The 15 Best Roses to Grow, Even If You’re Convinced You Can’t Keep a Plant Alive

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Fact: No garden is complete without roses.  While annual flowers and perennials are essential, roses are known for their classic beauty, fragrance and romantic, old-fashioned charm.  Pollinators love them, too!

And if you think they aren’t for you, we’re here to prove otherwise. “There’s a rose that works in every garden,” says Stephen Scanniello, curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at New York Botanical Garden, rosarian of Helen S. Kaman Rose Garden at Elizabeth Park and advisor to the Remember Me Rose Garden, which honors those lost during 9/11. “Anyone can grow roses when you find the right variety for your garden setting.”

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What Are the Best Types of Roses to Grow?

Roses generally are grouped based on their growth habit and flower form. You may see the words heritage, antique, heirloom or Old Garden roses in descriptions. These terms are used interchangeably to describe varieties that have been around for many years and that have big, lush blooms. They flower once in early summer and are not as disease-resistant as many newer roses, so they can be challenging for new gardeners to grow, says Scanniello.

Hybrid tea roses are the “classic rose” with a single flower on a long stem for cutting; some varieties also can be tricky if you’re not an experienced rose grower.

Some of the easiest roses to grow include newer hybrids, which tend to have better disease resistance, cold tolerance and a longer bloom time, says Scanniello. This includes:

How Do You Plant a Rose Bush?

First, choose a spot in your garden that gets full sun, which is at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. All roses need full sun to bloom well, so don’t try to cheat or you’ll be disappointed with their performance. Also, make sure you select a variety that can survive winters in your USDA Hardiness zone (find yours here). Finally, do not water them at night, which increases the likelihood of spreading foliar diseases, says Scanniello.

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The 15 Best Roses to Grow in Your Yard

Ahead, our favorite roses trialed in our own gardens, as well as Scanniello’s top picks:

Proven Winners/Spring Meadow Nursery

This brand-new rose is a mini climber that maxes out at 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It has gorgeous double yellow flowers with a bright orange-y red center. It’s an eye-catching, vigorous grower with great disease resistance.

buy it ($40)

Star Roses

This mini climber reaches about 6 feet tall, is cold hardy and has tons of dark red repeat blooms all summer long. It’s also fairly disease resistant, making it a great pick for new gardeners.

buy it ($22)

Proven Winners/Spring Meadow Nursery

Disease resistance? Check. Dreamy clusters of lilac-blue flowers. Check! Light, old-fashioned fragrance? Check. This mini climber blooms all summer and keeps a nice, dense habit, eventually reaching 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

buy it ($32)

Home Depot

This series of shrub roses was bred for outstanding disease resistance. It flowers for months without requiring deadheading and reaches 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. The original Knock Out has a rich reddish pink color, but it’s also available in shades such as pink, pure white, coral, bright pink and orange. It’s one of the easiest roses you’ll ever grow.

buy it ($25)

Home Depot

Consider this the baby sibling of other Knock Out roses! This miniature rose has the same hardiness as other Knock Outs, but it stays 18 inches tall, so it’s ideal in containers or window boxes.

buy it ($43)

Fast Growing Trees

You will not believe how vibrantly pink the blooms of this shrub rose are. Blooms keep coming all summer, and it has excellent disease resistance and a nice, compact form that reaches 3 feet tall by 3 feet wide. It’s an absolute must-have for any garden.

buy it ($60)

Proven Winners/Spring Meadow Nursery

Creamy white old-fashioned roses adorn this beautiful shrub. It reaches just 24 inches tall and wide, so it’s a good choices for smaller gardens. It also boasts excellent disease resistance.

buy it ($40)

Home Depot

These charming roses are a combination of a miniature rose and groundcover-type rose, so they keep a nice, low habit at 1 1/2 feet tall and 2 1/2 feet wide. They make excellent choices for mass plantings or to control erosion on hillsides.

buy it ($30)

Amazon

This beautiful soft pink grandiflora rose boasts loads of flowers which are ideal for cutting. It has a tall, bushy shape about 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide and offers good disease resistance and cold hardiness.

$57 at Amazon

Chamblee’s Rose Nursery

This lovely (and brand-new) cupped-shaped rose has a strong raspberry-lemon scent that’s quite delightful. Its gorgeous flowers rebloom throughout the season, and it has excellent disease resistance. This shrub reaches 4 feet tall by 2 feet wide.

buy it ($29)

Proven Winners/Spring Meadow Nursery

The only thing more delightful than this rose’s apricot-pink flowers? Its sweet scent, which makes it great for planting near any seating areas in your yard. At Last roses have good disease resistance and will keep a nice, rounded 3 foot tall and wide shape.

buy it ($41)

Proven Winners/Spring Meadow Nursery

If you’re tired of red and pink roses, check out this shrub rose. It boasts a flaming coral color that will look smashing in borders or as a mass planting. It has good disease resistance and reaches 3 feet tall and wide.

buy it ($40)

Fast Growing Trees

Looking for the ease of a Knock Out but in a more dramatic form? This rose has been pruned into tree form, and it has all the same amazing qualities of any other Knock Out. It reaches 3 to 4 feet tall and wide.

buy it ($119)

Jackson & Perkins

This vigorous climber has a unique story: It is a found rose that was discovered after surviving two weeks under water during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It’s a sturdy, fast grower that does well in an array of climates. Give this one plenty of room to spread, as it will reach 6 to 15 feet tall and wide.

buy it ($45)

Jackson & Perkins

This stunning hybrid tea rose is more disease resistant than many others in this category. The lush, full flowers of shell pink are stunning in a vase. They’re also very fragrant. This rose reaches 5 feet tall by 2 to 3 feet wide.

buy it ($45)

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