Exploring the Diverse World of Roses: Types, Colours, and Essential Features

Roses have long captivated hearts as symbols of love, beauty, and emotion. At Interflora Australia, we celebrate this timeless flower by sourcing high-quality blooms, often featuring Colombian roses favoured by local florists for their vibrant colours and longevity. These imported roses thrive in Colombia's ideal high-altitude climate, providing Australian arrangements with exceptional freshness. In this post, we'll delve into different types of roses, including full-size and spray varieties, explain how roses acquire their colours, and discuss guard petals—all grounded in botanical facts to enhance your appreciation.

Understanding Different Types of Roses

Roses come in numerous classifications, each with unique characteristics suited to various uses, from garden displays to bouquets. The main categories stem from centuries of hybridisation, starting with wild species and evolving through selective breeding.

Full-size roses, often referred to as standard or hybrid tea roses, are among the most popular for cut flowers. Developed in the 19th century, hybrid teas feature large, high-centred blooms on long, sturdy stems—perfect for vases or single-stem gifts. They typically produce one flower per stem, with pointed buds that unfurl into classic, spiraled petals. These roses are prized for their fragrance and form, making them ideal for romantic gestures like Valentine's Day. Interflora's collection includes these elegant full-size roses, available in various hues for delivery across Australia.

In contrast, spray roses—also known as floribunda or cluster roses—offer a more abundant display. Bred by crossing hybrid teas with polyantha roses in the early 20th century, floribundas produce multiple smaller blooms in clusters on each stem, creating a bouquet-like effect from a single cut. These bushy plants are vigorous and disease-resistant, blooming continuously throughout the season. Spray roses add volume and texture to arrangements, often used in mixed floral designs for events or everyday cheer. Their name "floribunda" means "many-flowering" in Latin, reflecting their prolific nature.

Grandiflora roses bridge the gap between hybrid teas and floribundas. Introduced in 1954, they result from crossing these two types, yielding large blooms in clusters on tall stems. Grandifloras combine the size and elegance of hybrid teas with the clustering habit of floribundas, making them versatile for both gardens and cutting. They often reach heights of 4-6 feet, with flowers that rival hybrid teas in size but appear in groups of 3-5.

Garden roses encompass a broader category, including shrub and old-fashioned varieties like damasks and centifolias. These are typically fuller and more fragrant, with layered petals evoking a romantic, vintage aesthetic. Unlike cut-flower types, garden roses are bred for landscape use, forming bushes or climbers that provide seasonal colour and scent. Climbing roses, for instance, can scale trellises with long canes bearing repeated blooms. Miniature roses, scaled-down versions of hybrid teas or floribundas, fit perfectly in pots or borders, with tiny flowers under 2 inches.

Australian florists, including those in the Interflora network, frequently incorporate Colombian roses into their products. Colombia is a top exporter of cut roses, thanks to its equatorial location and volcanic soil, which support year-round production. These roses arrive fresh via air freight, ensuring they last longer in arrangements. In fact, Australia imports a significant portion of its cut flowers from Colombia, alongside Ecuador and Kenya, to meet demand for premium blooms. Interflora's local florists handcraft bouquets using these imports, delivering vibrant roses nationwide.

For inspiration, browse our roses collection to find the perfect type for your needs.

How Roses Get Their Colours: Nature and Human Ingenuity

Rose colours arise from a blend of genetics, pigments, and sometimes artificial methods, creating the spectrum we adore—from soft pastels to bold primaries.

Naturally, rose hues stem from pigments produced by the plant's genes. Flavonoids, particularly anthocyanins, generate reds, pinks, and purples through pH-dependent reactions in petal cells. Carotenoids produce yellows and oranges, while a lack of pigments results in whites or creams. Breeding programs cross varieties to enhance or combine these traits; for example, yellow roses trace back to Middle Eastern species introduced to Europe in the 18th century. Environmental factors like soil pH, temperature, and sunlight can subtly influence intensity—acidic soils deepen reds, while heat may fade pastels.

True blue roses don't exist naturally due to the absence of delphinidin, a pigment found in other flowers like delphiniums. Scientists have genetically engineered blue roses by inserting genes from pansies or irises, as done by Japanese company Suntory in 2009, resulting in lavender-blue shades. Rainbow roses, with multicoloured petals, are artificially created by splitting the stem and placing sections in dyed water. The rose's vascular system absorbs the colours, tinting petals via transpiration—a process exploiting natural water uptake but yielding non-permanent results.

At Interflora, we offer naturally coloured roses in stunning varieties. Explore our pink roses, yellow roses, and white roses for authentic beauty.

The Role of Guard Petals in Roses

Guard petals are the outermost layers of a rose bloom, serving as natural protectors. These petals shield the delicate inner ones from damage during growth, transport, and handling, often appearing slightly bruised or discoloured upon arrival. In nature, they defend against insects, weather, and physical stress, allowing the bud to develop fully.

Florists typically remove damaged guard petals to reveal pristine inner blooms, but some varieties retain them for added character and fullness. Colombian roses, with their robust structure, often arrive with intact guards, enhancing vase life. Leaving a few can give arrangements a more organic, garden-fresh look, as they contribute to the rose's overall shape and texture.

Understanding guard petals helps appreciate the care in preparing your Interflora bouquet—our florists expertly handle them to ensure maximum beauty and longevity.

Roses for Every Occasion

Whether you're drawn to the grandeur of full-size hybrid teas, the charm of spray floribundas, or the subtlety of garden varieties, roses offer endless variety. Colombian imports ensure Australian florists deliver top-quality blooms, coloured through natural pigments or innovative techniques, protected by essential guard petals. For your next celebration, like Valentine's Day, choose from our curated selections.

Ready to send love? Visit our Valentine's Day flowers or explore all roses today. With Interflora, every rose tells a story.