Roses – The Flowers For The Ages

Roses have been around for a very long time. Rose gardening has not been around for so long. Fossil evidence shows the rose to be 35 million years old. Up until about 5000 years ago roses grew wild. Cultivation probably began, in China. The Romans were fond of roses. They cultivated them in the Middle East. In England in the fifteenth century, roses were symbols of two factions that became involved in a war for control of England. The symbol of York was a white rose while the symbol of Lancaster was the red rose. Thus, the war became known as the “War of the Roses.” The seventeenth century saw rose water used for perfume and roses were in high demand. In the eighteenth century cultivated roses were introduced into Europe.

There are four basic generations of roses that take us from the beginning of time to modern time. They are: Species Roses, Old European Garden Roses, Hardy Repeat-Blooming Old Roses and Modern Roses. The original rose on the planet was the Species Rose, genus Rosa, which has 5 petals and very colorful hips. These roses bloom once per year in early summer.

Today there are a species of the genus Rosa found growing wild throughout the northern hemisphere. They come in various sizes including ground cover to large upright plants and climbing plants. Rosa rugosa is probably the most widely sold commercial variety today.

Old European Garden Roses are the hybrid roses that were seen in European gardens in the eighteenth century prior to the onslaught of Rosa cheniesis. Cheniesis was discovered in china. Cheniesis is first known rose which flowers repeatedly from early autumn to late summer. Old European Garden Roses are fragrant and cold hardy. They are not as highly disease resistant as has often been reported. The five classes of Old European garden roses are: Gallica, Damask, Alba, Centifolia, and Mosses. Hardy Repeat-Blooming Old Roses are almost the complete rose. They offer outstanding hardiness, disease resistance, beautiful flowers and wonderful fragrance. They don’t however, offer recurrent summer blooming.

The development of the tea/hybrid perpetual cross rose in 1867 ushered in the era of the modern rose. Jean Baptist Guillot was the hybridizer and the rose was ‘La France.’ The hybrid tea rose was born. The most popular modern roses are the hybrid tea, floribunda and the grandiflora. Roses have been on this planet for approximately 35 million years.

Up until the eighteenth century with the coming of the Old European Garden Rose, the Species rose, genus Rosa, was the only rose that existed. Repeat-Blooming Old Roses were next. In 1867 Jean-Baptiste Guillot developed the hybrid tea rose the beginning of the modern rose era. Today the main varieties of roses are the hybrid tea rose, floribunda and grandifloria. Roses add a special beauty to our lives. Growing roses today is not a difficult task and it is very rewarding.
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