10 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT ROSES

Oh, the rose. It is one of the most loved, and most recognised flowers in the world. An emblem of romance. An insignia of royalty. Sweetly fragranced and peerlessly beautiful. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the rose.

But there’s more to these beautiful blooms than meets the eye. Here’s some fun facts about Britain’s favourite flower.

10 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT ROSES

1. Roses don’t have thorns. Cue the panto chorus. ‘Oh, yes they do!’ Ohh, no they don’t! Those blood lusty sharp things that poke your fingers and snag your clothes every time you so much as look at a rose bush? Those are called prickles. Don’t blame us – have it out with the botanists!
2. The rose is the oldest species of cultivated plant. The Guinness Book of World Records says so. And there’s evidence of its cultivation dating back to Ancient Rome. Apparently, Cleopatra was a big fan.
3. Roses can live a really long time. Really. The ruins of Germany’s Hildesheim cathedral are covered with a climbing rose, which is believed to be around 1,000 years old.
4. There are no black or blue roses. But wait, you’ve seen pictures of them on the internet! When you get up close and personal, the reality is that all black-looking roses are actually red. As for the blue ones, well, those have been faked. Roses do not produce the anthocyanidin pigment delphinidin which makes the colour blue. They just can’t do it. If you see any for sale, they’ll be artificially coloured, and that colour will grow out. The same applies to the rainbow rose.
5. Roses have many meanings. We all think that we know the rose with its connotations of love. But traditionally, the meaning of a rose is dictated by all sorts of different factors. Including colour, species and how they are presented. While a dozen red roses can symbolise love. A single yellow rose can denote parting, the ending of a relationship. And a fading rose of any colour can be a significant insult – your beauty is fading, along with my love!
6. The £3million rose. Much loved British rose breeder, David Austen, spent £3million cultivating the rose he named Juliet. A stunning confection of apricot hues, Juliet is an undeniable beauty. £3million is also an awful lot of money, but she’s believed to have more than recouped that in sales since her 2006 Chelsea Flower Show debut.
7. 8,500 square feet. There is a rose in Tombstone, Arizona, with a canopy of 8,500 square feet. That’s roughly the footprint of a comfortable mansion house. If you owned a home that big, you may require staff! It’s a Lady Banksia, if you’re interested.
8. Small but perfectly formed. Looking for something less imposing than the Lady Banksia? The Diamond Rose produced by Sudhir Khetawat of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, is said to be the world’s smallest. With blooms only 1cm in diameter and buds ‘the size of a single grain of rice’, it shows that good things often come in small packages.
9. Roses produce more vitamin C than almost any other plant. So, not only do roses look and smell divine, but they can be incredibly good for you. Rosehips, which have been loved by the beauty industry for centuries, can be used in all sorts of ways. They’re all edible and some of them, like the hips of the dog rose, taste terrific. While the vitamin C content helps to protect cells, maintain healthy skin, blood vessels, bones and cartilage. Rose hips and petals also contain vitamins A and B.
10. There are a lot of roses. Think you know your roses? Your damask, floribunda, English and hybrid tea? Think again. There are believed to be more than 100 unique species of rose. We won’t mention them all here!

So, next time you see a rose, remember that it’s far more than just a pretty face. The rose is, in fact, pretty flipping incredible. And that is why we love them.

Looking for the perfect arrangement of roses to give to someone special? Look no further.