The Fairy
Bentall, 1932 · Zones 4–9 · Soft pink · Slight pepper fragrance
Nearly indestructible and endlessly generous — clouds of tiny pink pompons from June well past the first frost, on a mounding plant that shrugs off zone 6 winters entirely. If you are planting your first rose, plant this one.
View The Fairy in the PetalPals catalog
Carefree Beauty
Griffith Buck, 1977 · Zones 4–9 · Medium pink · Moderate apple fragrance
The Iowa-bred rose that started the no-spray movement — Buck bred his roses to survive -20°F without protection and to hold their foliage without fungicide. Soft apple-scented blooms repeat nonstop on a rounded, healthy shrub.
View Carefree Beauty in the PetalPals catalog
Knock Out
William Radler, 2000 · Zones 4–9 · Cherry red · Faint tea fragrance
The most-planted rose in America for good reason: it blooms every five to six weeks all by itself, cleans its own foliage of black spot, and sails through zone 6 winters without a second glance. No fragrance to speak of, but nothing else asks so little and gives so much.
View Knock Out in the PetalPals catalog
Quietness
Griffith Buck, 2003 · Zones 4–8 · Clear silvery pink · Moderate old rose fragrance
Introduced after Buck’s death and now considered his masterpiece — big full blooms of the clearest pink in the shrub-rose world, with real old-rose perfume on a plant that stays clean without spraying. Cold hardiness is absolute down to zone 4.
View Quietness in the PetalPals catalog
William Baffin
Felicitas Svejda (Explorer series), 1983 · Zones 3–8 · Deep pink · Light spicy fragrance
The hardiest rose on this list — bred in Ottawa and hardy to zone 3 without protection, so a zone 6 winter is a non-event. Arching canes reach ten feet or more, making it a superb pillar rose or a flowering screen along a fence.
View William Baffin in the PetalPals catalog
Bonica
Meilland, 1982 · Zones 4–9 · Soft shell pink · Light apple fragrance
The first shrub rose to win the World Federation of Roses hall-of-fame award — waves of soft pink blooms on an arching, bushy plant that never stops from June to frost. Dependable in cold gardens where fussy modern roses fail.
View Bonica in the PetalPals catalog
Munstead Wood
David Austin, 2007 · Zones 5–9 · Deep crimson-purple · Strong old rose and fruit fragrance
For zone 6 gardeners who want drama: sumptuous, velvety, deep crimson blooms with an intense perfume you can catch from across the garden. One of the hardiest of the darker Austins and a reliable rebloomer.
View Munstead Wood in the PetalPals catalog
Iceberg
Kordes, 1958 · Zones 5–9 · White · Light honey-musk fragrance
Still the standard by which every repeat-blooming rose is judged worldwide — white clusters without pause all season, on clean foliage, in heat, cold, or rain. A backbone plant for zone 6 borders and hedges alike.
View Iceberg in the PetalPals catalog
Nearly Wild
Brownell, 1941 · Zones 4–9 · Single pink · Slight sweet fragrance
A rugged old favorite with five-petaled wild-rose blooms in airy sprays — it flowers as continuously as a modern shrub rose while looking like a species rose. Bred by the Brownells, who specialized in winter-hardy hybrids.
View Nearly Wild in the PetalPals catalog
Prairie Joy
Griffith Buck, 1990 · Zones 4–8 · Medium pink · Light old rose fragrance
Buck’s landscape-quality shrub rose — big, full, cabbage-shaped pink blooms carried over glossy disease-resistant foliage on a plant sized for the middle of a border. Flowers for months and asks for almost nothing in return.
View Prairie Joy in the PetalPals catalogCommon questions
Related guides
Winter Rose Protection for Zones 6 & 7
Most hardy shrub roses in zones 6 and 7 need nothing more than a late-fall mound of mulch over the crown — 10 to 12 inches of compost, shredded leaves, or bark applied after the ground has begun to freeze. Grafted hybrid teas, floribundas, first-year plants, and marginally hardy varieties benefit from a bit more: fall cleanup, canes tied against wind, and for containers and tree roses, actual shelter. Everything else — rose cones, burlap, burying — is optional for the roses on our zone 6 and zone 7 lists.
Read the guide Top 10 ListsBest Roses for Zone 7
In zone 7 you can grow nearly every class of rose — the challenge is summer heat and humidity, not winter. Mister Lincoln, Double Delight, Julia Child, Graham Thomas, and Belinda’s Dream top our list, chosen because they combine real beauty with proven staying power through zone 7’s long, muggy growing season. All ten repeat-bloom without any winter protection.
Read the guide Top 10 ListsTop 10 Climbing Roses for Zone 6
The best climbing roses for zone 6 combine real cold hardiness with repeat bloom: New Dawn, Eden, Climbing Iceberg, Don Juan, and Westerland top the list. Each pick below is hardy to at least zone 6 without special protection, repeats through summer rather than blooming once, and has the vigor to cover an arch, fence, or pillar within a few seasons.
Read the guideKeep this guide in your pocket
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