The History of Roses

Roses have been around forever, but few people actually know the true history of the flower. In fact, few people know just how old the rose is. According to some fossil evidence, roses existed 35 million years ago! That’s ancient!

Roses were cultivated hundreds of years ago. Some research shows that they were grown in China about 5,000 years ago, but the first hard evidence of roses being grown was during the time of the Roman Empire. Rome traded extensively with the Middle Eastern kingdoms, which great many roses. They were often used in medicine, for perfume, and as decoration. Roman nobles quickly took to the idea and imported roses, creating huge rose gardens in Southern Rome. However, following the fall of the empire, roses went through periods of high and low popularity.

In the fifteenth century, the rose often appeared in the seals and symbols associated with different noble families in England. This reached its high point with the War of the Roses, fought between York and Lancaster. York’s banner was marked with a white rose, while Lancaster’s forces fought under the red rose.

During the seventeenth century, royalty had come to regard roses as one of the most important flowers. They often hired professional rose gardeners, and at times, the rose was even used as a major bartering unit. Josephine, Napoleon’s wife, loved roses, and she grew many of them at their home at Chateau de Malmaison. During the 1820s, painter Pierre Joseph Redoute painted many watercolors at the chateau, creating his “Les Rose” collection.

The modern-day rose has its roots in Europe. During the late 18th century, many roses were imported from China and grown in Europe. These roses were repeat bloomers, something that European gardeners found fairly rare. Many began breeding these roses, creating hybrids between the Chinese roses and the roses found in Europe. The resulting flowers had a long blooming season and were very hardy.

Today, roses are very popular, especially on anniversaries and Valentine’s Day. If you want to show someone how much you love them, roses are the go-to flower. They’ve been around for ages, and it looks like they will continue to be popular for many, many more.