The autumn garden is my favorite. The combination of warm soil, cool air, and ample rain makes everything spring back to life. After months of summer heat, getting back outside with my hands in the dirt is delightful.
Few plants have the same effect as a rose bush in full bloom. Those wonderful, sweet-smelling blossoms, with their wide range of colors and velvet petals, are in a class of their own. Many cultivars are repeat bloomers, so if you give them some care, they will shine when the cool fall weather settles in.
Maximize that fall bloom by deadheading the spent flowers as soon as the shrub finishes flowering. Give it some fertilizer, too. This enables the rose to put out new growth and form new buds. They will typically take five to seven weeks to repeat their cycle, with a third flush playing a staring role in the beauty of the autumn garden.
If you’ve got the time, I’d love to share some spectacular repeat bloomers with you. I promise I won’t disappoint you; these are some beautiful plants!
‘Madame Dubost’
This Bourbon cultivar has large, full, and fragrant flowers in the most pleasing shade of fuchsia.
What a lovely lady the original Madame Dubost must have been to have such a gorgeous rose named for her. This Bourbon cultivar has large, full, and fragrant flowers in the most pleasing shade of fuchsia. What’s one better? It produces clusters of these large blooms!
‘Madame Dubost’ will take her time to mature. You won’t see a full showing of her skills in the first year. Prepare for a spectacular show in the next years, though, as she is a heavy bloomer. This vintage bourbon dates back to 1890 and has serious staying power.
‘Louise Clements’
The inner petals are darker, with peaches and cream toward the outer petals.
Lovely ‘Louise Clements’ is another beauty with stunning, fragrant flowers blooming in clusters. This is a continual bloomer with large, copper-colored, densely petaled roses perfect for fall. The inner petals are darker, with peaches and cream toward the outer petals.
‘Louise Clements’ is a newer cultivar introduced in 1996 and named for the breeder’s wife—an honor reserved for only the most spectacular varieties. It makes a wonderful garden or container plant.
‘Princess Elise’
They’re so brightly colored that they practically glow.
Turn up the volume on this epic beauty. “Princess Elise” is rose royalty with large, glowing magenta blooms. They have a pleasing, old-garden fragrance that travels on a warm breeze. They’re so brightly colored that they practically glow.
This variety is a product of the same breeder as ‘Louise Clements,’ John Clements, who introduced this cultivar in 2007. The name ‘Princess Elise,’ came later, in 2019. This fairly new rose is splashy and spectacular against the autumn landscape.
‘The Impressionist’
Splashes of apricot, coral, orange, peach, and even red occasionally appear.
Yet another gift from breeder John Clements, ‘The Impressionist’ is a large-flowered climber. It certainly does make an impression. The classification of the color is technically yellow. However, splashes of apricot, coral, orange, peach, and even red occasionally appear.
The vines can reach nine to 11 feet tall and look gorgeous decorating a trellis. The blooms are good for cutting and have a sweet and spicy aroma, like an old garden variety.
‘Masora’
Large, very double-petaled flowers are cup-shaped with 100-150 petals each.
‘Masora’ is magnificent. This shrub variety, which originated in Japan in the early 2000s, is ideal for the cutting garden and produces some of the most spectacular blooms. Shades of peachy pink and apricot make this disease-resistant cultivar shine.
Large, very double-petaled flowers are cup-shaped with 100-150 petals each. They are highly fragrant, with a pleasant fruit aroma. You can grow this plant as a shrub or climber. It’s an upright grower that can reach beyond five feet tall under optimal conditions.
‘Paris de Yves St. Laurent’
Long, upright stems hold clusters of soft pink confection.
This hybrid tea is the designer bag of easy-to-grow fall roses. It truly is incomparable, and I absolutely couldn’t leave it off the list. If you have a cutting garden and want to add a rose, this one is pure perfection. Long, upright stems hold clusters of soft pink confection.
Double-petaled blooms have luminosity and an antique quality, though this is not a new variety. Released in 1994, this cultivar originated in France and was bred by Alain Meilland. The blossoms have a mild, pleasant fragrance and a long vase life.
‘State of Grace™’
The blooms form in clusters of dark pink buds.
Why is it that whenever I look at roses, each one is more beautiful than the next? They’re just such exquisite plants, and I can’t get enough of them! ‘State of Grace™’ is perfection. This compact English-style rose has an upright growth habit, making it ideal for the cutting garden.
