Roses: Part 1-Evolution and History

Roses have a long and colorful history. They have been symbols of love, beauty, war, and politics. The rose is, according to fossil evidence, 35 million years old. In nature, the genus Rosa has some 150 species spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from Alaska to Mexico and including northern Africa. Garden cultivation of roses began some 5,000 years ago, probably in China. During the Roman period, roses were grown extensively in the Middle East. They were used as confetti at celebrations, for medicinal purposes, and as a source of perfume. Roman nobility established large public rose gardens in the south of Rome. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the popularity of roses seemed to rise and fall depending on gardening trends of the time.

The earliest example was discovered in Crete around 1600 B.C. The apothecary rose, R. Gallica Officinalis, first recorded in the 13th century, was the foundation of a large industry near the city of Provins, France. Turned into jellies, powders and oils, this rose was believed to cure a multitude of illnesses.

During the fifteenth century, the rose was used as a symbol for the factions fighting to control England. The white rose symbolized York, and the red rose symbolized Lancaster, as a result, the conflict became known as the “War of the Roses.”

Roses were in such high demand during the seventeenth century that royalty considered roses or rose water as legal tender, and they were often used as barter and for payments. Napoleon’s wife Josephine established an extensive collection of roses at Chateau de Malmaison, an estate seven miles west of Paris in the 1800s. This garden became the setting for Pierre Joseph Redoute’s work as a botanical illustrator. In 1824, he completed his watercolor collection “Les Rose,” which is still considered one of the finest records of botanical illustration.

It wasn’t until the late eighteenth century that cultivated roses were introduced into Europe from China. Most modern-day roses can be traced back to this ancestry. These introductions were repeat bloomers, making them unusual and of great interest to hybridizers, setting the stage for breeding work with native roses to select for hardiness and a long bloom season. Many of these early efforts by plant breeders are of great interest to today’s gardeners.

Roses are once again enjoying a resurgence in popularity, specifically, shrub roses and old garden roses. Gardeners realize that these roses fit the lifestyle of today’s gardeners who want roses that are not as demanding with regard to disease control, offer excellent floral quality, have excellent winter hardiness, and fit into shrub borders and perennial gardens without seeming out of place.

To be successful in growing roses in Midwest gardens, one needs to be aware of some basic considerations. Attention to plant selection, a basic knowledge of the wide array of classes available, basic culture information, and information about potential disease and insect problems will go a long way in making roses an enjoyable addition to the garden.

Rose belongs to the family Rosaceae and genus Rosa; the latter contains about 150 species. According to Greek mythology, Aphrodite, goddess of beauty, gave the rose its name in honor of her son Eros by rearranging just one letter in his name. In time Eros gave the rose to Harpocrates, god of silence, as a bribe to conceal the weakness of the gods. From there, rose became symbolic of secrecy, silence and love.

Paintings on walls and other artifacts depicting roses were found in 5th century Egyptian tombs. It is said that Cleopatra was a fancier of roses and used them to try and seduce Mark Anthony. Reportedly she had her fountain filled with rose water and her chamber filled with two feet of rose petals in an attempt to win his affection. Additionally, the Persian King Nebuchadnezzar is said to have slept on a mattress filled with rose petals.

Centuries later, rose became synonymous with the lavish excesses often characteristic of the Romans, who associated rose with love, beauty, purity and passion. Roman emperors filled their baths with rose water and sat on carpets of rose petals for their feasts. Rose petals were used as confetti and Nero was said to be especially fond of having them fall from the ceiling at banquets (to the point dinner guest sometimes suffocated in their excess). So insatiable was the demand for roses that peasants often were forced to grow them instead of food just to satisfy the Roman aristocracy.

Early Christians considered rose to be symbolic of paganism and their oppressors, the Romans, and were warned by church leaders not to plant it. This warning (evidently) was ignored, and it slowly gained popularity and was used in religious ceremonies. In time, rose became a Christian symbol and has become a rich part of its culture and literature.

Alexander the Great is credited by some with having introduced rose into Europe while others attribute the latter to knights returning from the Crusades of 12th and 13th century. During the dark ages European monasteries preserved the tradition of rose and required that at least one monk be skilled in botany and knowledgeable about the virtues of rose.

