Roses: Do You Know the Difference?

Your roses are all beautiful. But, do you know the difference?

You may be familiar with Knock Out roses and Drift roses (a lower-growing shrub rose). These roses and other shrub roses are of the floribunda type. These rose bushes will flower throughout their growing season. Tea roses often grow much taller than shrub roses and produce a larger bloom. Both shrub roses and hybrid teas vary in fragrance — some are very fragrant and others only slightly.

Knock Out roses and Drift roses resist pests and disease much better than tea roses. In addition to that, they are also easily adapted to more of the USDA growing zones. Knock Outs are cold-hardy to zone 4 and heat-hardy to zone 9. This makes them a perfect addition to any landscape here in zone 7. Knock Outs can be trimmed back to 18 inches every winter, or if you would like them to grow larger, you can just shape and trim to keep them healthy and growing.

Drift roses grow to a height of approximately 2ft at the most.

The closest the average grower will come to the beautiful long-stemmed rose that you get from a florist is a hybrid tea rose. These roses are much more sensitive to weather and temperatures than a shrub rose. Their cold-hardy range is only zones 5 through 9. it is best to put them where they will be sheltered from winds as the stems that hold a heavier bloom may break, and this will make the plant more susceptible to disease or pests.