How Were The Different Types Of Roses Bred?
Rose is a very popular flower, and that is why breeders are continually developing new varieties. We will tell you about the most common kinds of roses and their features in this article.
Hybrid tea roses
Modern roses began with the creation of roses based on kinds of heat-loving Chinese tea roses. These are roses with large, usually fragrant flowers, located singly or in small inflorescences.
The hybrid tea group is the largest and most widespread today.
This species is the most popular in horticulture and consists of several thousand different varieties of roses. The bush grows and pleases with its flowering for many weeks, and with proper care and months. The flowering period begins in June and ends in July. After a while, flowering resumes and lasts right until late autumn. These flowers come in different shades: from yellow-green to deep burgundy red. You can count from 25 to 60 petals on one flower; it depends on the specific variety.
Moreover, hybrid tea roses delight with a pleasant aroma that fills the entire garden and bright colors and long flowering. A typical representative of this group is the Gloria Dei variety with large double and fragrant flowers.
Floribunda roses story
Floribunda roses are becoming more and more popular from year to year. They are very diverse. This variety is inferior to hybrid tea in size, beauty and flower aroma. But they surpass them in abundant, almost continuous flowering and winter hardiness.
Floribunda roses mean profuse flowering. This group includes varieties with large inflorescences, almost continuous flowering, in flower shape reminiscent of a hybrid tea.
Floribunda roses were bred by crossing kinds with large buds. They are similar to hybrid tea, only smaller in size and collected in large inflorescences by the flower’s nature. Even an inexperienced florist can handle this plant’s care because the rose is resistant to diseases and weather conditions and does not need special care. Roses bloom profusely from early summer to late autumn.
The palette of roses’ shades is very different, thanks to which they look impressive, especially in large groups against a green lawn’s background.
Amazing Polyanthus roses
Breeders crossed a dwarf multi-flowered rose with a Chinese tea rose in the 19th century in France. As a result, it was possible to create a dwarf hybrid with numerous small flowers.
These kinds of roses bloom all summer long. One inflorescence contains from 30 to 40 flowers, and in some varieties, their number reaches 100. The color palette contains red, pink, orange, and white shades. Most members of this species are odorless.
Different roses of this type need to be covered in winter. It is recommended to prune this variety in the spring.
Roses of Grandiflora
Grandiflora roses are a relatively new variety, obtained in the 50-the 60s of the last century by crossing hybrid tea roses with floribunda roses. Large double buds were borrowed from the first roses of Grandiflora, which are collected in less lush inflorescences of 3-5 pieces. From the second rose, Grandiflora inherited the ability of abundant and long flowering. The new hybrid is distinguished by exceptional frost resistance. Moreover, they differ in that large flowers grow in a small inflorescence. Representatives of this species are used to decorate the garden, and the main reason is the abundant and long flowering.
These kinds of roses can grow up to 6 feet in length. You need to prune to stimulate flowering correctly. Thus, you will also be able to rejuvenate the bush regularly.
The predominant colors of roses are different shades of red, pink, and white.
Miniature roses are a beautiful decoration
Miniature kinds of roses have a perfect shape and perfect proportions. The whole bush is strewn with a large number of small flowers of a wide variety of shades. The leaves of this species are also small and have a glossy surface. Many types delight their owners with a pleasant aroma. So that rose bushes do not get lost in their surroundings; it is better to grow them in courtyards.
Grow roses in a well-lit place where there are no drafts and cold winds so that they bloom and develop better. These flowers are hardy and not afraid of pests. Quickly adapt to different climatic conditions. Pruning should be done in the same way as pruning hybrid tea roses. They bloom until the very frost, abundantly and for a long time.
The growing popularity of this group is due to the novelty and variety of its kinds. Miniature roses can be grown in pots, in a greenhouse or conservatory, or as indoor plants. They have small flowers and leaves, plant height under normal conditions does not exceed 1.5 inches.
Curly climbing roses for garden decoration
Climbing roses are distinguished by long shoots that need to be supported by reliable supports. These plants are used to decorate arches, obelisks, and other complex structures. The shoot can be up to 16 feet in length.
This kind of rose is divided into two subspecies: small-flowered and large-flowered.
These are roses of different origins, but with long, often flexible shoots that require supports, used in vertical gardening.
- The first subgroup of climbing roses are true climbing or small-flowered climbing roses, often called Rambler. Most varieties in this group are hybrids of Wichuraiana rose or multiflora multiflora and have long, flexible shoots. Rambler has a two-year cycle of shoot development.
Long shoots grow from the ground in the first year. In the second year, lateral flowering shoots grow in their upper and middle parts. In the third year, they are usually not left because flowering on them will be negligible.
Most varieties have small flowers, collected in large inflorescences, odorless. Flowering is usually one-time but very abundant and long-lasting. Common types are Exelsa and Dorothy Perkins.
New varieties are usually re-bloom. Some of them are combined into a super rambler group. Although they are quite far from the original types in origin, they bear similar names Super excelsa, Super Dorothy, etc.
