10 Popular Heirloom Roses For Your Garden

Alba Roses

The Alba rose 'Alba Maxima' is thought to have been the white rose that symbolized the House of York, the British royal faction that fought the House of Lancaster (represented by a red rose) in the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century. While history buffs will love it, this rose also has aesthetic features of value.

Rosa 'Alba Semi-Plena' has semi-double, white blooms that grow in clusters of 6 to 8 flowers. The plant offers excellent fragrances and good disease-resistance and is more tolerant of shade than many roses. However, Alba roses bloom only once a year, in late spring or early summer. Be careful with pruning, as they bloom on second-year wood. The shrub reaches 6 feet high and five feet wide.

• USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Needs: Well-drained, average moisture

Queen Elizabeth Rose

Queen Elizabeth is a Grandiflora rose. It reaches four to six feet in height, with a spread of two to three feet. Bloom time is May, but it will rebloom off and on into the autumn. It has double blossoms that offer some fragrance. The color is pink, but with a silvery sheen to it.

• USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 11
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Good drainage, consistent moisture, slightly acidic.

Fantin-Latour Rose

Centifolia, also known as cabbage rose or Provence rose, is another category of heirloom roses. Thin, delicate, overlapping petals form large, fragrant flowers that often droop from branches due to their weight. Fantin-Latour has double pink flowers that emit a wonderful scent. Bloom time is late spring. The bush becomes four to six feet tall and wide.

• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 11
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Well-drained soil kept evenly moist

Damask Roses

'Omar Khayyam' is a Damask rose. The name comes from the famous Islamic poet. It's supposed to have grown at his tomb in Persia.

It grows two to three feet tall and spreads out to the same dimensions. The double, somewhat fragrant, pink blooms last from May to June. Each measures two inches across.

• USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Slightly acidic, well-drained, average moisture

Duchess of Portland Rose

This heirloom rose is one of the Portland roses. Portland Roses originated in Great Britain and are a small collection of roses developed from four difference rose species. Its three-inch-wide flowers can be crimson or deep-pink, semi-double or single and they are moderately fragrant. It matures to three or four feet tall and three feet wide. This repeat-bloomer starts flowering in late spring or early summer.

• USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Well-drained soil kept evenly moist

The Peace Rose

Rosa 'Peace' is a hybrid tea rose standing three to four feet tall, with a width of two to three feet. Blooming in spring and reblooming off and on until fall frosts arrive, the double flower has an interesting color. The mildly fragrant petals are golden, with pink margins, and the flowers can reach up to 6 inches in diameter. An excellent cut flower.

• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 10
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Slightly acidic, well-drained, evenly moist

Ballerina Rose

Ballerina falls into the Hybrid Musk category. It stands four to six feet tall, with a spread of three to five feet. Blooming from May right into fall, large sprays of slightly fragrant, single, soft-pink flowers with white centers make a pretty garden show. The plant offers good disease resistance.

• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Evenly moist, slightly acidic soil that drains well

Cecile Brunner Rose

This nearly thornless, vigorous climbing rose variety grows 10 to 20 feet tall and three to six feet wide. Large sprays of fragrant, fully double, pale pink 1.5-inch flowers make a pretty addition to trellises or arbors. The plant blooms continuously from spring to fall and offers good disease resistance.

• USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Well-drained soil kept evenly moist

Gallica Roses

If you're attracted to heirloom roses for their history, then you must grow Gallica roses, also known as French rose or Rose of Provins (Rosa gallica var. officinalis). This category goes back to the classical period. It was one of the first species of roses to be cultivated in central Europe.

Gallica 'Officinalis' produces semi-double, light crimson flowers with golden stamens. The highly fragrant flowers bloom in late spring to mid-summer. The bush matures to three to five feet tall and wide.

• USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 11
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Well-drained soil kept evenly moist

Noisette Roses

Noisette roses are tall, bushy plants with clusters of small blooms that come in white, crimson, or purple. The 3.5-inch-wide flowers are fragrant, but the best feature of this rose is its ability to withstand the South's summer heat.

Bloom time is May, but the plant reblooms. There are both bush-form and climbing noisettes, and sizes vary greatly. For example, 'Crepuscule,' which has quite fragrant, double, apricot flowers, is a climber that reaches six to 12 feet in height.

• USDA Growing Zones: 7 to 10
• Sun Exposure: Full sun
• Soil Needs: Drains well, kept consistently moist, slightly acidic