The rose plant - the elegant, beautiful plant which derives its name from the Latin word “Rosa”, has since time immemorial been identified to be a thing of beauty. Several poets and writers have in their works described beauty in comparison to the “rose”.

A flowering plant or shrub, the rose plant is found in a number of colours and varieties. It is observed that some of the rose plants are climbers and grow to heights varying from 2-5 mts. The temperate climate is found to be most suitable for the rose plant, although it has been observed that several species of rose plants survive well in the tropical climate as well.

The leaf of the rose plant generally found to be 5-15 cms in length has serrated edges. The fruit of the rose plant known as the rose hips is consumed for it is a rich source of Vitamin C. It is also used for the preparation of herbal tea, jams and jellies.

The rose plant is known to be a thorny shrub. The thorns are actually growths of the outer layer (epidermis) of the stem tissue.

Rose plants are prone to a number of diseases like rose rust , rose black spot to name a few. The saying “prevention is better than cure” is very true in the case of rose plants as it is best to adopt a technique whereby regular use of fungicide and pesticide sprays is done . Many different techniques of cultivation have been employed to get healthy, large attractive blooms from the rose plant.

The perfume industry is a major consumer of the rose flower .The rose is picked from the rose plant and an attar or rose oil is prepared by crushing the petals of the rose for the preparation of exotic perfumes.