According to the vendors at the Serikin Market, these roses are cultivated at the Singkawang area in Kalimantan.
ROSES are among a few flowers that have been a part of the human civilisation since the dawn of history. Some fossils found in several continents dated over 35 million years, with the cultivation going back as far back as over 5,000 years ago.
Roses were featured prominently in many cultures across many areas – from health and medicine such as the usage of its oil and its use in herbal drinks; beauty, especially in perfumery; and to arts and literature in view of its close connotation to romance.
Roses are indeed exquisite – people are mesmerised by its distinct beauty, its colourful velvety petals and of course, its highly identifiable fragrance.
Over the years, breeders have produced gorgeous hybrids with abundant blooms and exotic colours. It is worth knowing some basics in selecting the varieties most viable for gardening and decorations.
Over 100 varieties
My time in New Zealand in the past had many moments of joy and happiness in seeing many house gardens displaying beautiful roses. My then-neighbour was a proud grower of various varieties that lined along the fence.
In the garden city of Christchurch, one could find every home with a garden full of colourful flowers the whole year around. Among the best book on roses in my collection is the ‘Yates Roses: A practical guide to over 300 roses for Australia and New Zealand’ by Roger Mann, published in 2002.
There are over 100 families of roses and hybrids characterised by their various forms such as twitchy, cabbages, sculptural, climbers, ramblers, bush floribundas, ‘the mini’, and hybrid teas.
There are three main popular groups:
- Country roses that include old roses and floribundas with large flowers;
- Tea roses, characterised by their medium-sized flowers, and they include the hybrid tea roses, and;
- Mini-roses – the dwarfed varieties with small flowers and plant’s height ranging from 15m to barely 1m.
A screenshot photo shows the columnist’s copy of the ‘Yates Roses’ book by Roger Mann, published in 2002.
The hybridisation technique imitated by David Austin in the 1960s, via crossing and back-crossing, resulted in a host of modern roses being produced. The cut-flower trades required large, showy flowers with long stems in the floribundas. Flowers with spicy fragrance became another factor, and colour variations were introduced in the 2000s, with the ‘Millennium roses’ deriving from a vibrant scarlet floribunda hybrid developed by plant scientist and geneticist Doug Grant in New Zealand.
Various forms are also available for displays such as the patio roses with mini-roses and pretty free-flowering petals without any seasonal trend.
The English rose is a natural flower of England and the late Queen Elizabeth II was fond of a reddish rose that was named after her.
English poet and playwright William Shakespeare became eternally hailed for the adage: ‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet’, penned for his play ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
Here are some popular oldies:
- Gallica (Gaelic, or French rose) hybrids are world-renowned for their hardiness and resistance against diseases, and they can be regenerated after pruning.
- Damasks have always been popular for their fragrance and beauty since the ancient days. They are hardy, and the bushy plant has prickly stems and soft green leaves.
- Alba, also ‘White Beauty’, roses have a distinct sweet fragrance.
- China rose (Rosa chinensis) comes in crimson or yellow.
- Tea roses and their early hybrids are usually pink and yellow. The name is the vestige of its origin in China, in which people likened the fragrance to the smell of brewing tea.
There are over 100 families of roses and hybrids characterised by their various forms.
Cultivation
Everyone dreams of a beautiful rose garden, yet only a few can achieve this in our tropical lowland environment. Still, thanks to the selection and breeding procedures developed over the years, we get to enjoy this ‘wonderful beautiful gift’ pretty much everywhere.
On an outing to the Serikin Market near Bau recently, I spotted some lovely roses. According to the vendors, they propagated the plant using stem cuttings, from which the new branches grew out and bore flowers. They said they grew the roses at the Singkawang area in Kalimantan, Indonesia.
I bought three plants with different coloured flowers, but all of the same species – suitable for the local tropical lowland growing.
The vendors were also selling charred rice husks, meant to booth growth.
A quick word here: Choose loamy soil, and incorporate potting mix and organic fertiliser.
The blooms can be established in low acidic soil, but it should be well drained after watering.
Roses need sunlight, or at least diffused light and for the latter, a half-day exposure on a Sunday is a must. It is best to position the plants at a location that receives ample morning sunlight and better still, to have a rain shelter over it.
We shall deal with the maintenance and aftercare of roses on another occasion.
Happy Gardening!