Floribunda (Latin for "many-flowering") is a modern group of garden roses that was developed by crossing hybrid teas with polyantha roses, the latter being derived from crosses between Rosa chinensis and Rosa multiflora (sometimes called R. polyantha). [1] The idea was to create roses that bloomed with the polyantha profusion, but with hybrid tea floral beauty and colour range.
The first polyantha/hybrid tea cross, 'Rødhætte' ('Red Riding Hood'), was introduced by the Danish breeder Dines Poulsen in 1907. [1] It possessed characteristics of both its parent classes, and was initially called a Hybrid Polyantha or Poulsen rose. Poulsen continued this line of work in subsequent years, introducing several Hybrid Polyanthas such as 'Else Poulsen' in 1924. [1] [2] Other breeders also began introducing similar varieties, and in 1930 the name "floribunda" was coined by Dr. J.N. Nicolas, a rose hybridizer for Jackson & Perkins in the US. This term has been used since then to describe cultivars which in their ancestry have crosses between hybrid teas and polyanthas.
Typical floribundas feature stiff shrubs, smaller and bushier than the average hybrid tea but less dense and sprawling than the average polyantha. The flowers are often smaller than hybrid teas but are carried in large sprays, giving a better floral effect in the garden. Floribundas are found in all hybrid tea colours and with the classic hybrid tea-shaped blossom, sometimes differing from hybrid teas only in their cluster-flowering habit. Today they are still used in large bedding schemes in public parks and similar spaces.
Cultivar | Hybridizer | Year | Colour | Notes | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
'Angel Face' | Swim & Weeks | 1968 | Lavender | ||
'Amber Queen' | Harkness | 1984 | Yellow | Rose of the Year 1984 | ![]() |
'Anne Harkness' | Harkness | 1979 | Apricot | ![]() | |
'Arthur Bell' | McGredy | 1964 | Yellow | ![]() | |
'Bonica 82' | Meilland | 1982 | Pink | Rose Hall of Fame AGM 1993 | ![]() |
'Cherish' | Warriner | 1980 | Pale Pink | ||
'Dainty Maid' | LeGrice | 1940 | Pink Blend | Portland Gold 1941 | |
'Edelweiß' | Poulsen | 1969 | Cream | ||
'English Miss' | Cant | 1977 | Pale Pink | AGM 2001 | ![]() |
'Gruß an Aachen' | Geduldig | 1909 | Pale Pink | ||
'Heidi Klum' | Rosen Tantau | 1999 | Pink | ![]() | |
'Iceberg' | Kordes | 1958 | White | Rose Hall of Fame | ![]() |
'Julia Child' | Carruth | 2004 | Yellow | Best of the Best 2010 AGM 2012 | ![]() |
'Montana' | Rosen Tantau | 1974 | Red | ||
'Pacific Dream' | James | 2006 | Purple | ![]() | |
'Poesie' | Warriner | 1988 | Pink | ![]() | |
'Princess of Wales' | Harkness | 1997 | White | AGM 2002 | ![]() |
'Rosa Gruß an Aachen' | 1930 | Pink | ![]() | ||
'Sexy Rexy' | McGredy | 1984 | Pink | ![]() | |
'Shockwave' | Carruth | 2006 | Yellow | ![]() | |
'Saint Tropez' | Pierre Orard | ~2015 | Yellow | Yellow, orange, and apricot blend | |
'Sunsprite' | Kordes | 1973 | Yellow | ![]() | |
'Tuscan Sun' | Zary | 2002 | Orange | ![]() | |
'Yesterday' | Harkness | 1974 | Pink | ![]() | |
Rosa 'Alain' is a red Floribunda rose variety, bred by Francis Meilland before 1946. Meilland International introduced the rose in France in 1948. It was named for Meilland's son, Alain, who was born in 1940. It won the Geneva Gold Medal in 1948.
Hybrid tea is an informal horticultural classification for a group of garden roses. The first hybrid tea roses were created in France in the mid-1800s, by cross-breeding the large, floriferous hybrid perpetuals with the tall, elegant tea roses. The hybrid tea is the oldest class of modern garden roses. Hybrid teas exhibit traits midway between their parents, being hardier than the often delicate tea roses, and with a better ability for repeat-flowering than the more robust hybrid perpetuals.
W. Kordes' Söhne is a German rose breeding company in Klein Offenseth-Sparrieshoop in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The company is one of the world's leading rose breeders and producers for cut roses and garden roses, annually selling worldwide more than two million rose plants at retail and wholesale. Each year, more than 50,000 new crosses of garden roses and cut roses are tested, leading to four to six marketable varieties after a trial period of eight to ten years.
Frank Riethmuller (1884–1965) was an Australian rose breeder.
