Top 10 Lists

Of the thousands of varieties in our catalog, only 107 earn our top fragrance rating — roses so fragrant a single bush can perfume an entire corner of the garden. Below are all 107, grouped by the scent they actually release: deep damask and old rose, orchard fruit, bright citrus, warm tea and honey, and bold spice. Every name links straight to that rose in our catalog.

The roses that genuinely keep blooming in partial shade in zones 8-10 are the Noisette climber Mme. Alfred Carrière, the thornless Bourbon Zéphirine Drouhin, the hybrid musks Buff Beauty and Sally Holmes, and the tiny-flowered polyanthas Cécile Brunner and Perle d'Or — old, vigorous classes that evolved before modern sun-demanding hybrid teas. One honest caveat: no rose blooms in full, dense shade. These ten will flower on 3-4 hours of sun or bright open shade, which in hot zones 8-10 is often better than blazing all-day sun anyway.

The best roses for zone 6 combine genuine cold hardiness with season-long bloom: The Fairy, Carefree Beauty, Knock Out, Quietness, and William Baffin lead the list. Every pick here survives zone 6 winters (roughly -10 to 0°F at the coldest) with little or no special protection, and every one repeat-blooms from June to frost rather than flowering once in spring.

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.

Zone 8 gardeners need roses that take long, humid summers in stride: Mutabilis, Belinda’s Dream, Ducher, Knock Out, and Madame Isaac Pereire head the list. This lineup leans on the heat-proof China roses that thrive across the Southeast and on modern shrubs proven to hold clean foliage without spraying. All ten bloom straight through the heat.

For zone 9’s long, hot summers, the most reliable roses are the heat-proof antiques and rugged modern shrubs: Mutabilis, Old Blush, Louis Philippe, Belinda’s Dream, and Perle d’Or lead the list. These are varieties that bloom straight through 95°F days that shut down most modern roses, and none of them need spraying to hold healthy foliage.

Zone 10’s frost-free climate favors roses that bloom nearly year-round: Sally Holmes, Iceberg, Julia Child, Double Delight, and Graham Thomas top the list. The challenge here is not cold — it is choosing varieties that keep flowering without a true winter dormancy and hold up to dry summer heat or coastal humidity. All ten picks bloom in waves for ten months or more.

In zone 11’s tropical and near-tropical gardens — South Florida, the Gulf Coast, Hawaii — the proven roses are the heat- and humidity-proof ones: Louis Philippe, Mutabilis, Old Blush, Belinda’s Dream, and Ducher lead the list. Roses here never go dormant and bloom year-round, so the picks favor varieties that flower continuously and handle relentless warmth without spraying.

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.

Zone 7 opens the door to the big, romantic climbers that need more warmth: Lady Banks, Mermaid, and the old Noisettes lead the list. Every pick below is fully hardy in zone 7, healthy without routine spraying, and big enough to cover a wall, pergola, or fence — choose repeat bloomers if you want flowers all season, and the once-bloomers for one jaw-dropping spring show.

The benchmark fragrant roses are Mister Lincoln and Papa Meilland among red hybrid teas, Double Delight for spice-plus-sweet, and Gertrude Jekyll and Munstead Wood among modern shrubs — with the old Bourbon Madame Isaac Pereire as the all-out perfume champion. Every pick below is fragrant at garden-nose distance, not just when sniffed up close, and each carries its scent character — damask, tea, fruity, or myrrh — so you can choose the perfume you actually want.

The best multicolored roses span four centuries: Rosa Mundi and Ferdinand Pichard for classic candy-striping, Fourth of July for a striped climber, and Peace for the most famous bicolor of all. Every pick below holds its pattern reliably (stripes do vary a little with temperature), and together they cover every garden use — shrub, climber, pillar, and pot.