The Rose

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Rose (lat. Rosa) - the general name of all cultivated by man species and varieties of plants belonging to the genus Rosehip.

A bit of history

For the first time, roses began to be grown in ancient Rome - even despite the fact that in those distant times, all gardens were intended exclusively for the cultivation of various valuable crops (vegetables, fruits, as well as medicinal, spicy, etc.), in the works of those who lived in that period of ancient Roman writers, you can find a description and about a dozen exquisite varieties of roses. And Herodotus mentioned the double rose in the incredibly informative "History" (5th century BC) when describing the Macedonian gardens of the rich king Midos!

The very first rose (with fifteen, twenty and even one hundred petals) was described by Theophrastus, a famous ancient Greek botanist and famous philosopher, and this happened around 300 BC. NS. He also later substantiated the scientific characteristics of many varieties of roses (both garden and wild), as well as the basic methods of reproduction of these beautiful flowers and their agricultural technology. And on the Pompeian mosaic in the Neapolitan Museum, the world-famous Damascus rose is depicted - the historical homeland of this beautiful flower is the east, and it was from those regions that it began to spread to other countries, including the luxurious gardens of sunny southern Italy.

As for garden roses, their history began towards the end of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries - during this period, thermophilic evergreen roses from Southeast Asia were actively imported to Europe (initially to England, and somewhat later to France). The very peculiar and surprisingly delicate aroma of the petals of such roses vaguely resembled a tea aroma, in addition, these roses could boast of completely new and very impressive decorative properties.

In Russia, the first mention of the beginning of growing roses dates back to the beginning of the sixteenth century. And these beautiful flowers became widespread only under Catherine II, and already at the end of the nineteenth century they were actively grown throughout the country.

Description

Rose bushes can be both spreading and drooping, and narrow pyramidal or creeping or ground cover (depending on the variety). The height of miniature varieties ranges from twenty to thirty-five centimeters, polyanthus roses - from thirty to forty-five (maximum up to sixty) centimeters, floribunda and hybrid tea roses - from thirty to ninety centimeters, and climbing roses, cultivated mainly in hot regions - from two and a half to six meters.

In some varieties of roses, the twigs are bare, while in others they are densely covered with tiny bristles. And thorny bushes can be covered with both huge curved thorns and straight short thorns.

The leaves of roses are dense or leathery, elongated or glossy, graceful or with pointed tips. And their color can vary from any shades of green to a rich maroon color.

The diameter of rose flowers ranges from 1.8 to 18 cm, and the number of petals ranges from five to one hundred twenty-eight. Simple roses always have a maximum of seven petals, semi-double ones - from eight to twenty, double ones - more than twenty, and double-double ones - more than sixty! The shape of the flowers also boasts an amazing variety - it can be rosette, cup-shaped, spherical (pompom), goblet or conical, as well as cruciform-rosette, flat, round or pitcher. And the color scheme of these wonderful flowers includes almost the entire palette of shades, with the exception of bright blue: currently you can see not only red, white, yellow, scarlet, pink or burgundy roses, but also orange, peach (apricot), cream, dark purple, as well as crimson, blue, lilac, and sometimes green and even black flowers! Multi-colored roses are also not uncommon, the color of which consists of a combination of several flowers at once.

Since the rose is a heat-loving plant, the best results when growing it are achieved exclusively in regions with a warm climate. And, nevertheless, it is actively grown on the territory of almost the entire globe!