Everything you need to know at a glance

The rose at a glance

• Genus: Roses (Rosa)
• Family: Rosaceae
• Species: between 100 to 250 different wild and cultivated forms
• Origin and distribution: depending on the species, temperate and subtropical zones, especially Persia
• Height: between a few centimeters (dwarf roses) to several meters (Climbing roses and Rambler)
• Typical characteristics: deciduous, five-fold pinnate leaves, spines on the trunk, branches and twigs, flowers are often fragrant
• Location: sunny to partially shaded, airy
• Soil: nutrient-rich-humic, well-drained, possibly loamy
• Flower: many different colors, shapes and sizes
• Flower colors: mostly red, pink, white, yellow or salmon-colored or apricot; some varieties are two-colored
• Flower sizes: large single flowers (e.g. B. Hybrid tea roses) or smaller flowers on clusters (e. B. Floribunda)
• Flower shapes: simple, semi-double, double or very double
• Flowering time: most cultivars flower in June / July, wild roses mostly in May
• Duration of flowering: a distinction is made between single and frequent flowering varieties
• Fruits: some roses (v. a. Wild roses) develop rose hips
• Leaves: five-pinnate deciduous leaves
• Use: for ornamental gardens and pots, as a medicinal and scented plant
• Toxicity: no
• Winter hardiness: very different depending on the species and variety

The story of the rose

There is evidence that roses were already used by the Sumerians - one of the first human civilizations - Bred: The oldest known representation of a rose is on a 4000 year old Sumerian Clay tablet. In any case, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates is considered the cradle of roses, as they were probably made here first bred garden roses and finally via ancient Greece to the rest of Europe spread. From 1780 onwards, merchant navy boats began to bring roses home from Chinese gardens. These roses came from two wild species: the "giant rose", a gigantic climbing plant with large ones yellow flowers, as well as the Rosa chinensis (Chinese rose) that grow in the Ichang Gorge of the Yangtze River was to find. Since then, European and Chinese roses have been grown and crossed, creating a huge variety of old and new rose types.