Surfin' the Internet for The Green Industry:  the subject is roses

by Hans C. Groot, Ph.D.

The subject is roses, with a sampling of the variety of information the internet has to offer about this traditional flower for the upcoming Valentine's Day observance. When you present a bouquet of roses to your sweetheart, it usually means something akin to "I love you." That's a rather simple and straightforward message; however, it can easily get more complicated.

Back in the 1600's, it's been reported, a language of flowers developed in Constantinople and in the poetry of Persia. King Charles II introduced the Persian poetry to Europe, and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu brought the flower language from Turkey to England in 1716. It soon spread to France and became embellished into a handbook of some 800 floral messages known as the book "Le Langage des Fleurs." "Lovers exchanged messages as they gave each other selected flowers or bouquets. A full red rose then meant beauty; red and white mean unity; yellow roses were for jealousy. The message could grow in complexity with combinations. A full rose placed over two buds meant secrecy. Remove the thorns from a rosebud and you say, "I fear no longer." Remove the leaves also and your message becomes "There is nothing to hope or fear.

Not everyone agrees with these meanings. The All America Rose Selection [http://www.rose.org] says that red denotes love and respect, white means reverence and humility, and yellow is associated with joy and gladness. Conflicts in interpretation are not too surprising given the length of time roses have been with us - fossil records of the rose are said to date back some 3.5 billion years. The organization, dedicated to "the introduction and promotion of exceptional roses," has a lot of helpful information for the rose afficianado - winterizing tips, design, rose history, pictures of recent winners, and a zone map with gardening tips.

For the serious rose grower, there is http://www.rosehybridizers.org, a 32-year old organization that promotes hybridization of roses and its site offers information on how to do it, a discussion forum, and showcase where members can display photos of their roses. For the person more interested in the traditional, there is the "Heritage Roses Group [http://www.thefragrantgarden.com] that is concerned with old garden roses, species roses, old or unusual roses - especially those introduced prior to 1867. And, for the professional, there is Professional Rose Growers Association [http://rosesinc.org]

More rose information can be found at the site of the World Federation of Rose Societies [http://worldrose.org ], that links rose groups in some 37 countries, including the American Rose Society [http://ars.org]

A rather comprehensive guide to garden roses, complete with pictures and descriptions of both modern and old roses can be found at http://www.timelessroses.com. Another informative rose site is http://www.markw.com/justrose.htm; it has rose tips, a section on frequently asked questions about roses, mail-order sources, a selection of recent articles dealing with roses, and tips on landscaping with roses. If that is not enough, it also has a list of rose recipes.

If you want to discuss roses, you can go to http://forums.timelessroses.com where you can join a discussion forum or check out previously discussed rose-related topics, and a comprehensive database of rose images that you can click on to view can be found at http://www.rogersroses.com.

Of course, when you search the internet for roses, you'll also find lots of websites of commercial rose growers and sites offering cut flowers for home kor office delivery. For the homeowner, there is also a commercial site [http://rosecare.com] that advertises itself as "the place to find professional garden care products for roses."

Going back to the language of roses, you can even order dead roses online, to send to "underachievers or to celebrate the end of a bad relationship;" just go to http://www.deadroses.com. And did I already mention that the "war on roses" started in 1455? - You can check this one out at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/cavern/5123/roses.html