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Rosaceae
Damask Rose
Rosa × damascena
Eternal love, pure beauty, complexity.
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Genus
- Rosa
- Native to
- Middle East (cultivated origin)
- Bloom season
- Late Spring, Early Summer
- Type
- Deciduous shrub
- Height
- 1.2–2.2 m
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Rich, well-drained loam
- Water
- Moderate
- Hardiness
- 4–9
- Lifespan
- Long-lived; old shrubs over 100 years
Did you know
- The damask rose is the most important rose in the world for perfumery — over 90% of true rose essential oil comes from this single species.
- It takes about 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb) of damask rose petals to produce just one kilogram of pure rose otto, making it one of the most expensive ingredients in perfume.
- Bulgaria's Rose Valley harvests damask roses every dawn in May and June, producing over 70% of the world's rose oil.
- The variety 'Quatre Saisons' is one of the only roses from antiquity that bloomed twice a year, and was prized in Rome for its repeat flowering.
- Damask roses are believed to have been brought from Damascus to Europe by Crusaders in the 13th century, giving the rose its name.
Color meanings
Pink
Romance and remembrance