The 10 Easiest Roses to Grow (Even for Beginners)
It's going to be a bloom-filled summer if you plant these roses now!
If you're looking to enjoy a garden of colorful blooms all summer long but you don't have a ton of gardening expertise, you're in the right place. There are plenty of easy roses for beginners to grow, no matter what type of climate or space you're working with.
I’m an experienced gardener who’s been experimenting with new garden plants and products for more than 15 years. When I first began gardening, I avoided planting roses because many people said they were high-maintenance and prone to disease. While that may have been true at one point, I've found that there are plenty of modern varietals that are surprisingly forgiving. In fact, many of the newer hybrid roses are some of the toughest, longest-blooming flowers you can grow.
If you're planting roses for the first time, here are a few tips: Make sure you choose a variety hardy enough for your USDA Zone, plant them in a sunny area (roses need at least six hours of sunlight per day), and plant them in a hole that's two to three times wider than the root ball.
Keep reading to learn about the best roses for beginners to grow.
American Pillar
USDA Hardiness zones 5 to 9
Reaching 10 to 20 feet tall, this large rambler is a delightful addition to a trellis or arbor. It’s covered in deep pink single blooms brushed with white at the center. Introduced in 1902, it’s a worthy addition to the garden for its disease resistance and vigor. As it outgrew its space, I’ve had to move this rose three times in my garden, and every time it has bounced back beautifully. Though it blooms just once in early summer, the display is spectacular.
Brick House
USDA Hardiness zones 5 to 11
Deep red blooms cover this 3-foot-tall shrub rose. When my contractor power washed my house, he inadvertently forgot to rinse the soap off this shrub. Tragedy! It turned brown and looked like it wasn’t going to recover, but it bounced back within about a month—rightly earning its name for its toughness.
Pretty Polly Pink
USDA Hardiness zones 4 to 10
This could possibly be my favorite rose of all time for the sheer number of lightly-scented blooms covering this shrub rose in early spring and sporadically throughout the summer. The intense pink color pops against the medium green foliage, and it has excellent disease resistance. This shrub stays and neat and tidy 3 feet tall and wide in my garden.
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Orange Glow Knock Out
USDA Hardiness zones 5 to 11
This luminescent rose has shades of coral, pink and creamy yellow for a striking rose in both the landscape and cut bouquets. I adore this rose for its stunning flowers and sturdy habit, which is about 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide in my garden. It also shows excellent disease resistance and bounced back from some moderate beetle damage earlier this year.
Reminiscent Crema
USDA Hardiness zones 4 to 9
This creamy-white rose has a delicious sweet scent, perfuming my nearby patio seating area. It has stayed fairly petite, around 2 feet tall and wide in my garden. The lush, romantic blooms make gorgeous cut flowers, too.
Cherry Frost
USDA Hardiness zones 4 to 10
Cherry Frost is a mini climber with velvety, deep crimson flowers. This rose requires very little care, is super cold-hardy, and reaches heights of 6 to 7 feet. It requires little maintenance, and I love snipping a few of the long-lasting blooms for display indoors.
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John Cabot
USDA Hardiness zones 5 to 10
This vigorous climbing rose can reach 10 to 12 feet tall and 4 feet wide, so make sure you give it plenty of space and a hard pruning in the spring to keep growth tidy. It has electric pink double flowers in early summer with some repeat bloom until a frost. It’s makes a wonderful rose to train up a trellis or over an arbor.
Rise Up Lilac Days
USDA Hardiness zones 4 to 9
If you’re looking for a charming, old-fashioned rose, this lightly-scented bloomer has lilac-blue flowers. It’s shown incredible resistance to disease under some challenging growing conditions the past few seasons. It’s a moderate climber, staying about 7 tall and about 2 feet wide in my garden. With its unusual hue and scent, it's a must-have for creating a romantic, cottage-garden feel.
Rise Up Ringo
USDA Hardiness zones 4 to 9
With bright yellow petals and a red eye, this is a cheerful addition to any landscape. It’s bulletproof—surviving the coldest winters and still performing in the garden with zero coddling. This mini climber has reached heights of about 3 feet tall and wide in my garden.
White Knock Out
USDA Hardiness zones 4 to 11
This compact, bushy rose reaches just 2 to 3 feet tall and wide in my garden, making a great choice for smaller gardens. It boasts lovely pure white single roses with very dark green foliage. It's extremely hardy in both cold and heat.
New Dawn
USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9
Discovered in 1930, this classic rose has large blush pink roses that are sweetly perfumed. This climber is more disease resistant and cold hardy than many other older climbing varieties. It can reach heights of about 15 feet tall, making it ideal on an arbor.
Arricca Elin SanSone is a writer, editor, and content creator who specializes in lifestyle and gardening. With a background in health reporting, she applies these same research skills when writing about the science of growing things. She trials new plants in her expansive garden, and her houseplant collection consists of 60+ varieties. Arricca has written thousands of articles for publications such as Country Living, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, Prevention, VERANDA, Southern Living, and more. She’s happiest when digging in the dirt, baking, or spending time with the people and dogs she loves.
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