Species

Further information: List of Rosa species 
 Rosa multifloraSome representative rose species
Rosa canina — Dog Rose, Briar Bush
Rosa chinensis — China Rose
Rosa dumalis — Glaucous Dog Rose
Rosa gallica — Gallic Rose, French Rose
Rosa gigantea (syn. R. x odorata gigantea)
Rosa glauca (syn. R. rubrifolia) — Redleaf Rose
Rosa laevigata (syn. R. sinica) — Cherokee Rose, Camellia Rose, Mardan Rose
Rosa majalis — Cinnamon Rose
Rosa multiflora — Multiflora Rose
Rosa persica (syn. Hulthemia persica, R. simplicifolia)
Rosa pimpinellifolia — Scotch Rose
Rosa roxburghii — Chestnut Rose, Burr Rose
Rosa rubiginosa (syn. R. eglanteria) — Eglantine, Sweet Brier
Rosa rugosa — Rugosa Rose, Japanese Rose
Rosa stellata — Gooseberry Rose, Sacramento Rose
Rosa virginiana (syn. R. lucida) — Virginia Rose

Pests and diseases

The main insect pest affecting roses is the aphid (greenfly), which sucks the sap and weakens the plant. Ladybirds are a predator of aphids and should be encouraged in the rose garden. Spraying with insecticide is often recommended but should be done with care to minimize loss of beneficial insects. Roses are also used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species; see list of Lepidoptera that feed on roses.

Cultivation
 
Rose-picking in the Rose Valley near the town of Kazanlak in Bulgaria, 1870s, engraving by Austro-Hungarian traveller F. Kanitz
Rosa x alba Alba Semiplena, an Alba rose
Rosa Maidens Blush, an Alba rose
Rosa Zéphirine Drouhin, a Bourbon rose
Rosa Cajun Sunrise, a modern Hybrid Tea rose
Rosa Borussia, a modern Floribunda rose
Rosa Climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison, a Bourbon rose
A modern garden rose at University of the Pacific (United States).See also: Rose cultivars named after celebrities
Roses are one of the most popular garden shrubs, as well as the most popular and commonly sold florists flowers. In addition to their great economic importance as a florists crop, roses are also of great value to the perfume industry.

Roses thrive in temperate climates, though certain species and cultivars can flourish in sub-tropical and even tropical climates, especially when grafted onto appropriate rootstock.

There is no single system of classification for garden roses. In general, however, roses are placed in one of three main groups:

Wild Roses — The wild roses includes the species listed above and some of their hybrids.
Old Garden Roses — Most Old Garden Roses are classified into one of the following groups. In general, Old Garden Roses of European or Mediterranean origin are once-blooming shrubs, with notably fragrant, double-flowered blooms primarily in shades of white, pink and red. The shrubs foliage tends to be highly disease-resistant, and they generally bloom only on two-year-old canes.
Alba — Literally "white roses", derived from R. arvensis and the closely allied R. alba. These are some of the oldest garden roses, probably brought to Great Britain by the Romans. The shrubs flower once yearly in the spring with blossoms of white or pale pink. The shrubs frequently feature gray-green foliage and a climbing habit of growth . Examples: Alba Semiplena, White Rose of York.

Gallica — The gallica roses have been developed from R. gallica, which is a native of central and southern Europe. They flower once in the summer over low shrubs rarely over 4 tall. Unlike most other once-blooming Old Garden Roses, the gallica class includes shades of red, maroon and deep purplish crimson. Examples: Cardinal de Richelieu, Charles de Mills, Rosa Mundi (R. gallica versicolor).
Damask — Robert de Brie is given credit for bringing them from Persia to Europe sometime between 1254 and 1276, although there is evidence from ancient Roman frescoes that at least one damask rose, the Autumn Damask, existed in Europe for hundreds of years prior. Summer damasks (crosses between gallica roses and R. phoenicea) bloom once in summer. Autumn damasks (Gallicas crossed with R. moschata) bloom again later, in the autumn. Shrubs tend to have rangy to sprawly growth habits and vicious thorns. The flowers typically have a more loose petal formation than gallicas, as well as a stronger, tangy fragrance. Examples: Ispahan, Madame Hardy.
Centifolia (or Provence) — These roses, raised in the seventeenth century in the Netherlands, are named for their "one hundred" petals; they are often called "cabbage" roses due to the globular shape of the flowers. The result of damask roses crossed with albas, the centifolias are all once-flowering. As a class, they are notable for their inclination to produce mutations of various sizes and forms, including moss roses and some of the first miniature roses (see below) . Examples: Centifolia, Paul Ricault.

