A Brief History of Roses

For some, a rose means romance, love or passion. For others, it is a symbol of pristine beauty or prestige. A rose can represent an entire country (it's the national flower of England), or a state (as in North Dakota and Iowa). Roses have a unique history that spans over 35 million years. This stunning flower is worshipped for its beauty just as much today as it was yesterday.

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.

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.

There are literally thousands of rose varieties in the world today and numerous species. Roses have been used to create everything from rose-scented perfume oils, water, and lotions to accents for ponds, baths and fountains. They have even been used for mattress filling.

The technical definition of a rose is any of a genus (Rosa) of shrubs of the rose family, characteristically with prickly stems, alternate compound leaves and five parted, usually fragrant flowers of red, pink, white or yellow. Roses also grow in a variety of other colors such as green, blue, purple to almost-black, burgundy and orange.

The Meaning of a Rose's Color

• Red roses are symbolic of love, respect, and courage.
• Pale pink roses are symbolic of grace, joy, and happiness.
• White roses are symbolic of innocence, secrecy, reverence, humility, and purity.
• Dark pink roses are symbolic of thanks and friendship.
• Lavender roses are symbolic of enchantment.
• Pale Peach roses are symbolic of modesty, gratitude, appreciation, admiration & sympathy.
• Orange roses are symbolic of fascination.
• Yellow roses are symbolic of joy, friendship, jealousy, gladness, hope, and freedom.
• Coral roses are symbolic of desire.

Caring For Your Fresh Cut Roses

• Always use clean scissors, shears, vases and containers.
• Remove any foliage from the rose stem that will remain below water level. Submerged leaves will rot, causing bacteria to shorten the life of your rose.
• Cut ½ to 1 inch off the bottom of each rose stem at a 45 degree angle and immediately place in water.
• If any of the rose’s outer petals have bruised during shipping, gently remove them.
• Add floral food or preservative according to the instructions provided. Too little or too much food will do more harm than good.
• Re-cut your rose stems every several days.
• Change vase water and floral food after re-cutting rose stems.
• Do not place your freshly cut roses in direct sunlight or in the direct path of air conditioning or heating vents.
• The ideal temperature for most fresh cut flowers is 72–74 F.