Garden roses are predominantly hybrid roses that are grown as ornamental plants in private or public gardens. They are one of the most popular and widely cultivated groups of flowering plants, especially in temperate climates. An enormous number of garden cultivars have been produced, especially over the last two centuries, though roses have been known in the garden for millennia beforehand. While most garden roses are grown for their flowers, often in dedicated rose gardens, some are also valued for other reasons, such as having ornamental fruit, providing ground cover, or for hedging.
Rosa 'Wife of Bath', is a pink shrub rose cultivar developed by David C.H. Austin in England in 1969. It was one of his early cultivars and is named after a character from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. 'Rosarium Glücksburg' is a rose garden in the park of Schloss Glücksburg in Glücksburg, Germany.
Rosa 'Perle d'Or' is an apricot blend Polyantha rose cultivar bred by Joseph Rambaux in 1875 and introduced by Francis Dubreuil in France in 1883. 'Perle d'Or' was granted several awards, including the Lyon Gold Medal in 1883, and the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1993.
Rosa 'Charles Austin' is an apricot shrub rose cultivar bred and introduced by David Austin in England in 1973. The rose was hybridised by crossing the English rose 'Chaucer' with the pink Hybrid Tea 'Aloha' and is named after the breeder's father. It was one of the early English roses.
Rosa 'Electron', also known as Mullard Jubilee, is a bright pink hybrid tea rose developed by Samuel McGredy IV in 1962. Originally named 'Mullard Jubilee', it was introduced into Australia in 1970 as 'Electron'. The rose was named an All-America Rose Selections winner in 1973.
Rosa 'Olympiad',, is a hybrid tea rose cultivar, developed by Sam McGredy IV, and introduced into New Zealand by McGredy Roses International in 1974. The cultivar was named an All-America Rose Selections winner in 1984, and the recipient of the Portland Gold Medal in 1995.
Rosa 'Dublin Bay' is a red, large-flowered floribunda climbing rose. The rose cultivar was bred by Sam McGredy IV in 1969 and introduced into Ireland by nursery, Samuel McGredy and Son.
Rosa 'Spiced Coffee' is a pale beige hybrid tea rose with pink edges. The rose cultivar was bred by Sam McGredy IV in 1985 and introduced into New Zealand in 1990 by his nursery, McGredy Roses International.
Rosa 'Maggie Barry' is a pink blend hybrid tea rose with dark salmon edges. The rose cultivar was bred by Sam McGredy IV in 1986 and introduced into New Zealand in 1993 by McGredy Roses International.
Rosa 'Soleil d'Or' is a Foetida hybrid rose cultivar, bred by Joseph Pernet-Ducher and introduced on November 1, 1900. It is the ancestor of all modern Hybrid tea roses and the first yellow-orange rose. Pernet-Ducher later crossed 'Soleil d'Or' with Tea roses to create a new class known as Pernetiana roses.
Rosa 'Margaret McGredy' is an orange-red hybrid tea rose, bred by Irish rose breeder Sam McGredy III before 1925. The new rose was awarded the Royal National Rose Society (RNRS) Gold Medal in 1925, but was never commercially successful. 'Margaret McGredy, along with an unnamed seedling, was used to hybridize the legendary hybrid tea rose, 'Peace'.
Rosa 'Charles P. Kilham' is an orange-red hybrid tea rose, bred by Irish rose breeder, Samuel McGredy III before 1926. The rose was introduced in France in 1926 and Australia in 1927. It won the Royal National Rose Society (RNRS) gold medal in 1927. 'Charles P. Kilham' is one of the ancestors of the legendary hybrid tea rose, 'Peace'.
Joseph Rambaux (1820–1878) was a gardener and rose breeder from Lyon, France. He is considered the patriarch of the legenday Meilland family, award-winning rose breeders for six generations. The rose variety he is best remembered for is the Polyantha, 'Perle d'Or', introduced in France in 1883. 'Perle d'Or' was granted several awards, including the Lyon Gold Medal in 1883, and the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 1993.
The Meilland Family is a multi-generational family of French rose breeders. The family's first rosarian was gardener, Joseph Rambaux, who first started breeding roses in 1850 in Lyon. He is best known for developing the Polyantha 'Perle d'Or'. His wife, Claudine and son-in-law, Francois Dubreuil, took over the nursery after Rambaux died in 1878. Dubreuil became a successful rose breeder and grower. In 1900, Dubreuil hired sixteen year old, Antoine Meilland, as a gardening assistant, where he met Dubreuil's daughter, Claudia. Antoine and Claudia married in 1909 and their son, Francis was born in 1912. The couple took over Dubreuil's nursery after his death in 1916.
Rosa 'All American Magic' is a red blend Grandiflora rose cultivar, bred by Alain Meilland in 1997 and introduced into the United States and France by Meilland International.