Of course, climate makes great differences, but in general...HTs usually provide more single blooms to longer stems, where floribundas usually provide a bit smaller flowers, more often in clusters on a stem. Most HTs can do similarly, but these are generalities.

HTs tend to be taller and narrower. Floribundas tend to be shorter and wider. HTs are generally more of the florist type cut flower, while floribundas are often less of the formal shape and more of a "decorative" shape, less formal. Yes, you can find exceptions to both because they have been so thoroughly bred together, but in general.

Personally, I like to explain them this way...if your goal is more formal cut flowers for the house with less landscape use, go HT. If your goal is more landscape color and beauty with less cut flower requirements, go more toward floribundas. A lot of this is dependent upon your tastes; what's healthy where you are; what's appropriately cold hardy for your zone and micro climate; what remains the appropriate size for your space, etc. Yes, you can always hack down an overly large plant, but it won't flower as much. You will be much better off selecting a rose which wants to be about the size you need so you work with it, instead of always battling it.

Your best bet will probably be to describe your wants, space, sun exposure, etc. then tell us which roses you're tending to lean toward and ask for specific suggestions from those who live near you to get a feel for how they perform where you are.

Does that help stir the mud? LOL! Kim

Hi, Sarah! I agree with everything Kim said. Knowing where you live would be a big help too. Zone 6 Michigan isn't the same as say zone 6 Oregon and what might be great in Portland may not like it at all in Detroit.

Thank you for the suggestions! I live near St. Louis (Midwest, zone 6a). The more I think about it, the more I think I might try one hybrid tea, and a couple floribundas to see what work best for me.

As hybrid teas go, I think Chicago Peace is really pretty.

Floribundas, I think Elegant Fairy Tale is lovely. I was considering Daybreaker, but have got mixed reviews on that one. I like Kordes Garden Delight at Palatine Roses, but can't find much info on that one!

I am planning to grow the climber Harlekin Kiss of Desire as well.

Chicago Piece will most likely require regular spraying program. It is not BS magnet, but it is not resistant either. Here, at least, it looses all its leaves, if grown no spray.
I already suggested this to you on your other post, Kordes Eliza is excellent healthy rose. You can buy it also at Palatine.
Olga

Olga, thanks for that info on Chicago Peace. Eliza is a beauty! Would a grandiflora require similar care to a floribunda?

I'll tell you what, I finally searched "Kordes" on Palatine's website... And I love everything that showed up. I think the general disease resistance associated with Kordes could make my gardening life easier!

In addition to Eliza, I am loving Garden Delight, Floral Fairy Tale, Mon Petit Chou, Golden Fairy Tale, Elegant Fairy Tale, Speelwark... Anyone who has some insight on any of these, any input would be so helpful!

I am new to gardening, so I am trying to start small. This whole gardening thing... It's pretty addicting, huh?! Starting small is easier said than done with all the lovely roses out there.

I live in Sweden so my growing conditions are not really comparable to yours. My climate is cold with a short growing season with colder summers but perhaps a bit milder winters than what you have. Floral Fairy Tale is the only rose on your list I have and I am very pleased with it. It flowers well and reblooms fast. Kordes roses are often accused of being scentless but FFT smells very good. I have it in my purple and peach corner and it always attracts attention from visitors.

Skfrey, Welcome to the world of roses. It's always a delight watch a new addict evolve. You might want to look at Vintage Gardens (www.vintagegardens.com). They have excellent brief descriptions of each of the different rose classes: a bit of history, how they grow, etc. They also have a hardiness guide, rose care, pruning, etc.

Grandiflora (big flower) is a sub-class of Hybrid Tea.

Kordes are usually very hardy roses--a good choice for beginners.

Another necessary website is www.helpmefind.com/roses. It gives basic info on almost all roses, and usually there are several photos as well.

Hey Sarah--I'm about 90 minutes north of you in Illinois. There's another lady that frequents the forum; "stlgal" is her name. Hopefully she'll chime in as there's no way to earburn someone to the forum.

I've had great experiences ordering from Palatine, but don't use them as the only source of information for a rose's appearance or characteristics. As catsrose said, HMF is probably the best resource I've found. You can spend hours there ogling photos and reading comments.

One thing I forgot to add; I use Bayer fungicide on most of my hybrid teas, but I've never needed to spray Kiss of Desire. As long as she has good air circulation and room to expand, she should be wonderful where you are. Peace, Chicago Peace, Love and Peace, Flaming Peace....all are susceptible to blackspot around here.

That being said, conditions haven't exactly been conducive for disease. It hasn't been near humid enough either during the day or night, and we're not hitting the normal nightly lows in the blackspot danger zone. So if you're looking around at local roses this season for evidence of disease resistance, it could be a bit misleading.

I personally mix up all different kinds of roses; Hybrid Teas, floribundas, grandifloras, a couple of Large-flowered climbers, an alba, and several miniatures & minifloras. I like the different heights, growth habits, foliage colors, bloom shapes, and aromas. Other folks probably think my yard looks like a hot mess.

I started with Kordes roses, and expanded from there. Once you get started, it's kind of hard to stop.

Generally, floribundas, grandifloras, and hybrid teas need the same care, except a very small number of each is resistant to blackspot disease. The very early floribundas were easier to grow than the early hybrid teas, but they have all been bred together. The classifications don't tell you anything beyond the size and shape of flowers, and even there they overlap substantially.

'Earth Song' and 'Mother of Pearl' are easy care roses classed as grandifloras.

Thank you everyone for the advice! The websites you have pointed me to have been very helpful. And Flaurabunda, I appreciate you sharing your Illinois gardening experience! I am in Illinois, too, just across the river from St. Louis.

I'm feeling pretty comfortable about my decision to begin with Kordes, with roses from different classes. I am sure that will help me figure out what I like!

Thanks again! I am really enjoying this forum!

skfrey,
You have Three Rose Societies within miles of you. Go to ars.org and lookup Rose Societies. Look for Three Rivers RS in Alton. The President, his name is Joel is caretaker of the Alton Rose Garden with 600 beautiful roses in it. Next is the Belleville Rose Society, they maintain two different gardens. The president there is Laura. Then you have the St Louis Society. So I would contact them.

Wow, thank you for telling me about these nearby rose societies. I had no idea that there were such helpful resources! I hadn't come across the ARS website yet... I am sure it is very useful!

Sarah, I am noware near you(I'm in Aust), but when people ask the question of what to grow, I say to them look around your local neibgourhood, that will give you an insight which grows near you

roseseek and michaelg gave excellent advice. As michael said, HT's, floribundas and grandifloras generally require the same care - as in spraying, most likely. The primary difference, as roseseek has said, is whether you want to grow them mostly as cut flowers or for coloring the landscape.

That said, there are many in each of the three categories that freely move from one regime to the other - cut flowers vs. landscape color. As a general statement, though, it's a good guide. Grandifloras may serve as the true "in-between" (primarily because of long stems, not flower size).

Bottom line, if you want the largest flowers, choose HT's. If you want the most clusters, choose floribundas. If you want something in-between, choose grandifloras.