Roses In Washington: What Grows Best, Top Rose Gardens, and More!

Even though Washington may have a reputation for being cloudy along the coast and quite frigid in the winter, there are a variety of beautiful roses that can grow (and thrive) in the state. There is a range of climate/weather conditions in Washington especially when you compare eastern to western Washington. So when choosing roses for your garden look carefully at the plant hardiness zone for your city to help choose the best fit. If you want to visit a few rose gardens to get inspired before starting your garden there are several great options in Washington (and one amazing garden just over the border in Oregon that is worth the visit). Read on to find out all about roses in Washington: what grows best, the top rose gardens and more!

What Roses Grow Best in Washington?

The roses that grow the best in Washington are hybrid tea roses, grandifloras, floribundas, and shrub roses. Roses that are “disease-free” and “easy care” are some of the best varieties to grow in the state. You do need to take into account where in Washington you live to consider your growing zone, amount of sunlight, and precipitation levels. Many of the modern roses offer varieties that are easy to care for and winter well through the season.

What Rose Varieties Grow Best in Washington?

Some of the rose varieties that grow best in Washington are:

• ‘Grand Amore’: classic long-stemmed red rose, hybrid tea rose
• ‘South Africa’: beautiful yellow blooming grandiflora
• ‘Beverly’ Eleganza: bright pink blooms with softer pink edges, hybrid tea rose
• ‘Julia Child’: large yellow blooms, floribunda
• ‘Carefree Beauty’: lots of smaller pink blooms on this easy to care for shrub rose

What are the Top Rose Gardens In Washington?

Some of the top rose gardens in Washington are the Woodland Park Rose Garden at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, the Rose Garden at Pointe Defiant Park in Tacoma, and the Rose Garden at the Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden in SeaTac. You also can’t ignore the Washington Park International Rose Test Garden, but that is just over the border in Portland, OR…more on that later!

All about the Woodland Park Rose Garden

The Woodland Park Rose Garden is in Seattle. This beautiful rose garden is situated in the Woodland Park Zoo and showcases more than 3,000 roses from 200 varieties. You can imagine the sight of reds, pinks, soft yellows, and whites as well as the sweet smell of this rose garden. If you happen to live at the zoo (like the gorillas) you can even taste the roses. Because the roses are grown pesticide free they can be fed to some of the zoo animals!

All about the Rose Garden at Pointe Defiant Park

This historic garden in Tacoma dates back to 1895 with more than an acre of gorgeous colorful roses. Can you imagine a space about the size of a football field covered in red, pink, white, yellow and orange blooms? Of course the roses are strategically planted and spread out throughout the park including an impressive arbor arch that creates a tunnel of blooming climbing roses. There are more than 1,500 roses in this rose garden and a new metal sculpted gate featuring roses to greet visitors.

All About the Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden Rose Garden

The Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden includes a variety of flowers and plants on its 11-acre site next to the North SeaTac Community Center. The SeaTac community is just south of downtown Seattle. The botanical garden includes a Seike Japanese Garden, King County Iris Society Garden, Puget Sound Daylily Club Garden, and more! The roses are on display in the Seattle Rose Society Celebration Garden. They took over caring for the rose garden in 2004 and continue to care for and maintain this beautiful garden. Although you can visit in early spring and late fall, the biggest, most beautiful blooms are from May to November.

Where can you find 10,000 Beautiful Roses all in one Place?

The Washington Park International Rose Test Garden has more than 10,000 roses. The garden is NOT in Washington, but just south of Washington in Portland, Oregon. This garden deserves recognition because of the work they are doing to introduce new roses to the Pacific Northwest. Roses that doe well in Portland will certainly do well in much of Washington state. The garden is also one of five testing sights for David Austin roses! If you want to get some ideas for growing roses in Washington you can take a trip to the International Test Garden to see colorful hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, shrub roses, and more!

What Roses can you Grow in Eastern Washington?

Much of Eastern Washington, including Spokane, is in growing zone 6. The most popular rose to grow in Spokane is the hybrid tea rose, one of the most popular roses grown throughout the country. If you are just starting out, spring is the best time to plant your rose bushes. Hybrid tea roses, climbing roses and miniature roses can all be grown in Eastern Washington, just be sure to follow the care guides for each. For inspiration in Eastern Washington, you can visit Rose Hill in Manito Park in Spokane. There are more than 150 varieties growing in this garden in a wide range of colors. While some rose gardens are flourishing when they first begin, the caretakers fade over time and the gardens look a little neglected. But the Rose Hill Garden is meticulously cared for and has even won an Outstanding Maintenance Award for the past 20 years!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Gary Matuschka/Shutterstock.com