O my luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June
O my luve is like the melodie
That’s sweetly played in tune.

or the 19th century poet John B O’Reilly,

The red rose whispers of passion
And the white rose breathes of love
O the red rose is a falcon
And the white rose is a dove.

Red roses have long been associated with love. It is hard to look at a deep red rose, and not have it provoke some strong emotion. Every garden should have one good red rose – whether to enjoy on your own or to give to someone special when you want to say “I love you.”

Red roses surely have to be at the top of the list of favorite roses – even with color fads that come and go, reds remain a perennial charmer. The American Rose Society has two categories of red colored roses - medium red and dark red. These span quite a range in color from very light red to nearly black. Many of the deep red roses have buds in that color range, then turn bluish as the bloom ages. In the heat of summer, the color can fade, and the blooms tend to bull nose more than other colors. All that said, there are lots of good choices to fill your garden, and your passion, with red roses.

One of the first really popular modern red hybrid teas was Chrysler Imperial, the 1953 AARS and 1965 James Alexander Gamble winner. It was (and still is) a bloom with classic flower form, deep velvety red color, and an intense, spicy fragrance. This rose was an offspring of Crimson Glory, introduced in 1935, and has been used in the development of a long list of prize-winning reds.

The list below includes two-dozen terrific red roses, from old garden roses, to musks, climbers and miniatures. In addition to these, I have reds that do really well in my garden, but fall a tad short of the 8.0 or higher ARS nationwide rating. One of the most scrumptious of these is Papa Meilland (dark red HT, 7.7), winner of both the James Alexander Gamble award for fragrance and the World Federation of Roses award in 1988. This rose produces huge flowers that are burgundy wine purple-red with a heavenly fragrance.

Ingrid Bergman (dark red HT, 7.7), is a really sturdy plant that is always covered with blooms. It is the winner of the World Federation of Roses Award in 2000, the only red other than Papa Meilland to win this prize. This rose is an offspring of Precious Platinum (dark red HT, 7.6), another steady performer that has spotless foliage and lots of bloom. Ingrid Bergman was used to produce Opening Night (dark red HT, 7.8), of the 1998 AARS winner, and very prolific rose.

If you don’t have one or more of these glorious red roses now, it’s time to add one!

Name	Type	Color	ARS Rating	Year Introduced
Old Red Moss	Moss	Medium Red	9.3	no date
Dortmund	Hybrid Kordesii	Medium Red	9.2	1955
Robusta	Shrub	Medium Red	9.0	1979
John Cabot	Hybrid Kordesii	Medium Red	8.9	1978
Roseraie de l'Hay	Hybrid Rugosa	Dark Red	8.8	1901
Travemunde	Floribunda	Medium Red	8.6	1968
Europeana	Floribunda	Dark Red	8.7	1968
Lavaglut	Floribunda	Dark Red	8.7	1978
Olympiad	Hybrid Tea	Medium Red	8.7	1982
Dublin Bay	Large-Flowered Climber	Medium Red	8.6	1975
Kardinal	Medium Red	Red Blend	8.6	1986
Robin Hood	Hybrid Musk	Medium Red	8.6	1927
Altissimo	Large-Flowered Climber	Medium Red	8.4	1966
Peggy P	Miniature	Medium Red	8.5	1988
Champlain	Hybrid Kordesii	Dark Red	8.4	1982
Mr Lincoln	Hybrid Tea	Dark Red	8.4	1964
Showbiz	Floribunda	Medium Red	8.4	1983
Red Ribbons	Shrub	Dark Red	8.3	1990
Don Juan	Large Flowered-Climber	Dark Red	8.2	1958
Geranium	Hybrid Moyesii	Medium Red	8.2	1938
Black Jade	Miniature	Dark Red	8.1	1985
La Belle Sultane	Hybrid Gallica	Dark Red	8.1	1795
Miss Flippins	Miniature	Medium Red	8.1	1997
Veteran's Honor	Hybrid Tea	Dark Red	8.1	1999