The Best Roses of 2024

Enjoy a curated list of our favorite new and long-standing roses for fragrance, color, cut flowers, pollinators, and low-maintenance gardening!

The Best Roses for Fragrance

• Claire Austin (David Austin) – One of the most beloved introductions from David Austin Roses, Claire Austin is prized for its exceptional myrrh and vanilla fragrance and its flawless creamy white flowers. This strong, incredibly disease-resistant climbing rose is excellent for enhancing a wall, arbor, or doorway.
• Parfuma Earth Angel – The full, pillowy, and intensely fragrant blooms of Earth Angel make it the perfect floribunda rose for those who want to channel the spirit of a peony all Summer long. The soft pink flowers are found on a disease resistant plant and can even be grown in a container.
• Rouge Royale – Flamboyantly red, Rouge Royale features ruffled blooms that smell strongly of citrus and berry and have won awards for their powerful fragrance. This hybrid tea rose is a healthy, bushy plant that can withstand rain or heat and performs well in the garden.

The Best Roses for Color

Pantone Peach

• Abbaye de Cluny – The very large, radiant blooms of Abbaye de Cluny are a nearly perfect match for Pantone’s Color of the Year (Peach Fuzz). This hybrid tea rose is hard to find, has a lovely fragrance, and features deep green foliage—an excellent addition for the rose connoisseur.
• Bathsheba (David Austin) – Intensely layered small petals in tones of apricot, soft pink, and butter add dimension and interest to these flat, unusual flowers. This short climbing rose is ideal for growing next to a doorway where the stunning fragrance and display can welcome visitors.
• Flower Carpet Amber – One of the easiest roses to grow, Flower Carpet Amber blooms repeatedly all Summer in shades of apricot, amber, and peach. Pollinator-friendly, suitable for containers, and fragrant—it’s the complete package!

Moody Hues

• Black Baccara – One of the deepest, darkest roses available, Black Baccara is the perfect hybrid tea rose for anyone who wants an intense and velvety rich red flower. With a long vase life and sturdy stems, these blooms are ideal for using as cut flowers.
• Honey Dijon – Dusty caramel blossoms are abundantly produced by this excellent grandiflora rose plant. Each flower is a little different than the one before but is deliciously fragrant and will last for a long time as a cut flower.
• Koko Loko – A mysterious, evocative floribunda rose with flowers ranging from milky coffee color to pale lavender. It’s a fantastic, must-grow plant for amateur florists and lovers of neutral hues.

The Best Roses for Cut Flowers

• Charles Darwin (David Austin) – Round, peony-like buds open to reveal shallow, soft and subdued ochre yellow blooms with a strong, citrus and tea-like fragrance. Charles Darwin is a fabulous shrub rose for cutting and for growing with other plants in sunny or shady locations.
• Distant Drums – The rose responsible for making roses “hip” again, Distant Drums blooms in a stunning and unusual ombre of bronze to baby pink. A prolific bloomer with moderate fragrance, the phenomenal coloration make these floribunda rose shrubs a favorite for cutting gardens.
• Princesse Charlene de Monaco – Layers and layers of ruffled petals in rich apricot and pink make up each gorgeous bloom on this stunning hybrid tea rose. With excellent disease resistance and a memorable, fruity fragrance, the Princesse is a perfect addition to any garden and bouquet.

The Best Roses for Pollinators

• Eyeconic Mango Lemonade – This compact, rounded floribunda rose features striking blooms that have amber and pink petals surrounding a deep magenta eye. The semi-double flowers have golden stamens that are easily reached by visiting bees.
• The Lady of the Lake (David Austin) – The romantic, soft pink blossoms of The Lady of the Lake have a relaxed, open form, making it easy for bees and pollinators to access the rich gold pollen in each flower. The stems on this climbing rose are pliable and easy to weave around arches or structures in the garden.
• Snow Pavement – Offering a softer, gentler pink tone on an otherwise classic rugosa rose, Snow Pavement is a fantastic plant, especially when used en masse. Intensely fragrant open flowers are a feast for pollinators, and the gorgeous rose hips that follow are great food for birds.

The Best Low-Maintenance Roses

• Cosmic Clouds – A new introduction for 2024, Cosmic Clouds brings gardeners blooms with the unusual coloration of vibrant pinky purple petals with a white reverse. This shrub rose is very fragrant and the plant is incredibly disease resistant, fast-growing, and robust.
• Elizabeth (David Austin) – This is a brand new release for 2024 from venerated David Austin Roses in honor of Her Majesty the Queen. Gorgeous, unusual flower forms feature powder pink petals tucked around a tight center that fade to white as the blooms mature. Elizabeth is highly fragrant and disease resistant, making it a fantastic English shrub rose for any garden.
• Popcorn Drift – The buttery yellow and white, bite-sized flowers on Popcorn Drift are virtually always in bloom during the growing season. Low-growing and incredibly easy to care for, Drift roses are prized for their continuous blooms even without deadheading.

Essential Tools for Rose Care

• Portland Rose Society Organic Fertilizer (5-4-4) – This local, organic fertilizer provides all the micro and macro nutrients needed to successfully grow beautiful roses without introducing any synthetic chemicals to your garden.
• Felco or Niwaki Pruning Shears – Expertly crafted Swiss Felco Pruners or Japanese Niwaki Secateurs are the ideal companions to the rose grower, letting you quickly and safely snip blooms to bring indoors in the Spring and Summer or tackle bigger pruning jobs during the dormant season.