I love the look of white roses — they’re trendy and elegant, and instantly add class to any garden. In the language of flowers, white roses signify sincerity, purity and chastity. They also indicate innocence and spiritual love, and have sometimes been known as “the flower of light.” Whether you’re looking for a climbing rose to improve your pergola or a deliciously scented you to flank your entryway, white roses are a classic choice.

The New York Botanical Garden

Greatest climber. Any shrub rose that is described as a “mannerly climber” is good in my book. ‘Sea Foam’ grows up to 8 feet tall, perfect for smaller trellises and arbors. It sports creamy white double blossoms that have consecutive bloom occasions in spring, summer and fall. Plant it in USDA zones 4 to 9. Find your zone

More white climbers include ‘Moonlight’, ‘Prosperity’, ‘Colonial White’ and ‘Jeanne d’Arc’.

The New York Botanical Garden

Best cut flower. ‘Moondance’ offers incredibly long stems, 14 to 18 inches, which makes it an exceptional rose for cutting and arranging. The white 3 1/2 inch-flowers also have a beautiful spicy odor and are organized in clusters around the stems. This shrub rose grows up to 6 feet tall in zones 5 to 9, blooms in late spring to early summer with repeat blooming and is resistant to rust and mildew. It is, however, a little vulnerable to black spot, which means you will want to keep your eye on this to prevent continued problems.

Other great cut white roses are ‘White Gold’, ‘Susan’ and ‘Winchester Cathedral’.

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Easy-care favourite. What do you get when you cross the ‘ amazing ‘Graham Thomas’ rose together with the easygoing ‘Carefree Beauty’? You get ‘Stephen F. Austin’, a beautiful low-maintenance shrub rose that grows up to 6 feet tall in zones 5 to 9. It boasts 3-inch-wide almost-double flowers that fade to a cream color in warmer weather.

Want more low-maintenance white roses? Look for ‘Snowdrift’, ‘Morden Blush’, ‘Sally Holmes’ and ‘Sea Foam’.

Discover more wonderfully easy-to-grow roses

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Best odor. ‘Iceberg’ is a blindingly white rose and the first, introduced in 1958, is heavily scented and quite disease resistant. The “new” ‘Iceberg’ improved that was introduced in 2002 is equally amazing, but the odor is said to be considerably milder. ‘Iceberg’ is a vigorous shrub rose, growing 4 to 6 ft tall in zones 4 to 9, and blooms in the spring using repeat blooms later in the season.

Additional white blossom roses comprise ‘Full Sail’, ‘Moondance’, ‘Pillow Fight’ and ‘Pope John Paul II’.

The New York Botanical Garden

Best color variant. ‘Garden Party’ is a hybrid tea rose that offers creamy white blooms dipped in pale pink. It’s also blessed with powerful fragrance and long canes that make it perfect for cutting. It grows to 4 feet tall and will succeed in zones 5 to 9 — but be forewarned that this gorgeous girl is a bit susceptible to a plethora of pests and diseases. Many of these problems can be held in check through good cultural practices, such as making certain your rose has sufficient space around it to ensure decent air flow, and preventing getting water on the foliage when irrigating.

Other color variants include ‘Cafe Ole’, ‘White O’Hara’ and ‘Créme de la Créme’.

Joani Stewart-Georgi – Montana Ave. Interiors

White roses can be considered a neutral — they will go with any other color in the garden. And if you’ve got entertaining spaces where you like to gather in the evening, white roses will almost glow in the night. This mild blossom color really pops in the scene, so if you’ve got an area that you would like to stand out, white is the thing to do.

More gardening with roses

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