Name |
Class |
Cold |
Breeder | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Flower Carpet | Ground Cover | Zone 5 | Nowak | 7.8 |
| Angelita | Miniature | Zone 5 | McGredy | 8.4 |
| Irresistible | Miniature | Zone 5 | Bennett | 9.1 |
| Pacesetter | Miniature | Zone 5 | Schwartz | 8.1 |
| Popcorn | Miniature | Zone 4 | Morey | 7.9 |
| Snow Bride | Miniature | Zone 4 | Jolly | 8.7 |
| Snow Magic | Miniature | Zone 5 | Moore | |
| Snow Twinkle | Miniature | Zone 5 | Moore | 7.5 |
| Snowy Cupido | Miniature | Zone 5 | de Reuiter | |
| Softee | Miniature | Zone 5 | Moore | 7.8 |
| Whiteout | Miniature | Zone 5 | McGredy | 9.0 |
| Katherina Zeimet | Polyantha | Zone 4 | Lambert | |
| White Pet | Polyantha | Zone 6 | Henderson | 8.6 |
Name |
Class |
Cold |
Breeder | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felicite Parmentier | Alba | Zone 4 | Parmentier | 8.7 |
| Pompon Blanc Parfait | Alba | Zone 5 | Verdier | |
| Boule de Niege | Bourbon | Zone 6 | Lacharme | |
| Unique Blanche | Centifolia | Zone 5 | ||
| Bridal White | Cluster Flowered | Zone 6 | Warriner | 9.0 |
| City of London | Cluster Flowered | Zone 4 | Harkness | 7.6 |
| Class Act | Cluster Flowered | Zone 5 | Warriner | 7.8 |
| Dagmar Spath | Cluster Flowered | Zone 5 | Wirtz and Eike | |
| French Lace | Cluster Flowered | Zone 5 | Warriner | 8.2 |
| Iceberg | Cluster Flowered | Zone 4 | Kordes | 8.8 |
| Jacqueline du Pre | Cluster Flowered | Zone 5 | Harkness | 7.8 |
| Margaret Merril | Cluster Flowered | Zone 5 | Harkness | 8.3 |
| Mount Hood | Cluster Flowered | Zone 5 | McGredy | 7.2 |
| White Simplicity | Cluster Flowered | Zone 4 | Warriner | 7.9 |
| Leda | Damask | Zone 4 | 8.2 | |
| Madame Zoetmans | Damask | Zone 4 | Marest | 8.7 |
| Fair Bianca | English Rose | Zone 5 | Austin | 7.8 |
| The Nun | English Rose | Zone 5 | Austin | |
| Winchester Cathedral | English Rose | Zone 5 | Austin | 7.8 |
| Immensee | Ground Cover | Zone 4 | Kordes | 8.9 |
| Kent | Ground Cover | Zone 4 | Poulsen | |
| Sea Foam | Ground Cover | Zone 4 | Schwarz | 8.1 |
| White Meidiland | Ground Cover | Zone 4 | Meilland | 8.2 |
| Penelope | Hybrid Musk | Zone 6 | Pemberton | 8.8 |
| Henry Hudson | Hybrid Rugosa | Zone 3 | Svejda | 9.2 |
| Schneezwerg | Hybrid Rugosa | Zone 5 | Lambert | 7.7 |
| Virgo | Large Flowerd | Zone 5 | Mallerin | 5.6 |
| Caroline de Monaco | Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Meilland | 7.3 |
| Honor | Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Warriner | 7.6 |
| John F.. Kennedy | Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Boerner | |
| Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Poulsen | 7.5 | |
| Moonstone | Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Carruth | 8.2 |
| Pascali | Large Flowered | Zone 4 | Lens | 8.1 |
| White Lightnin’ | Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Swim | 7.0 |
| Gourmet Popcorn | Miniature | Zone 4 | Desamero | 8.7 |
| Pearl Drift | Modern Shrub | Zone 5 | Le Grice | |
| Sally Holmes | Modern Shrub | Zone 5 | Holmes | 8.9 |
| Alfred de Dalmas | Moss | Zone 5 | Laffay | |
| Marie Pavie | Polyantha | Zone 5 | Alegatiere | 8.9 |
| R. pimpinellifolia | Species Shrub | Zone 4 |
Name |
Class |
Cold |
Breeder | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alba Semi Plena | Alba | Zone 4 | ||
| Madame Legras de St. Germain | Alba | Zone 4 | 8.0 | |
| Madame Plantier | Alba | Zone 4 | Plantier | 8.7 |
| Coquette des Blanches | Bourbon | Zone 5 | Lacharme | 8.2 |
| Blanchefleur | Centifolia | Zone 4 | Vibert | |
| Madame Hardy | Damask | Zone 5 | Hardy | 9.0 |
| Martine Guillot | English Rose | Zone 5 | Guillot | 7.7 |
| Moonlight | Hybrid Musk | Zone 4 | Pemberton | 8.3 |
| Pax | Hybrid Musk | Zone 4 | Pemberton | 7.8 |
| Prosperity | Hybrid Musk | Zone 4 | Pemberton | 8.5 |
| Frau Karl Druschki | Hybrid Perpetual | Zone 5 | Lambert | 7.9 |
| Blanc Double de Coubert | Hybrid Rugosa | Zone 3 | Cochet | 8.3 |
| Nova Zembla | Hybrid Rugosa | Zone 4 | Mees | |
| R. rugosa alba | Hybrid Rugosa | Zone 5 | 9.1 | |
| Souvenir de Philemon Cochet | Hybrid Rugosa | Zone 5 | Cochet - Cochet | |
| Anastasia | Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Greff | 7.3 |
| Crystalline | Large Flowered | Zone 4 | Carruth | 8.1 |
