Six Disease-Resistant Roses For Your Bush Rose Garden

A low-maintenance bush rose garden need no longer be a distant dream. Many of the newer hybrid varieties are geared to resist the most common diseases that affect roses. The key is in researching and selecting the right roses for your climate zone and soil conditions. Most roses do well in slightly acidic and well-drained, moist soil.

Redleaf Rose with it's translucent pink blooms stands out because of it's colorful foliage that is a beautiful rich purple in sunny areas and gray-green with mauve shades in shady locations. It is moderately fragrant and blooms in June with long-lasting deep red rose hips on violet-red stems. It grows on it's own root so is highly resistant to disease and tolerant to harsh weather conditions. It grows to a maximum height of six feet in Zones 2 to 7.

Northern Accents starts out as a violet bud, slowly opens to a mauve shade, and finally turns into a rich deep pink. It blooms in April in dense clusters on very compact shrubs. Each bloom has 26 to 40 petals with a very strong scent. It reaches a height of two to three feet in Zones 4 to 9.

Champlain has a good track record of high resistance to both disease and pests. It has 25 to 35 petals to a bloom. The attractive intense red velvety blooms exude moderate fragrance. It is about three feet tall and blooms in April. In autumn it gives a pretty show of bright orange rose hips. Zones 4 to 9 are ideal for this rose.

Peachy Cream with it's dark green glossy foliage and large double peach colored blooms is a sight for sore eyes. Each bud is peach-colored with mild lemon-yellow centers and slowly matures to a peachy cream shade. It starts blooming in clusters during late spring and continues until the onset of frost. It needs full exposure to sunlight to reach it's maximum height of three feet. It is best suited for Zones 4 to

Little Mischief is known for its low-maintenance qualities and excellent resistance to disease. Each one inch wide bloom is colored a deep, rich pink with pure white centers and with age they turn into lighter shades of pink. It blooms continually throughout the season and has an intoxicating fragrance. It has beautiful glossy green foliage and thrives in Zones 4 to 9.

Lucida grows well in full sunlight in Zones 4 to 8 with it's widely spreading numerous branches. The stems are quite hairy with curvy thorns and the leaves are unusually split into smaller leaflets. These leaflets are about two and a half inches long, toothy, and dark-green in color that slowly turn into a reddish purple in fall. It is exceptionally disease resistant and can tolerate strong winds, salt spray, and even poor soil conditions. The rose hips are rich in Vitamin C and edible for both animals and humans. The blooms are pink with a good fragrance.

Anthony Glover is passionate about his bush rose garden and loves to share his knowledge. He has a website dedicated to the rose gardener and caring for roses