Few plants can produce big colorful blooms that last so long as floribunda roses. These roses with multiple blooms at the end of stems are quite compact as shrubs, but they are generous with their flowers.
In your garden, they will bring their amazing colors in large quantities, forming large patches that can last for months.
Floribunda roses are a group of roses developed in 1907 by crossing polyantha and hybrid tea roses. They have the best of both groups. Floribunda roses are characterized by compact shrubs with clusters of flowers rather than individual ones (like polyantha roses) but they have the range of colors of hybrid tea roses.
There are thousands of beautiful varieties available some are shrubs, others climbers: there are many flower shapes in our selection, but also colors.
With such a vast array it can be daunting to choose a floribunda rose variety that fits your garden.
Here are 15 of our favorite varieties of floribunda roses to consider along with some top tips on growing and caring these hardy roses so they will bloom continually all summer.
General Characteristics of Floribunda Rose
These roses are grouped as “floribunda” because they all come from the same crossing, but also because they have similar qualities.
Floribunda roses have clusters of flowers, rather than individual ones at the end of stems. For this reason they are primarily garden roses, not suitable as cut flowers. The flowers are smaller than hybrid tea, but often more showy than polyantha roses.
The shrubs of floribunda roses are fairly small and compact. For this reason, they are a,os quite sturdy and easy to grow.
On the whole, they have both the “old world” look you want in cottage and English country gardens, and the showy blooms you want in more “ostentatious” gardens.
The flower shape of floribunda roses can change in the different varieties. They can usually be rosettes, singles, semi-doubles, high centered, full and very full. However, floribunda blooms don’t usually have a strong scent.
Make your choice wisely and you will start off on with the right foot. Let me explain…
Choosing the Right Floribunda Rose Variety for You
Your choice of floribunda rose varieties is huge! This is a very, very popular type of rose. As a consequence, there are thousands of cultivars and hybrids to choose from.
Of course, you will want a plant you like. I mean, a plant that has the right color, flower shape, look, and even personality for you. You will also want a rose that looks good in your garden… I will help you with this: don’t worry!
But you also want to know about the size that your plant can reach, its hardiness, they flower type and light requirements.
I know, the myth says that all roses want full Sun, but it’s not true. Some will manage well in dappled and partial shade as well!
Where you plant your rose is important, but also when and how… Let’s see why!
When and How to Plant Floribunda Roses
You can plant floribunda roses in your garden either in spring or in the fall. And as usual gardeners have their preferences on this.
If you plant them in the fall, you give the shrub more time to establish itself before it starts growing. On the other hand, if the winter is very cold, your rose may suffer a setback, instead of having an advantage.
This leaves a very clear choice: it is best to plant new floribunda roses in fall where winters are fairly warm: it is better to plant them in spring if you expect a very rigid winter.
Roses are long lasting plants. They will stay with you for decades. This has some consequences. You need to dig a very large hole for roses, up to 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep for a young plant. Why? You need to put slow decomposing food at the bottom of the hole. Basically, you want your rose shrub to have a food stored away for years to come.
A favorite is actually feathers! They are excellent for roses, because they are very tough and decompose very, very slowly over years… Basically gardeners like to “feather the nest” of young rose plants… You will fertilize it regularly too, but this “pantry” for the future is a very good idea.
If you buy roses to plant, they usually are short. If they are not, make sure you cut it back to about 6 to 8 inches tall (15 to 20 cm). Also make sure you cut any damaged part of the plant. Roses often cut themselves, and you get corking or even rotting on the stems. These will not usually survive the season and they can become infected.
Mulch all around the base of your rose. This will help it keep warm, especially in winter. But it will also make sure that moisture and nutrients stay around the roots of your plant. Young roses will suffer of the soil goes dry for any length of time. Then again, you can choose some beautiful mulch to set off the rose nicely!
This too is important to match your garden design, and now you know this, let’s plunge in and see all the best floribunda varieties!
15 Beautiful, Easy-To-Grow Floribunda Roses For Your Garden
All are beautiful, and all are fairly easy to grow, so even if you are not an expert you can choose one from these15 floribunda roses.
