You’re out for your morning walk when you pass your neighbor’s yard. You know, the one with the impeccably manicured lawn and astonishing flower garden, complete with the most incredible rose bushes you’ve ever seen. The blooms are so fragrant you must stop and breathe them all in.
Before you convince yourself that you could never grow roses as glorious as these, know you can. There are thousands of rose varieties, many of which are low-maintenance and perfect for amateur gardeners. We’ve weeded through the countless varieties and created a helpful guide for choosing the easiest roses to grow for beginners.
Rose types
Within the Rosa genus are more than 150 species, with thousands of rose varieties cultivated over centuries. Some have bountiful blooms–60 to 70 petals in a single rose–and some are more modest, with just six to seven per flower.
Generally, roses bloom in six- to eight-week cycles. Colors vary from cherry reds to bubble gum pinks, apricot oranges, and creamy whites. Roses also come in various shapes, from dense shrubs to line your walkways to low-growing groundcovers and climbing roses perfect for your backyard trellis.
Roses generally fall into one of the following categories:
- Hybrid tea roses are upright plants that grow only one flower per stem. They are ideal for cut flower gardens and make beautiful arrangements.
- Grandiflora roses also are high-centered, upright plants, but their blooms grow in clusters. They have long cutting stems, suitable for hedging and flower-border backgrounds.
- Floribunda roses offer a continuously blooming bouquet on each branch. Their range in sizes makes them an excellent option for containers and various landscapes.
- Shrub roses come in many shapes and sizes and are great as hedges, foundation plantings, or mixed borders. They bloom heavily and are generally low-maintenance.
- Groundcover roses are low-growing and helpful for mass planting in borders, under a tree, lining a path, or covering a slope. They also work well in hanging baskets or window boxes for a wow factor.
- Climbing roses are, you guessed it, climbers. They grow beautifully on arbors, fences, trellises, or walls.
- Miniature roses require the same care as other rose varieties and are ideal for those with limited space. Plant them in a container, borders, or flower bed edging.
Easy-to-grow rose varieties
Knock Out roses
The Knock Out rose family are shrub roses that bloom continuously from the early spring to the first frost. They are self-cleaning, meaning you won’t spend hours deadheading and pruning.
These low-maintenance roses aren’t finicky and only require a sunny location and well-draining soil. Cut the stems annually in the early spring, after the last frost, to improve flowering. Knock Out roses are easy-care, disease-resistant, heat-resistant, and cold-tolerant to temperatures as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit, making them an excellent choice for most climates.
Additionally, they boast an assortment of vibrant clustered flowers, and depending on the variety, they can produce anywhere from five to 35 petals.
Pro tip: Some gardeners claim that Knock-Out roses don’t have a strong enough scent. If this is a significant concern for you, choose another variety.
Double Knock Out
Double Knock Out Roses combine the easy care of traditional Knock Out specimens with profuse, double flowers. They are prolific bloomers, producing vibrant red flowers, deep green foliage, and a fruity scent.
- Type of rose: Shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-11
- Sunlight needs: 6-8 hours of full sun
- Shape: Bushy
- Mature size: 3-4 feet tall and wide
- Flower appearance: Bright red, double blooms
- Scent: Sweet and fruity
Pink Double Knock Out
This bright pink Knock Out rose thrives in hot weather and is extremely drought-tolerant once established. Like its sisters, it is low-maintenance, bushy, and an abundant bloomer, producing bright pink flowers.
- Type of rose: Shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-11
- Sunlight needs: 6-8 hours of full sun
- Shape: Bushy
- Mature size: 3-4 feet tall and wide
- Flower appearance: Bright pink, double blooms
- Scent: Spicy
Sunny Knock Out
Sunny is a bicolor Knock Out variety with an upright growth habit. It is fragrant, producing deep green foliage and bright yellow flowers that fade to cream.
