Today I will tell you: What strange things have happened to the rose?

At both ends of the Eurasian continent, breeders in Europe and China were cultivating and breeding rose plants. When the world began to connect, the excellent achievements of the East and the West collided with each other by chance, producing a more wonderful spark , which was the hybrid tea rose .

Hybrid tea rose Rosa 'Princesse de Monaco '. Photo: Yu Tianyi

If you have read the species calendar in previous years, you will know that the cut flowers we see in the flower market are "roses" rather than "roses". However, the concept of roses is also very complicated . Before talking about hybrid tea roses, we must first look at what "roses" and "hybrid tea roses" actually mean.

The messy rose family

Rose is a general term and does not refer to a specific species or variety. The concept of "rose" used in this article is equivalent to garden rose in English, referring to all cultivated varieties of the genus Rosa, including ancient and modern rose varieties.

The earliest variety of ancient European roses, the 'semi-double' white rose R. × alba 'Semi-plena'. Image: Yu Tianyi

Modern rose is a species (Rosa × dilecta), which refers to the many modern rose varieties that humans have bred mainly based on this group of varieties since the emergence of hybrid tea roses. There are many different groups of modern roses, although they are influenced by different parents and look very different, with no obvious common features . So if someone asks how to distinguish modern roses from roses... I have no answer.

The Floribunda variety Rosa 'Angela' looks very much like a rose, but is a modern rose. Photo: Yu Tianyi

The Rosa Hybrid Tea Group is not the same as modern roses, it is just a group of modern rose varieties . However, the hybrid tea rose is the beginning of modern roses, and it is also the most important type of modern roses. The image of "rose" in our minds comes from the hybrid tea rose.

Hybrid tea rose Rosa 'Norita'. Image: Yu Tianyi

So how did the name hybrid tea rose come about? In fact, they can also be called hybrid perfume roses . Seeing this name, you may guess that this variety group is related to the perfume rose (R. × odorata) native to China. Westerners think that the smell of perfume roses is similar to the fragrance of tea, so their hybrid offspring is called tea rose, and hybrid perfume roses are also named hybrid tea.

The famous hybrid tea rose variety Rosa 'Just Joey'. Photo: Yu Tianyi

However, in fact, hybrid tea roses are not directly hybridized from Chinese perfume roses . To borrow the words of Gu Yourong in the 15-year species calendar, perfume roses had "experienced some strange things in France" before that. The history of hybrid tea roses is the chaotic hybrid history of ancient roses .

The story of ancient Chinese roses

Although modern rose varieties are almost all bred in the West, ancient Chinese roses have played a crucial role in the history of hybridization. The ancient Chinese roses involved in modern rose hybridization are mainly scent roses and rose flowers. They are not just gifts from nature, but also the result of long-term artificial breeding. We can see hybrid tea roses today, thanks to the efforts of ancient Chinese breeders.

Hybrid tea rose variety Rosa 'Mascotte '77'. Photo: Yu Tianyi

China has the largest number of wild rose species in the world . According to the number of species recorded in the Flora of China, China accounts for about half of the wild species of the genus Rosa, and more than half of them are endemic species. Roses mainly live in the temperate and subtropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere. Wild rose species can be found in most parts of China , which provides a basis for the breeding of roses.

The Peace Rose Garden of Beijing Botanical Garden mainly cultivates hybrid tea roses. Most of the varieties in this article (except for a few ancient rose varieties) were photographed in the Rose Garden of Beijing Botanical Garden. Photo: Yu Tianyi

Rose

China is also the first country to cultivate and breed rose varieties. The ancients may have started cultivating roses since the Tang Dynasty . Zhou Fang's "Lady Holding a Fan" shows a large double-petaled rose variety. More specific evidence appeared in paintings from the Five Dynasties period. In Huang Jucai's "Flower Sketch Album" , the painter accurately depicted the images of single-petal roses, double-petal roses, and double-petaled perfume roses.

Double-petaled roses in Huang Jucai's "Flower Sketch Album".

