Roses are a popular addition to many people’s gardens. Not only are they a hardy plant that will thrive in many gardens, they’re also beautiful and will provide bright, large blooms throughout the full growing season.

However, there are a number of different types of roses available, with two of the most popular being Hybrid Tea roses and Floribunda roses. Knowing the difference between the two will help you to understand the type of rose you choose for your garden and the best way to look after them.

Floribunda Roses

Floribunda is Latin for many flowering. When you buy a Floribunda rose, you can expect a plant with many flowers but without the same strong fragrance that you would expect from a Hybrid Tea rose.

Characteristics

Floribunda roses are bushy, upright shrub roses which display large clusters of beautiful flowers from summer right through into the autumn months.

The flowers produced by Floribunda roses tend to be slightly smaller than those produced by Hybrid Tea roses but the large clusters of flowers provide an impressive display.

Floribunda roses are hardy and free flowering, producing showy, fragrant flowers which are usually grown for displays and not for use as cut flowers.

History of Floribunda Roses

Floribunda roses were originally developed by cross breeding Hybrid Tea roses and Polyantha roses. This created a rose which blooms in the same way as a Polyantha rose but provides the same beauty and colours of Hybrid Tea roses.

Jackson and Perkins was the first company to use the term Floribunda in the early 20th Century.

When to plant Floribunda roses

If your Floribunda roses are containerised, you can plant them at any time of year but, the beginning of autumn to early spring is the best time to plant them as this is when they are dormant.

If the ground is frozen or waterlogged, you should avoid planting your roses until the conditions improve. We recommend keeping them in an unheated outbuilding and heel in bare root roses by digging a trench in normal garden soil and placing the roots inside and covering with loose soil.

Where to grow Floribunda roses

Floribunda roses like to be grown in a sunny position which is well sheltered from strong winds. Your roses will struggle to thrive if they are crowded by other plants or planted in the shade.

Hybrid Tea Roses

Hybrid Tea Roses are another type of rose that was developed by cross-breeding two other types of roses for their characteristics.

Characteristics

Hybrid Tea Roses produce large, shapely flowers from high centred buds on long, straight stems. They produce one flower per stem, making them perfect for use as cut flowers. The flowers usually appear in three flushes between summer and late autumn.

History of Hybrid Tea Roses

Tea roses were originally from China and were named Hybrid Tea because the fragrance of the plants reminded people of the smell of tea brewing. Originally, Tea roses were much larger shrubs with bigger flowers with weak necks and flowers that nodded down.

The first Hybrid Tea rose was introduced in 1867 by Guillot of France. They had a strong fragrance and a large, full bloom and was the first Hybrid Tea rose.

When to plant Hybrid Tea Roses

As with Floribunda roses, Hybrid Tea roses can be planted at any time of year but early spring to late autumn is the best time as this is when the plants are dormant. You should also avoid planting then when the ground is frozen or waterlogged.

Where to grow Hybrid Tea Roses

When planting Hybrid Tea roses, make sure you choose a sunny spot which is sheltered from any strong winds. They prefer to be separated from other plants and need at least a minimum of six hours of sunlight per day to really thrive.

How do Hybrid Tea and Floribunda roses compare?

Want to know more about the key differences between the two types of roses? Check out our table below.