Click on the image above to download a complete copy of this publication in PDF format. Download a free copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Few flowers offer such an array of color, size, shape, fragrance and use as roses. Roses can be used for cut flowers, drying and preserving, and for landscaping. Although roses have many uses, they are grown primarily for their beautiful flowers.
Roses are deciduous woody perennials.
They originated in central Asia millions of years ago and spread over the Northern Hemisphere. Strangely, no wild roses have been discovered south of the equator. A fossilized rose found in Colorado documented that wild roses grew in the Midwest more than 35 million years ago. Native wild roses are still common in Kansas today. Most garden roses are hybrids grafted onto a hardy rootstock.