Rose classification can seem confusing at first. Gardeners and rose writers use terms such as Old Garden Roses, modern roses, heritage roses, antique roses, and OGR, and they are not always used in exactly the same way.
Fortunately, the basic idea is not as difficult as it first appears. Once you understand a few key dates and terms, rose classification begins to make much more sense.
This beginner’s guide explains the main groups in plain language: what we mean by old garden roses, how modern roses are defined, where heritage roses fit in, and why some roses do not fit neatly into one simple category.
Classification By Age
Old Garden Roses (OGR): The easiest place to begin is with one significant year:
1867
That was the year La France, generally regarded as the first Hybrid Tea rose, was introduced. For rose classification, 1867 is often treated as the dividing line between Old Garden Roses and modern roses.
In simple terms, rose classes that were established before 1867 are usually classed as Old Garden Roses, often shortened to OGR. These include groups such as Gallicas, Damasks, Albas, Centifolias, Moss roses, Chinas, Teas, Bourbons, Noisettes, Portlands and Hybrid Perpetuals.
Old Garden Roses often shortened to OGR, are also commonly called old-fashioned roses, antique roses, and heirloom roses. These terms are often used in a loose, everyday way to describe roses with old ancestry, historical charm, rich fragrance, and traditional flower form. Strictly speaking, Old Garden Roses usually means rose classes that existed before the introduction of the first Hybrid Tea rose, ‘La France’, in 1867
Roses belonging to classes that developed after the beginning of the Hybrid Tea era are generally known as modern roses. These include Hybrid Teas, Floribundas, Grandifloras, Miniatures, many modern shrub roses, modern climbers and landscape roses.
Of course, rose classification is not always perfectly tidy. Some individual roses within old rose classes were introduced after 1867, but the class itself is still considered old. That is why the date is useful as a guide, rather than a rule that explains every rose perfectly.
Where Heritage Roses Fit In
The term heritage rose is slightly different, because it is not tied to the fixed 1867 date in quite the same way.
A heritage rose is usually a modern-era rose that has become old enough to have historical value. A common way to define this is a rose that was introduced more than 75 years ago, while still belonging to the modern rose era.
So while 1867 is a fixed historical line, heritage is more of a rolling date. Each year, more roses become old enough to be considered heritage roses.
For example, at the time of writing in 2026, a rose introduced in 1952 is 74 years old, so it does not quite qualify under the 75-year idea. But in 2027, that same rose reaches 75 years old and can be regarded as a heritage rose.
This is why the terms can overlap and cause confusion. An Old Garden Rose belongs to an older rose class. A modern rose belongs to a rose class that developed after 1867. A heritage rose is usually a modern rose that has become historically significant through age.
Species Roses / Wild Roses
Species roses are the original wild roses found in nature, rather than roses deliberately bred by gardeners. They are the ancestors of all cultivated roses, and many modern rose classes can be traced back to species roses somewhere in their family tree.
Most species roses have a simpler, more natural look than modern garden roses. Many have five-petaled flowers, usually in white, pink, or soft red, followed by attractive hips later in the season. They often flower only once a year, but they can be very valuable in gardens for their natural beauty, toughness, wildlife value and historical importance.
Species roses are not usually described as “modern roses,” and they are not quite the same thing as Old Garden Roses either. Instead, they are the foundation roses — the wild starting point from which the long story of garden roses began.
Good examples include Rosa gallica, Rosa rugosa, Rosa canina, Rosa foetida, and Rosa moyesii. Some are beautiful garden plants in their own right, while others became important because of the traits they passed into later rose breeding, such as color, hardiness, disease resistance or distinctive hips.
Classification by Rose Class
Once we move past the broad age groups of species roses, Old Garden Roses, modern roses and heritage roses, we can begin to look at roses by class.
A rose class is a group of roses that share a similar background, breeding history, growth style or flower habit. For example, Damask roses, Gallica roses, Bourbon roses and Hybrid Tea roses are all rose classes.
This is where rose classification becomes more useful for gardeners. Knowing that a rose is an Old Garden Rose tells us roughly where it fits in history. But knowing that it is a Damask or a Bourbon tells us more about how it may grow, how it may smell, and what kind of flowers we might expect.
For example, Damask roses are famous for fragrance, while Gallicas are among the oldest cultivated European roses. Bourbons often combine old rose form and perfume with some repeat flowering, while Hybrid Teas are known for their large, shapely blooms carried singly or in small clusters.
Old Garden Rose classes include groups such as Gallica, Damask, Alba, Centifolia, Moss, China, Tea, Portland, Bourbon, Noisette and Hybrid Perpetual roses.
Modern rose classes include Hybrid Tea, Floribunda, Grandiflora, Miniature, Polyantha, modern shrub roses, modern climbers and landscape roses.
So, in simple terms, the age group tells us where a rose belongs in history, while the class tells us more about the kind of rose it is.
Classification by Growth Habit
Roses can also be described by the way they grow. This is where some confusion can creep in, because growth habit is not always the same thing as rose class.
A rose might belong to one class by ancestry, but be described another way because of how it behaves in the garden. For example, Banksia Lutea is a species rose, but gardeners often describe it as a rambler because of its long, vigorous, climbing growth. Both descriptions are useful; they are just describing different things.
Shrub roses are roses that grow as free-standing bushes. Some are old roses, some are modern roses, and some are difficult to place neatly into another class. Many English Roses, Rugosa hybrids and modern landscape roses are often treated as shrub roses.
Climbing roses have long canes that can be trained on arches, fences, walls or pergolas. They do not climb by themselves like ivy, so they usually need to be tied in. Some climbers are climbing forms of bush roses, while others were bred or selected for their climbing habit.
Rambling roses are usually more vigorous than climbers, with long flexible canes and great sprays or clusters of flowers. Many ramblers flower once in summer, although there are exceptions. They are often used to cover arches, old trees, sheds, fences and large structures.
Groundcover and landscape roses are usually lower-growing, spreading or mass-flowering roses. They are often chosen for easy care, disease resistance and long flowering rather than exhibition-style blooms. These are the kinds of roses often used in parks, public plantings and low-maintenance gardens.
Standard roses are not a separate rose class at all. A standard rose is a rose trained or grafted onto a tall stem, giving it a lollipop or small-tree shape. Many different types of roses can be grown as standards, including Hybrid Teas, Floribundas and some shrub roses.
This is why rose classification can seem confusing at first. A rose can be described by its age, its class, and its growth habit all at the same time. Once you understand that, the labels start to make much more sense.
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