Roses come in a stunning array of shapes, sizes, and shades, making them a genuinely diverse flower and a favorite in gardens worldwide.

More than 150 types of roses grow as shrubby plants, climbers, and groundcovers, so you can likely find space somewhere for roses in your garden.

If you are born in June, the rose is your birth month flower.

Also read: 22 Fun Facts About June

These surprising facts about roses just might give you a fresh perspective on this classic flower.

1.
Fossils of roses dating back 23-33 million years have been found in Europe, Asia, and North America.
The earliest records of their cultivation go back to 3,000 BC China.

2.
The name of this flower comes from rearranging the name "Eros," the Greek god of love and desire. Eros was the son of Aphrodite, the well-known goddess of pleasure and beauty.

3.
Rose, as a name, has Latin origins and is shared by well-known TV characters.
Movies such as The Titanic and Golden Girls also have a main character called Rose.

4.
Roses are in the same family as apples and crab apples (the rose family – Rosaceae).

5.
Rose flowers' size ranges from tiny miniatures 1.25 cm (0.5 inch) in diameter to hybrid flowers measuring more than 17.5 cm (7 inches) across.

6.
There are over 150 species of roses and 35 thousand rose hybrids and cultivars.

7.
In Greek mythology, the rose symbolized love, silence, and secrecy. Roses were carved into the walls of religious confessionals and courtrooms to remind people to keep conversations private.

8.
In William Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet, the title character, Juliet, has the famous line, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Juliet is comparing her lover Romeo to a rose, saying that she could marry him if he were not from the rival family Montague.

9.
You can eat roses.
Their petals are edible, and rose water (made from soaking the petals in water) is often added to jellies or jams or is used as flavoring in Indian and Chinese dishes.
Roses also grow a berry-shaped fruit called rose hips. The fruit can be orange, red, dark purple, or even black. Rose hips are packed with vitamin C and can be used in cocktails or dried to create a refreshing tea.

10.
The process of extracting rose oil from flowers requires a lot of roses: two thousand flowers needed to produce just 1 gram of rose oil.
The rose petals for rose oil production are gathered before sunrise as they are the most fragrant at this time.

11.
Bulgaria is the biggest rose oil producer. Rose Valley in Bulgaria accounts for 85% of the world's rose oil.
In 1478 merchants actually traded rose oil for equal weight in gold.

12.
In 2023, the U.S. imported about 2.8 billion cut roses.
The cut roses sold in the U.S. primarily come from two places: Colombia and Ecuador. Colombia provides almost 60% of our roses, and Ecuador almost 40%.

13.
The most expensive and rarest rose in the world is the apricot- hued Juliet rose. The rose breeder from England, David Austin, spent $4.3 million to create this rose over the course of 15 years. The Juliet rose sold for $15.8 million in 2006, making it the world's most expensive rose cultivar.

14.
The world record for the tallest rose bush was set on October 17, 2020 by Hafizullah Khaled in Vienna, Austria. He grew the rose bush 8.705 m (28.559 ft) tall.

15.
The world's smallest rose is "Diamond rose" grown by Dr. Sudhir Khetawat in India. The diameter of its bloom is just one centimeter (0.39 inches).

16.
The rose with the largest rose bloom in the world was created by California grower Nikita Rulhoksoffsk. Its bloom was 33 inches in diameter (84cm). This pink rose was exhibited at the local rose show, so it is not officially recorded in the World's record book.

17.
The world's largest rose bush grows in Tombstone, Arizona. It is almost 200 years old. Its trunk is nearly 6 feet in diameter.

18.
Roses have become a popular token of love and romance, and today, they are one of the most popular gifts on birthdays and Valentine's Day. Some estimates claim that around a third of flowers sold on Valentine's Day are roses.

19.
While red roses are commonly associated with love and romance, these flowers come in many other colors. White roses are popular at weddings to signify purity and innocence. Yellow roses symbolize friendship, while pink roses are used to express admiration or appreciation.

20.
According to Greek mythology, white roses bloomed where the goddess Aphrodite walked on Earth. Her tears for her lover, Adonis, fell as red roses.

21.
The red rose has been a political symbol of socialism for many years. Political parties such as the Democratic Socialists of America use this flower on their logos.

22.
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan declared the rose the national flower emblem of the United States. He even did so while standing in the famous White House Rose Garden.
Various varieties of roses are also the state flower of Georgia, Iowa, New York, North Dakota, and Washington, D.C.

23.
June is National Rose month, and the American Rose Society (ARS) is honoring the flower with a full month of events.

24.
Roses can thrive in your garden under the right conditions. They need a sunny location with good drainage to prevent water build-up. Fertilizing them regularly will help them to grow and stay in great shape!

25.
An estimated 150 million rose plants are purchased by gardeners worldwide every year.

Sources
World History Encyclopedia / The Bump / Wikipedia - A rose by any other name / Amaranté London / Billy Heromans / British Florist Association / Garden Design / Wikipedia - Rose symbolism / Better Homes & Gardens / Fast Company / Sow Small Garden