- Type of rose: Shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-11
- Sunlight needs: 6-8 hours of full sun
- Shape: Bushy
- Mature size: 3-5 feet tall and wide
- Flower appearance: Yellow centers fade to cream outer petals
- Scent: Fragrant; citrus
Rainbow Knock Out
Like Sunny, Rainbow Knock Out produces bicolor blooms. This variety also produces unique foliage that starts burgundy before shifting to a glossy, dark green as the plant matures. Its abundant blooms are coral pink that fade to bright sunny, yellow centers.
- Type of rose: Shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-11
- Sunlight needs: 6-8 hours of full sun
- Shape: Bushy, compact shrub
- Mature size: 3-4 feet tall and wide
- Flower appearance: Coral pink outer petals fade to yellow centers
- Scent: Sweet
Petite Knock Out
This unique variety is low-maintenance and an abundant bloomer, in miniature size. Petite Knock Out produces 1.5-inch red flowers and only reaches heights up to 18 inches.
- Type of rose: Miniature rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-10
- Sunlight needs: 6-8 hours of full sun
- Shape: Compact
- Mature size: 18 inches tall and wide
- Flower appearance: Bright red
- Scent: Mild
Flower Carpet roses
The family of Flower Carpet roses are low-growing groundcover varieties of roses. Plant this rose in your garden beds, along borders, or in pots and hanging baskets. They are long bloomers like Knock Out roses, blooming from the spring to late autumn.
Their unique double roots allow them to tolerate various weather conditions, including drought. Flower Carpet roses don’t require routine chemical spraying, as they tolerate common rose diseases like black spot and mildew.
Full sun brings an abundance of bloom clusters; however, Flower Carpet roses can survive in partial sun and hot climates with less flowering. A single stem can produce up to 60 flowers and developing buds.
Flower Carpet Coral
Flower Carpet Coral produces clusters of coral flowers with dense, dark green foliage. It tolerates partial shade and is low-maintenance and disease-resistant.
- Type of rose: Groundcover, shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-10
- Sunlight needs: Full sun to partial shade
- Shape: Low, compact bush
- Mature size: 2-3 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide
- Flower appearance: Coral pink, two-inch blooms with bright yellow stamens
Flower Carpet White
Like its sister, Flower Carpet White features a dense growth habit and two-inch blooms. It is resistant to heat and humidity, producing white flowers with yellow stamens, reminiscent of a tropical flower.
- Type of rose: Groundcover, shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-10
- Sunlight needs: Full sun to partial shade
- Shape: Low, compact bush
- Mature size: 2-3 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide
- Flower appearance: White petals with bright yellow stamens
Flower Carpet Scarlet
Another impressive bloomer, Flower Carpet Scarlet produces vibrant red petals with yellow stamens. It is disease-tolerant and low-maintenance and does not require heavy pruning.
- Type of rose: Groundcover, shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-10
- Sunlight needs: Full sun to partial shade
- Shape: Low, compact bush
- Mature size: 2-3 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide
- Flower appearance: Bright red petals with bright yellow stamens
Hybrid tea roses
First produced in the 1800s, the hybrid tea rose is the quintessential rose–the full, single-stem specimen that has inspired poetry and music for hundreds of years.
These tall beauties are the leading players in the floral industry–perfect for the cut flower garden. They also work well in the back of a border, thanks to their height. Hybrid tea roses bloom from the early summer until late fall.
While many hybrid tea roses are susceptible to black spot, some cultivars, such as Mister Lincoln, are disease-resistant. They require pruning but are worth the light labor.
Mister Lincoln
Sporting velvety red petals, Mister Lincoln starts blooming in the early summer. It is a tall specimen and continuous bloomer, tolerating heat and other harsh conditions.
- Type of rose: Hybrid tea, shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-10
- Sunlight needs: 6-8 hours of full sun
- Shape: Upright
- Mature size: 3-6 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide
- Flower appearance: Bright red, 5-inch, double blooms
- Scent: Damask
Peace
Peace roses are world famous. They are fragrant and produce large, bicolor blooms up to six inches across. Its petals fade from a milky yellow to a medium pink, blooming from the spring to the fall.
