Many gardeners shy away from growing roses because of their reputation for being high-maintenance, but a new breed of roses has emerged in recent years that offers identical beauty with far less fuss. These easy care roses are changing the game for both novice and experienced gardeners. Read all about how to grow low-maintenance blooms in our guide below. These types of roses offer color and charm to landscapes with very minimal effort.
Understanding Easy Care Roses
Easy care roses have revolutionized rose gardening, and have made it accessible to a wider range of gardeners. These varieties combine the classic beauty of roses with modern breeding techniques to create stunning and low-maintenance plants.
What Are Easy Care Roses?
Easy care roses, or landscape roses, are hardy, resistant to disease, and bloom continuously. These plants require less pruning, spraying, and general upkeep than traditional hybrid tea roses. They are often shrub-type roses that can be everything from hedges to groundcovers.
Benefits of Easy Care Roses
Easy care roses offer continuous blooms from spring to fall, and feature the longest season of color of any flowering shrub. These roses don’t need chemical treatment, and they can thrive with minimal care.
Easy Care Roses vs Traditional Roses
There are several key differences between easy-care roses and traditional roses, including those below.
Maintenance and Care
Easy care roses are low-maintenance, while traditional roses need regular pruning, deadheading, and protection from pests and diseases. These roses are more susceptible to common issues such as black spot, powdery mildew, and aphids.
Bloom and Aesthetic
Easy care roses bloom continuously, and their flowers feature fewer petals and less fragrance than traditional rose flowers. Traditional roses feature large, intricate blooms with many petals, and more pronounced fragrances. They boast a classic, romantic appearance.
Growth Habits
Easy care roses feature bushy, sprawling growths, which makes them excellent for filling spaces in landscapes. Gardeners can use them as borders or groundcovers. Traditional roses grow upright, and function well as focal points in gardens. Gardeners use them to create structured rose beds or hedges.
Hardiness and Adaptability
Easy care roses can thrive in a wide range of climates and conditions. They can withstand varying soil types, temperature extremes, and drought conditions. Traditional roses require rich soil that can drain easily and consistent watering. They may struggle in less-than-ideal environments.
Longevity and Resilience
Easy care roses can live for many years with minimal intervention. Their hardiness makes them an excellent choice for gardeners who seek a long-lasting garden feature. Traditional roses require more intensive care to thrive over the years. Without proper maintenance, they may be more prone to decline.
Cost and Availability
Easy care roses are generally more affordable and widely available than traditional roses. Rose enthusiasts traditionally seek out traditional roses, though, and collectors are likelier to invest time and money into expanding their gardens with traditional roses.
Top Easy Care Rose Varieties
Easy care roses are available in several varieties that can succeed in various climates and conditions, including those below.
Shrub Roses
Shrub roses work well as flower borders or informal hedges. The Knock Out variety has become incredibly popular because of its resistance to disease and prolific blooms. Other notable varieties include Carefree and Flower Carpet roses, red Home Run roses, and white Sally Holmes roses.
Floribunda Roses
Floribundas are known for their abundant clusters of blooms. These roses grow up to 5 feet high, and offer a spectacular display throughout the season. Varieties include white Iceberg roses, golden yellow Easy Going roses, and yellow Sunsprite roses. These roses combine the best traits of their polyantha and hybrid tea parents, which makes them easy to care for.
Groundcover Roses
Groundcover roses are an excellent choice for gardeners who want to cover large areas with color. These low-growing, sprawling roses are perfect for slopes, or as alternatives to traditional groundcovers. Gardeners can use Flower Carpets for large areas, or Red Cascades for smaller areas.
Planting and Growing Easy Care Roses
You must choose your garden site carefully to successfully grow easy care roses. This will set your roses up for years of beautiful blooms.
Choosing the Right Location
All roses, including easy care varieties, thrive in full sun. Choose a location that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. Less sun can result in fewer flowers and leggier plants. Some vendors will market roses as shade-tolerant, but most perform best with plenty of sunlight.
Soil Preparation and Planting Tips
Prepare the soil by incorporating organic matter, which will improve drainage and fertility. Dig a hole that’s twice as wide as a rose’s root ball and just as deep. Place the rose in, and spread the roots outward. Backfill with soil, water thoroughly, and mulch around the base to suppress weeds and help the soil retain moisture.
Essential Care for Easy Care Roses
Easy care roses require less maintenance than traditional varieties, but they still benefit from some basic care. Follow the tips below to make sure they stay in good health.
Watering Requirements
You must water roses consistently to keep them in good health. Deep water once or twice a week during dry periods. Consider drip irrigation to keep the foliage dry and reduce the risk of disease. Water at the base of the plant to avoid wetting the leaves.
Fertilizing Schedule
Feed easy care roses with a high-nitrogen fertilizer every four to six weeks to keep them blooming throughout the season. Organic options such as compost or well-rotted manure can also be helpful. Always water before and after applying fertilizer to prevent root burn.
