At that time, when the legendary poetess Sappho in ancient Greece called the rose the queen of flowers, this plant was also safely cultivated in ancient China, India and Persia. Oil was made from rose petals, they decorated the banquet halls and wedding lodges and sprinkled the path of high-ranking and royal persons. According to legend, the count of Lancaster brought a red rose from France , which became the emblem of his family in the early 16th century, but the concept of “French rose” appeared only in the 17th century, when a hybrid called La France was introduced.
French rose story
The need for a large number of these flowers caused the appearance of numerous rose gardens in antiquity, but over time, the fashion for roses has passed. Revived her wife Napoleon Josephine. Its rose garden was replenished with special agents who were looking for new varieties in Europe and beyond.
In the flower garden of Josephine, which was founded in 1804, over 10 years of searching, more than 250 new varieties of roses appeared, the main collection of which was Rosa Gallica (French). In 1829, there were already more than 2,500 varieties in the rose garden, and after Josephine's death, he did not cease to replenish with new hybrids of these flowers.
When breeders brought back flowering plants, the French rose became less popular and part of the collection was lost. But from the beginning of the 20th century they returned to her, and a new stage of rebirth began.
Rose variety Cardinal de Richelieu
The rose, named after the Cardinal of France Richelieu, was bred in 1840. Its dark purple terry petals at the final opening of the bud are similar to the color of the mantle of His Eminence. At the beginning of flowering, they are pale pink, and as they unfold, they acquire a pink-lilac color, turning into purple. The maximum height of the bush is up to 140 cm, and the size of the buds is up to 8 cm.
The French rose Cardinal de Richelieu is a frost-resistant variety that can withstand temperatures down to -12 degrees. The stem is practically devoid of thorns, the leaves are saturated green. The bud consists of tightly adjacent petals that open gradually, day after day, until the flower is completely showered. It has a sweet aroma and plentiful flowering. It lasts for several weeks once a year.
This French rose does not tolerate heat and sunlight, so it is better to plant it where it will be in the shade during midday heat. The shady part of the garden also does not suit her, since there it will not be fully revealed.
French rose Charles de Mills
This variety of roses was bred in Denmark in 1790 and belongs to the bush varieties of the plant. Rose Charles de Mills is loved by gardeners for large and fragrant flowers. They can reach 15 cm in diameter and have a strong aroma.
This variety is easy to grow, it is unpretentious, practically not susceptible to black spotting, it is also resistant to powdery mildew, hardy and feels good in the shade.
Flowering is plentiful, long, once a year. The buds are collected in inflorescences of 3-5 flowers. The bush has almost no thorns and reaches a meter and a half in height, so it should be tied so that heavy rosans do not break the stems.
Charles de Mills flowers have a unique spiral structure with surprisingly symmetrical petals. The buds vary in color from raspberry to purple, often with shades of black or purple. They do not crumble for a long time, which gives them additional popularity among fans of roses.
Preparing the soil for planting a French rose
Garden roses require some care and proper soil preparation. Do not plant new bushes in place of old ones. This can be done only if you remove the soil layer by 50-70 cm, sprinkle a new one, fertilize it with high quality and only then plant young sprouts.
Manure with mineral fertilizers should be added to the soil prepared under the rose garden - on 2 buckets of land you need to add:
- rotted manure - 1 bucket;
- peat - 1 bucket;
- for clay soil - a couple of buckets of sand;
- for sandy soil - 2 buckets of clay soil;
- bone meal - 2 glasses;
- superphosphate - a couple of handfuls.
All these components must be mixed well and filled with holes for the French rose to take and grow quickly.
For adult plants, you can prepare a mixture of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers in a ratio of 1: 2: 1. If you apply organic fertilizer, then the best option would be dry manure or bird droppings, which must be dried for several weeks, and then diluted in water in a ratio of 1: 4. The mixture is infused for a couple of days, after which it can be diluted in the ratio of 1 liter of solution to 1 liter of water.
Growing roses from seeds
Planting roses with cuttings is the most common type of propagation of this plant. Amateur gardeners also know that it is possible to plant roses from seeds. Growing begins either with the preparation of purchased seeds, or by cutting seed boxes from an adult plant.
Seed preparation steps:
- Seeds from the bag you just need to pour into a gauze bag. If they are taken from the fruit of a rose, then it should be carefully cut and the seeds extracted, separating them from the pulp, and then transferred to a bag.
- A container with seeds must be placed in a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide for 20-30 minutes, which will save them in the future from decay and mold.
- The next step is stratification. To do this, you need to soak cotton pads in a solution of hydrogen peroxide, spread the seeds on them and cover with the same discs. After this, the seed is folded into a plastic bag and left in the refrigerator at a temperature of +4 ... +5 degrees.
- Every 3-4 days, check the condition of the seeds, and if mold appears, they should be washed and start the whole procedure again. After 1.5-2 months, sprouts will hatch, which can be transplanted into separate pots or peat tablets.
- To achieve the full growth of roses from seeds, seedlings are grown under 10-hour lighting. You can use fluorescent lights for this.
When the soil warms up enough in the spring, the sprouts can be transplanted into the open ground.
Rose care
The concept of caring for roses includes top dressing in spring and summer, pruning after flowering, shelter for the winter and reproduction. There is nothing complicated in the process of caring for these flowers.
Pruning involves removing old shoots in favor of the young and strong. To do this, not far from the growth kidney, you need to make a slice with a sharp secateurs at a distance of half a centimeter with an inclination from the kidney. Trim should be on the outside of the branch, making sure that the cut tissue is white, not brown. If after this manipulation several shoots begin to grow from the kidney at once, the weak ones should be urgently removed.
This will help the plant to form new healthy branches and give a beautiful and abundant flowering.