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There are several different types, or classes, of roses. These classes can be broadly divided into two categories: modern and antique.

Modern classes of roses:

Modern roses are roses whose class was created after 1867. Modern roses include Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras, Floribundas, Polyanthas, Modern Shrubs, and Large-Flowered Climbers. These types come in variety of bright colors and are usually found in multi-petaled forms.

Hybrid Teas are the most popular type of roses and are the ones that most people think of when they imagine a rose. Prone to diseases, these roses usually consist of large multi-petaled blooms opening from pointed buds atop thick, thorny, and often bare stems. These bushes are usually 3 to 6 feet tall, and the long stems make them ideal for use as florist's roses. Chrysler Imperial and Peace are both Hybrid Teas. The class Grandiflora is only used in the U.S.: it refers to tall Hybrid Teas (over 5 feet) like Queen Elizabeth.

Floribundas are small (2 to 5 foot) shrubby roses used for hedges. Floribundas include roses like Iceberg and Nearly Wild (a single-petaled variety.) These roses are less valuable as cut flowers than Hybrid Teas, but more appropriate for landscaping. Polyanthas are the parents of Floribundas. Most popular in the early part of the twentieth century, these are smaller (1 to 4 foot) shrubs with small, full blooms. Usually found in pastel colors, this class of roses includes the Fairy and Dick Koster.

Modern Shrub roses is a catch-all class that includes English shrub roses, Kordes, and Buck roses. Coming in a variety of colors and forms, these roses work well as landscape shrubs. Knockout and Austin roses are examples of Modern Shrub roses. Large-flowered Climbers are climbing roses that have blooms similar to Hybrid Teas. American Beauty, New Dawn, and Don Juan are all Large-flowered Climbers.

Antique or Old-Garden roses:

Unlike Modern roses' bright colors, older classes of roses tend to be in found in less variety of colors. The most common classes of antique roses are Chinas, Teas, Noisettes, Bourbons, Albas, Hybrid Perpetuals, Damasks, and Ramblers.

Chinas, Teas, and Noisettes do best in warmer climates. Chinas are usually small (3 to 5 foot), twiggy shrubs with a plethora of small blooms. They tend to bloom almost constantly, have very little fragrance, and some blooms change color as the age. Old Blush, Martha Gonzales, and Mutabilis are examples of Chinas (Mutabilis is one of the few Chinas that gets bigover 12 feet!)

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