cool; fragrant, continuous bloomer; one to 1.5 metres tall, 1.5 metres or more feet wide.
Henry Kelsey: Medium red; flowers freely and repeatedly; mildew resistant; can be used as a climber with branches reaching two to 2.5 metres.
Jens Munk: Double pink; low-growing 1.5 by 1.5 metres; blackspot and powdery mildew resistant.
John Cabot: Dark pink to red, disease resistant; can be a climber up to 2.5 metres.
John Davis: Medium pink; free-flowering; good pillar rose; disease resistant; to two metres.
John Franklin: Dark red, fringed blooms, in clusters; continuous bloomer
J.P. Connell: Creamy white bloom with yellow centre, borne singly or in clusters; almost thornless; vigorous; size reaches 1.5 metres by two metres; very hardy.
Lambert Closse: Light to dark pink; fairly new introduction; hybrid tea-like blooms; flowers from June to September; resistant to blackspot and mildew; one metre by one metre.
Louis Jolliet: Very full blooms, medium pink flowers, in clusters; trailing habit; can be trained as a climber; continuous bloomer; hardy and disease resistant.
Marie Victorin: Introduced in 1999; can be used as a low climber to two metres high, 1.5 metres wide; deep peach buds born in clusters of seven open into pale peach, fading to pink, semi-double blossoms; resistant to blackspot and powdery mildew; repeat bloomer throughout season.
Martin Frobisher: Dainty, light pink blooms; to two metres high; very hardy.
Royal Edward: Medium-pink; semi-miniature, low spreading rose; resistant to blackspot and powdery mildew.
Simon Fraser: Medium-pink; single flowers early in the season, followed by semi-double flowers; upright growth habit; requires little pruning.
William Baffin: Deep pink; yellow centre; hardy; free-flowering; powdery mildew resistant.
William Booth: Newer introduction; deep red unopened bud changes to a medium red at the blossom stage and later fades to a light red in the fully opened flower; one to1.5 metres high, 1.5 to two metres wide; excellent resistance to blackspot and powdery mildew.
Another series of Canadian hardy roses developed by Agriculture Canada, are those that have been developed at the Morden, Manitoba Research Station, specifically for prairie conditions and are known as Parkland roses. These hybrids were developed using the wild prairie rose and crossing it with the Modern roses, the floribunda and hybrid tea roses. The results produced a series of roses that are all exceptional for their hardiness in Canada, as they are hardy down to minus 35 degrees Celsius, and only need snow cover for winter protection. They come in a variety of colours and sizes, require only minimal care, are disease resistant, flower repeatedly throughout the summer and require only minimal pruning. A dream come true, for the Canadian gardener, especially one that doesn’t want to fuss over their roses. Below is a list of the most common Parkland roses.
Adelaide Hoodless: Deep pink, clustering flower requires little to no maintenance; very hardy. Blooms flush throughout the season; very disease resistant.
Cuthbert Grant: Red semi-double cupped formed blossom.
Hope for Humanity: Dark red; double bloomer (to 20 petals); named in honour of the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Red Cross.
Morden Amorette: Carmine red blooms with 25 to 30 petals; very compact; dark foliage.
Morden Blush: Light pink to white, old-fashioned bloom; abundant blooms, low-growing.
Morden Centennial: Medium pink clusters of double blooms (50 petals) that are slightly fragrant; extremely hardy, slightly glossy foliage; good cold weather tolerance.
Morden Fireglow: Recurrent, bright orange-red blooms are cupped and double (28 petals) in small clusters; pointed buds; fragrant; bushy and upright up to 75 centimetres.
Morden Ruby: Ruby red and very double blooms are long-lasting and an early bloomer; oval buds.
Winnipeg Parks: Deep pink-red blooms, showing yellow stamens; matte, mid-green leaves; frost-hardy.

As you can see, there are some really good rose species available for the Canadian gardener. With varieties that are available to us that require much less maintenance and winter protection that the historic and traditional species, you may be smelling the roses, right in your own garden, sooner than you think.