A Potted History of the Rose  Comparatively few of the more than 100 species of rose found growing wild have contributed to  the make-up of the roses we grow in our gardens today. The principal parent species are  thought to be Rosa gallica, R. canina, R. moschata, R. chinensis, R. gigantea, R. foetida, R.  multiflora and (recent research suggests) R. fedtschenkoana but significant sub-groups of garden roses have been derived from R. arvensis, R.  pimpinellifolia, R. wichuraiana and R. rugosa.

THE GALLICAS. Rosa gallica was brought into cultivation   thousands of years ago. Selection gave rise to a large number of  forms, including R. gallica officinalis, the Rose of Provins (shown here), which was used to make conserves and confections. Hybridisation introduced greater variation, giving rise to varieties like the 'Rose du Maître d'École' featured on the Home page.

THE DAMASKS. Thought to be a hybrid between (R. gallica x R. moschata) and R. fedtschenkoana, the Damask rose originated in the Middle East and several of its limited number of cultivars come from Iran, like the variety 'Ispahan' shown here. Until the 18th Century the Quatre Saisons damask was the only rose in Western gardens to carry flowers after the summer flush.

THE ALBAS. Parentage is variously given as R. gallica x R. arvensis or R. canina x R. damascena. Rather more vigorous than the Gallicas or Damasks, the plants bear white or pale pink flowers, often tinged with cream as in R. alba maxima, the Jacobite rose (illustrated).

THE CENTIFOLIAS. Developed by Dutch nurserymen in the 17th and 18th Centuries, R. centifolia, the Cabbage rose, is a complex hybrid of R. gallica, R. moschata, R. canina and R. damascena. The original Moss rose was a sport of R. centifolia and this in turn had a single sport, which enabled hybridists to develop a range of Moss roses.

CHINA ROSES. The repeat-flowering R. chinensis, the Old Blush China or Monthly rose, introduced a valuable new characteristic to European roses. Both directly and through its hybrids with R. gigantea, introduced to Europe from Chinese gardens at the turn of the 18th Century, it is responsible for the long flowering season of modern roses.

PORTLAND ROSES. The origin of the Portland rose is obscure. The original was a bright red rose, said to have been found in Italy by the Duchess of Portland, which flowered twice a year. It is thought to be descended from a crimson China rose which reached Europe around 1792. One of the earliest cultivars derived from the duchess's rose was 'Rose du Roi' (illustrated), itself an ancestor of the Hybrid Perpetuals.

THE BOURBONS. The first Bourbon rose is thought to have been a natural hybrid between the Quatre Saisons damask and Parson's Pink China (R. chinensis x R. gigantea), which arose on the Indian Ocean island of Bourbon. Introduced to Europe in 1819, it was soon being used in raising new varieties which shared its abundant autumn flowering and strong fragrance. One of the most popular of these was 'Louise Ogier' (shown here).

THE NOISETTES. The first intentional crossing of a European rose with one of the new oriental imports was made in the USA by John Champneys of Charleston, who around 1802 crossed the old white Musk rose (R. moschata) with Parson's Pink China. Seed from this hybrid was used by nurseryman Philippe Noisette to raise the 'Blush Noisette' (illustrated), which flowered continuously from June to the end of the year.

TEA ROSES. An attempt was made around 1830 to introduce yellow into the colour range of the Noisettes by crossing the Blush Noisette with Park's Yellow China (R. chinensis x R. gigantea), which was reputed to have a perfume reminiscent of a newly-opened tea chest. This indeed gave yellow Noisettes but back-crossing brought out the R. gigantea influence and resulted in Tea roses, like 'Gloire de Dijon' (shown).

HYBRID PERPETUALS. Crossing the Portlands, Bourbons and Hybrid Gallicas gave rise to a varied race of vigorous, repeat-flowering and often large-flowered roses which came to dominate the rose garden from the 1840s to the end of the century. Roses like 'Mme Victor Verdier' (shown) have many of the characteristics of modern roses.

HYBRID TEAS. Tea roses flowered more freely than the Hybrid Perpetuals and, unlike them, included yellow shades among their colours. However, many of them were tender and had to be grown under glass in cooler climates. Crossing the Teas with the Hybrid Perpetuals gave the much hardier Hybrid Teas which were to dominate the 20th Century garden. The first Hybrid Tea is said to have been 'La France' (the climbing version of which is featured here), introduced in 1867.

POLYANTHAS. During the first half of the 19th century Hybrid China roses, especially dwarf varieties, were popular. Around 1870 one of these crossed with the newly-introduced R. multiflora to produce a number of miniature varieties, including 'Marie-Jeanne' (shown).

PERNETIANAS. Although the Teas and Hybrid Teas had introduced yellow to the mainstream, these were soft shades and there was no bright yellow among them. The French breeder Pernet spent many years trying to raise hybrids using the summer-flowering Persian Yellow rose (a double form of R. foetida) and eventually managed to get fertile offspring using a Hybrid Perpetual as seed parent. This was then crossed with a Hybrid Tea to produce 'Soleil d'Or' (illustrated), the first repeat-flowering bright yellow rose. Initially considered a separate group, its descendents soon merged with the Hybrid Teas to produce the brighter-coloured roses of today.

FLORIBUNDAS. Persistent crossing of Polyantha and Hybrid Tea roses produced a new group of very hardy roses with clusters of flowers in all the colours now obtainable and similar in shape, and often in size, to the Hybrid Teas. These came to dominate the gardens of the second half of the 20th century, often strident in colour but capable on occasion of more subtle effects, as with 'Singin' in the Rain' (shown here).

There are many other groups of roses, some of them of hardly more than passing interest while others -- the many types of climbing rose, for instance -- are worthy of special study. The groups discussed here have been selected because they form part of a chain of gradually evolving types of rose and thus provide a backbone for a history of  this very popular flower.  This short history has of necessity been superficial. To learn more about individual groups and the many fascinating byways of this enthralling subject, why not join the Historic Roses Group?