Selecting Hardy Roses for Northern Climates

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Selecting Hardy Roses for Northern Climates is a listing of roses that survive the winter in northern climates. These roses tend to be vigorous, are relatively disease tolerant, and require little long-term maintenance. Many people broadly refer to these roses as �shrub roses.�

This publication includes three rose lists** with information on appropriate names, class, flower color, blooming frequency, size, form, and hardiness zone. This information can be used to guide purchasing.

The first list describes roses that are low maintenance due to their hardiness and disease resistance. The second list identifies roses that may not be entirely hardy, may need some protection (such as a warmer microclimate), and are susceptible to disease and need applications of fungicides. The third list identifies wild roses that can adapt to low-maintenance landscapes. Information is given on where to purchase and view shrub roses, and the bibliography lists books with more information on shrub roses.

The rose lists on the following pages describe cultivars that are commonly available to gardeners. The terminology used in the lists is defined below.

• Cultivar: The named variety as defined by Roses 10 published by the American Rose Society.
• Class: As defined by Roses 10.
• Flower Color/Type: S = single; SD = semidouble; D = double.
• Repeat Bloom: One-time bloomers can be quite showy for an extended period of time. Repeat bloom is frequently light.
• Size: Size is approximate and depends on environmental and cultural conditions.
• Habit: The general shape of the rose plant.
• USDA Hardiness Zones: Hardiness is a complex issue involving not only the hardiness zone, but also such environmental factors as actual weather conditions, planting site, cultural factors, and management. A cultivar that routinely dies back to the snowline or crown but recovers nicely is designated by an asterisk (*).

Catalogue Sources for Shrub Roses

Mail order sources for shrub roses

• Antique Rose Emporium, Route 5, Box 143, Brenham, TX 77833 (800-441-0002) $5
• Corn Hill Nursery, RR 5, Petitcodiac, New Brunswick, Canada E0A 2H0 (506-756-3635)
• Eagle Lake Nurseries, Box 2340, Strathmore, Alberta, Canada T1P 1K3 (403-934-3622)
• Hardy Roses for the North, Box 273, Danville, WA 99121-0273 (604-442-8442) $4
• Heirloom Old Garden Roses, 24062 N.E. Riverside Dr., St. Paul, OR 97137 (503-538-1576) $5
• Heritage Rose Gardens, 40350 Wilderness Rd., Branscomb, CA 95417 (707-964-3748)
• Hortico, Inc., 723 Robinson Rd., RR 1, Waterdown, Ontario, Canada L0R 2H1 (416-689-6984) $3
• Jackson & Perkins, 1 Rose Lane, Medford, OR 97501 (800-292-4769)
• Lowe�s Own-Root Nursery, 6 Sheffield Rd., Nashua, NH 03062 (606-888-2214) $2
• Orion Farm, 4186 75th St. S.W., Waverly, MN 55390 (800-558-4180) $2
• Pickering Nurseries, 670 Kingston Rd., Pickering, Ontario, Canada L1V 1A6 (905-839-2111) $4
• Royall River Roses, 70 New Gloucester Rd., North Yarmouth, ME 04097 (207-829-5830) $3
• Sam Kedem Greenhouse and Nursery, 12414-191st St. E., Hastings, MN 55033 (612-437-7516)
• Spring Valley Roses, N7637-330th St., PO Box 7, Spring Valley, WI 54767 (715-778-4481) $1
• Wayside Gardens, 1 Garden Lane, Hodges, SC 29695 (800-845-1124)
• White Flower Farm, Route 63, Litchfield, CT 06759 (203-496-9600)

Public Rose Gardens

• Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Dubuque, Iowa.
• Duluth Rose Garden, Leif Erikson Park, Duluth, Minn.
• International Peace Garden, 15 miles north of Dunseith, N.D., on U.S. Highway 281, at the U.S./Canadian border.
• Lake Harriet Rose Garden, Lyndale Park, northeast shore of Lake Harriet; Minneapolis, Minn.
• McCrory Gardens, University of South Dakota , Brookings, S.D.
• Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Highways 5 & 41, Chanhassen, Minn.
  • Nelson Shrub Rose Collection
  • Wilson Rose Garden and Nafstad Addition
  • Parking Lot Display Beds
• Olbrich Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave, Madison, Wisc.
• Virginia Clemens Rose Garden in Munsinger Gardens, Riverside Park, St. Cloud, Minn.

