Shrub roses – bush roses for borders, hedges & tubs

What are shrub roses?

Shrub roses are garden roses with a strong, broad, bushy, upright habit and a height of about 1 to 2 metres. Unlike bedding or hybrid tea roses, they form sturdy, branching shrubs that can stand freely in the garden even without support. The term bush rose is usually used with the same meaning. Almost all rose classes were involved in the development of this class – hence the wide range: from single, unfilled flowers for bees and bumblebees to densely double, strongly scented varieties in the style of the Old Roses.

How tall and wide do shrub roses grow?

Most varieties reach 100 to 200 cm in height with a width of 80 to 150 cm. Very large, spreading varieties from about 2 metres are called park roses – they need space, but reward you with an impressive effect as a specimen or in extensive plantings. Among the park roses there are, besides repeat-flowering ones, also a few that flower only once but extremely abundantly.

If you have little space, choose compact shrub roses of around 100–120 cm: they are suitable for the front of borders, as low edging along paths or for growing in tubs.

Recommended shrub rose varieties

• Westerland ® – the classic among shrub roses: bright orange blooms with a strong fragrance and good long-distance effect, robust and proven.
• Angela ® – an uncomplicated, extremely free-flowering variety with pink cup-shaped blooms; 120 to 300 cm tall depending on training.
• Aicha – a long-lived, yellow shrub rose with a special play of colour and natural elegance, 150 cm and more.
• Cybelle ® – globular, purple blooms with a many-faceted fragrance, approx. 150 cm.
• Dannahue ® – a compact-growing David Austin breeding with apricot-coloured, fruity-scented blooms, approx. 110 cm.
• Délia ® – free-flowering with large, quartered blooms in the style of the Old Roses, pink, approx. 120 cm.

You will find many more strongly scented varieties in our list of fragrant roses, and two-tone rarities among the two-tone roses.

Shrub roses as a hedge and privacy screen

With their strong, densely branching shoots, shrub roses are ideal for free-growing flowering hedges: as a property boundary, a flowering privacy screen on the terrace or to separate the kitchen garden from the ornamental garden.

Unlike a clipped formal hedge, a rose hedge looks loose and natural – and offers insects food and birds shelter and, with hip-bearing varieties, winter food. You will find suitable varieties with planting distances in our overview of hedge roses.

Planting and caring for shrub roses

Shrub roses are among the easiest-care garden roses. They prefer a sunny, airy location with deep soil.

• Planting time: container roses all year round, bare-root roses from October to May, as long as the soil is frost-free. You will find instructions under Planting roses.
• Pruning: shrub roses are pruned much less than bedding roses – in spring thin out old and overcrowded wood. Details under Pruning roses.
• Feeding: in spring and after the first flowering, see Feeding roses.
• Winter: most varieties are very hardy; earth up freshly planted roses in the first year – more under Overwintering roses.

Finding the right shrub rose

When choosing a variety, you are helped not only by our descriptions but also by the more than 1,000 customer reviews that our customers have left since 2002 on the individual shrub rose varieties. Pay particular attention to the information on height and use – everything is available, from a compact shrub for a tub to a park rose over two metres tall.

Buy bare-root or container-grown?

Both forms of offer deliver the same A-grade quality from our specialist rose nursery. Bare-root roses are cheaper and establish reliably during the planting season from October to May – we give a establishment guarantee on bare-root roses planted out in open ground.

Container roses can be planted all year round, even in bloom in summer. Read more about the differences under Sales and supply forms.

Frequently asked questions about shrub roses