Pruning Techniques
Easy care roses don’t require intricate pruning. Simply cut back the plants by half to two-thirds of their height and thin out crowded canes in winter. This pruning helps your roses maintain a compact shape and encourages new growth for the coming season.
Disease Resistance in Easy Care Roses
One of the most significant advantages of easy care roses is resistance to disease. This trait dramatically reduces the need for chemical interventions and makes growing roses more accessible to organic gardeners.
Common Rose Diseases
The three most common rose diseases are black spot, rust, and powdery mildew. These fungal infections can devastate roses, cause defoliation, and weaken plants. The prevalence of these diseases varies by region and climate. Black spot is particularly problematic in hot, humid areas.
Selecting Disease-Resistant Varieties
Look for easy care roses that are specifically bred to be disease resistant. No rose is completely immune to disease, but these varieties can thrive with minimal intervention in most conditions.
Preventing Disease in Your Roses
To combat common diseases, plant roses in well-drained soil that features good air circulation. This will reduce moisture that can foster fungal growth. Regularly inspect your plants, and promptly remove any affected leaves or debris from around the base to prevent the spread of disease.
Water the roses at the base early in the morning to keep the foliage dry, as wet leaves are more susceptible to infection. Applying a layer of mulch around the base of the plants can help the plants to retain moisture and reduce splashing water that can spread spores.
Use organic fungicides or neem oil to prevent disease in the growing seasons, especially if conditions are humid. These practices, combined with the inherent resilience of easy care roses, should keep the plants disease-free.
Easy Care Roses for Different Climates
Easy care roses can thrive in a variety of climates. Read about which plants are suited for which climates below.
Cold-Hardy Varieties
Gardeners in colder regions should seek roses from the Explorer series or the Morden (Parkland) series. These roses can withstand temperatures that dip below freezing.
Heat-Tolerant Roses
Gardeners in warm climates should seek roses that bear the Earth Kind designation from Texas A&M University. These roses, such as Belinda’s Dream, have proven they can thrive in hot, humid conditions with minimal care.
Incorporating Easy Care Roses in Your Landscape
Easy care roses are versatile plants that you can use in a number of ways across your landscape. Read more below.
Rose Gardens and Borders
Use easy care roses as the backbone of mixed borders, or to create a dedicated rose garden. The roses’ continuous blooms and resistance to disease helps them to bloom all season long.
Roses in Containers
Easy care roses perform well in containers, which makes them perfect for patios, balconies, or small spaces. Choose compact varieties, and make sure any container you use has adequate drainage. Water and fertilizer container-grown roses regularly.
Using Roses as Hedges
Create a beautiful, flowering hedge using easy care shrub roses. Plant them close together to form a dense barrier that blooms throughout the season. This approach combines the practicality of a hedge with the beauty of a rose garden.
Companion Planting for Better Health
Companion planting with easy-care rose varieties gives you a beautiful variety of flowers and plants, and can help you to fight off common pests that might otherwise ravage your rose garden. Consider the plants below.
- Alliums: These ornamental onions are beautiful and functional. Their spherical blooms can add architectural interest to your garden, and their scent repels aphids, a common pest to roses. Alliums also share the same growing conditions as easy care roses, which makes them ideal companions.
- Catmint (Nepeta): Catmint’s soft, gray-green foliage and clusters of purple-blue flowers create a beautiful contrast against roses. Catmint is drought-tolerant, attracts beneficial insects, and deters pests.
- Geraniums: Hardy geraniums are low-growing plants that provide excellent ground cover. Their foliage suppresses weeds, and their flowers can add bursts of color beneath roses. They deter some pests, and can reduce the risk of fungal diseases by improving air circulation at the base of the rose bushes.
- Heuchera (Coral Bells): Heucheras offer attractive foliage in a variety of colors, from deep purples to bright greens. They thrive in partial shade, so plant them near the base of taller rose bushes.
- Lavender: Lavender’s aromatic foliage and purple flowers complement rosesr. Lavender repels pests such as aphids, and thrives in well-drained soil and full sun.
- Marigolds: Marigolds produce a scent that deters many garden pests, such as nematodes and aphids. Their bright, cheerful flowers add splashes of color that complement roses.
- Salvia: Salvias’ spiky flowers make excellent companions to roses. They attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies, which are beneficial for the garden. They also repel common rose pests.
Extending the Blooming Season With Easy Care Roses
Easy care roses can offer beautiful color from spring until the first frost. Follow the techniques below to maximize their blooming potential:
Deadheading Techniques
Many easy care roses are self-cleaning, which means spent blooms fall off on their own, but deadheading can encourage even more blooms. Simply remove faded flowers by cutting just above the first set of leaves below the bloom.
Encouraging Repeat Blooming
Water and fertilize your roses diligently throughout the growing season to promote continuous flowering. Regularly remove spent blooms, and avoiding heavy pruning during the active growing season. This will help you to maintain a steady supply of flowers.