Rose varieties, flowering season and how roses are grown in Bangladesh

The rose, often called the queen of flowers, is a thorny shrub of the genus Rosa in the family Rosaceae, with about 150 species worldwide. The Agriculture Information Service (AIS) calls it a winter flower now grown all year round. Banglapedia notes that rose production and marketing in Bangladesh have grown, with large areas of Savar and Salna under roses.

As far as is known, says Banglapedia, the fine rose reached the Indian subcontinent from Basra about 500 years ago, when the Mughal emperor Babur brought a rose called "Basra". This fragrant pink rose is still known by that name in Bangladesh and survives in some old gardens

The AIS lists among the varieties grown in Bangladesh Mirandi, Papa Meilland, Double Delight, Taj Mahal, Paradise, Blue Moon, Montezuma, Tata Centre and City of Belfast. By budding onto wild rose stock, says Banglapedia, well-known foreign roses such as Papa Meilland, Double Delight, Dutch Gold, Queen Elizabeth and Montezuma are now available in the country. Home-bred varieties include "Fatema Chhattar", "Shibli", "Rahela Hamid", "Piyari", "Bhasani", "Sher-e-Bangla", "1952" and "Joyonti", though Banglapedia doubts they will survive without proper gardens and effort.

Of the foreign varieties, Papa Meilland is a hybrid tea bred by Alain Meilland in France in 1963. Double Delight, also a hybrid tea, was introduced in the United States in 1977 and has large red-and-white flowers with a strong, sweet scent. Queen Elizabeth is a pink grandiflora bred by Walter Lammerts in the United States in 1954.

Horticulturists divide modern garden roses into several classes. The main ones are:

• Hybrid tea: large, well-formed, high-centred flowers, usually one to a long stem, which makes them the most popular cut roses. Papa Meilland and Double Delight belong here.
• Polyantha: short plants with small flowers, about 2.5 cm across on average, in large sprays from spring to autumn.
• Floribunda: a cross of hybrid teas and polyanthas, with flowers smaller than a hybrid tea's but carried in large clusters for a stronger garden display.
• Grandiflora: larger plants between hybrid tea and floribunda, with flowers in small clusters; the class was created for Queen Elizabeth.
• Miniature: small plants, leaves and flowers, mostly 30 to 60 cm tall, well suited to pots and window boxes.

The AIS says roses suit cool, temperate climates and dislike great heat and humidity. Temperatures of 22 to 30 degrees Celsius, relative humidity of 85 per cent and annual rainfall of 100 to 125 cm suit it, in well-drained, fertile loam with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5.

The right time to plant roses in Bangladesh is October to February. Pots can be planted at any time, but September-October or January-February planting gives longer flowering and fewer pests and diseases. The AIS guide notes that plants pruned in mid-November flower in February.

Roses are propagated by seed, cuttings, air layering and budding. The main commercial method is budding: a bud of the variety to be multiplied is set on a suitable rootstock. T-budding is the usual method for roses.

According to Banglapedia, with some roses a piece of a mature branch planted in soil roots within a few weeks; among foreign varieties, Taj Mahal and Papa Meilland can be grown from cuttings, and a suitable rooting hormone on the cut end improves the chance of success.

Old branches flower poorly, so the AIS advises regular pruning to make room for new shoots. October-November, after the monsoon, is a good time.

Field roses are fed twice a year, at pruning in October and again in March at the end of winter. The AIS advises applying the fertiliser 10 to 12 days after pruning rather than on the same day, working dried cow dung, TSP and potash gently into the soil. The AIS warns against chemical fertiliser without knowing the right dose: ask the upazila agriculture office for amounts. In the rains, heap pot soil towards the centre so water does not stand, and remove the extra when the monsoon ends. For red spider mite and dieback, the main threats, ask the upazila agriculture officer what to spray and how much.

Photo: Salim_Khandoker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Sources: The Agro News, Agriculture Information Service (AIS), Banglapedia (Asiatic Society of Bangladesh), Wikipedia