Rose bushes are the queens of the garden. As garden royalty, roses have a knack for making themselves the center of attention. Sometimes all it takes is a single rose at the peak of bloom to draw our gaze. 

Because of their size, rose bushes stand out above lawns, groundcovers and flower beds.  Roses come in a stunning variety of colors, shapes and sizes, and every year new varieties arrive to steal the show.

A delightful selection of new rose varieties is now available. Here are some can’t miss new varieties of roses selected by the editors of Home, Garden and Homestead.

A beautiful rose to celebrate Park Seed’s 150th anniversary 

In honor of the 150^th anniversary of Park Seed– one of the most respected gardening companies in America, Jackson & Perkins has introduced a new floribunda rose called ‘La Park’ Floribunda.

Back in 1868 in the small town of La Park, Pennsylvania, a 15-year-old named George W. Park founded a company to sell the seeds he had harvested from his backyard garden. Over the next 150 years, Geo. W. Park Seed Company thrived and relocated many times as it provided top-quality seeds, plants and gardening supplies to its customers.

Jackson & Perkins (a sister company to Park Seed Company) has introduced the ‘La Park’ Floribunda rose– a beautiful bloom that celebrates an amazing milestone in American gardening. The ‘La Park’ Floribunda Rose is an upright, well-branched rose bush that boasts flowers of unmatched color. The 4-inch blooms are apricot-peach and blush-pink in color– and no two blooms are exactly alike. Growing up to 4-feet in height and 3.5-feet in width, this rose bush will stand out in any landscape with its colorful blooms and deep green, very glossy foliage.

With huge blooms for a floribunda rose, ‘La Park’ is an excellent choice for a mixed perennial bed, and it looks great when planted en masse in the garden. Its multicolored blooms erupt from the shrub in clusters of up to 9 flowers that sit atop long, well-branched stems. ‘La Park’ Floribunda Rose is hardy in USDA Zones 5-9. It is available at www.jacksonandperkins.com and www.parkseed.com as an ownroot rose, a bareroot budded rose and as a 24-inch bareroot patio tree.

Dr. Jane Goodall honored with a new rose 

The legendary conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall has been honored with a beautiful new rose. The aptly named Dr. Jane Goodall Hybrid Tea Rose is just the right mix of strength and loveliness that any rose lover will enjoy.

Each shapely 5-inch bloom is reminiscent of a sunrise with its pink petals above a sunny yellow base. The pink hues are lighter on the reverse so the roses are gorgeous from any angle. Typically, each fully double flower opens on its own long, cut-worthy stem, but sometimes the bush produces clusters of enchanting blossoms.

The Dr. Jane Goodall Rose boasts a well-branched, attractively bushy habit that’s neither too big nor too small in the landscape. Its leaves are dark and glossy, forming a dramatic backdrop for its dawn-kissed flowers. Once open, the blossoms release a spicy fragrance that is distinctive yet not overpowering.

For optimal garden performance, plant Dr. Jane Goodall Hybrid Tea Rose in rich soil that is both loamy and has good drainage. This rose is disease resistant and is quite vigorous on its own roots. The flowers last a long time and clean quickly for easy maintenance.

Dr. Jane Goodall Hybrid Tea Rose is available at www.jacksonandperkins.com. $3.00 from the sale of each Dr. Jane Goodall Rose goes to benefit the many great works of the Jane Goodall Institute.

Top Gun rose is bulletproof

Top Gun Shrub Rose, a new variety from Week’s Roses, is the first and only rose resistant to Rose Rosette disease. The rounded, bushy, well-behaved plant produces vigorous stems ending with clusters of long-lasting dark red flowers. Top Gun is a tough, easy-to-grow landscape rose that offers richly colored red flowers and full, dark green foliage—along with greatly enhanced disease resistance. Top Gun has excellent natural resistance to powdery mildew, downy mildew, rust, and black spot—in addition to rose rosette disease.

Top Gun produces clusters of semi-double, medium-sized flowers and is quick to repeat its blooming cycles. The blossoms keep coming throughout the growing season. It grows well in USDA zones 4-10, and its shrub growing habit (36” to 48” tall) means it fits nicely in most garden spaces. This new variety is a great choice for beginners and experienced gardeners alike. Top Gun is available at fine garden centers and online at www.springhillnursery.com. 

A new floribunda rose that soars to glory

To honor 70 years of service by the brave men and women of the United States Air Force, Jackson & Perkins has introduced the Soaring to Glory Floribunda Rose. This bright, buttery-yellow bloom was hybridized by Dr. Keith Zary, and it is an excellent way to pay homage to all of the Air Force service members past, present and future.

Soaring to Glory floribunda provides a stunning display of large blooms with a moderately spicy fragrance. The sunny yellow blooms stand out beautifully against the dark green, glossy, disease-resistant foliage.

This floribunda grows in a tidy, upright form up to 3.5 feet in height and 3 feet in width. It will surely be a star in the garden for both its bloom color and wonderful growth habit. Each bloom is packed with up to 30 petals, and the plant thrives in full sun. Soaring to Glory is a wonderful choice for a rose bed, perennial border or even in large containers.

This rose is a wonderful way for any gardener to honor a service member, especially since $3.00 from each Soaring to Glory rose bush sold will be donated to the Air Force Association to support both active duty and retired Air Force members. Available at www.jacksonandperkins.com.

Flower Carpet^® roses are tougher than ever

The new generation Flower Carpet roses thrive in conditions that challenge other roses. They can handle humidity, high heat and drought once established, and their disease and pest resistance makes them especially tough. There’s no need for special pruning, heavy fertilizers or chemicals to make these eco-friendly roses perform at their best. Flower Carpet roses will bloom profusely from early summer through fall.

A Flower Carpet rose bush is a compact shrub that grows low and wide, and it features gorgeous double blooms that cover the glossy green foliage for most of the growing season. The new generation of Flower Carpet roses is available in three striking varieties: ‘Scarlet,’ ‘Pink Supreme’ and ‘Amber.’ All are available from Anthony Tesselaar Plants at garden centers everywhere.