These Low-Maintenance Roses Offer Ongoing Blooms and Resist Disease
The easiest roses to grow are those that bloom profusely in summer into fall and resist disease. The following types meet those requirements, especially if planted in full sun and irrigated during dry spells. Several of these outstanding roses are self-cleaning, meaning they don’t need deadheading to continue blooming.
1. All the Rage
Lived up to its title, ‘All the Rage’ is a full-color showstopper. Coral-hued buds open to apricot-pink flowers with glossy yellow centers that pale to pale pink—perfect for fresh cutting. This rose shines with its glossy green foliage, great disease resistance, and continuous bloom habit.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; wet, well-drained soil
Size: To 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Zones: 4–9
2. Cinco de Mayo
With rusty red color and smoky lavender undertones, the double, scented flowers of ‘Cinco de Mayo’ are a distinctive one. It’s an award-winning floribunda rose with the reputation for having strong disease resistance and blooming through the summer.
Growing Conditions: Well-drained, moist soil; full sun
Size: 3-4 feet tall and wide by 3 feet
Zones: 5–10
3. Flower Carpet Coral
Great for massive plantings, this durable groundcover rose produces clusters of coral blossoms from summer through fall. ‘Flower Carpet Coral’ is ideal for edging paths or holding back slopes and spilling color across the landscape.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; wet, well-drained soil
Size: 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
4. Flower Carpet Scarlet
‘Flower Carpet Scarlet’ erupts in vivid red flowers in clusters during summer and fall. This cascading groundcover rose is an excellent means of providing color to borders, sidewalks, or drives.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
5. Grandma’s Blessing
One of the most reliable roses you’ll ever plant, ‘Grandma’s Blessing’ produces lovely dusty pink double flowers and a powerful scent. A summer-long bloomer with superior disease resistance, it’s a stunning, easy-care shrub rose.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; well-drained, moist soil
Size: To 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Zones: 4–9
6. Home Run
From the creators of the ‘Knock Out’ series, ‘Home Run’ offers robust red, mildly perfumed single blooms with flowers appearing continuously from spring to autumn. With superb disease tolerance, it is an excellent choice for beds and borders.
Growing Conditions: Part shade to full sun; well-drained, moist soil
Size: To 4 feet tall
Zones: 4–10
7. Kiss Me
‘Kiss Me’ is a compact, fragrant rose bearing bold 4-inch pink blooms ideal for cutting. It is disease-resistant and blooms throughout the entire season—ideal for group planting in beds or bouquets of cut flowers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil
Size: 3 feet tall, 4 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
8. Knock Out
One of the most recognized landscape roses, ‘Knock Out’ features cherry-red blooms with minimal fragrance and dark burgundy to green foliage. It’s low-maintenance, disease-free, and is very prolific without deadheading.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; well-drained, moist soil
Size: Up to 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
9. Little Mischief
Though its name is a joke, ‘Little Mischief’ is a serious play. It produces masses of magenta-pink flowers that change gradually through paler shades throughout the growing season, so there’s always something to look at. It’s hardy, compact, and disease-resistant.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil
Size: Reaches 3 feet tall
Zones: 4–9
10. Mystic Fairy
This unceasing blooming shrub rose bears conspicuous red flowers across dark red-to-green leaves. Its bushy habit makes it perfect for hedging or accent planting, even in challenging spots.
Growth Conditions: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Zones: 4–9
11. Paint the Town
With red, hybrid tea-shaped flowers and mounding habit, ‘Paint the Town’ thrives in containers or borders. One of the easiest and healthiest roses to cultivate.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Zones: 4–9
12. Peach Lemonade Rose
A color-shifting stone, ‘Peach Lemonade’ begins in brilliant yellow and slowly changes to flush pink, with numerous bloom hues at once. It blooms from early summer into late fall and never needs deadheading.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall and wide
Zones: 4–9
13. Rainbow Knock Out
This little rose has coral-pink blooms that continue all season long. It needs only a few hours of sun and never becomes diseased like a sports car. And it’s self-cleaning, so you won’t need to deadhead.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; moist, well-drained soil
Size: 4 feet tall and wide
Zones: 5–9
14. Snowdrift
If you want a low-maintenance white rose, ‘Snowdrift’ is an excellent selection. Double, pure white flowers on a disease-resistant, hardy shrub are perfect for mixed borders or containers.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Zones: 4–9
15. Sunrise Sunset
Flourishing in nearly all zones, ‘Sunrise Sunset’ blooms with nonstop fuchsia-pink flowers that have apricot-centered centers. This low, spreading rose works well for massings or sunny borders.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; wet, well-drained soil
Size: Up to 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide
Zones: 3–9
16. Super Hero
A high-performing selection, ‘Super Hero’ has large, conventionally formed red flowers and a long blooming period. A robust, disease-free shrub well suited for massed foundation plantings or cut flower gardens.
Growth Conditions: Full sun; moist, well-drained soil
Size: Grows to 6 feet tall and 6 feet wide
Zones: 4–9
17. Sweet Fragrance
With its sweet perfume and stunning apricot, yellow, and orange-colored blend, ‘Sweet Fragrance’ is a grandiflora rose that delivers a big beauty punch. This disease-tolerant rose is a florist’s dream for homegrown arrangements.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; well-drained moist soil
Size: To 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Zones: 5–9
