Fun Facts about Roses
“It’s the time that you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important…People have forgotten this truth, but you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Eulogized across ages, cultures, nations and traditions, there’s so much to this beautiful flower. When you gift roses, knowing what they signify, makes the whole process of gifting even more meaningful. Roses are considered as timeless gifts of love. They make special occasions memorable with their presence and their lingering fragrance. Roses are considered as one of the best gifting options for expressing love, admiration, joy and other innate human emotions. No doubt their beauty is a sight to behold, but their history and other interesting facts make them even more admirable.
Here listed are some interesting facts about these blooming beauties.
1. The holy Bible acknowledges the existence of 3 flowers, one of them is Rose, others being Lilies and Camphire.
2. 2004 was the year when the world got its 1st blue rose after years of persistence, wherein the breeders tried to genetically manipulate different species and colours of roses.
3. After spending 15 years and $ 4.37 million, famous rose breeder David Austin sold his Juliet Rose, also referred to as “£3 million rose’’, in 2006 at the Chelsea Flower Show. Juliet Rose is termed as the most expensive rose ever developed.
4. One of the miniature roses is termed “Overnight Scentsation” as it was taken to space by the researchers to learn how gravity impacted rose’s scent.
5. Do you know that many species of roses grow a fruit called rose hip, which resembles berries, used for making jam, jelly, or brewed for tea? Hip seed oil is also used in skin and makeup products.
6. Throughout the world, there are approximately about 150 species of roses and thousands of hybrids.
7. Rose is the most popular flower in the world after which blooms like Chrysanthemums, Tulips, Lilies, Poinsettias, Narcissus etc. are considered among other favourites.
8. The rose is the national flower emblem of the United States since 20th Nov 1986 after President Ronald Reagan officially declared this, while standing in the famous White House Rose Garden.
9. Do you know there is no such thing as a ‘black rose’ rather it is a rose with a very dark red shade?
10. As per the Greek Mythology, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, is said to have created rose from the tears she cried over the blood of her beloved, Adonis.
11. Rose oil is very important to the perfume industry. Approx. 2,000 roses are used to extract 1 gram of rose oil.
12. The Rose Valley in Bulgaria produces 85% of the world’s rose oil. The roses here have been cultivated from centuries.
13. The microscopic perfume glands on the rose petals are responsible for producing the enchanting rose scent.
14. Most species of roses produce 5 petals (except ‘Rosa Sericea, which has only 4).
The mutation causes roses to produce a large number of petals.
15. As per records, the tallest rose bush is 5.689 m (18 ft. 8 in) and was achieved by Christopher Rose (USA) in La Puente, California on 8 November 2017.
16. Rose is England’s national flower. During the ‘Wars of the Roses’ between 1455 to 1485, red rose represented the house of Lancaster against the house of York, which was represented by the white rose.
17. Cherries, apricots, apples, peaches, plums, pears and almonds are relatives of rose.
18. Napoleon used to gift his officers bags rose petals, so they could boil them with white wine and cure themselves of lead poisoning of the bullet or shot wounds.
19. On 11th October 1492, the crew of Columbus picked out a branch of the rose from the ocean which was a hint that there was a presence of beautiful land nearby. The next day, America was discovered by Columbus.
20. 54% of the land in Ecuador is filled with roses.
21. The largest rose ever bred measured approx. 33 inches in diameter. This was a pink rose bred by Nikita K. Rulhoksoffski from San Onofre, California.
22. Roses are the favourite of lyricists coz there are over 4,000 songs about them.
23. The archaeologists say that the roses have existed for more than 35 million years after a fossil of rose was discovered in Colorado.
24. Though roses look delicate, they surely are tough souls. We say this because a large rose bush has been growing for more than 1,000 years on the walls of Cathedral of Hildesheim, Germany.
25. Meaning of roses as per colour – and this works as a great guide to picking the right colour for your floral gifts
- Red roses – love
- White roses – innocence, spirituality and purity
- Yellow roses – joy and warmth
- Pink roses – Gratitude, admiration, elegance and sweetness
- Orange roses – Pride and intense desire toward someone
- Blue roses – Secret or unattainable love
- Lavender roses – Love at 1st sight
- Black roses – end of a relationship
Go on, send roses online, it’s timeless, it’s meaningful, and it can delight your loved one beyond your imagination!
Also Read:
Make your Roses count: Meaning behind the number of Roses