The Chinese rose (R. chinensis) mentioned here has a different meaning from "rose". It is a specific species, but the concept of this species is similar to the peony introduced earlier. It is actually a collection of varieties, referring to the various "Yueyuehong" varieties selected from wild single-petal Chinese roses (R. chinensis var. spontanea). In recent years, some studies have shown that wild roses (R. multiflora) have also been involved in hybridization. Wild single-petal Chinese roses only have one flower on each branch, while Yueyuehong has multiple flowers on the inflorescence. This feature may be brought by wild roses.

An ancient Chinese rose variety, the rose variety 'Yueyuehong'. Image: Yu Tianyi

Starting from the Song Dynasty, China gradually began to use the names "rose" and "catharanthus roseus" (referring to roses rather than Catharanthus roseus of the Apocynaceae family), which marked the beginning of the emergence of roses from roses and the emergence of an independent ornamental flower. At the same time, the emergence of these two names also meant that roses had an important mutation , that is, their flowers could bloom continuously, unlike other rose plants that only bloom for one season . Nowadays, people more often call this type of rose "Monthly Red" and "Monthly Pink", so the collection of rose varieties is also called the "Monthly Red" variety group .

The moonflower opens and closes visibly every day, and is most attractive at night when it is half-closed. Photo: Yu Tianyi

Tea Rose

Another important ancient Chinese rose, the tea rose , is also a hybrid. It comes from the hybridization of giant rose and Chinese rose. Giant rose, also known as large-flowered tea rose, is native to western Yunnan and has been introduced and cultivated in Yunnan since ancient times. When the large-flowered tea rose with large flowers and fragrant smell meets the Chinese rose that blooms repeatedly for many seasons, the hybrid tea rose appears.

The single-petal color-changing variety of the tea rose, 'Yellow Butterfly' R. × odorata 'Mutabilis'. Image: Yu Tianyi

Since the giant rose itself has a variety of colors, including white, yellow, and color-changing types, hybridization with different rose varieties will produce more diverse colors of perfume roses . In addition, many types of perfume roses will change in color over time, and some double-petal varieties can have different colors on the same flower. The color-changing varieties of two perfume roses, 'Yellow Butterfly' and 'Red Butterfly', are still very popular and are often cultivated both at home and abroad.

Breeding of European ancient roses

The history of rose breeding in the West is much shorter than that in China, but in just two hundred years, several varieties and thousands of varieties have emerged. Although these varieties have infinite variations, they actually come from only a few original species. The earliest ancient roses in Europe came from the French rose with large flowers. People accidentally discovered its double-petal variety (R. gallica 'Officinalis') and two-color variety (R. gallica 'Versicolor'), and improved and bred them. Most of the ancient European roses and modern roses have the bloodline of the French rose .

The earliest French rose variety, R. gallica 'Officinalis'. Photo: Yu Tianyi

Rosaceae plants are prone to cross-species hybridization. Humans first discovered many excellent offspring produced by accidental hybridization before they began to actively hybridize and breed new varieties. The important Turkic rose (Damask rose) appeared by chance. Musk roses from the Himalayas, glandular roses from Xinjiang and Central Asia, and French roses from Europe were introduced to Central Asia. After being cultivated together, they accidentally hybridized to produce Turkic roses, which then spread widely in the Middle East. It has many petals like the double-petaled French rose, and has the rich aroma of the musk rose. Therefore, it was soon used by people for viewing and extracting essential oils to make various products. After being introduced to Europe, Turkic roses also joined the army of variety breeding.

One of the parents of Rosa moschata is Rosa moschata. Image: Yu Tianyi

Early varieties of Damask roses, like other roses, bloomed in one season. At this time, an important Damask rose variety , R. × damascena 'Quatre Saisons', appeared. It can bloom sporadically in autumn after the peak flowering period in late spring and early summer, so it is also called Autumn Damask. Due to this characteristic, most of the ancient European roses that appeared later were based on this variety .

The most important Damascus rose variety is R. × damascena 'Quatre Saisons'. Photo: Yu Tianyi

The 'Four Seasons' Damascus rose was first hybridized with the French rose again to produce a deep red repeat-flowering variety, Rosa 'Scarlet Four Seasons'. This variety was given by Italy to the Duchess of Portland and later became known as ' Rosa 'Duchess of Portland' or simply 'The Portland Rose'. Thus, with this variety as the starting point, a new group of Portland rose varieties emerged.

