What Are the Characteristics of a Floribunda Rose?

Flowers

• Floribunda roses have flowers shaped like tea roses, though each individual flower is often somewhat smaller. They usually flower in clusters, so they make a wonderful display in the garden. Most varieties flower heavily in early summer, then produce some flowers throughout the growing season, which makes them extremely useful in the garden. They have all the colors of hybrid tea roses, and many floribundas are scented.

Growth Habit

• Typically, floribunda roses are small, upright, bushy shrubs. Most grow between 18 inches and 3 1/2 feet tall, with about the same width. The shrubs have glossy, green leaves and are attractive even when not in bloom. A few climbing varieties are also available. Small varieties are often grown in pots. Larger varieties are grown in beds, as edging plants, and as hedges.

Growing Conditions

• Floribundas generally prefer good sun and well-drained garden soil. A few varieties will bloom in partial shade. Some varieties can tolerate poor soil or fairly dry conditions. Most of these roses need some winter protection in cold climates and benefit from annual pruning and regular deadheading. As a group, floribunda roses are relatively resistant to the pests and diseases that make hybrid tea roses difficult to grow.

History

• The floribunda rose was developed as a cross between hybrid tea roses and polyanthas roses. Growers were trying to get a shrub that would have the elegant flowers of a hybrid tea and the repeat flowering of polyanthas. The first named cultivar, Gruss an Aachen, was developed in 1909 and is still available commercially today. The term "floribunda" was developed in 1930 and applied to the entire class of roses. Today, Iceberg is the most popular floribunda rose, and it is available as a shrub and as a climbing rose.