- Type of rose: Hybrid tea, shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 9-9
- Sunlight needs: 6-8 hours of full sun
- Shape: Upright
- Mature size: 4-7 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide
- Flower appearance: Bicolor petals fade from yellow to pink; 6-inch double blooms
- Scent: Sweet, floral
Silver Jubilee
Producing four-inch double blooms, Silver Jubilee sports salmon, coral, and silvery pink petals among deep, glossy foliage.
- Type of rose: Hybrid tea, shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-9
- Sunlight needs: 6-8 hours of full sun
- Shape: Upright
- Mature size: 3-4 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide
- Flower appearance: Silvery pink, apricot, or salmon petals; 4-inch double blooms
- Scent: Sweet
Easy Elegance roses
These are a brilliant addition to any border, hedge, or decorative container. Easy Elegance roses bloom from the early spring until the first frost. They are cold-hardy, durable plants that resist pests and diseases, making the Easy Elegance family of roses low-maintenance.
They prefer frequent watering but like to dry out between sessions. They also require good drainage to prevent waterlogging and a minimum of six hours of sunlight. They also appreciate a slow-release fertilizer application once a year in the early spring.
Little Mischief
Little Mischief blooms all season long, producing deep and light pink blooms among glossy foliage. It is disease-resistant, hardy, and low-maintenance.
- Type of rose: Shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-9
- Sunlight needs: 6-8 hours of full sun
- Shape: Round, compact shrub rose
- Mature size: 2-3 feet tall and 2-4 feet wide
- Flower appearance: Dark pink blooms
- Scent: Sweet
Snowdrift
This upright specimen produces creamy white blooms with a unique cup shape. Like other varieties of Easy Elegance roses, Snowdrift is hardy and disease-resistant.
- Type of rose: Shrub rose
- USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-9
- Sunlight needs: 6-8 hours of full sun
- Shape: Upright
- Mature size: 3-4 feet tall and wide
- Flower appearance: Bicolor blooms; creamy white petals fade to apricot centers
- Scent: Floral
Rose growing tips for beginners
When planning your rose garden, start by looking for low-maintenance varieties and consider disease-resistant specimens to avoid fungal diseases like black spot and powdery mildew. Additionally, follow a few simple tips to get the most out of your rose garden:
- Plant roses in well-draining soil with full sun.
- Water deeply at the base of plants to encourage deep roots. Overhead watering leads to disease.
- Lay mulch to retain soil moisture, keep the plant cool and prevent weeds from invading your garden.
- Consider planting in raised flower beds or amending your soil with organic compost.
- Use a slow-release fertilizer during the growing season.
- Prune specimens in the late winter or the early spring to remove dead growth.
- Deadhead, cut off, spent booms to encourage vigorous growth.
FAQ about the easiest roses to grow for beginners
What does self-cleaning mean for roses?
Self-cleaning means this specific rose doesn’t require any deadheading or pruning; the spent leaves and flowers drop on their own.
What is deadheading?
Deadheading is removing the dead flowers from your plants. The benefits of deadheading flowers include:
- Improved appearance
- Reduced plant waste on the ground
- Extended blooming period
- Energy focused on new flower growth instead of on seed production
What is waterlogging?
Waterlogging occurs when water accumulates in a plant’s root zone, which causes low oxygen levels. Low oxygen levels cause roots to die and the plant to suffer. Symptoms include wilting and rotting near the plant’s base. Waterlogging is especially problematic in clay soils. Here are some steps you can take to deal with waterlogging:
- Add organic matter such as compost, manure, or peat moss to improve soil texture.
- Remove mulch that prevents soil from drying out quickly.
In general, roses don’t do well in waterlogged soils. If you can’t get roses to work or amending the soil is too inconvenient, focus on plants that like moist soil.
Let a pro deal with the thorny details
Now that we’ve narrowed the playing field to 13 solid contenders, you can start planning your rose garden. If you’re still not confident, hire a Lawn Love gardening professional to help get things started. They can give you tips and tricks based on your location, climate, and soil conditions.
Main Image Credit: Pixabay with Text Overlay
