A traditional gift for Valentine’s Day is a bouquet of roses. Cut flowers are beautiful but not very long lasting. If you love roses and want to enjoy them all summer long, plant hardy landscape roses in your garden. These plants are low maintenance and easy to grow.
The following are the tried and true varieties of groundcover, shrub and climbing roses we use. For best results, plant them in a full sun, well-draining location and fertilize and prune them at the proper time.
Groundcover Roses
Drift® Groundcover Rose is a small, low-growing shrub rose covered with dainty, double blooms. Planted in masses, they look great in front of a border. It’s available in a variety of colors from white, peach, pink and red. 1-2’ h x 2-3’ w
Hardy Shrub Roses
Hardy shrub roses bloom freely from June to December, tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, are almost pest free and need little winter protection (it’s not the weather that causes problems, but rabbits!).
The Knockout® Family of Roses are medium-sized shrub roses that add vivid color as mass foundation plantings or combined in mixed beds. Three of our favorite, hardy varieties with full, double blooms are the cherry red Double Knockout, deep pink Double Pink Knockout, and pale yellow Sunny Knockout, which is also fragrant. 3’ h x 3’w
Looking for a true red rose? Home Run Rose, Rosa ‘WEKcisbako’, has clusters of bold red, single flowers with yellow centers. It’s beautiful yet tough, salt-tolerant and resistant to powdery mildew. 3’h x 3’w
Milwaukee’s Calatrava Rose, Rosa ‘Radfragwhite’, is a new, wonderfully fragrant shrub rose with pure white, double flowers and slightly ruffled petals that turn pink in cooler weather. Plant where it can be enjoyed by your senses! 4’h x 4’w
Miracle Sensation Rose, Rosa ‘Miracle Sensation’, is another very fragrant shrub rose. Distinctive, single flowers have yellow centers and pale pink petals with a darker pink edge. 4’h x 4’w
Climbing Roses
Climbing roses are wonderful on trellises, arbors, pergolas and walls, surrounding passersby with beauty and romance. The following favorites are older varieties that are vigorous growers, blooming from late spring to fall with gorgeous, fragrant flowers.
New Dawn Climbing Rose, Rosa ‘New Dawn’, has large, double shell pink flowers that impart an old world charm. 12’h
Blaze Climbing Rose, Rosa ‘Blaze’, has slightly fragrant, semi-double scarlet red flowers that bring a spectacular show in the garden. 12’h
Zephirine Drouhin Climbing Rose, Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’, has very fragrant, cerise pink flowers and thornless canes. It is one of the more shade-tolerant climbing roses. 12’h
