About roses, their colors, symbolism and secret meanings

1. First roses were cultivated in Asia, very likely in China. Today we can find them all over the globe, if only weather allows that. The largest exporters of roses are developing countries like Ethiopia, Ecuador and Kenya with cheap labor workers.

2. Majority of roses are hybrids. They are not grown from seeds, they can be cultivated only with a help of grafting, what means A LOT of manual work which always comes expensive.

Roses also need soil rich with nutrients, a lot of water and heat. Although they are always in demand in the market, there is a very special day - Valentine's of course - when hundreds of millions of roses are sold all over the world in only few hours. Because Valentine's in Northern Hemisphere is cold, roses for this specific holiday are grown with a help of artificial light and heat (mostly Netherlands) or transported (by planes and refrigerated trucks!) from Africa (to Europe) or South America (to North America).

All these cost money. It is not environmentally friendly either.

4. It is widely accepted symbol of beauty and love, purity and passion, honor and devotion. It is a sacred flower related to several goddesses. Flora, goddess of spring, is often attributed as creator of roses. But on the other hand she created other flowers too.

Old Greeks believed a garland of roses can prevent a drunk man to reveal his secrets. This is probably the reason this beautiful flower is also a symbol of secrecy and silence. Temples in Greece and Egypt were decorated with roses during ceremonies used to initiate candidates into mysteries. Freemasons still love to include them in their coats of arms and other insignia.

7. Every color carries its special symbolic power. So what are the meanings of rose colors?

white ... purity, mysticism

yellow ... joy, friendship

orange ... pride, desire

pink ... innocence, gratitude

red ... passion, sacrifice

purple ... magic, glory

blue ... hope, complexity

green .. abundance, fertility

black ...sadness, loss

Please note, blue and black roses do not occur in nature. Although some sorts were produced through genetic engineering, they are mostly made by dyeing white roses.

8. Roses are popular motif in tattooing. The combination with a skull gives a possibility of extremely powerful contrasts of black or white with color red for love and death in the same design.

9.We can start with Snow White and Rose Red, a fairy tale by brothers Grimm, where two rose trees symbolize two daughters gradually growing into women. In Sleeping Beauty which is actually titled Briar Rose in Grimms' version, a hedge of thorns protects the entrance to the castle until the right man shows up (allusion to virginity is obvious).

Other writers loved roses too. In Beauty and the Beast the stolen rose starts all sorts of problems, all related with love, fear, jealousy and similar powerful feelings. We should not forget Hans Christian Andersen. The Loveliest Rose in the World is one of his less known fairy tales with strong religious connotations. The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde on the other hand carries much more cynical message but it is still extremely beautiful.

(illustration by Arthur Rackham)

10. Let's end our journey with scientific question:

"How many roses do we need to make essential oil?"

"About 50 or 60 thousand for just one ounce (30 ml) of rose oil which costs from several hundred to several thousand dollars, thanks for asking!"

Rose essential oil is rarely available in pure form. Even heavily diluted it has many health benefits and is one of the most popular essential oils in aromatherapy. It works against depression, inflammation, spasms, acid reflux,... Well it is well know aphrodisiac too, but you already knew that, right?