The ‘rose‘ is one popular flower that almost everyone knows and probably think of to give their loved ones. Contrary to a common misconception that this well-known bud’s petals come only in the red color, the rose flower has hundreds of species, which exist with different colors and shapes in addition to a vast number of uses. The rose flower belongs to the class and genus of Magnoliopsida and Rosa, respectively.
This attractive flowering shrub has links to ancient Roman mythology, has been named after certain wars, and has served as a symbol of beauty, admiration and more prominently, love, for many centuries and contemporary times. Everything about roses, from their flower head to their soft petals, are quite visually appealing, which makes a cluster of the pretty bud the top choice for a bouquet.
This article provides essential information to shed some light on the rose flower including the following:
* The distinct features and species of roses * The different colors of rose bouquets and meanings * How to maintain a bouquet of roses
Distinct Features and Species of the Rose Flower
Roses belong to the family of Rosaceae and are popularly characterized by its bright and vibrant colored petals and thorny stems. This flower has over 150 species, with the Asian continent being home to a significant number of them, though there are also rose species from Europe and Northwestern Africa. This classic flower is a perennial shrub with a lifespan of more than two years and tends to serve quite a number of useful purposes.
The stems of roses keep leaflets as well as a unique feature specific to roses and are usually referred to as thorns. However, these ‘thorns’ are adequately called ‘prickles’ which act as a rose’s defense mechanism against external harm. Generally, roses could have four, five, or even as much as 40 petals with matching sepals underneath it.
For easier understanding and better categorization, rose flowers have been grouped by floral specialists into several groups and subgroups. Examples of these groups are the Polyantha roses, the Hybrid tea roses, the Climbing roses, Damask roses, and so on, with most of these groups serving as ornamental roses.
Apart from its ornamental purposes, roses like the Turkish rose and Centifolia rose are habitually used to produce fragrances and perfume scents. Roses could also be used for cosmetic, medicinal, or culinary purposes.
Different Colors of Roses and their Meanings
Roses have been around for more than 30 million years, and over time, meanings have been attached to the different colors of rose species. Be it a bouquet consisting of a single color of roses or a combination of different colors, each color arrangement holds meanings that carry individual depths. Here are some of those rose colors and their general meanings.
White petal roses are used more often than not in wedding bouquets and flower arrangements, but some people might wonder what they symbolize. The white roses symbolize honor, loyalty, fresh starts, purity, and long-lasting love, amongst many other profound meanings. This is why white bouquet arrangement is a general choice of color of bouquet for weddings and baby welcoming in many cultures
The conventional red petal roses are the go-to choice to send strong messages, both sweet and somber. Love, desire, affection, and admiration for a lover as well as condolences for a loss can be signified by sending red roses. The number of roses in a bouquet has also been ascribed meanings of their own. For instance, 12 roses could mean love and affection, while 13 could mean eternal friendship.
Blue roses, which are dyed white roses, often signify elusiveness and great desires. In contrast, green roses, which could be white roses with a hint of green color, symbolize well wishes for prosperity, luck and good health.
Orange roses usually signify energy, desire, and enthusiasm while burgundy roses symbolize beauty. The yellow petal rose originally had a negative meaning of jealousy during the Victorian era. However, the yellow rose came to adopt a more positive definition in recent times.
They signify non-sexual or chaste kind of love with zero hints of romance. The yellow rose signifies warmth, happiness and youthfulness, which makes it the perfect color choice of rose bouquets for gifting friends. The dark or soft pink roses signify gentle emotions such as feelings of gratitude or admiration.
Peach roses are symbols of genuineness, gratitude, sincerity, and modesty and are the best choice to show appreciation for something that was done for you. Lavender roses symbolize enchantment and mystery, and black roses symbolize death and mystery.
How to Maintain a Bouquet of Roses
If you ever get a bouquet of roses from someone you know, like a friend or lover, there are certain things you need to do to preserve them. The first thing to do is immediately remove the wrapping that the bouquet came with and tactfully remove the leaflets present on the stem of the roses, which can be done with your bare hands or a knife. The leaves might not look like much harm, but once the roses are placed in water, they eventually become harmful to the roses as a whole.
The next thing to do is to get a bowl filled with fresh and clean water, then place the roses in them. A knife is needed to cut nothing more than an inch from the stems of the roses. The water aids preservation of the shelf life of the roses while cutting the stems allows for proper water absorption. These two things need to be done before placing the roses into a flower vase filled with clean water and either homemade or already packaged flower food.
Roses are arguably one of the most aesthetically appealing flowers out there, which is why many places have purposefully cultivated them to bring life and beauty to their different locations and establishments. Just like some flowers, these beautiful buds possess strong and thoughtful meanings and have continued to be used for different occasions because of this. The rose was adopted as a national floral emblem in the U.S in 1986.