1. ‘Hot Cocoa’ (Rosa ‘Hot Cocoa’)
‘Hot Cocoa’ floribunda rose has a very distinctive personality with an amazing color! It is hard to describe, but it is a warm, very elegant and refined russet color with a deep rust quality to it. This makes it a very original looking plant, for a garden with strong feelings.
This is an excellent rose with double blooming time. It will come back in the fall where its color is really suitable to those “late season moods” and accompany the shades of dahlias and late blooming flowers.
2. ‘Iceberg’ (Rosa ‘Iceberg’)
Floribunda rose ‘Iceberg’ is a legendary variety and as its name suggests, it has ice white flowers. It was developed in 1958 in Germany and it has won a series of prizes ever since. In fact, it is even in the Rose Hall of Fame!
The white blooms are bright and candid, and this is one of the few floribunda varieties you can train as a climber, and if you do, it can become a fairly large plant, unlike other roses in this group. It is mildly fragrant and it has an upright habit. On the whole, ‘Iceberg’ floribunda rose is a champion of elegance.
3. ‘Ketchup and Mustard’ (Rosa ‘Ketchup and Mustard’)
‘Ketchup and Mustard’ floribunda rose is a spectacle of light, colors and vibrant energy! The flowers have petals of two colors: mustard yellow on the bottom and bright crimson rd at the top. The effect is striking! They will look like burning flames in your garden and they will keep blooming from spring to fall!
The flowers of ‘Ketchup and Mustard’ are about 3 inches across (8 cm) and they are very full, with 28 petals each some times. Surely an eye catcher, plant it in a very focal or visible position in your garden.
4. ‘Sunsprite’ (Rosa ‘Sunsprite’)
‘Sunsprite” floribunda rose will strike you and your guests with its vibrant lemon yellow flowers. The hue is so bright that you may need sunglasses to look at them. They put on a massive show from spring to fall. And this variety’s flowers also have a strong scent, unusual for floribunda roses.
If energy, vitality and life is what your garden needs, then ‘Sunsprite’ floribunda rose is surely a great choice for you!
5. ‘Candy Cane Cocktail’ (Rosa ‘Candy Cane Cocktail’)
The personality of floribunda rose ‘Candy Cane Cocktail’ is of passion and romance perfectly balanced in a harmonic and elegant flower. The very full and cupped flowers have delicate but quite striking petals. The color goes from pale pink at the base of the petal to shocking pink with red hues at the tips.
Each flower can have as many as 42 petals, and this is a rose that can turn any garden into a romantic haven, but also add a decorative and architectural touch to it.
6. ‘Montana’ (Rosa ‘Montana’)
Energy, passion and even power are the sensations you get with floribunda rose ‘Montana’. Why? Just look at the amazing red of its blooms! It is hard to find a flower with a more vibrant, decided and strong red. Each flower has up to 20 petals and they are quite large. It is a young variety born in Germany in 1974.
Though it is a small plant, you cannot miss its strongly colored blooms in your garden, and they will keep going from spring to fall! It is excellent to edge paths in front gardens, or for a central position in urban and suburban gardens.
7. ‘Champagne Moment’ (Floribunda ‘Champagne Moment’)
For a delicate and refined looking garden, floribunda rose ‘Champagne Moment’ is just perfect. The beautiful, full flowers have a very classy pale apricot shade, which is really rare and – at the same time – unforgettable!
‘Champagne Moment’ is surely a shrub you want in an elegant garden. It is also suitable for a romantic corner and for a traditional looking garden, like an English country garden. It is also medium scented and it blooms from June to October.
8. ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ (Rosa ‘Rhapsody in Blue’)
‘Rhapsody in Blue’ is a classic floribunda rose, but of course, it is not blue. There are no blue roses, in fact… Instead, its flowers are purple violet and they put on a very striking show for the whole season.
It is a rather eye catching flower, with a very unusual but also “heavy” color for a garden. It looks great on its own , maybe against a neutral setting (lawn or gravel or a pastel wall). As a color it can become “a bit too much” if you overdo it in a house garden, so maybe mix it in with other, softer ones.
