One of the most cultivated ornamental plants in the world and for centuries are the roses. These shrubs bloom for months, producing flowers that are often large and beautifully colored, such as red, yellow, or white. Also, although there are many varieties that have no aroma, there are others that do.
The care and maintenance of rose bushes is so simple that it is possible to keep them in a pot at all times. For this reason, They are plants that can be used to decorate balconies and / or terraces.
Origin and characteristics of roses
The plants known as roses or rose bushes are a series of bushes, usually thorny, of the genus Rosa. There are an estimated 100 species, which grow in Asia, North America, Europe and Northwest Africa, but most are found on the Asian continent. From these varieties, more than 30 thousand cultivars have been created, and new ones emerge every year.
They are characterized by being shrubs or climbers that can grow between 10 centimeters and 20 meters in height. depending on the species or cultivar. The stems are semi-woody, and are protected by thick sharp thorns. From these sprout leaves composed of 5 to 9 leaflets or pinnae, with a serrated margin and green, deciduous or perennial.
The flowers are of good size, measuring between 2 and 10 centimeters in diameter. Its petals can be of very varied colors: red, white, yellow, pink, or even bicolor (red with white spots, for example). The fruit is known as rose hip, which is composed of many small fruits, and is red when ripe.
Types of rose bushes
Roses have been cultivated for so long that it was necessary to classify them in some way to be able to know all the varieties that exist. Thus, these plants are classified according to whether they are pure species or hybrids created by humans, and according to their age:
Wild rose bushes
Wild rose bushes are those that grow naturally
. They tend to produce smaller flowers than cultivars, and they also tend to have many more spines to ward off predators. Some examples are:pink banksiae
La pink banksiae It is a shrub that can be used as a climbing or hanging climber, since it has very long stems which measure up to 6 meters. It is native to China, and it is very interesting since Although its flowers, which can be white or yellow, measure only about 2,5 centimeters in diameter at most, they are very numerous. In addition, it has almost no thorns and remains evergreen.
Rosa canina
La Rosa canina It is a deciduous shrub with thorns that grows in Europe, Northwest Africa and West Asia. It measures 2 meters high, and has flowers 4 to 6 centimeters in diameter, white or light pink. It is a plant with curved and reddish spines that sprout along the stem, and that produces ovoid fruits that are also deep red in color.
Gallica rose
La Gallica rose It is a thorny deciduous shrub known as rosebush of Castile or rosebush of France. It grows in Europe and Western Asia, and is a plant that reaches 2 meters in height. Its leaves are bluish-green, and produces aromatic flowers of about 3-4 centimeters in diameter pink.
Old rose bushes
The old rose bushes are those that already existed before the first Tea Hybrid appeared, in 1867. They are generally natural hybrids, that is, they arose without human intervention in nature, such as:
Tea rose
With the name of tea rose we refer to a series of roses originating from the crossing of Giant rose x Rosa chinensis. They are shrubs or climbers that produce aromatic flowers during the summer and into the fall. These can be white, pink, lilac, or yellow.
pink x dawn
Known as white rose, it is a hybrid native to Europe. It is a thorny and deciduous shrub that reaches 2 meters in height. Its flowers are white and measure between 6 and 8 centimeters in diameter. These sprout in early summer.
pink x damascene
It is known as damask rose or rose of Castile, and is native to a series of crosses of species native to the Middle East. It grows as a deciduous shrub up to 2 meters high, which is protected with thorns. The flowers are pink or reddish, and are about 8 centimeters in diameter.
Modern rose bushes
Modern rose bushes are those that have emerged from the year 1867. They are often classified according to their size or the type of flower. These are some examples:
Tea hybrid
These hybrid roses come from crosses among others such as Rosa x odorata, Gallica rose or Rosa x damascena. They are shrubs with a relatively small size, as they do not exceed 2 meters in height. Depending on the cultivar they can be climbers. Their flowers are of very diverse colors, and they often produce them for most of the year.
Floribunda rose
They are hybrids that come from the cross between Rosa chinensis y Multiflora rose. They are bushes of approximately 1 meter or meter and a half in height, which produce flowers up to 10 centimeters in diameter, of colors like yellow, red or pale pink, and scented.
Polyantha rose
La Polyantha rose is originally from the cross between Rosa chinensis y Multiflora rose. They are thorny shrubs that bloom during the spring and into the fall, which is why they are highly appreciated despite the fact that their flowers are not the largest. These are 2,5 centimeters in diameter, and can be pink, white, or red.
Other types
They are rose bushes that are popular for a reason. For example:
David Austin Roses
David Charles Hensaw Austin was a writer and botanist who loved roses. In fact, he dedicated a good part of his life to creating new cultivars that had the elegance and perfume of old rose bushes, but also the ability to bloom for much of the year. A) Yes, obtained more than 190 cultivars, among which are the pink-flowered ‘Constance Spry’, or the orange-flowered ‘Charles Austin’.
Weeping rose
They are cultivars that are characterized by having hanging branches or stems. They are often grafted onto others for higher quality flowering or better disease resistance. As an example we highlight ‘Les Quatre Saisons’, a variety of pink flowers which measure about 3-4 centimeters, which sprout from mid-spring to late summer.