The first Portland rose variety, Rosa 'Duchess of Portland'. Photo: Yu Tianyi

The “Four Old Breeds” were introduced to Europe

In the early 19th century, another important event in the history of roses occurred: Europeans brought four-season roses from China back to the West. Among them, four varieties have made the greatest contribution to modern rose varieties, and are now known as the " Four Old Varieties ":

The rose variety 'Red Dragon and Pearl' 'Slater's Crimson China'. The bright red color of the hybrid tea rose comes from it. Photo: Yu Tianyi

Two varieties of rose (Rosa 'Old Blush') flowers : Rosa 'Slater's Crimson China';

One of the four ancient Chinese rose parents of modern roses, the rose varieties 'Old Blush'. Image: Yu Tianyi

Two tea rose varieties : Rosa 'Hume's Blush Tea-scented China' and Rosa 'Parks' Yellow Tea-scented China'.

Hume's Blush Tea-scented China. Tea roses provide hybrid tea roses with a cup-shaped flower shape and a "tea scent", although they don't actually smell like tea. Image: Yu Tianyi

The Birth of the Modern Rose

Europeans noticed the habit of Chinese roses blooming all year round, which ignited the enthusiasm of breeders for hybridization. They conducted hybridization experiments between Chinese rose varieties and European rose varieties, but the hybrid generation rarely bloomed continuously. Later, people discovered that continuous flowering all year round was a recessive trait , which required self-pollination or hybridization with Chinese roses to produce offspring that bloomed repeatedly.

Roses bring extremely long flowering periods and bright crimson colors to ancient European roses. The varieties produced by repeated hybridization of rose varieties and ancient European roses are classified as hybrid perpetual roses . Although the parental sources of hybrid perpetual roses are complex, they are mainly derived from the hybridization of Portland roses and Chinese roses.

Hybrid evergreen rose Rosa 'Ulrich Brunner Fils'. Most hybrid evergreen roses are tall and thin, with short branches, not as compact as hybrid tea roses. Image: Yu Tianyi

The species of tea rose has also received great attention after being introduced to Europe. Breeders first hybridized it with Chinese rose, and then hybridized it with other ancient European roses. The offspring of hybridization were backcrossed or self-pollinated with tea roses. The series of varieties that bloom all year round are collectively called tea roses . Therefore, the Western tea roses are actually not the same as the tea roses native to China .

Rosa 'Devoniensis', a hybrid variety of the tea rose group. Photo: Yu Tianyi

Although many of the ancient European roses that appeared at this time were given names such as "four-season" and "evergreen", their flowering period was still not long enough. A single flower would wither within two days, and they would only bloom sporadically in autumn. Although perfume roses can bloom repeatedly for a long time, they are not cold-resistant and are often cultivated in subtropical areas. In temperate zones, they can only hide in greenhouses.

In a nursery in Lyon, France, hybrid evergreen roses and tea roses were accidentally hybridized, and the first hybrid tea rose variety, Rosa 'La France', appeared , marking the birth of modern roses . Hybrid tea roses have a strong fragrance and a high-footed cup-shaped flower shape, as well as the habit of continuous flowering throughout the four seasons. At the same time, they are relatively cold-resistant, and since then, a new chapter in the history of roses has been opened.

The first hybrid tea rose variety, 'France'. Image: Yu Tianyi

After the hybrid tea roses appeared, the addition of the off-flavor roses brought new yellow and vermilion genes:

Double yellow rose R. foetida 'Persica'. Photo: Yu Tianyi

R. foetida 'Bicolor'. Photo: Yu Tianyi

The emergence of these hybrids is accidental, but also inevitable . Different species of roses came from the East to the West with human migration and trade, and then they were cultivated together and hybridized with each other, producing wonderful varieties that could not appear in nature. Finally, these varieties are deeply embedded in our culture and memory.

The most famous hybrid tea rose variety is Rosa 'Peace', named to commemorate people's hope for peace at the end of World War II. Photo: Yu Tianyi

Author: Yu Tianyi

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