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Grow Roses in the Shade??
Yes, you can.
Most roses need at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day to bloom their best.
However, there are some roses which will actually “burn” in full sun and appreciate some shade.
Not full shade, mind you, but part shade.
Many roses will grow well if they have full sun in the morning and part shade in the afternoon....But not shade in the morning and sun in the afternoon. The afternoon sun can be too intense for some roses.
Part shade can also be shade from a hedge, or from a young but tall tree with an immature canopy. (Trees will eventually create a bigger canopy and can block out too much sun - at that point, move the rose.)
But, no matter the rose, planting them the right way is important along with having the best soil to thrive in.
Some rose producers say roses with the most flowers prefer to have some shade…. Like the new shrub roses, some floribundas and polyantha like "The Fairy" Rose below.
This shrub rose is ‘The Fairy’, (a polyantha = many blooms). It blooms from early summer to late fall with hundreds of small blooms gracing its stems and will grow well in either full sun, or dappled shade. We also have an Alba (white) Meidland - which like The Fairy, is covered with tiny masses of blooms all summer.
“SHRUB ROSES”
These roses are bred using the hardiest rose species, combining them with modern repeat blooming roses.
Some shrub roses grow tall, with vigorous, long lax (draping) cane while others will stay compact. They tend to be hardier in harsh (winter) climates (Canadian zones 4 and 5 - USDA zones 3 and 4)
I use the Canadian hardiness zone numbers which can be a zone lower than the USDA zones - example, USDA zone 4 is generally zone 3 in Canada). When buying your rose, check the tag which will usually be printed in the US.
To ensure my rose's hardiness, I choose them hardy to zone 3 or 4 although I'm in zone 5.
Then again, I'll fall in love with one labelled zone 6 and plant it in a more protected spot. Sometimes I get to enjoy it for a season or two but I keep notes and hope for the best.
The new "Modern" roses, or "Garden" roses are very disease resistant, easy to care for, and better still, they just keep blooming.
My boulevard rose bed gets pounded with ice, snow, sand and salt from the plough, or pee-mail from neighbourhood puppies. And yet, the roses keep blooming ! These are called "Drift" roses.
‘'FLORIBUNDA” roses (from the Latin - “many-flowers”) belong to a fairly new group of roses that come from crossing a polyantha like ‘The Fairy’ rose and a hybrid tea rose (a single bloom on a long stem), like ‘Pink Promise” below.
More about growing roses in the shade.
Both floribundas and shrub roses are prolific bloomers so given partial shade, they may not have as many blooms, but they will be content. Especially white or pale cream roses that often look washed out in full sun. The white will show off more with some shade...better for photos too.
These are some roses that don't mind some dappled sunlight or even a bit of shade:
"Docteur Jamain” (below) is a David Austin, old rose climber and a perpetual bloomer - a deep burgundy with a gorgeous scent but "he" does burn in too much sun. Perhaps he would do better on a wall that faces north.
This was one of Vita Sackville-West’s favourites.
Photo credit: David Austin Roses
"The Knock-Out Rose"- (Radrazz)
This incredible rose blooms from early spring to late fall with glorious deep pink blooms with dark green, glossy leaves and is comfy in zone 4 (to 9) gardens.
This shrub rose needs little deadheading as it does what ‘they’ call “self-cleaning”, meaning the petals fall off when another bloom is ready.
This rose below gets some afternoon shade from a cedar hedge and a tall Spruce. It is a Double Knockout in its first year.
Note: oops...the following season, I had to move this rose to another bed, far enough to not be affected by the 80 foot Black Walnut tree.
Seems roses and Black Walnuts are not keen on one another. She got moved to a happier place.
The Hybrid Musk Family of Roses will put on a great show if planted in drifts as hedges or the edges of borders.
As a group, they have been known to tolerate a little less light than most others which is a boon if you have some dappled sunlight and you crave roses.
Here are some roses to consider for zones 5 to 10:
“Darlow’s Enigma” (Hybrid Musk) white, fragrant
“Ballerina” (Hybrid Musk)white with pink: fragrant
“Prosperity” (Hybrid Musk), white double blooms and a light fragrance.
“ Gruss an Aachen” (Floribunda), salmon pink double blooms, fading to a lovely cream
“Fair Bianca” (an English Rose), white and smells a bit spicy.
Do your research;
- buy from a reputable grower and tell the greenhouse about your soil, how much sun, wind, shade etc.
Buying a rose just because you like it, is not always a recipe for success but we will all do it.
Right Rose - Right Place
