Roses have acquired a reputation for being fussy, difficult to care for, and prone to living for only one season. While this may be true of some roses, it is not true of the entire species. Rethinking your choice of rose may just change your perception.

The real problem is not with the plant, but the environment in which it is planted. Our winters are too unpredictable. When snow insulates our gardens, plants are happy. But when the ground is bare and temperatures alternate between freezing and thawing, winter wreaks havoc on our gardens.

If you want to grow roses in Vermont, you need to be realistic. You can plant tender roses, enjoy their ethereal beauty, and view having them around for more than one year as a bonus. Or you can change your expectations. If you view roses as you would any other shrub in your landscape — as plants whose requirements are hardiness, basic spring care, and that have a definite bloom period — you will have no trouble incorporating roses into your overall garden scheme.

For at least ten years now I have grown most of the ‘Explorer Series’ roses. I still have the same plants that I bought from a now-defunct nursery in Vermont’s northeast kingdom. They have been ignored, moved, and accidentally chopped to the ground, but never pampered. One winter they all endured an entire month trapped in ice with temperatures below zero. Still they bloomed. They are beautiful, but they do not bloom all summer. Neither do my lilacs, but I wouldn’t dream of digging them up and tossing them into the compost.

The following recommendations are organized by species. All varieties are accurately described in our 2002 Horsford’s catalogue.

The hardiest roses we carry are known as the ‘Explorer Series.’ They have names like ‘Capt. Samuel Holland,’ ‘Champlain,’ and ‘George Vancouver.’ All were developed at a research station in Ottawa. Colors range in the whites, pinks and reds with one yellow — ‘J.P. Connell.’ Rosa ‘Frontenac’ blooms the longest. Rosa ‘John Davis’ and ‘Henry Kelsey’ are climbers. The rest are shrub roses ranging in size from 2.5 ft. to 9 ft. All are vigorous and disease-resistant.

Shrub roses are loved for their hardiness. ‘Carefree Wonder,’ ‘Bonica,’ and ‘Seafoam’ are easy to incorporate into a perennial garden or at the front of the border. ‘Nearly Wild’ and ‘Chuckles’ are popular with landscape architects. Their bright pink blossoms remind me of southern dogwood flowers.

‘The Fairy’ and ‘Red Fairy’ are polyantha roses. ‘The Fairy’ is a very old rose. It is tiny, both in bloom and stature, growing to just 21⁄2 ft.

Rugosa roses live through anything. Their durability and salt tolerance (not to mention their thorns) make them ideal for problem areas. Since they manage to survive life in highway medians, I think they will do at least as well in any yard. You should consider them also for their beautiful, occasionally fragrant, flowers that are followed by huge orange rose hips.

For cut flowers, fragrance, and stunning color shades, choose a Floribunda or a Hybrid Tea rose. Fluorescent orange, soft apricot and an unbelievable lavender are all available in these two species.

We suggest you plant roses in spring or early summer to give them lots of time to establish roots. But truthfully, with a little extra care, you can plant them any time. We working gardeners never plant when we are supposed to!