Commercial Floriculture

Importance and uses

• The rose because of its multi-utility occupies a pre-eminent place amongst the flower crops and is one of the oldest fragrant flowers cultivated by man.
  
• Its different types having beautiful flowers of exquisite shape, different shades, bewitching colours and most delightful fragrance has made it an important flower for the varied uses.

Uses:
1) Garden display:
• Shrub or bush is prepared by budding the desired cultivars on a root stock at a height of 5-10 cm above the ground level.
• They are planted in small groups to create excellent mass effect in a rose garden.
• They are also the most important garden plant in almost all every part of the world due to its perennial growth habit.
• They can be used as bush, standards, climbers, hedges and edges, hangers and in rock gardens.

2) Standard roses (Hybrid Tea roses):
• Also called as tree roses. HT roses and floribundas having vigorous growth and spreading habit hence are budded on straight vertical stem of a suitable root stock at different height from the ground level to make standards.

  Classification of Standard Roses:
  • According to height of budding the standard roses are classified into;

    a. Full standards: The height of the budding has to be done at 100-115 cm above the ground level. H T roses and few Grandifloras are suitable.
    b. Half standards: In this case the budding may be done at 45-60 cm height. Floribundas and Polyantha roses are excellent for growing as half standards.
    c. Weeping standards: 150 cm or even higher the budding may be done on drooping branches. The growing crown is look like hanging crown.
    Example, Climbers / Rambler roses

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3) Climbers:
• The climbing and rambling roses can be used to cover the walls of the houses or fencing or pergolas, arbours and arches.

Difference between Rambler Roses and Climber roses

Rambler Roses	Climber roses
1) Rambler produces flowers once in a year.	1) Flowers perpetually (round the year).
2) Produces flowers in clusters.	2) Produces singly or in groups of 2’s or 3’s.
3) Flowers lasting for several weeks.	3) Flowering spreads over the season.
4) Rambler is very vigorous.	4) Medium in vigor.
5) Produces heavy crops of small flowers in clusters for severalweeks.	5) Produces bigger flower than ramblers round the year.

4) Hedge or Edge:
• Any rose cultivars can be used for these purposes for protection, beautification and demarcation of different features in the landscaping.
  Hedge: Any thorny cultivars are suitable for the purpose preferably floribundas are ideal as they are vigorous types.
  Ex. Border Coral, Circus, Frensham and Rumba
  Edge: Button /miniature roses are commonly used to form edges for demarcation of one feature to another.
  Ex. Carolin, Lady Reading, Magic, White Button etc.,

5) Rockeries:
• Some hardy miniature roses may be grown to beautify the rock garden. Hardy miniatures and pompon cultivars such as Fairy Queen and Magic may be selected..

6) Pot plants:
• Roses as pot plants in suitable containers are also commercially grown. Miniature and dwarf Polyanthas should be selected for the purpose. The cultivars like Baby darling, Cindrella, Starina, Sweet Dream etc.,

7) Hangers:
• Button roses can also be used for growing in hanging pots / baskets. Climbing miniatures like Red Cascade and Yellow Doll may be used.

8) Loose flowers:
• For garland making, extraction of essential oils, for button holes i.e. Coat button holes and Cora sages (a single rose with foliage) – referred as mini bouquet.

9) Cut- Flowers:
• Besides garlands, bouquets, buttonholes and preserves and their use for worship it makes one of the best cut flowers. In floriculture, roses are of foremost commercial importance and cut-roses have the highest demand throughout the world and year round. European countries, USA, Canada, Japan, Korea, Kenya, Colombia, etc. are the largest producers of cut-roses under protected structures.

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10) For perfume and allied products:
a) Rose water: Important commercial product obtained from rose petals, used as perfume, medicine and confectionary. Its important uses are,
• Cools the body, used in eye lotions, eye drops for its soothing qualities.
• Used in drinking water.
• It is sprinkled on guests at weddings, feasts & other social functions.
b) Rose oil (Rose perfume): It is also obtained from rose petals, sweet fragrance; medicinal properties; used in Ayurveda. Bulgarian ‘rose otto’ is largely used in perfuming soaps & cosmetics also.
• Used in flavoring soft drinks and alcoholic liqueurs.
• It has antibacterial properties against Shigella dysenteriae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Species suitable are: Rosa demascena, R. borboniana, R. centifolia, R. alba & R. gallica. In India R. demascena and R. borboniana are cultivated for rose oil.
c) Gulkand: Rose petals are also preserved for direct consumption prepared by beating equal proportion of petals and sugar – considered as tonic and laxative. R. damascene, R. chinensis, R. gallica, R. pomifera & some other scented roses like Edouard roses are commonly used.
d) Pankhuri: Dried rose petals are known as pankhuri which are occasionally used for preparing sweets and cold drinks.
e) Gulroghan: The rose water oil is prepared from rose petals.

11) Source of vitamins:
• Rose hips are very good source of ascorbic acid (Vit C). Every 100 g of rose hip contains 150 mg of ascorbic acid compared with only 50 mg in fresh orange juice, 20 mg in tomato and 5 mg in apples.
Species: R. rugosa, R. amblyotis, R. Acicularis, R. davurica, R. pendulina, R. glauca and R. canina. Apart from Vit-C, the hips of R. roxburghii, R. acicularis, R. rugosa, R. davurica found to contain A1, B2, K & E.

12) Other uses:
a) In Europe, roses are also used for preparation of pot-pourri, conserves, rose vinegar and rose petal wine.
b) Jams, jellies and syrups have been made for centuries in Bulgaria and exported. Rose jam aids in digestion and has certain curative properties.
c) In Czechoslovakia, fruits of wild roses are used for preparing hot drinks like tea and a popular wine.
d) In America, bushes of R. multiflora are utilized as shock absorber or crash barrier.

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