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Roses - in General

Roses are among the most cherished landscape and garden shrubs and one of the most popular flowers sold year round by florists all over the world.

The rose symbolizes love like no other flower and many wedding bouquets are made up from roses or roses combined with other flowers. The rose is also essential in the creation of many perfumes and has been so for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. The method of extracting aromatic rose oil was invented in ancient Persia and later spread through Arabia and into other Asian civilizations such as India.

There are thousands of different rose species, hybrids and cultivars. The plant is a flowering shrub of the Rosa genus. The common wild rose usually has five petals which are white or pink, but there are several yellow and red rose species found in the wild as well. Wild roses come in two forms - thorny shrubs or ascending climbers. They are believed to have originated in temperate climate zones of the northern hemisphere, since this is where wild roses are primarily found growing today.

When the rose blossom has withered and died, the plant will form a fruit called rose hip. A rose hip looks like a shiny oblong berry and has an outer fleshy layer. It is usually red or orange, but sometimes dark purple or black depending on the rose species. Some, such as the commonly found wild Dog Rose (Rosa canina), have hips that are among the richest sources of vitamin C found in any plant. Birds and animals love to eat the nutritious rose hips and thereby spread the seeds to new places. If you look inside the rose hip you will see up to 25 small achenes. The achenes look like seeds, but are in fact miniature fruits which contain the seeds. These achenes are covered with fine hairs and act like itching powder if you get them on your skin. They are not poisonous, just unpalatable. Rose hips can be pressed and filtered to make rose hip syrup. Rose hips are also used in marmalade, jam and jelly and dried, powdered rose hips are part ingredients in many herbal teas.

Every rose has its thorn is an old saying that might have been true at one time, but today there are a large variety of thorn free roses available. There are also some rose species that have barely noticeable thorns without sharp points. The rose has been subjected to widespread breeding and cultivation for ages and you can find thousands of rose cultivars and hybrids – all tracing their ancestry to the wild rose species. Most modern roses are double-flowered and the stamens have been bred into looking like petals. The shape, size, color or absence of thorns have usually been the most important consideration when breeding roses. Until recently, less importance has been put into creating roses with a particular scent. If you want to experience the intoxicating scent of rose fragrance in your home or garden, choose a rose belonging to one of the older species, hybrids or cultivars.

For those of you interested in learning more, there are virtually thousands of available reference publications, web site articles, magazines, new and used books on roses, rose gardening, cultivation and pest control for your library and reading pleasure.