The blooms form in clusters of dark pink buds. As they unfurl, they reward your patience with a golden glow emanating from within. They have an old-fashioned charm and a sweet, fruity perfume.
‘Cinco de Mayo’
Smoky rust red with a lavender cast, it’s in a class of its own.
This Floribunda might have a name that sounds like spring, but it’s also a nice fall bloomer. Cinco de Mayo is a party in the garden. You’ve never seen a rose in this shade before; it’s breathtaking. Smoky rust red with a lavender cast, it’s in a class of its own.
The small, single-petaled flowers have many ruffles and grow in large, impressive clusters. It’s a continuous bloomer, so you can have your May flowers and enjoy them again in the fall.
‘Portlandia’
These large, densely-petaled beauties appear in clusters and look amazing in a cut arrangement.
This large, climbing cultivar, named for the statue in Portland, Oregon, that shares its bright copper tones, came from Mr. Clements in 2002. These large, densely-petaled beauties appear in clusters and look amazing in a cut arrangement.
You can prune this variety to remain a shrub, but it climbs wonderfully. Up to ten feet tall, it’s one of the grandest climbers I’ve seen. It’s also moderately fragrant, which is never a drawback.
‘Tiffany’
The large, full blooms are the most awe-inspiring shade of cool pink.
‘Tiffany’ has a delicate, feminine appearance and prefers warm climates to cold ones. She is as elegant as the American artisan family from which she borrows her name. Introduced in 1954, ‘Tiffany’ produces her best colors in warm weather.
The large, full blooms are the most awe-inspiring shade of cool pink. They turn deeper pink during their summer flush. The blossoms will lighten up again for you in the fall, just in time to shine against the muted shades of autumn. Better yet, they are highly fragrant.
‘Sweet Spirit’
It has deep green, glossy foliage that complements the vivid blooms.
‘Sweet Spirit’ is anything but meek and mild. This day glow pink grandiflora rose stands out in the crowd. The shrub is compact, topping out between three and four feet tall. It has deep green, glossy foliage that complements the vivid blooms.
This is a good warm weather variety. For southern gardeners in humid climates, ‘Sweet Spirit’ can handle it like a tropical. It’s disease-resistant and has a strong fragrance reminiscent of spiced pears.
‘Sugar Moon’
This stunning hybrid tea features pristine white blooms that are not only gorgeous but also smell amazing!
With a name like ‘Sugar Moon,’ this variety shines bright in the fall garden. This stunning hybrid tea features pristine white blooms that are not only gorgeous but also smell amazing!
The plant is a mid-sized shrub with dark green, toothy leaves. Its flowers pop and are a great addition to the moon garden, not just because of their name but also because they glow in the moonlight.
‘Velvet Fragrance’
The outer edges have a dark cast, making them look nearly black, as the high, bright red center glows.
‘Velvet Fragrance’ will fit seamlessly into the warm autumn landscape. This hybrid tea has large, velvety, lipstick-red petals. The outer edges have a dark cast, making them look nearly black, as the high, bright red center glows. They have a strong damask fragrance.
The virtues of ‘Velvet Fragrance’ have not gone unnoticed. She won the Henry Edland Memorial Medal in 1986, which was given to the most fragrant rose of that year.
‘Dick Clark’
A creamy center has deep pink edges in varying amounts.
This dynamic rose is a winner of the ARS Members Choice Award and All-American Rose Selection. It’s a tall shrub with bi-colored blooms that have a color-changing quality. Every flower has its own unique personality.
The foliage and deep and highly glossy. Dark buds look inconspicuous, which makes the bloom even more spectacular. A creamy center has deep pink edges in varying amounts. In bright light, the pink deepens to burgundy. ‘Dick Clark’ is a shining star.
‘Flaming Star’
Red flames touch the edges of the petals, creating an ombre effect.
Let’s end on another flashy, bi-colored note. ‘Flaming Star’ is an incredible hybrid tea variety with famously bright blooms. The flowers glow golden in the center, like a shining star. Red flames touch the edges of the petals, creating an ombre effect.
‘Flaming Star’ is an award winner, taking home the Prize of the public in Barcelona and the La Roa die Bambini in Rome. It’s a crowd-pleaser with a light, fruity fragrance.
