Peak Bloom Time: Peak bloom is mid-May to the end of June, but repeat bloom appears on many varieties up to frost. Typically, many of the repeat bloomers put on a nice show in September as night temperatures drop.
The Garden displays over 2,700 plants encompassing almost 300 cultivars and species. Most will be found in our two large rose gardens, the Gladney Rose Garden and the Anne and John Lehmann Rose Garden, but a nice collection of fragrant roses can be enjoyed in the Kemper Center’s Fragrance Garden. Victorian roses are growing in the Victorian Rose Garden, located next to the Tower Grove House, while other roses can be enjoyed scattered around the Garden.
The Gladney Rose Garden was established in 1917 and displays over 1,250 plants, representing over 100 varieties of mainly hybrid tea, grandiflora, and floribunda roses. A collection of climbing roses is grown on the formal fence, which surrounds the garden. Several of the climbers are repeat bloomers, providing blooms through summer and early fall. The hybrid teas, grandifloras, and floribundas flower in a full range of colors from early summer into fall.
The Anne and John Lehmann Rose Garden was established in 1974 and is our largest rose garden with over 1,300 plants of 150 different cultivars. In addition to hybrid teas, grandifloras, and floribundas, a variety of species and older floribundas will be found here. At the north end of the garden is the All-American Rose Test Center, where new rose cultivars are evaluated in the AARS program.
The Kemper Center for Home Garden’s Fragrance Garden displays over 30 fragrant rose cultivars. They have also been selected for their increased resistance to disease.
Of special note are several species roses in our collection. The Carolina rose, Rosa carolina is native to Missouri. It blooms only once in spring but is covered with attractive pink flowers. Its handsome foliage and red hips in late summer make it a plant for many seasons. R. glauca is known for its plum-purple and gray-green foliage. It produces soft-pink flowers. The Cherokee rose, R. laevigata, is a climbing rose native to Asia. After introduction in the United States, it was widely grown and disseminated by Cherokee Indians; hence, its common name. The prairie rose, R. setigera, another rose native to Missouri, is a spreading shrub with deep pink, single flowers in late spring to early summer. The Manchu rose, R. xanthina, is an early bloomer, with clear yellow flowers, in late April or early May - a clear sign that the rose season is about to begin.
Anytime from early May up until frost you can enjoy a wide selection of roses blooming at the Garden. |
