The top 10 shrub roses for your garden

Sunset, Dec, 1994 by Lynn Ocone

These hardy plants with the casual appearance provide flowers and fragrance almost year-round

LAST FALL, WHEN TOM Carruth declared that "shrub roses are exploding," we listened. Carruth, the research director for Weeks Roses in Upland, California, is among the rosarians we regularly check with for rose news and facts. Spurred by his enthusiasm, we called two other Southern California pros--Clair Martin, curator of the rose garden at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, and Keith Zary, research director for Jackson & Perkins in Somis--to hear their thoughts on the subject. All agreed that shrub rose availability and popularity are burgeoning.

Precisely what makes a shrub rose a shrub rose, though, is less clear. "They are superior landscaping roses that don't fit neatly into traditional rose categories" was Martin's nontechnical definition. Carruth's criteria were just as casual: a shrub rose, he said, should have an attractive informal habit that requires little pruning, be highly disease resistant, and flower profusely much of the season. Given these definitions, a shrub rose could be anything from a diminutive 3-foot 'Gourmet Popcorn' to an assertive 10-foot 'Sally Holmes'.

To make the designation "shrub rose" a bit more helpful, we asked each rosarian to pick his or her favorite varieties. After tallying up their picks (factoring in overlapping choices and, in some cases, subjective criteria such as depth of passion for a particular variety), we came up with a list of the 10 best shrub roses currently available. To our delight, we found all 10 growing in Edie O'Hair's garden in Temecula, California.

The sizes given below are for roses grown in mild-climate areas of the West. Your plants will be smaller if you live in a colder region. All of our choices are hardy to at least -10 [degrees].

SMALL SHRUBS FOR GROUND COVERS AND BORDERS

'Baby Blanket' is a new rose, introduced in 1993 by Jackson & Perkins. Not surprisingly, Zary is the only one of our experts experienced with the plant, but he says it's the best ground cover rose he's seen because both foliage and growth are dense, the light- to medium-pink flowers bloom constantly, and the plant is extremely disease resistant. It reaches 30 inches high and spreads to 5 feet.

'The Fairy', introduced in 1932, is a time-tested rose. It forms a 3-foot spilling mound with large clusters of small, mildly flagrant pink flowers.

'Gourmet Popcorn' is a vigorous, bushy, and slightly cascading miniature that reaches 3 feet high and spreads as wide. Slightly fragrant semidouble flowers in massive clusters are bright white with showy yellow stamens. Leaves are glossy dark green. This is an excellent plant for containers.

MEDIUM SHRUBS FOR BORDERS AND HEDGES

'Abraham Darby', a David Austin English rose, reaches 5 feet or higher with long, arching canes. The large flowers, produced singly or in clusters, are deliciously fragrant and have a deeply cupped old-rose look. Petals are soft peachy pink on the inside and pale yellow on the reverse.

'Bonica' rates extremely high with all three pros. It is an upright arching shrub 4 to 5 feet high, spreading about equally wide. Large clusters of medium-pink double flowers bloom all season. Showy red hips ornament the plant in fall. It is excellent in a large container, used as a hedge, or planted en masse.

'Carefree Wonder' is a 4-to 6-foot rounded, bushy shrub. Flowers are large and bright pink with a soft pink reverse. The shrub's semiformal habit makes it suitable for a hedge.

'Iceberg' is top-ranked by all three of our experts. It blooms practically nonstop all season. Slightly fragrant pure white double blossoms open in large clusters. Vigorous and hardy, the upright bush with shiny deep green leaves reaches 5 to 6 feet tall and spreads 5 feet.

'Lavender Dream' appears as a fountain of blooms with impressive clusters of semi-double pinkish lavender flowers coating long, arching canes that grow to 5 feet. Leaves are matte light green. It is the only lavender rose the experts gave a top rating.

LARGE SPECIMEN SHRUBS THAT STAND ON THEIR OWN

'Dortmund' produces large clusters of fragrant, lacquer red single flowers with white centers; blooms are recurrent. Leaves are shiny green. The hardy shrub grows to about 6 feet tall.

'Sally Holmes' is a massive shrub reaching to around 10 feet and spreading slightly wider. Three-inch single flowers open buff peach and age to white in huge hydrangea-like clusters. Leaves are glossy dark green.

PLANTING AND CARE

One of the virtues of shrub roses is that under the right conditions, they do not require intensive pruning and spraying to look good and stay healthy. They grow best when planted in full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. Give them plenty of room to grow so that at maturity air circulates freely between plants.

For vigorous growth and abundant blooms, water and fertilize regularly. Water deeply to moisten the entire root system. Apply a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch at the base of each plant to save water and minimize weeds. Feed established roses every four to six weeks during the growing season, starting when the buds begin to swell in spring. Cut spent flowers throughout the season to encourage new blooms.