Best Multicolored Roses: 15 Top Picks To Brighten Your Garden

Discover 15 dazzling multicolored roses—stripes, speckles, and blends—for a vibrant, showstopping garden display.

By Shinta

15 Multicolored Roses That Will Brighten Up Your Garden

Do you find yourself unable to choose a favorite rose color? Multicolored roses offer a delightful solution, blending hues, stripes, and speckles to create breathtaking flowers that are true showstoppers in any landscape. These roses bring flair, drama, and playful energy, making them the standout stars of any garden design. Whether you crave painterly swirls, bold two-tones, or vibrant stripes, there’s a multicolored rose to match your personality and gardening style.

Why Grow Multicolored Roses?

  • Visual Impact: Their unique combinations of colors, from fiery oranges and yellows to dramatic purples and pinks, instantly draw attention.
  • Versatility: Available as shrubs, climbers, ground covers, and standards, they suit gardens of all shapes and sizes.
  • Dynamic Blooms: Some varieties are phototropic, changing colors with the sun, while others reveal intricate stripes or speckles as flowers mature.
  • All-Season Interest: Many multicolored roses bloom repeatedly throughout the season, ensuring constant visual excitement.
  • Fragrance: Several varieties add a sweet scent to their beauty, enhancing the garden experience.

Ready to discover some of the most captivating multicolored roses available? Explore our expert-curated selections, each chosen for its color, vigor, and garden value.

Our Favorite Multicolored Roses

Below are 15 multicolored rose varieties that combine striking visuals with robust garden performance. Each rose includes a short description highlighting its color palette, growth habit, fragrance, and why it earns a place in a vibrant landscape.

1. Camille Pissarro

Type: Shrub Rose

With fully double blooms and a unique phototropic nature, ‘Camille Pissarro’ dazzles as its yellow petals streaked with red and pink intensify and change with the sun’s exposure. The bushy, healthy foliage and fruity fragrance make it a treat for both eyes and nose. Pair with vibrant perennials like crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ or red yarrow for an unforgettable display.

2. Rainbow Sorbet

Type: Floribunda

This lively variety features clusters of double blooms with a swirling rainbow of yellow, orange, and pink. ‘Rainbow Sorbet’ is admired for its disease resistance and long-lasting color that shifts as the flowers age, offering a tropical vibe from late spring through frost.

3. Double Delight

Type: Hybrid Tea

One of the most famous multicolored roses, ‘Double Delight’ has creamy white petals edged with vibrant cherry red. Its strong spicy fragrance and large, perfectly shaped blooms make it both a garden and florist favorite. The red intensifies with sun exposure, making each flower a unique masterpiece.

4. Chihuly

Type: Floribunda

Inspired by the glass artist, ‘Chihuly’ stuns with shades of yellow, orange, apricot, and red, sometimes all swirling together in a single flower. The semi-double blooms stand out against glossy green foliage, perfect for brightening mixed borders.

5. Rock & Roll

Type: Grandiflora

Burgundy stripes slash through creamy white petals in ‘Rock & Roll,’ a striking rose that changes intensity depending on weather and temperature. Large, high-centered flowers appear atop long stems, ideal for cutting and dramatic garden accents.

6. Scentimental

Type: Floribunda

True to its name, ‘Scentimental’ offers rich spicy-sweet fragrance and eye-catching red and white striped petals reminiscent of peppermint candies. The repeat-blooming habit ensures a continuous display of its unique coloration throughout the season.

7. Joseph’s Coat

Type: Climbing Rose

If you want a living rainbow on a fence or arbor, try ‘Joseph’s Coat.’ This vigorous climber produces clusters of semi-double blooms in a fabulous mix of yellow, orange, pink, and red. The blooms shift colors as they mature, and the plant reblooms reliably all season.

8. Abracadabra

Type: Floribunda

Like a magic trick, ‘Abracadabra’ surprises with deep maroon petals splashed and streaked with gold. No two flowers are exactly alike. Vigorous, bushy growth and repeat blooms make it a collector’s rose for sure.

9. George Burns

Type: Floribunda

This cheeky rose has ruffled petals in yellow, red, and pink stripes, much like a carnival confection. Compact and bushy, it’s both eye-catching and manageable, ideal for small spaces or containers. It also carries a citrusy scent.

10. Madame A. Meilland (Peace)

Type: Hybrid Tea

Known simply as ‘Peace,’ this legendary rose features creamy yellow petals edged with pink, blending into a gentle gradient. Its large, full flowers and reliable vigor have earned it a place in gardens worldwide for decades.

11. Fragrant Cloud

Type: Hybrid Tea

Bold coral to reddish-orange blooms with subtle lighter edges and a renowned fragrance set ‘Fragrant Cloud’ apart. The exceptionally large, high-centered flowers offer a shock of color and scent in the garden or vase.

