Understanding the kinds of roses we buy - a peek into the hush-hush

By simply taking time to understand the kinds of roses we have here in Malaysia, you will be able to choose the right roses for your garden, have higher chance for successful growing, and ultimately be able to better care for your roses.

The world’s classification of roses

You might’ve come across terms such as Hybrid Tea, Miniature, Old Garden Roses, Climbers, Ramblers, etc. These are old horticultural classifications of roses developed by the world’s rose societies not long ago but remain popularly used today.

Malaysians don't use these terms but class our roses in a whole lot different way. At least, this is what I am grown to believe these days. Our classes are silently used and understood only in the minds of small group of rose growers and lovers. Hence, you can never find these classes anywhere in any literature.

So with little knowledge I have with roses, I am prying into this little secret and will try to do justice in defining Malaysian rose classes the way I understand them. I hope by defining them, many will benefit from this and ultimately use it to better choose, grow and care for roses.

My indigenous classing and definitions

Instead of classing roses based on their growth habit and flower patterns, our roses are classified based on their accustomed nature and origin. This means, classification is by how the plants look and where they originally grown or cultivated.

To avoid confusion, I call these classifications as ‘categories’ instead of classes and there are 3 categories of roses altogether - low land roses, high land roses and old garden roses (OGRs) or better known locally as ros kampongs.

So here, I am sharing them with you.

Low land roses

·         You can buy these roses from any rose nursery or garden retailer in your neighborhood.

·         To recognize this type of roses, they are often sold in small black poly-bags, 6-inch white/black plastic pots or the 8 1/2 -inch terracotta pots.

·         You can also recognize them by the look of the plants. They have an average leaves size and matte medium green foliage.

·         You don’t have to worry about hardening these roses off as they are already accustomed to your local environment.

·         These roses have high survival chance when planted in your garden. Therefore are garden worthy for rose growing beginners.

·         ‘What you buy is really what you get’. The flower quality doesn’t downgrade easily in your garden. You may notice slight differences after purchase but this usually depends largely on your gardening treatment.

·         Be careful when purchasing low land roses since most of them are cultivated under non-regulated nursery condition. Diseases and pests may be prevalent. Be sure to inspect the plants carefully before buying.

·         Most low land roses sold are hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas and shrubs. This means you’ll have plenty of choices when it comes to varieties.

Low land roses are commonly sold in terracotta pots and white/black 8 1/2 inch wide plastic pot

A low land rose just purchased. Notice that it is grown in a black poly-bag and has this matte medium green foliage.

High land roses

·         You can buy these roses from any rose nursery or garden retailer but you can also find these roses in supermarkets, garden marts and grocery stores too.

·         To recognize this type of roses, most of them are sold in the brownish 5-inch plastic pots (marked “YG” or no mark at all).

·         You can also recognize these roses by the look of the plants. They have good healthy glossy dark green foliage. Since miniature roses are brought down hill before they bloom completely, you can see many unopened buds on miniatures. Meanwhile, for non-miniatures, they often carry huge blooms (more than 4 inch wide).

·         With hardening process, these roses can survive in your garden. Not a recommended choice for rose growing beginners.

·         Depending on types, flower quality of high land roses may reduce greatly when planted in your garden.  Others show negligible changes. If flower quality is your main concern, choosing the right high land roses can be a challenge.

·         Most of these roses are cultivated under good regulated greenhouse conditions so diseases and pests are less prevalent in these roses. However, that is not a merit to skip the inspecting routine altogether. Spider mites are a nuisance when it comes to high land roses.

·         Most highland roses sold are hybrid teas and miniatures. You’ll have limited choices when it comes to varieties. Good thing is the breeds tend to be quite recent.

One of the high land roses around. Foliage is healthy, visible as glossy dark green leaves with beautiful burgundy edges on younger tender leaves.

High land roses on display with gorgeous orchid plants adding colors to the background

Old Garden Rose / Ros Kampong

·         You can buy these roses from any rose nursery or garden retailer in your neighborhood.

·         They are usually sold in small black poly-bags, small black plastic pots or 7-inch terracotta pots.

·         There are 4 kinds of ros kampongs that I currently know of – deep pink ros kampong, light pink ros kampong, white ros kampong and wild ros kampong.

·         No hardening process is necessary as they are already accustomed to the environment.

·         They are known to be hardy and worthy of any garden due to their easy to maintain quality. They definitely are the roses for rose growing beginners.

·         ‘What you buy is really what you get’. You will have no trouble when it comes to flower quality with these roses. You may notice slight differences in flower quality after purchase but this usually depends largely on your gardening treatment.

·         Be careful when buying ros kampongs since they are cultivated under non-regulated nursery condition. Diseases and pests may be prevalent. Be sure to inspect plants carefully before buying.

·         Although ros kampongs can be a favorite to anyone, there are only 4 kinds available. Not many nurseries carry them these days so you may have to do a bit of searching. If you are a rose collector or a kampong kindred, having the entire line of this heritage rose is definitely a must.

Deep pink, or many often call this as 'maroon' ros kampong

Light pink rose kampong

Light pink ros kampong peeping through the wired fence

Now that the categories are revealed, I hope you are a step closer in growing the roses of your dream; that is choosing roses that suit you and your garden, planting and caring for roses that ultimately not just survive in your garden but present you with the satisfaction of continuous blooms.

Walking along this shaded stretch on Sunday morning with my husband and be presented with rows of flowers and plants of various kinds and colors, like the ones from this little hut, always is to me a great pleasure.

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Rough -Rosa