More White Garden Roses

This is a continuation of my personal list of white roses for planting in an all white garden or for moon garden use. Remember to check with your local professionally trained nursery staff and local rosarians or rose growers to see if these are suitable for your garden, or if they would recommend a substitute based on local conditions.

Among the modern David Austin roses, “Winchester Cathedral” is a repeating strong white (it may show some pale buff in the center) with a full, old fashioned look. A medium arching shrub with the fragrance of honey and almond, it blooms very early in the season.

Another David Austin rose, “Fair Bianca” has white blooms with a green eye, a strong spicy “old rose” fragrance (with a heliotrope note) and very good disease resistance. Said to resemble “Madame Hardy”, see below.

An antique rose still worthy of gardens today, “Madame Hardy” (1832, Damask) has white blooms with a strong lemon fragrance.

“Queen Mary 2” (“Meifaissell”) is a newer hybrid tea with excellent disease resistance and pure white blooms, and strong fragrance said to smell of banana. (Smells of banana and named after a cruise ship, but …)

“Rosa Kent Towne and Country” is a small rose at about two feet tall and wide, but when grown on its own roots has excellent winter hardiness — to USDA zone 4. The white blooms are semidouble.

“Panda Meidiland” is another smaller white rose, this one has charming single blooms (7 to 10 petals) with golden centers. No fragrance, but good disease resistance and easy care.

“White Flower Carpet” is part of the popular, easy to grow Flower Carpet series; grows to about two and a half feet tall with semidouble bright white flowers (12 petals) all summer. Often used in a mass planting or as a hedge.

A fun miniature white rose, “Gourmet Popcorn” has golden centers. This highly rated, very hardy and disease resistant shrub can reach three feet, and the tiny flowers are exquisite. Makes a terrific standard, “just like a popcorn ball on a stick.”

Rosa rugosa “Alba” has fragrant blooms in a big flush in June and then sporadically; then in fall, the plant shows decorative red hips (as long as it has not been deadheaded.) Rugosa roses are very tough plants (hardy to at least zone 4) and are among the most carefree of roses. They require little pruning and have good disease resistance.

“Blanc Double de Coubert” is another white rugosa type, the blooms are strongly fragrant (said to be like anise) with 25 to 30 petals. Interestingly, the parentage of this rose is R.rugosa x “Sombreuil.” No wonder I like it.

There are so many different roses available that you may find a white rose or two or three that you like even better than these, or that perform better in your local climate and growing conditions. Consult with your local nursery staff and local rosarians to identify roses that will do particularly well in your garden, then select the one(s) you like best among those. Please do not think this list is a definitive one, it is a personal list of some of the white roses I happen to like.

Read All of the White Garden Series:

The White Garden

Flowers for the White Garden

Foliage for the White Garden

Vines for the White Garden

Roses for the White Garden

More Roses for the White Garden

Trees for the White Garden

Shrubs for the White Garden

The White Garden in Shade

Designing the White Garden

All Flower Gardens Articles So Far