12. Cherry Parfait

Type: Grandiflora

‘Cherry Parfait’ produces creamy-white blooms with strawberry-red edges that intensify toward the center. The continuous flushes of color, robust disease resistance, and compact form make it a reliable garden star.

13. Picotee

Type: Shrub Rose

Named for its delicately colored edges, ‘Picotee’ features white or pale petals outlined in pink or red, creating a soft yet dazzling effect. It produces abundant flowers and a light, pleasing scent.

14. Rainbow Knock Out

Type: Shrub Rose

This tough-as-nails variety flaunts single blooms with shades of coral, pink, and yellow. Like other Knock Outs, it is exceptionally disease-resistant, low maintenance, and blooms continuously, making it ideal for new gardeners.

15. Sugar Moon

Type: Hybrid Tea

For something ethereal, ‘Sugar Moon’ offers white petals brushed with lavender and pink highlights. Its strong citrus fragrance and tall, elegant stems make it a cut-flower favorite. The flowers glow in evening light, adding magic to the garden.

Selecting the Right Multicolored Rose

To get the most from your multicolored rose, consider these essential factors:

  • Size and Habit: Choose based on available space and garden design—compact shrubs for borders, climbers for fences and trellises, or bushy standards for focal points.
  • Sun Requirements: Most roses, especially vibrant varieties, need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.
  • Disease Resistance: Opt for modern cultivars bred for resilience, especially if you’re in a humid or rainy region.
  • Fragrance: If scent is important, prioritize varieties known for their perfume.
  • Bloom Repeat: For ongoing color, select reblooming or continuous-flowering types.

Tips for Growing Vibrant Roses

  • Soil: Plant roses in well-draining, rich soil amended with compost.
  • Water: Deep, consistent watering is key, especially during dry spells. Aim for the soil, not the foliage, to prevent disease.
  • Fertilizer: Use a balanced rose fertilizer according to package directions every 4–6 weeks during the growing season.
  • Pruning: Prune in late winter or early spring to shape and stimulate healthy new growth.
  • Mulch: Mulch around the base to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
  • Air Circulation: Space roses to allow airflow, reducing the risk of fungal problems.

Design Ideas for Multicolored Roses

Multicolored roses can shine in many parts of the landscape. Consider these design strategies:

  • Focal Points: Use a showy multicolored rose as a stunning centerpiece in borders or containers.
  • Mixed Beds: Combine bicolored roses with perennials and flowering annuals in complementary hues for a dynamic, layered look.
  • Rose Arbors: For climbers like ‘Joseph’s Coat’, train over an arbor or archway for a living rainbow canopy.
  • Cut Flowers: Many multi-hued varieties are excellent in vases, where their colors unfold and shift over time.

Comparison Table: Key Multicolored Roses

RoseColor PatternGrowth HabitFragranceRebloom
Camille PissarroYellow with red/pink streaksBushy shrubFruityYes
Rainbow SorbetYellow, orange, pink blendFloribundaLightYes
Double DelightCreamy white with red edgesHybrid teaSpicy, strongYes
ScentimentalRed & white stripesFloribundaSpicy sweetYes
Joseph’s CoatYellow, orange, pink, redClimbingLightYes
Rainbow Knock OutCoral, pink, yellowShrubLightContinuous

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Are multicolored roses natural or the result of breeding?

Many multicolored roses are the result of intentional hybridization and cultivation. While some wild roses may show subtle variation, the dramatic stripes, speckles, and blended patterns are typically developed through selective breeding.

Q: Do multicolored roses require special care?

Multicolored roses generally have the same care requirements as other modern roses: full sun, well-draining soil, regular watering, and good air circulation. Many newer varieties are also bred for disease resistance, making them easier to maintain.

Q: Will the flowers always look identical on the same plant?

Not necessarily. Many multicolored roses display variation in bloom color and pattern, depending on temperature, sunlight exposure, and the age of the flower. This unpredictability is part of their charm!

Q: Can I grow these roses in containers?

Yes, many compact shrub and floribunda roses thrive in large containers, provided they receive ample sun and regular watering. Just ensure your container has drainage holes and use high-quality potting soil.

Q: Are multicolored roses fragrant?

Quite a few are! For example, ‘Double Delight’ and ‘Scentimental’ are especially noted for their strong, intoxicating scent. Check individual variety descriptions for fragrance notes.

Conclusion: Celebrate Color in Your Garden

Multicolored roses offer a spectacular way to fill your garden with a symphony of shades, textures, and scents. Whether you prefer dramatic stripes, painterly blends, or bold two-toned petals, there’s a rose out there to suit your style. With proper care and placement, these roses will transform any plot or patio into a living work of art—ensuring your garden is the talk of the neighborhood for seasons to come.

Shinta is a biotechnologist turned writer. She holds a master's degree in Biotechnology from Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences and a PG Diploma in cellular and molecular diagnostics from Manipal University. Shinta realised her love for content while working as an editor for a scientific journal.

Read full bio of Shinta