- The second subgroup of climbing roses is the Large-flowered Climber roses. They have larger flowers, often fragrant, close in structure to hybrid tea roses. Flowers are formed on perennial and young shoots. Roses have repeated flowering and can bloom almost all summer. They are often called Climber in the literature. Common varieties are Flammentanz, New dawn, Rosarium uetersen, and Schwanensee. However, the Flamentants variety is closer to the ramblers in terms of growth and flowering. In contrast, the Schwannensee and other similar types have thick, strong shoots and are often referred to as shrubs.
This group also includes Kordersii roses, a group of varieties derived from the Max Graf variety, a hybrid of wrinkled rose and Vishurana rose.
The climbing group includes climbing forms of roses of different groups of hybrid tea, floribunda, and others obtained by kidney mutations.
Shrub or semi-climbing roses
Shrub roses are tall, upright bush-like plants. Like many other flowering plants, roses bloom profusely for several months. The most common representative of this species is the Fontaine rose with large and fragrant flowers. It was withdrawn back in 1969. The bush grows to 13-6 feet.
Park roses
Park roses are the most unpretentious flowers that are used to decorate gardens. Different park roses are appreciated for the bush’s beauty, the abundance of greenery, and bright colors. It is the abundant flowering; frost resistance attracts flower growers in these flowers.
The indisputable advantage of caring for these flowers is the absence of the need for pruning. The most optimal place for growth is the one in which there is enough light. These flowers can be planted in spring and autumn.
The most decorative species of wild rose hips and their garden forms and hybrids make up ancient garden roses. They are well adapted to harsh climatic conditions, and they do not need to be covered for the winter.
These roses bloom earlier than anyone else in late May, early June and bloom profusely for 15-35 days, but usually once. From park kinds of rose, they can be created hedges and grown as separate bushes.
Ground cover roses will surprise your guests
The group of ground cover roses was identified in the 1980s. They are multi-flowering, disease-resistant roses that are planted on slopes or between tall shrubs.
Groundcover roses are creepers with very long shoots and small flowers. Breeders are continually breeding different kinds of roses. This is because the plants are frost-resistant and relatively unpretentious. It is enough for them to organize a small shelter in winter. New varieties of this type of roses are characterized by long flowering even before the arrival of frost.
You need to find out what size it will reach when it grows before planting such a rose.
Groundcover roses can be used anywhere in the garden. Their main task is to cover the ground with dense leafy shoots growing horizontally, with abundant inflorescences. They can be planted on flower beds, rocky areas, decorate slopes with them, and cover hatches. Roses can be grown in containers, on balconies and outdoor terraces, and used to create cascading boles. Many ground cover roses smell great.
When growing different ground cover roses, the main thing is to maintain the required distance between the bushes so that the plants do not interfere with each other.
Damask roses
Damask roses have adorned our lives since ancient times and have the most fragrant of all kinds of roses. These roses were even associated with the cult of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology. Robert de Brie first brought damask roses from the Middle East to Europe in the 13th century. But to this day, ancient Roman frescoes with images of a Damascus rose have survived, indicating that they existed in Europe hundreds of years before.
The Damascus rose has given rise to many different roses varieties while maintaining its unique heritage. Compared to Gallic roses, these plants are taller and can grow to over 6 feet in height. Their buds, which are almost always shades of pink, are world-renowned for their distinctive scent, which is used to produce perfumes by some of the world's most renowned perfumers.
Gallica roses history
The Gallica rose is the oldest of the garden flowers. Many centuries ago, this sort of roses was first cultivated by the Greeks and Romans for its medicinal properties—the Gallica roses originally from Central and Southern Europe and Western Asia.
This rose is a beautiful variety with a strong aroma and rich color range, not inherent in the different old roses. This group includes types with flowers of red, burgundy, purple, crimson shades.
Alba Roses
Alba roses have come down to us from the Middle Ages, formerly known as tea roses. This variety is one of the most unpretentious among old roses. Disease resistant, they often grow to nearly 6 feet without any outside effort. Semi-double pinkish-white or white flowers bloom and are among the most delicate and beautiful types of roses. According to Islamic tradition, it was the Alba rose created from a drop of the Prophet's sweat and became the personification of beauty and greatness on earth.
David Austin Roses
The author and mastermind of the world-famous David Austin Roses is a simple farmer from England. When he first saw old roses, he set out to develop a new variety of roses, which would resemble old ones in appearance, but was devoid of their main drawbacks of soreness and one-time flowering, and also had a rich color palette. The first variety of David Austin Roses was born by crossing the ancient Gallic rose and floribunda in the middle of the last century.
The main task that David Austin has always followed when creating new varieties is the shape of the flower and aroma. The calling card of all English roses is a dizzying smell and a cupped or pompom-shaped bud.
There are more than 200 varieties of David Austin Roses today, which is growing every year. David Austin is the most commercially successful breeder.
It is challenging to describe even a small fraction of the currently existing varieties of the Queen of Flowers today. Each of which has a unique color, flowering season, and breeding requirements. It is unknown how the world of roses will change in the future. But undoubtedly, the story of roses continues.