Permaculture Plants: Roses, an Introduction to Rose Types

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Hi John, this isn't actually a temperate climate question, but I'd love to hear your thoughts anyways. I've just moved into a new home in Southern Turkey where the climate is similar to that of southern California. I'm hoping to experiment with some permaculture projects in my living space and want to start with what's already there. There is a large Bougainvillea bush ("paper flower") in the back yard and roses in the front yard. Do you have any insights from your reading about the benefits and uses of these two plants in particular and how they as ornamentals might fit into a permaculture system?

I tackled the Bougainvillea plant in the post, so feel free to take a look at it if you are interested.

In general, Roses are found all over the world. There are native Roses from Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa. Roses are a perfect topic for this blog. The topic of Roses is really quite big, so I thought I would break it up in smaller, more digestible chunks. I'll start off with a general introduction to the Rosa species, and then I will move on to more specific species and important aspects of Rose care that would be important for a Permaculturist and/or Homesteader. So here goes...

Rambling Rose: American Pillar Rose

Common Name: Rose

Scientific Name: Rosa species…

Family: Rosaceae

There are over 100 species of roses in the world, and this number may be closer to 150, but botanists cannot decide, and there are thousands of varieties or cultivars of these species.

There are four major types of roses:

1. Climbing Roses:

These roses don’t really climb, but they have long and flexible canes that can be trained and/or attached to fences, trellises, and other garden structures. (pictured above)

Large-Flowered Climbing Roses – thick canes, grow to 10 feet long, large flowers, blooms through the summer (repeat-blooming). Many different flower bloom shapes and colors
Rambling Roses – thin canes, grow 20+ feet long, small flowers, bloom in early summer (once-blooming)

Shrub Rose: Zephirine Drouhin

2. Shrub Roses:

Broad, upright shrub that grows 4 – 12 feet tall. Most are very hardy. There are both once-blooming and repeat-blooming species and varieties.

Groundcover Rose: Alba Meidland

3. Groundcover Roses:

As the name implies, these are low growing, prostrate, creeping roses. There are both once-blooming and repeat-blooming species and varieties.

Bush Rose - Hybrid Tea Rose: Elle Hybrid

Bush Rose - Polyantha: White Pet

Bush Rose - Floribunda: Rosa Friesia

4. Bush Roses:

Bush roses include the majority of roses in the world. There are seven subtypes or subgroups of Bush Rose, and each subtype has dozens to hundreds of varieties of each.

Hybrid Tea Roses – narrow buds on a long stem, large many petaled flowers, repeat-blooming, 3-5 feet tall.
Polyantha Roses – very hardy, short bushes with small flowers in large clusters, repeat-blooming.
Floribunda Roses – developed from crossing hybrid tea roses with polyantha roses, very hardy, short bushes with medium-sized flowers in clusters, repeat-blooming
Grandiflora Roses – tall, narrow bush that grows to 5-6 feet, large flowers, long stems, clusters, repeat-blooming summer through autumn
Miniature Roses – very small and hardy bush with small leaves and flowers, repeat-blooming
Heritage or Old Roses – a very large group of roses grouped together because they were developed before 1867 (the date when the Hybrid Tea Rose was introduced). Heritage Roses have a variety of forms in plant and flower. Some are once-blooming, and some are repeat-blooming. Some are hardy and some are not. Many varieties of bloom shapes and colors.
- Albas
- Bourbons
- Centifloras
- China Roses
- Damasks
- Eglanteria
- Gallicas
- Mosses
- Portlands
- Etc
Tree or Standard Roses – This is more a style of rose than a specific variety. If any rose is grafted onto a specially grown trunk (ranges from 1-6 feet tall), and formed into a “tree” shape, then it is considered a Tree Rose.

Bush Rose - Grandiflora: Wild Blue Yonder

Bush Rose - Miniature: Mixed variety

http://www.rainforest2548.org/spr1.jpg

Heritage or Old Rose - Alba Rose: Unknown variety

Heritage or Old Rose - Bourbon: Louise Odier

Tree Rose: Weeping Pink

Landscape Roses

Another informal type of rose exists. These are the Landscape Roses. These roses have been developed to be easily cared for, very hardy, disease resistant, low maintenance, minimal pruning, and long, repeat blooming. That is a lot going for them, for sure; however, they do lack the beauty, fragrance, history, and charm of the other more (and sometimes much more) demanding roses. Examples include