HARDY ROSES
Roses have a bit of a reputation that they have generally earned for themselves fairly. Many gardeners won’t even consider planting them at home. While they produce iconic and stunning blooms, the maintenance can easily become a full-time task, with pruning and constant care. For many, taking care of these notoriously picky divas isn’t worth the effort, especially when they fail at the slightest sign of difficult weather.
Fortunately, the development of some hybrid species has made roses much more accessible for anyone’s backyard. They’re still stunning, but they’ve replaced the prima donnas with hardy and reliable plants. Here are some of our favorite hardy hybrid rose options:
KNOCKOUT ROSES
This variety of roses has been a number one seller for nearly two decades. Developed in the United States by William Radler, they debuted to the public in 2000. People fell in love instantly, and they flew off the shelves everywhere. Their popularity carried them all the way to being selected as the All America Rose Selection winner the year they appeared. The question then becomes, what makes them special enough to live up to all that hype?
Photo by: Tony Alter - Flickr: Red Double Knockout Rose, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32766733
Knock Out Roses really do live up their name. They seem to have it all, but most importantly they seem to have it where it counts. These roses solve a lot of the most common frustrations with traditional rose varieties. They’re easy to grow and require very little care, while still producing gorgeous flowers, like the Double Knock Out Rose, Pink Double Knock Out, or the Sunny Knock Out. They are resistant to problems like disease, heat, or drought, all while still reliably producing the best jewel-tone flowers. These roses don’t even require deadheading, as they will push aside old blooms on their own for new ones every few weeks from spring through fall.
Simply find a reasonably sunny location - though they will tolerate some partial shade, unlike other roses - with rich and well-draining soil. Keep in mind that your Knock Out will grow with enthusiasm without a lot of coddling, so you should plan to give it a few feet to fill out. Water well after planting, but only weekly afterwards, and mulch to help keep temperatures and moisture consistent with minimal work from you. Just prune your rose annually in the early spring for shape, and you can expect intoxicating blooms all summer.
PEACE ROSES
These pretty hybrids have a story that goes a lot deeper than their iconic and gorgeous flowers. As their name suggests, they’ve been adopted as an international symbol for peace, thanks to their interesting history. They were first developed in France just before the country was invaded in WWII. The developer, Francis Meilland, anticipated some of the horrors of the war to come, so he sent some cuttings to friends overseas to try to preserve the strain, no matter what happened to his home country. Fortunately, his friends in America took over development and kept his work alive. Peace was the only thought on everyone’s mind as they worked, so they decided that it was a fitting name for this rose.
Peace Roses have a downright beautiful and very distinctive aesthetic in the world of roses. This hybrid boasts luxuriously large, yellow-cream petals, with blushing pink at the tips. These distinctive blooms are set against dark green foliage that shifts to a red hue late in the year. As dainty as the flowers are, this rose is known to be low-maintenance, hardy, and resilient.
To bring a Peace Rose of your own home, plant in well-draining soil where it can enjoy a full day of sun. Mulching is a must with these flowers so that they can have evenly moist soils without the hassle of constant maintenance. These beauties only need a yearly pruning in late winter and will continue to blossom for decades to come.
RUGOSA ROSES
Rugosas have the reputation of being one of the hardiest varieties in the world of roses. They’re a great option to “plant and forget” in your yard, as they will easily take hot and humid weather, as well as disease, in stride.
The compromise for their nearly unshakable hardiness is that these are not a perfect and manicured plant. These roses are known for their rugged and slightly unkempt growing habit. They have a fantastically wild appearance and will proudly and bushily sprout in all directions. The rose may look wild, but that’s part of what makes it such a reliable blooming presence in your garden. Even looking on the wild side, the colorful flowers of these varieties are a treat - and popular with your local pollinators, too.
Growing a classic Rugosa Rose or the White Rugosa Rose variety is quite simple. They need full sun and some moist and well-draining soil. Water them occasionally, and that’s all you’ll need to enjoy their wild blooms for years.
Tending to roses daily to coax them into blooming doesn’t have to be the only way to have some gorgeous blooms right at home. These hardy and low-maintenance options have an aesthetic for any garden and promise the ability for nearly any garden to have a rose bush of their own. Come in today and together we’ll find a rose that is the perfect fit for you!