By Angie Noack
Although there is no one set of "official" classification systemof roses, there are many different popular rose classificationschemes that are employed throughout the world. The most popularof the systems in use has been proposed by The American RoseSociety in cooperation with the World Federation of Roses.Although this classification system is not the only one in use,a large majority of internationally established societies haveadopted this scheme for classifying roses.
According to the American Rose Society, there are three maingroupings of roses: the Species; Old Garden Roses; and ModernRoses. Species Roses, the origin of every other rose class, arecommonly referred to as "wild roses." These "wild roses" areeasy to identify, as they normally have five petals, areonce-blooming, and are generally thorny shrubs or climbers.Several popular Species Roses include: Cherokee Roses, DogRoses, Gallic Roses, French Roses, and Redleaf Roses. SpeciesRoses can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, as theyflourish in temperate climates.
Unlike Species Roses, which existed millions of years before manwalked the earth, Old Garden Roses are identified as a majorclass of roses recognized before 1867.
Most Old Garden Roses bloom once per season, usually at thearrival of summer. Old Garden Roses occur in a variety of shruband vine sizes. Although colors vary, Old Garden Roses aretypically white or pastel in color. These "antique roses" aregenerally preferred for lawns and home gardening because theyare easy to care for. Several groupings of roses are classifiedas Old Garden Roses including: China, Tea, Moss, Damask,Bourbon, Hybrid Perpetual and Noisette roses. Many "antiqueroses" have a strong sweet scent, which makes them verydesirable.
Old Garden Roses are the predecessors of Modern Roses. Any rosewhich has been identified post 1867 is considered a Modern Rose.This group of roses are very popular. The Modern Rose is theresult of cross breeding the hybrid tea with the polyanthus. Thecolors of a Modern Rose are lovely, rich and vibrant. Most ofthe roses found in this class flower repeatedly when cared forproperly. Perhaps that is why horticulturists find this class soattractive. The most popular roses found in the class of ModernRoses are the hybrid tea, floribunda, and grandiflora. AlthoughModern Roses are adored by florists and gardeners, they do notadapt well to colder environments.
After a rose has been classified according to the three maingroupings, a rose can then be further classified by color,scent, growth habit, ancestry, date of introduction, bloomingcharacteristics and size. It is very difficult forhorticulturists to classify every rose, especially the hybridroses which often seem like a grouping of their own. While therehas been much debate on classifying roses, the American RoseSociety appears to have the most functional system for thesestages of classification. Perhaps this is why the American RoseSociety's classification system has been adopted by so manyrosarians the world over
Article Source: www.ArticlesBase.com