Bibliography

• Austin, David, 1996. David Austin�s English Roses. Revised edition. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co.
• Austin, David, 1992. Old Roses and English Roses. Woodbridge, Suffolk [England]: Antique Collectors� Club.
• Austin, David, 1994. Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses. Woodbridge, Suffolk [England]: Antique Collectors� Club.
• Beales, Amanda, and Peter Beales, 1990. Old Fashioned Roses. London: Cassell.
• Beales, Peter, 1985. Classic Roses: An Illustrated Encyclopedia and Grower�s Manual of Old Roses, Shrub Roses, and Climbers. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
• Beales, Peter, 1992. Roses: An Illustrated Encyclopedia and Grower�s Handbook of Species Roses, Old and Modern Roses, and Shrub Roses and Climbers. New York: Henry Holt & Co.
• Beales, Peter, 1988. Twentieth Century Roses: An Illustrated Encyclopedia and Grower�s Manual of Classic Roses from the 20th Century. New York: Harper & Row.
• Cairns, Thomas, ed., 1993. Modern Roses 10. Shreveport, La.: The American Rose Society. (Comprehensive list of all roses with descriptions and breeding information.)
• Dickerson, Brent C., 1992. The Old Rose Advisor. Portland, Ore.: Timber Press.
• Druitt, Liz, and G. Michael Shoup, 1992. Landscaping with Antique Roses. Newton, Conn.: Tauton Press.
• Griffiths, Trevor, 1990. A Celebration of Old Roses. London: Michael Joseph.
• Griffiths, Trevor, 1995. Old Fashioned Roses: 150 Favourites. North Pomfret, Vt.: Trafalgar Square.
• Hessayon, D. G., 1993. The Rose Expert. London: Transworld Publishers.
• Macoboy, Stirling, 1993. The Ultimate Rose Book. New York: H. N. Abrams.
• Moody, Mary, and Peter Harkness, eds., 1992. Illustrated Encyclopedia of Roses. Portland, Ore.: Timber Press.
• Osborne, Robert, 1991. Hardy Roses. Pownel, Vt.: Storey Communications.
• Phillip, Roger, and Martyn Rix, 1993. The Quest for the Rose. London: BBC Books.
• Reddell, Rayford Clayton, 1994. The Rose Bible. New York: Harmony Books.
• Sala, Orietta, 1990. The World�s Best Roses. New York: Prentice Hall.
• Shewchuk, George W., 1988. Rose Gardening on the Prairies. Edmonton Extension, University of Alberta.
• Taylor, Norman, 1995. Taylor�s Guide to Roses. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin.
• Thomas, Graham Stuart, 1994. The Graham Stuart Thomas Rose Book. Portland, Ore.: Timber Press. [Combines his previous works: The Old Shrub Roses, Shrub Roses of Today, and Climbing Roses Old and New.]
• Verrier, Suzanne, 1995. Rosa Gallica. Deer Park, Wisc.: Capability�s Books.
• Verrier, Suzanne, 1991. Rosa Rugosa. Deer Park, Wisc.: Capability�s Books.
• Zuzek, Kathy, et. al, 1995. Roses for the North. St. Paul: Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Minnesota Report 237 (University of Minnesota Extension Store item #MR-6954).

The following book supplements this publication and can be ordered from University of Minnesota Extension Store, University of Minnesota, 1420 Eckles Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108-6069 (612-624-4900 or 800-876-8636).

Roses for the North: Performance of Shrub and Old Garden Roses at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (MR-6594) by Kathy Zuzek, Marcia Richards, Steve McNamara, and Harold Pellett. An excellent source for information about bloom characteristics, hardiness, disease resistance, and insect problems of approximately 200 hardy roses. The Minnesota Extension Service publication, Rose Diseases (FS-1163) is included in Appendix B.

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