History
The rose has always been valued for its beauty and has a long history of symbolism. The ancient Greeks and Romans identified the rose with their goddesses of love referred to as Aphrodite and Venus. In Rome a wild rose would be placed on the door of a room where secret or confidential matters were discussed. The phrase sub rosa, or "under the rose", means to keep a secret — derived from this ancient Roman practice.

Early Christians identified the five petals of the rose with the five wounds of Christ. Despite this interpretation, their leaders were hesitant to adopt it because of its association with Roman excesses and pagan ritual. The red rose was eventually adopted as a symbol of the blood of the Christian martyrs. Roses also later came to be associated with the Virgin Mary.

Rose culture came into its own in Europe in the 1800s with the introduction of perpetual blooming roses from China. There are currently thousands of varieties of roses developed for bloom shape, size, fragrance and even for lack of prickles.

Popular culture
 
Red Roses
A Red roseRoses are ancient symbols of love and beauty. The rose was sacred to a number of goddesses (including Isis and Aphrodite), and is often used as a symbol of the Virgin Mary. Rose means pink or red in a variety of languages (such as Romance languages, Greek, and Polish).

The rose is the national flower of England and the United States, as well as being the symbol of England Rugby, and of the Rugby Football Union. It is also the provincial flower of Yorkshire and Lancashire in England (the white rose and red rose respectively) and of Alberta (the wild rose), and the state flower of four US states: Iowa and North Dakota (R. arkansana), Georgia (R. laevigata), and New York (Rosa generally). Portland, Oregon counts "City of Roses" among its nicknames, and holds an annual Rose Festival.

Roses are occasionally the basis of design for rose windows, such windows comprising five or ten segments (the five petals and five sepals of a rose) or multiples thereof; however most Gothic rose windows are much more elaborate and were probably based originally on the wheel and other symbolism.

A red rose (often held in a hand) is a symbol of socialism or social democracy; it is also used as a symbol by the British and Irish Labour Parties, as well as by the French, Spanish (Spanish Socialist Workers Party), Portuguese, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Brazilian, Dutch (Partij van de Arbeid) and European socialist parties. This originated when the red rose was used as a badge by the marchers in the May 1968 street protests in Paris. White Rose was a World War II non violent resistance group in Germany.

Symbolism

Further information: Rose (symbolism)
According to the "language of flowers", certain rose colors carry specific symbolic meanings.

Rosa canina (Dog Rose) flower
 Red rose: Deepest love and respect. Pink rose: Grace. White rose: Innocence.

Red: love, used to say "I love you," but also stands for courage and respect.
Red & White Together or White Roses with Red Edges signify unity and togetherness.
Pink: symbolizes grace, sophistication and elegance. Also symbolizes gentle feelings of love and friendship.
Dark Pink: Gratefulness and appreciation.
Light Pink: Admiration, sympathy
White: Innocence, purity, secrecy, friendship, reverence and humility.
Yellow: Often akin to joy and deep friendship or platonic love. In German speaking countries, however, they can mean jealousy and infidelity.
Yellow with red tips: Symbolizes a gesture of falling in love.
Orange or Coral symbolizes enthusiasm and desire
Burgundy: Beauty
Blue: Mystery
Further information: blue rose
Green: Calm
Black: used to signify death (black being the color of death) often of old habits. In a positive light it signifies rebirth after death. Also, slavish devotion (as a true black rose is impossible to produce).
Purple: protection (paternal/maternal love)
The rose also has various supernatural and literary attributes.

Pale Colors:convey warmth and friendship.

Quotes

Whats in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet. — William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet act II, sc. ii
O, my loves like a red, red rose/Thats newly sprung in June — Robert Burns, A Red, Red Rose
Information appears to stew out of me naturally, like the precious ottar of roses out of the otter. Mark Twain, Roughing It
Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses. — James Oppenheim, "Bread and Roses"
Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose — Gertrude Stein, Sacred Emily (1913), a poem included in Geography and Plays.

The main constituents of attar of roses are the fragrant alcohols geraniol and l-citronellol; and rose camphor, an odourless paraffin. β-Damascenone is also a significant contributor to the scent.