Best Rose Bushes & Climbers for Shady Areas
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Pre-Order Bareroot Roses For 2025/26 Winter Planting Season
The Most Shade Tolerant Roses, Ideal for North Facing Walls
All rose varieties flower best with plenty of sunlight: that is true for the majority of ornamental plants.
However, the tough varieties listed below have the most tolerance for partial shade, meaning less than half a day of sun during Summer. They should flower reasonably well growing against a North facing wall with open sky above and in front of them (i.e. not in an alleyway!), where they receive little direct light in summer.
These are the best roses for growing in the shade. All roses flower best with plenty of sunlight, but these tough varieties have the most tolerance for growing with less than half a day of sun, or against a North facing wall with open sky above, where they receive little direct light in summer.
Modern bush roses like Hybrid Teas and Floribundas generally need plenty of sun to support their large or numerous flowers.
A good way to make an educated guess about whether a rose is likely to be shade-tolerant is to look at one of its flowers: the simpler the flower, with fewer petals, the more shade-tolerant it is likely to be.
Officially, there are 5 tiers of roses by petal count:
- Single: 4-8 petals.
- Semi-Double 9-16 petals.
- Double: 17-25 petals.
- Very Double / Full: 26-40 petals
- Very Full: 41+ petals
When browsing for the most shade-tolerant roses, Single and Semi-Double roses are mostly a sure bet, but there are some Double and even Full roses that roses can manage quite well.
The best shade-tolerant Shrub Roses
In most cases, the shrub roses that perform best in the shade are Old Rose varieties, especially the Hybrid Musks (which tend to be taller) and Polyanthas (which tend to be shorter).
The best shade-tolerant Floribunda Roses
Floribunda Roses are some of the hardest working, and generally don’t do well in the shade: these are the “least worst”.
The best shade-tolerant Hybrid Tea Roses
It’s a similar story with Hybrid Tea Roses: they have been bred for excellent flower production, not shade tolerance.
The best shade-tolerant Climbing Roses
Climbing Roses have the advantage of climbing up, which is conveniently where the sun is! In very approximate order of shade tolerance, from best to “less best”:
- Iceberg – Climbing Version (Semi-Double, White, to 2.5m – 4m)
- Golden Showers (Semi-Double, Yellow, to 3m)
- Danse du Feu (Double, Red, to 2.5m – 4m)
- Zephirine Drouhin (Double, Deep Pink, to 1.5m – 2.5m)
- Chris (Double, Yellow, to 3m)
- New Dawn (Full, Light Pink, to 1.5m – 2.5m)
- Cécile Brünner (Full, White, to 2.5m – 4m)
- Madame Alfred Carrière (Full, White-Pale Pink, to 4m – 8m)
- Constance Spry (Full, Pink, to 1.5m – 2.5m)
- Compassion (Full, Apricot-Pink, to 3m)
The best shade-tolerant Rambling Roses
Rambling roses are much closer to wild roses in their genes, so they typically perform well in less sunny conditions, and with a bit of creative tying-in, they can fulfil about the same role as climbing roses.
The absolute most shade-tolerant roses are the wild hedging roses, but for most gardeners they are not ornamental enough. The exception is the red-leaf glaucous rose with its vivid pink flowers, great foliage and hips for winter interest.
What is so good about Bareroot Roses?
The majority of roses in the UK are planted bareroot, but for many new gardeners, the idea of buying a plant with no soil around its roots feels wrong: how can they survive transit without a pot?
The secret is that they are sleeping (dormant) in winter, and during their brief time out of the field we store them in chilled, humid conditions that keep them nice and moist. Then we wrap them up well and send them to you by next day delivery.
• Bareroot roses cost and weigh less than pot grown. They usually need less watering in their first year, and usually outgrow a potted version.• Pot grown plants give you a longer planting season, make for prettier gifts (especially our gift wrapped roses!), and will grow happily in their pots if planting is delayed.• Some varieties are only delivered in pots, others are delivered bareroot in winter and in pots the rest of the year.
Almost all roses are grafted, using the best rootstock. Our bareroot roses are raised in heavy clay on a well drained location, which their roots love!
All our mail order rose bushes come with Free Returns, and our Replacement Guarantee for bareroot stock, so you can give them a whirl with complete confidence. Best advice & friendly support throughout.
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