9. ‘Mardi Gras’ (Rosa ‘Mardi Gras’)
‘Mardi Gras’ is like a little rainbow of warm colors, all in the bloom of this rose. The petals in fact have a palette of yellows, apricot, peach, pink and magenta that look like a sunset in miniature. But note that these different shades all blend in perfectly in this floribunda rose.
It’s an excellent rose for a traditional looking garden. It is perfect for an old world looking spot in your garden, where it will bring warmth and passion with its long lasting (but not fragrant) blooms.
10. ‘Summer Fashion’ (Rosa ‘Summer Fashion’)
Imagine a bright yellow rose in the center with white and pink watercolor dashes on the tips of its petals… Done? That is ‘Summer Fashion’ for you.
This floribunda rose combines light with delicacy and it adds a romantic touch at the end of its beautiful composition. You need to look at it to appreciate the effect of lemon, white and rose pink! It’s fantastic.
You can grow this in your front garden, where, thanks to its striking beauty, it will adapt to both formal and informal designs. It will bloom in spring and summer, with very fragrant flowers too!
11. ‘Rose at Last’ (Rosa ‘Rose at Last’)
‘Rose at Last’ is an exceptional floribunda variety for two reasons. It has a very strong rose fragrance and it has an impressive apricot color.
On top of this, it has extremely long blooms, that will start in spring and only stop with the first frost. Finally, the flower heads are quote large for a floribunda variety.
Thanks to its color, shape and overall appearance, it is suitable for both informal. Traditional and natural looking gardens and for formal and urban designs.
12. ‘Eye Paint’ (Rosa ‘Eye Paint’)
‘Eye Paint’ is a simple looking floribunda rose, but eye catching and beautiful indeed! It has single flowers of the richest and brightest vermilion red. The petals however, will show some white at the base and you will see the beautiful yellow center with gold pistils.
This is a perfect variety of you want to build a credible looking traditional design. It looks very much at ease in a cottage garden or an English country garden. I have also seen it in urban parks though, and it looks great.
13. ‘Scentimental’ (Rosa ‘Scentimental’)
‘Scentimental’ is a very showy variety of floribunda rose. It has large flowers, about 4 inches across (10 cm) and they have a stunning variegation: they have burgundy red petals with white dashes, that almost look like stripes or rather strokes on a painting…
It is also fragrant and it blooms from spring to fall. It looks rather like veined marble, and for this reason, it adapts very well to formal gardens, gravel gardens, urban gardens and outdoor rooms.
14. ‘Cinco de Mayo’ (Rosa ‘Cinco de Mayo’)
‘Cinco de Mayo’ floribunda rose combines a striking and original color with an amazing shape. It looks like a work of art, in fact. The flowers are ruffled, double and open. This is a rare but very sculptural shape. The color then… They are rusty red with a smoked burgundy shade!
This winner of the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society will bloom from spring to fall and it will look great in almost any setting.
15. ‘Betty Boop’ (Rosa ‘Betty Boop’)
‘Betty Boop’ floribunda rose has striking colors and it looks just magnificent in a garden… Let me tell you… It has gold petals with ruby edges. This makes it unmissable in any garden. The rose itself looks like it shines with its vibrant colors, and your visitors will literally be wowed by its beauty!
Typical of floribundas, ‘Betty Boop’ blossoms from spring to fall. You can use it in most settings, just make sure you don’t hide it at the back of your garden. This is a rose that demands to be admired!
Now You Know Why Floribunda Roses Are So Popular
With such rich and long blooms, so many colors and shades, no wonder floribunda roses are some pf the most popular in the world, in fact, as types of roses go, they are in the top three with high tea and English roses…
Written By
Adriano Bulla
After many years as an academic in London, Adriano Bulla became a writer, publishing books like A History of Gardening, Organic Gardening and Elements of Garden Design; he then decided to become a gardener, following his childhood dream, and has been following his dream writing and gardening professionally in Southern Europe, where he has specialized in new and innovative organic gardening fields and techniques, like permaculture, regenerative agriculture, food forests and hydroponics.