Different types of roses and what they each mean

• Miniature Roses. The smallest types of roses growing to less than 50cm high with small flowers of less than 5cm across. Great for rockeries, edging a garden border or in pots in a sunny spot. Mini Floribundas have a dome-shaped growth habit and become clothed with flowers all the way around. Mini hybrid teas form a classic goblet shape with flowers towards the top.

Mothers Day Miniature Rose

• Floribunda Roses. Latin for "many flowering", these bear many flowers in large clusters. They aren't normally as scented as Hybrid Tea roses but are generally hardier and more robust, with a higher disease resistance and therefore easier to grow. Usually grow to a max 1 metre by 1 metre (3 feet by 3 feet) in a dome-shape that becomes clothed with flowers on short stems from summer to late autumn. Great for using as a low hedge or grown in a container. Needs full sun.

• Hybrid Tea. The base will have a skeleton of branches, the middle section will be mainly foliage and the top will host the spectacular flowers on long, very straight stems. Produces large flowers from high-centred buds, one per stem, making them great for using as cut flowers. Hardy and repeat flowering. Hybrid tea roses will tolerate a little shade, providing they get a min 6 hours sunlight per day. Typically grow from 1m to 2.5m (3ft to 7ft) tall and 1m to 1.3m (3-5ft) wide.

Floribunda Rose - Iceberg

Hybrid Tea Rose - Mister Lincoln

• Climbing Roses. Naturally best suited to adding vertical ascent to your outdoor spaces and particular useful for smaller gardens or balconies where space is at a premium. Climbing roses need a framework to climb on, such as an arbour, arch, fence or pergola. Without a support they will grow as a relaxed shrub but can get very messy. Canes should be grown upwards at an angle no steeper than 45 degree to promote dense growth and lots of blooms.

Climbing rose New Dawn

• Standard Roses. Standard roses are generally grafted at a height of 90cm or 60cm for patio standards. They are a variation of the normal bush rose with an initial non-branching trunk with stems and flowers forming at the top to create a lollipop-type appearance. They're ideal for adding height to the garden and can create a formal appearance if planted in a row. The shape formed by the head depends on the variety chosen - floribundas form a ball shape; hybrid teas a goblet-shape from the graft; and ground cover varieties become weeping.

• Ground Cover Roses. Naturally have a low and spreading growth habit, reaching about a metre (3 feet) across yet rarely more than 30cm (1 feet) tall. They generally flower freely and continuously, covering the ground  with a sea of colour throughout the summer. Pest and disease free, very hardy and therefore easy to grow.

• Shrub Roses. This category broadly encompasses any other types of rose not already mentioned, including modern shrub roses, older species roses and David Austin varieties. Growth habit can vary completely from one variety to another. It's best to look out for ones labelled as repeat flowering if you opt for an older variety. Most modern shrub and David Austin roses have colourful hips at the end of the growing season and grow in a relaxed form.

Traditional English Rose Gertrude Jekyll

Other Rose Articles:
Other articles that may be of interest include:

• How to plant, grow and care for roses
• How to grow climbing roses
• What's the difference between hybrid tea and floribunda roses?
• Best hybrid tea roses
• Best floribunda roses
• Best climbing roses