There are many different types of roses in the International Rose Garden. These include:
Australian Bred Roses
Roses bred in Australia for Australian Climates.
Climbing
Climbers can be used in a multitude of situations, limited only by your imagination. For best results espalier the long canes into a horizontal position to promote lateral growth. Do not over prune for the first two seasons and then only to remove dead wood and unproductive growth. Climbers flower best from one year old canes.
Floribunda
Second only to the Hybrid Tea in popularity, Floribunda roses bear flowers in large clusters on one stem, providing massive, colourful, long-lasting garden displays.
As a class, they are hardier and easier to care for than their hybrid tea counterparts. They range from low growing varieties of 50cm high, but average at 1.2m.
Well suited for mass plantings, in pots or to form colourful borders and low hedges.
Hybrid Tea
Hybrid Tea roses have been the most recognisable class of rose for more than a hundred years. Today there are more than 10,000 hybrid tea roses.
They bear classic full flowers with either a single flower or several to a stem. There can be as many as 30 to 50 petals per flower.
Many have a good fragrance and are excellent for cut flowers. Height ranges from 1m to 2m but averages 1.5m tall.
Landscape
Landscape Roses are selected from a variety of classes, based on their ease of care.
They are disease-resistant, require little pruning, grow quickly to fill a space and provide a long seasonal show of colour. Most Landscape Roses are grown on their own root.
Modern Shrub
Modern Shrub Roses are the ideal choice where a mass of colour is desired. Vigorous and hardy, they can create colourful hedges and borders.
Many of the taller varieties can be used as small climbers or pillars. Hedges can be planted slightly closer together.
Miniature
These are the smallest of the roses with flowers that are usually less than 5cm across.
Generally the bushes grow to no more than 50cm in height. Ideal for borders, pots or small gardens.
Old Fashioned and Heritage
Heritage Roses are any variety 75 years old or older. They are often sought after for their amazing variety, foliage and rosehips (fruit) which are complemented by the wide diversity of blooms.
The majority have exquisite fragrance. They often grow vigorously and can be found in old homesteads and cemeteries, often still thriving despite decades of total neglect.
Polyantha
There are numerous dwarf hybrid roses which are characterised by many large clusters of small flowers.
Tea Rose
Tea roses originated in China several centuries back and the name is derived from the fact that the scent of the flowers reminded people of the smell of brewing tea.