GardenMaid| History of the Rose

History of the Rose

The rose is the focal point of many summer gardens. Many will say that it is the most popular flower in the world. The rose is the national flower of the United States and an 1800's variety named American Beauty is the official flower of District of Columbia. Have you ever wondered where the rose originated? A full explanation would involve most every continent of the northern hemisphere. The vast majority of modern roses acquired their most of their genetic heritage from Chinese roses.

Roses flowered in the gardens of Europe for many centuries before the first ever-blooming rose was brought from China to Europe in the late 1700's. The European roses of that time only bloomed for only about a month each spring. There are even indications that some hybrid roses may have been grown by the ancient Greeks.

The first "China" (Rosa chinensis or "Bengale", as it was originally known) rose is reputed to have arrived in Europe by ship in the late 1700's. Instead of blooming just once a year, Europe now had a rose that could flower non-stop throughout the growing season. Naturally it took very little time for the gardeners of the day to try and combine the repeat blooming rose with the best of Europe's one time blooming roses.

Soon after that the larger and generally more fragrant Rosa odorata, the "tea-scented China" or "tea" rose, followed. Thousands of crosses between the roses of the east and the West produced a continuous parade of new varieties. Over a period of decades many new classes of roses were created.

Around the mid-1800's the "hybrid tea" rose was realized from the cross breeding efforts. It combined the elegant bud and flower shape of the ancient Chinese tea rose with sturdy, long stems suitable for cutting. The popularity of the new hybrid tea was immense, and it would leave an indelible mark on all future rose breeding that continues to the present day.

Once grown almost to the exclusion of all other roses, the hybrid tea roses are not quite as popular as they were at one time because of a deserved reputation for disease susceptibility, lack of winter hardiness in northern areas, and a tendency to display a severe, vertical growth habit.

Thanks to the efforts of the gardeners of the past, today's creative breeders and intrepid plant collectors, you can look forward to seeing many more unique roses coming to a yard near you.

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