| Garden Party | Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Swim | 8.0 |
| Gloire Lyonnaise | Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Guillot | |
| Lyda Rose | Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Lettunich | 8.9 |
| Prairie Star | Large Flowered | Zone 4 | Buck | |
| Pristine | Large Flowered | Zone 5 | Warriner | 8.7 |
| Karl Forster | Modern Shrub | Zone 5 | Kordes | |
| Nevada | Modern Shrub | Zone 5 | Dot | 8.8 |
| Sweet Afton | Modern Shrub | Zone 5 | Armstrong | 7.0 |
| Weisse aus Sparrieshoop | Modern Shrub | Zone 5 | Kordes | 8.5 |
| Comtesse de Murinais | Moss | Zone 5 | Vibert | 7.6 |
| Kiftsgate | Species | Zone 5 | Murrell | 8.9 |
| White Maman Cochet | Tea | Zone 7 | Cook | |
| Sombreuil | Tea Climber | Zone 7 | Robert | 8.8 |
Name |
Class |
Cold |
Breeder | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iceberg, Climbing | Cluster Flower Climber | Zone 5 | R. Kordes | 8.6 |
| White Dawn | Cluster Flower Climber | Zone 5 | Longley | 7.6 |
| Baltimore Belle | Large Flower Climber | Zone 6 | Feast | |
| City of York | Large Flower Climber | Zone 4 | Tantau | 8.6 |
| White Cockade | Large Flower Climber | Zone 5 | Cocker | |
| Ilse Krohn Superior | Large Flowered Climber | Zone 4 | Kordes | 7.6 |
| Nastarana | Noisette | Zone 5 | 8.7 | |
| Felicite et Perpetue | Species Climber | Zone 6 | Jacques | 7.7 |
| R. moschata | Species Rambler | Zone 4 | 9.0 |
Name |
Class |
Cold |
Breeder | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long John Silver | Large Flower Climber | Zone 4 | Horvath | |
| Silver Moon | Large Flower Climber | Zone 4 | Van Fleet | 7.8 |
| Lamarque | Noisette | Zone 7 | Marechal | 8.9 |
| Madame Alfred Carriere | Noisette | Zone 6 | Schwartz | 9.0 |
| Francis E. Lester | Rambler | Zone 4 | Lester Rose Gardens | |
| Gardenia | Rambler | Zone 7 | Manda | |
| Goldfinch | Rambler | Zone 7 | Paul | |
| Princesse Louise | Rambler | Zone 6 | Jacques | |
| R. bracteata | Rambler | Zone 5 | ||
| Rambling Rector | Rambler | Zone 5 | ||
| Sander’s White Rambler | Rambler | Zone 5 | Sanders | |
| The Garland | Rambler | Zone 5 | Wells | |
| Trier | Rambler | Zone 5 | Lambert | |
| Wedding Day | Rambler | Zone 7 | Stern | |
| Dundee Rambler | Species Climber | Zone 4 | Martin | |
| R. banksia banksia | Species Climber | Zone 8 | 9.4 | |
| R. wichurana | Species Climber | Zone 4 | 7.2 |
I once heard it said that a prominent impressionist painter, perhaps Monet, argued against planting white flowers or painting gardens that contained them since they appeared as a hole in the painting. Yet when I look at white flowers in gardens with plenty of greenery, this complaint tends to make no sense. A garden that is well furnished with dark green plants will invariably benefit from white flowers. And of all the 'colors' roses do well, white might be the best. The lists above are packed with exceptional roses - a number of lists manage not even ten percent as many great entries.
Was it Gertrud Jeckyll who popularized the white garden? Or one of her contemporaries? For years I have imagined the 'white garden' to be a sort of a poor joke on people who would really rather have some color. But as I look at this list and imagine planting a white garden with roses, annuals, perennials and pale-leaved plants the possibility seems promising. Some of the miniatures will manage to bloom through much of the year. Some of the larger plants will produce prodigious amounts of intoxicating fragrance, at least for a few days.
White has the further advantage that it can stitch together colors that don't go that well together or make those that do go together look even better together. It can make mid-range tones such as coral, mauve, copper, and apricot really sing. And it can sometimes keep reds and dark purples from turning muddy against green foliage.
Pictured is Gruss an Aachen. It is occasionally more strongly colored than this. Similarly, there are a number of roses listed here that have some touches or splashes of other pigments - Gourmet Popcorn and Caroline de Monaco with a bit of buttery yellow, and Leda with a kiss of red - whose overall effect seems to be predominantly 'white.'
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