Shrub Rose Bushes

CITY FLORAL GROWN SHRUB ROSES

Shrub rose bushes are an ideal candidate for carefree borders and summer-long color. Shrub roses provide a super-rugged nature and repeat bloom. Whether you plant them in groups of three or more to create a gorgeous, fragrant fence line, select one as an outstanding specimen, or mix them throughout your perennial beds, shrub roses will captivate every visitor to your garden!

KEY FEATURES & CARE

LIGHT

Shrub rose bushes bloom the best in full sun. Choose a location with at least 6 hours of sun per day. Morning sun is more kind to the plant.

WATERING

Watering these rose bushes one to two inches of water per week is usually sufficient, but this varies by climate and growing conditions. Hot locations and sandy soil like Colorado will need more frequent watering. Make sure to water the ground and not the leaves.

SOIL

A rich, sandy loam is the preferred soil for shrub rose bushes. Amend difficult soils with humus, or consider building up the beds to ensure good drainage. Roses will not tolerate soggy, wet roots. Mulch the plants to cool the roots and conserve water.

FERTILIZER

Shrub rose bushes are heavy feeders and benefit from regular applications of fertilizer. Choose a balanced fertilizer or one labeled for roses. Iron is essential if the soil’s pH is too high. If the leaves turn yellow with green veins, use an iron supplement.

SHRUB ROSE BUSH VARIETIES

BELINDA'S BLUSH

Color: Cream/Pink Blush
Fragrance: Light Fruity
‘Belinda’s Blush’ is a color sport of one of our favorite roses, ‘Belinda’s Dream’. Similar in size and growth habit, this rose offers fragrant, full blooms of a light, creamy pink that are excellent for cutting. Canes free of thorns are always appreciated.

Bloom Time: Late Spring to Fall
Plant Height: 4 – 6 feet
Plant Spacing: 3 – 4 feet

IN YOUR EYES

Color: Yellow to Lavender
Fragrance: Mild Fruity
These are not your average shrub rose blooms. In Your Eyes is also diamond–tough, disease-resistant, and wildly prolific. You’ll get big clusters of blooms in sophisticated pastel shades. The flower actually starts cream–yellow with red-eye and matures to lavender with a purple eye, but as each bloom appears and matures in its own time, the clusters will be fascinatingly multi-colored from spring to fall.

Bloom Time: Late Spring to Fall
Plant Height: 2 – 3 feet
Plant Spacing: 2 – 3 feet

PILLOW FIGHT

Color: Bright White
Fragrance: Strong Honey Rose
You might think feathers are flying when this dreamy shrub explodes into bloom. Almost like a repeat blooming snowball bush, the clusters of fragrant flowers are quite a blinding white color set against the very deep glossy green foliage.

Bloom Time: Late Spring to Fall
Plant Height: 3 feet
Plant Spacing: 3 feet

OTHER ROSE BUSHES

MINIATURE ROSE BUSHES – Miniature roses have been bred to stay under three feet tall while still putting out clusters of colorful blooms. This makes them ideal additions to rock gardens, tight border spots, the edges of rose gardens, and patio container gardens. The short bushes grow dense and bushy, vaunting packed trusses full of petite blooms!

FLORIBUNDA ROSES – Typically Floribunda roses feature stiff shrubs, smaller and bushier than the average hybrid tea but less dense and sprawling than the average polyantha. The flowers are often smaller than hybrid teas but are carried in large sprays, giving a better floral effect in the garden. Today they are still used in large bedding schemes in public parks and similar spaces.

GRANDIFLORA ROSES – Grandiflora roses are known for their large, showy flowers. They are a combination of graceful blooms of the hybrid teas married with floribundas’ repetitive growth cycle. The shades of colors go from soft pastels to deep purples and are complemented by the hints of the sweetest floral perfumes. These tall and hardy roses develop on long-stemmed clusters for exquisite sophistication in flower border landscaping or hedging—Hardy and disease resistant.