7 Easy-to-Care-For Rose Bushes to Check Out Before You Buy

'Rainbow' Knock Out Rose

'Rainbow' from the Knock Out breeder is another rose bush with single flowers and no fragrance. This repeat bloomer makes up for it with a gorgeous combination of coral with a yellow center that earns it that rainbow name.

'Rainbow' Knock Out measures about 3 to 4 feet tall and wide when mature. It can get bigger than that in some regions and growing conditions. To manage its size, prune branches that rub against each other in spring or in early summer. Prune off dead branches at any time.

This rose bush variety is known for its disease resistance, especially against issues like powdery mildew, black spot, and rust.

'Blushing' Knock Out Rose

If 'Rainbow' doesn't excite you, try another bush in this series of repeat bloomers: the 'Blushing' Knock Out rose. This type of rose bush bears fragrant, semi-double pink flowers and grows up to 3 to 4 feet tall and wide at maturity. As with 'Rainbow', no deadheading is required.

In addition to basic spring pruning done every year to maintain size, it's a good idea to perform a rejuvenation pruning on Knock Out roses every other year in late winter. Prune out a third of the oldest branches to channel energy into creating healthy new branches. As blooming pauses on a Knock Out rose bush during the course of the growing season, feed with a balanced rose fertilizer.

Beach Rose (Rosa rugosa)

A low-maintenance standby is Rosa rugosa, a salt-tolerant plant. This rose bush tolerates salt so well, in fact, that it's also known as the beach rose. This tough plant is not fazed by poor soils, high winds, or drought and is hardy in USDA zones 2-7.

The beach rose bush's salt tolerance extends to road salt as well. This feature, along with its ease of care, makes this an excellent rose bush to grow along the side of a street. 

Prune these rose bushes in late winter or early spring to manage their size and shape. At maturity, they generally stand 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. For even lower maintenance, if you have the room, treat them as wild shrubs and prune only to remove dead wood.

At Last Rose

Developed by the breeder At Last, these rose bushes offer several beneficial trains. They're an easy-to-grow rose bush with a classic rose fragrance. Their flowers have a tea-rose form with attractive double blooms. At Last rose bushes are also disease-resistant and hardy in USDA zones 5-9.

These rose bushes require very basic care. Simply prune and fertilize in the spring for beautiful flowers all summer long. They're also compact enough to grow well in a container, measuring about three feet by three feet at maturity.

'Candy Oh!' Rose

'Candy Oh! Vivid Red' (Rosa 'Zlemartincipar') may be single-flowered, but these easy-to-grow rose bushes make up for it by producing a multitude of blossoms. They are part of the Oso Happy breeder series and are hardy in USDA zones 5-9.

The flowers look their best when they first unfurl because that is when their yellow centers shine brightest. This shrub is such a great flower producer that as soon as one bloom starts to age, another opens to take its place. 

Since they stand only 3 to 4 feet tall and wide at maturity, there's no pressing need to prune Candy Oh! rose bushes except to remove dead branches. Some pruning in late winter or early spring is commonly recommended to give the plants the shape you prefer, but it's not necessary to keep these rose bushes healthy and thriving.

'Smoothie' Oso Happy Rose

Like 'Candy Oh!', 'Smoothie' (Rosa 'Zlesak Poly3') is from the Oso Happy breeder of rose bushes. Both varieties have similar sizes, disease resistance, and minimal care requirements. It's also hardy in USDA zones 5-9. If you like pink, you will want to grow Smoothie.

Smoothie's name is based on the marketing assertion that it is thornless (as in having smooth canes). Sadly, this isn't always true.

'Pink Supreme Flower Carpet'

'Pink Supreme Flower Carpet' is part of the carpet rose series put out by the Australia-based breeder Tesselaar. The name "carpet rose" references how these plants are marketed as ground cover roses, but they're not the kind of ground cover you can walk on. These plants grow low to the ground relative to their width. Their average mature height is less than 30 inches, while their spread is 40 inches.

'Pink Supreme' earns a spot on this list because it's so low maintenance. This variety is hardy in USDA zones 5-9. Plant several of these easy-to-grow rose bushes on a patch of land where you don't plan to walk but where you would like to have color throughout the summer. To prune, simply shear off the top two-thirds of the plants in late winter or early spring.