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