The rose also became the symbol of civil wars which took place in the 15th century in England. The War of the Roses lasted from 1455 – 1487. The name of the war has its roots in the coat of arms of both sides of the war. This war began when the nobles of York attacked Henry VI of Lancaster. The leader of the nobles, Edward IV of York, replaced the ruler of Lancaster as king. The House of Lancaster took the symbol of a red rose (Rosa Gallica), while the House of York chose a white rose (Rosa alba). When after many years Henry VII Tudor won the war, he connected the two roses into one symbol. The Tudor Rose became the Rose of England, which continues to be one of the most identifiable symbols of the kingdom.

Later, in 17th century Europe, rose became so prized that rose and rose water were considered a source of legal tender and could be used for paying the debts commoners owed to royalty. It also was during this era that Napoleon’s wife Josephine, a lover of roses, established one of the first extensive collections of roses at Chateau de Malmaison where her garden contained more than 250 rose varieties.

Presumably most of the roses in Josephine’s Garden were of the European/Mediterranean type for it was not until the late 18th century that the China group was introduced into Europe. Shortly thereafter the China rose (Rosa chinensis) was crossed by hybridizers with Rosa gigantea (a European/ Mediterranean type) to form a new rose. Since some thought the newly opened flowers of the resultant cross had the fragrance of an exquisite cup of tea, it was given the name tea rose. Decades later another type of rose was developed by crossing Damask rose (a hybrid formed in the Middle East by crossing Rosa gallica with Rosa moschata) with various species roses. Since the offspring of these crosses rebloomed freely they were given the name hybrid perpetuals and were quite popular through most of the nineteenth century.

A landmark achievement in rose breeding occurred in the mid-19th century when tea roses were crossed with hybrid perpetuals to give us the modern hybrid tea rose. Replete with their large flowers available in a palette of colors and their vigorous plants with glossy, green foliage, they are the most popular type of rose in the world today. Most consider them to be the standard of excellence by which all other types of roses are judged.

Several species of rose are indigenous to North America and rose was a favorite of many of those credited with shaping American history. William Penn imported 18 rose bushes from England in 1699. George Washington planted roses at Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson grew them at Monticello. John Adams is credited with planting the first rose at the White House and the formal rose garden that still exists today was established during the presidential term of Woodrow Wilson.

William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania during his travel to America in the 1600s, made notes about the roses he saw. He brought Europe some species of roses, including the cabbage rose (Rosa centifolia), which has 100 petals. For many centuries, the most remarkable characteristic of the roses brought from North America was their strong and pleasant smell.

The American Rose Society lists over 40 different types of roses in its classification system. Generally, they are grouped into Old World Roses (introduced before 1867) and Modern Roses (developed after 1867). Additional to the hybrid tea, other important modern rose groups include polyantha, floribunda and grandiflora. Polyantha roses are shrubby, low-growing roses with clusters of small flowers. They usually are quite hardy and bloom freely throughout the growing season. Floribundas were derived from crosses between hybrid tea and polyanthus roses. They produce large, hardy, shrubby bushes that bloom profusely and produce clusters of flowers. Grandiflora roses are the result of crossing floribundas with hybrid tea roses. Like their floribunda parent, they produce flowers in clusters. However, as their name implies, individual flowers are much larger and favor their hybrid tea parent in size.

• The world’s oldest living rose bush is thought to be 1000 years old. Today, it continues to bloom on the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany.

The rose that climbs on the wall of the cathedral’s apse is believed to be the oldest living rose in the world. A Rosa canina, commonly known as a wild dog rose, grows against the eastern apse of the cathedral, which is around 21 m (69 ft) high and 9 m (30 ft) wide. The rose bush reaches a height of around 10 m (33 ft) and documentation verifies its age at approximately 700 years

Shakespeare once wrote: “Of all flowers, methinks rose is best”. Such sentiment is quite common and throughout history this elegant, symbolic flower has occupied a special place in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. Americans show their reverence for rose by purchasing 1.2 billion cut roses annually.

Watch for later in the month for part 2 – Varieties of Roses, part 3 – Pest management and care of roses and part 4 Rose propagation.

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