~qJorzl ~ncl
{~eoelopme~i oliDe So~e
ROSES HAVE BEEN CULTIVATED
FOR CENTURIES IN MANY LANDS.
The rose is often proclaimed TODAY S GARDENER CAN CHOOSE
\"Queen of the Flowers\" by gar- FROM A WIDE SELECTION， FROM the types of r，，ses grown In
those countries， or the lnetl~，t>ds
deners， and there are few OLD FAVORITES TO NEW EXAMPLES of their cultivation. The an-
flowers that can make a better OF THE HYBRIDIZER S ART. cient Persians established a
claim to the title. Roses are
flourishing trade in precious at-
grown primarily for the beauty tar of roses， a flagrant oil dis-
and fragrance of their flowers， tilled from rose petals， so they
which can be found in an astonishing array of shapes and must have been adept at rose cultivation.
sizes and in almost every color of the spectrum. Roses have The ancient Greeks cultivated roses extensiveb/--f~r
been tended and enjoyed by generations of modern-day the beauty of the flowers， for medicinal purposes， and as a
gardeners， and their lineage under cultivation stretches perfume. The rose was dedicated to two deities: Aphrodite，
back many hundreds of years， the goddess of love and beauty; and Dionysus， the god of
Species of the genus Rosa have been identified almost revelry. Wreaths and garlands of roses were prominentb，.
everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere， as far north as featured at festivals in their honor
Alaska and Norway and as far south as North Africa and It was during the peak years of the Roman Empire (the
Mexico. Fossilized plants over 30 million years old can be first three centuries after the birth of Christ) that n，~e
linked to modern rose species， cultivation reached its peak in the ancient world. The
The Chinese were probably the first to cultivate roses. Romans imported roses from Egypt. The，， also established a
Five hundred years before the birth of Christ， Confucius thriving rose-growing industry at Paestum， south of Rome.
wrote of the roses in the Imperial Gardens. Roses had been Methods were developed to force roses into bloom during
under cultivation in China for over 2，000 years before winter by growing them in greenhouses or by irrigating
Chinese roses were introduced to the European market in plants with warm water. Private rose gardens were univer-
the late eighteenth century， sal for the nobility and the rich， and large public ruse
The seedbed of European rose growing was in the Middle gardens were frequented and enjoyed by tbe populace.
East， in Persia and Mesopotamia， but little is known about The poet Horace half-jokingly expressed concern that
~ the amount of land devoted to roses might produce a
shortage of grain. Typically excessive， the emperor Nt.n，
Left: Hybrid tea Colcrr Magic ， the 1978 All-America Rose spent vast sums of money to cover his guests with ros~.
Selection， sports magr~ificent double blooms， petals， which he arranged to have fall from the ceilmv.
Above: Hardy Rosa rugosa perfumes the air with its During tim first century A.D.， Pliny the Elder described
Ira*fusion of flowers， several different species of roses in his Natural Histoo..
THI ~ HISI-ORY AN[) DEVELOPMFN 1\" OF THE ROSE
5
|
内容加载中，请稍后...
商品评论（0条）