For the avid rose collector or a gardener simply looking for more unique varieties, the rose family offers some truly stunning and unusual roses that are sure to become conversation pieces in your garden.

Consider the world's "smallest" and "largest" roses for a study in contrasts. Winning the title for smallest is the micro-miniature Si, averaging only 4" tall. The largest rose is actually a tie between a Rosa banksiae banksiae in Tombstone, Arizona that covers an incomprehensible 8,000 square feet, and a Kifsgate rose located in England measuring 80 feet x 90 feet x 50 feet tall. Bloom size can also reach mammoth proportions; the hybrid tea Great Century can produce blooms up to 8" in diameter, sure to be a standout in the landscape.

True rosarians may want to consider Old Garden Roses with particular historical significance for their gardens. The Apothecary's Rose, for example, is one of the oldest known rose varieties and has been in cultivation since the Crusades. Quatre Saisons, a Damask, is recognized as the oldest repeat-blooming European Rose. La France has the distinction of being the first Hybrid Tea (ushering in the era of modern roses), while the supremely fragrant Kazanlik, a Damask, has commercial importance; it is the main rose grown for producing attar of roses (fragrant oil used to make perfume).

Other roses have unusual color or distinct markings that make them unique. Some varieties have spotted, freckled, or striped blooms; others provide multiple colors of flowers on the same bush. Or try one of the roses with russet, buff, grey, or dark purple blossoms to broaden your color palette. Bi-colored roses or those with a "reverse" (inside of petal a different color than outside of petal) also offer different, enticing color combinations.

Notable Old Garden Roses

• Apothecary's Rose (dp)
• Crested Moss (mp)
• Kazanlik (dp)
• La France (lp)
• Quatre Saisons (mp)
• The Green Rose (w/green)

Multi-Colored Blooms

• Flutterbye (yb)
• Joseph's Coat (rb)
• Mutabilis (yb)
• Pleasant Valley (pb)
• Rainbow Knockout (pb)
• The Magician (yb)

"Handpainted" Roses

• Champagne Cocktail (yb)
• Eyepaint (rb)
• Frühlingsmorgen (pb)
• Little Artist (rb)
• Maestro (rb)
• Picasso (pb)
• Regensberg (pb)
• Rock 'n' Roll (rb/ob)
• Watercolors (yb)

Colorful Fall Foliage

• Ann Endt (dr)
• Champlain (dr)
• F.J. Grootendorst (mr/lr)
• Indian Love Call (mp)
• Meidiland Roses (series)
• Pink Robin (mp)
• Rosa glauca (mp)
• R. rugosa alba/rubra (w/r)
• Roseraie de l'Hay (dr/m)
• Thérèse Bugnet (mp)
• Tuscany Superb (m)

Roses with Trailing Habit

• Green Snake (w)
• Peachy Creeper (ob)
• Ralph's Creeper (rb)
• Red Cascade (dr)
• Wing-Ding (mr/or)

Spotted/Freckled Blooms

• Alain Blanchard (m)
• Cramoisi Picoté (rb)
• Dorcas (pb)
• Euprates (pb)
• Freckle Face (pb)
• Freckles (pb)
• Marbrée (rb/pb)
• Spanish Rhapsody (pb)

Striped Blooms

• Candy Cane (pb)
• Earthquake (rb)
• Fourth of July (rb)
• Honorine de Brabant (pb)
• Life Lines (or/ob)
• Oranges 'n' Lemons (ob)
• Patriot Kordana (rb)
• Purple Tiger (m)
• Rosa Mundi (pb)
• Scentimental (rb)
• Secret Recipe (rb)
• Stars 'n' Stripes Forever (rb)
• Strawberry Swirl (rb)
• Tawny Tiger (r)
• Tigress (m)
• Tricolore de Flandre (pb)
• Variegata di Bologna (rb)
• Wonderstripe (pb)

Bloom size greater than 6"

• Acapella (pb/rb)
• Alec's Red (mr)
• Big Purple (m)
• Brandy (ab)
• Buxom Beauty (dp)
• Dolly Parton (or)
• Falling in Love (pb)
• First Prize (pb)
• Great Century (pb)
• Ingrid Bergman (dr)
• Legends (mr)
• Love's Magic (dr)
• Medallion (ab)
• Moonstone (w/pb)
• Peace (yb)
• Pristine (w)

Roses of Unusual Color

• Black Baccara (dr)
• Black Ice (dr)
• Black Jade (dr)
• Black Pearl (dr)
• Blue Girl (m)
• Bronze Star (ab)
• Burgundy Iceberg (dr)
• Butterscotch (russet)
• Café Olé (russet)
• Cinco de Mayo (russet)
• Denver's Dream (ob)
• Distant Drums (mauve/tan)
• Green Diamond (w/green)
• Green Ice (w/green)
• Greensleeves (w/pb-green)
• Hot Cocoa (russet)
• Iced Tea (russet)
• Julia's Rose (russet)
• Kaleidoscope (mauve/tan)
• Lagerfeld (m)
• Lavender Pinocchio (m)
• Midnight Blue (m)
• Night Owl (m)
• Outta the Blue (m)
• Paradise (m)
• Remember Me (ob)
• Rhapsody In Blue (m)
• Stainless Steel (m)
• Teddy Bear (russet)
• Tom Thumb (rb)

Strong Bi-Color/Reverse

• Betty Boop (rb)
• Cherry Parfait (rb)
• Double Delight (rb)
• Gemini (pb)
• French Perfume (yb)
• Handel (rb)
• Iced Raspberry (rb)
• Léonidas (red blend/russet)
• Lynn Anderson (pb)
• Nicole (pb)
• Night Light (dy/yb)
• Rosy Dawn (yb)
• Sassy Cindy (rb)
• Typhoo Tea (rb)