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The first fossil records of the rose date back 35 million years. In 3000 B.C., in what is now Iraq, the Sumerians created the first written record of the rose. Sappho, in her 600 B.C. "Ode to the Rose," referred to this beauty as the queen of flowers, a reference still popular today. 
Jumping ahead to the 16th century, colonists brought the rose to North America, making it the longest cultivated European plant in this country. In 1798, Empress Josephine acquired her palace at Malmaison and created the most remarkable rose garden ever planted. It included every variety known at the time (about 250).
"Modern" rose hybrids date back to 1867, and by 1920 hybrid teas dominated the market. They remain the most popular rose variety today. All-America Rose Selections formed in 1938 to test new rose varieties to determine which, if any, could be recommended to the public. One of the most popular roses of all time, "Peace," was smuggled to the United States from occupied France in 1945.
As our nation's flower, the rose stands for many things. To learn more about the color, symbolism and fragrance of the rose, click the links above.
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