There are only very few flowers that can compete with roses on the sheer scale of different colours, size and bloom times along with many other factors. What makes roses so interesting is that fact that there is so much to know about so many different classes and types of roses even the history behind them is fascinating.
Old Garden Roses
Old garden roses have been classified by existing before the year of 1867, this is because in that same year the hybrid tea rose was introduced. Often only blooming once a year, old garden roses carry a strong aroma and can bloom in a wide variety of forms. The most popular of classifications are as follows:
The Alba roses are known for having thick slightly blue foliage and for strong resistance to disease. As common with old garden roses, they can often have historical meaning, specifically the Alba or commonly referred to as ‘white rose’ is also the ‘white rose of york’.
The Ayrshire roses, thought to have come from Scotland, are oftentimes quite tall and produce beautiful pink roses but some types can bloom a yellow colour too.
Bourbon roses, believed to have first originated near Madagascar, are what’s thought to be a product of the old blush china rose and the autumn damask. It is thought to have been crossed unintentionally as the two aforementioned roses were prominent on the island the bourbon first came from. They’re often a lovely pale orange colour.
Modern Roses
Modern roses are mostly classified as after 1867 with the exception and are mostly made up of hybrid roses.
Arguably the most famous of the modern roses, the hybrid tea, is a combination of hybrid perpetuals and tea roses. These hybrid tea roses flower very well and are formed beautifully. Hybrid roses were the most popular rose to have in your garden throughout the entire 20th century.
Polyantha appeared around the same time as the hybrid teas, they’re popular due to the large blooms they have and bloom from spring all the way to autumn. As well as the fact they bloom in the most common rose colours (red, pink and white) this makes them perfect for a lot of gardeners along with their inherent resistance to disease and the fact they are quite low-maintenance.
Wild/Species Roses
Wild roses, as you may have guessed, are roses that occur completely naturally without any intervention from man.
The Austrian copper wild rose is a perfect example of why wild roses and ‘mostly wild roses’ are so popular, they are very tough flowers along with their shrub able to withstand quite a lot of harsh environments and climates. The mostly wild roses are wild roses that are very close to their wild origins but are slightly different/changed.
The wild prairie rose is a very aesthetically pleasing rose with a vibrant pink colour, these roses occur naturally in Iowa, North America. These roses are so well-known there that the wild prairie rose is in fact the state flower of Iowa and North Dakota whilst there different subspecies of the prairie that grow naturally in the respective areas.