This is a rather confusing category for roses since all of them in the wild are "shrubs". So, this is a catch all grouping that includes the larger species roses and the early hybrids although many of these have undergone recent upgrades.

In past times, these were the common large rose bushes growing next to your grandparents' front porch. They had nice little five petaled flowers during June and that was it. Modern shrub roses, however, now come in a variety of sizes and they have been bred to re-bloom throughout the summer.

Current shrub roses are quite vigorous, cold hardy and generally more resistant to insect and disease problems than hybrid teas. Many of them are used for general landscape purposes like other types of shrubs.