Where did the rose originate? The question is not as simple as it seems. Unlike, say, potatoes (South America) or wheat (Middle East), the rose does not have a single "cradle." Its ancestors grew throughout the Northern Hemisphere — from North America to China, from Europe to the Himalayas. The rose is a global flower with an ancient history. However, if you are looking for the "birthplace" of the cultural rose (the one in our gardens), the prize goes to Central Asia and ancient Persia. Let's embark on this paleobotanical journey. The First Roses on Earth Roses (genus Rosa) have been around for 40 million years. Fossilized leaf and thorn impressions have been found in oligocene deposits in Colorado (USA), Europe (Bavaria), and Asia (China). Back then, after the dinosaurs disappeared, the climate was warmer, and roses even grew in the Arctic (on Svalbard!). Modern wild varieties (shrub roses) are widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere: from the Pyrenees to Japan, from Alaska to the Himalayas. It is believed that the center of species diversity is Western China and the Himalayas, where over 150 wild species grow. It was from there that roses began their triumphant march to the west, to Europe, and to the east, to America, through natural bridges (Beringia). So the "geographical homeland" of roses is the entire Northern Hemisphere. The First Domestication: China and Persia Although wild roses grew everywhere, targeted cultivation began about 5000 years ago in two centers: Ancient China (the Zhou Dynasty) and Persia (the territory of modern Iran). The Chinese were the first to select bushes with repeat flowering and beautiful fragrance. It was from China that tea roses and musk roses later came to Europe. But the main "garden" of early rose culture was Persia. Persian kings created huge rose gardens, brewed rosewater, dedicated roses to the goddess Anahita. It is believed that the famous "Damascus rose" (Rosa damascena) emerged in Persia as a result of natura ... Read more