Rose flowers

Pink Roses, Purple Roses, Yellow Roses, White Roses

No other flower is a recognizable as the rose. No other flower conveys love and passion like the rose either. Most roses have five petals and are native to Asia, with smaller numbers of species native to Europe, North America, and Northwest Africa. Roses are the most popular and commonly sold florist' flowers and they are also great value to the perfume industry. The aggregate fruit of the rose is a berry-like structure called a rose hip. Rose hips of some species are very rich in vitamin C, among the richest sources of any plant. A bouquet of red roses is often used to show love. It is used as a Valentine's Day gift in many countries.

Roses are perennial flowering vines and shrubs of the genus rosa and family Rosaceae. Their complete scientific classification include kingdom Plantae, class Magnoliopsida, division Magnoliophyta, family Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, order Rosales and genus Rosa.

The Parts of a Rose Flower

The better a flower smells, it will be smaller in size and lighter the color. The sweet odor of these flowers is due to the chemical 2-phenyl ethanol or also called beta-phenyl ethyl alcohol.

Roses have an edible fruit called rose hips and the fruit is believed to have healing properties.

Petals of rose are naturally modified leaves that are given extra nutrients in order to take on different fragrance and colors. They are designed this way to attract birds and bees for pollination. While no black roses yet exist, there are some of such a deep dark red color as to suggest black.

The rose flower has several stigmas within its bloom (unlike many flowers). The stigma is attached to the tube-like formation called style (rose contains several styles) and it is used to provide the path for pollen to travel to its many ovaries that are located within the rose hips.

Ovules are growths that are small and hair-like, which are found within the ovary of the flower. They are responsible for egg production in rose pollination.

Roses have amazing scents and astonishing beauty. Some varieties have vigorous growth and will sprint up a tree, using it as a frame. There are roses that are very small, called Patio Roses or Tea Cup and those that grow very large.

Origin and History of Rose

Roses originate from China and are cultivate now from America to Africa and from Eastern Europe to Far East. Historically, the oldest fossils of rose have been found in Colorado (more than 35 million years old). In 551 BC – 479 BC, Confucius reported that the Imperial Chinese library had many books on roses. Roses were mentioned in a cuneiform tablet (a system of writing) written in about 2860 BC in ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia (in the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley). In the 15th Century, the English were already cultivating and hybridizing roses when the English War of Roses took place. Tudor Henry VII, the winner of the war, created the Tudor Rose (the Rose of England) by crossbreeding other roses.

In 1996, Americans bought more than 1.2 billion fresh cut roses and that is equal to 4.67 roses for every woman, man and child nationwide. 70,000 roses went into the making of the largest flower bouquet in the world. The 23.4 metre arrangement was the work of Ashrita Furman.

The Netherlands is the world’s leading exporter of roses, with about 8000 hectares of land under rose cultivation. Zambia, a small nation, had 80% of its cultivated land under roses. About 5000 hectares or 54% of the cultivated land in Ecuador is under rose cultivation.

Today, almost all cut roses sold by florists are the hybrid tea variety, while garden roses come in a staggering array of types.

Types of Roses

Roses are divided broadly into 3 classes:

Species Roses, or also oftenly called as Wild Species Roses. They often have 5-petaled flowers and colorful hips that last well into the winter, prroviding food for birds and winter color. Wild Species Roses usually bloom once in the summer. Species roses are widely hybridized. Rosa rugosa is the most popular rose species for sale today owing to its superior hardiness, easy maintenance and disease resistance. Wild Species Roses include many different varieties.
Old Garden Roses have a wonderful perfume and delicate beauty, not often found in modern hybrid tea roses. They are a diverse group from those with wonderful fragrance and great winter hardiness to the lovely and tender tea roses, which are best suited for warm climates. Old Garden Roses comprise a mulltifaceted group that in general are disease resistant, easy to grow and winter-hardy. They grow in several shrub and vine sizes. Normally this class of roses are white or pastel in color (although colors do vary). These “antique roses” are generally preferred for home gardens and lawns. Several groupings of roses classified as Old Garden Roses are tea roses, China roses, moss roses, bourbon roses, damask roses, etc.
This group of roses are very popular. Old Garden Roses are the predecessors of modern roses. The modern roses is the result of crossbreeding the polyanthus (a variety of primrose) with the hybrid tea. Their colors are varied, rich and vibrant. Some of the most popular roses found in the class of modern roses are the floribunda roses, grandiflora roses and hybrid tea roses. Although they are adored by gardeners and florists, the modern roses do not adapt well to colder environments and do require proper care. Any rose identified after 1867 is considered a modern rose.

Uses

The flowers can be used for decorations, making perfumes, medication, essential oils, and cosmetics. It is also used as toxin as roses contain pectin, vitamin C and citric acids. Roses gives soothing effect for the mind and body, they are also used to treat depression, anxiety and as mild sedative because of its fragrance. The essential oils extracted from these flowers are used in aromatherapy.

The Meanings of Roses

The rose is the national flower of England and the United States. Roses have many flower meanings acording to their color and number of roses in a bouquet, but all roses symbolize love and appreciation though.

A rose that is red represents "i love you", while red rose buds are a way to express love for the first time. Six red roses means “i adore you”, fifteen red roses means “i’m sorry”, twenty-five red roses means “congratulation”, fifty red roses means “i love you no matter what”, hundred red roses means “im devoted to you”, and finally 108 red roses means “ will you marry me?”

Giving an orange rose can say "Can we be more than friends?", and a pink rose means "you are so sweet" or to express admiration, it represents grace, gentleness and refinement. To represent modesty and friendship, a light peach rose should be selected.

White rose conveys innocence, purity, youth, while white rose buds are an appropriate gift to a young girl from her father. Yellow roses means "let's just be friends" it represents dying love or platonic love.

Purple roses symbolize love at first sight and can also symbolize eternal love. Purple roses are appropriate for wedding anniversaries beyond 25 years and as memorial flowers for a lost spouse.

Black roses are symbolic of death. Many people view black roses as an omen. Blue roses mean mystery. Green roses mean calm.

Mixing different colors together in one bouquet is an excellent way to convey a mixture of emotions when one sentiment is not enough.

Birth Flower