Why did budding become the foundation of rose cultivation for decades, and why is the market now shifting back towards own-root roses? On this page we guide you through the history of the rose trade: from the birth of modern varieties to bare-root logistics and the online era. You will discover why the budding union is a horticultural “weak point”, and what this means for you in your garden. What is your main criterion when choosing a rose?
How did the rose evolve from a closely guarded treasure of castle gardens into the most popular flower of garden centres and home gardens? Why did growers start budding, and why are they now returning to own-root roses?
A rose bush carries not only flowers but history as well. We show the path that led to the birth of modern roses, the reasons behind the changes in cultivation techniques, and why it still matters for you today to know what a rose is made from and how it becomes what it is.
The earliest documented rose trade dates back to the 17th–18th centuries, when rose breeding and collecting were no longer the privilege of the nobility but were becoming increasingly accessible to the middle classes. In Europe, the first nurseries specifically propagating roses for sale appeared in France and England.
This was the year the world’s first officially recognised hybrid tea rose, ‘La France’, appeared. It not only introduced a new type of flower shape and fragrance, but also launched a completely new era in commercial rose production. From then on, the rose was not just an ornamental plant but a mass-market product – a whole network of nurseries, breeders and growers formed around it.
Roses started to be sold as ornamental plants on the markets of larger towns, first in pots and later as bare-root plants. Open-field growing was the norm, and the plants were often sold at fairs and markets by itinerant gardeners or nursery assistants.
By the middle of the 19th century, a seasonal cycle of transport and sales had developed: lifting in autumn, transport in winter, planting in spring. By the second half of the 19th century, the rose had become a mass-produced, marketable product. From then on, it was no longer only about beauty, but also about how to produce roses efficiently, cheaply and in a transportable form, and how to deliver them to the customer.
The budding union, where the bud of the cultivated rose is joined to the rootstock, is sensitive and vulnerable. This part:
The differing genetics of root and shoot can cause long-term biological imbalance, especially in older plants. Some varieties tend to “break away” from the rootstock after a number of years.
Today, many gardeners try to protect the cultivated part by planting the budding union below soil level. But this is more than merely protection: if the cultivated part develops its own roots, the plant returns to an “own-root” state.
This is a conscious cultivation decision: the rose shifts onto its own roots and becomes independent of the rootstock.
In fact, it can be seen as a form of retraining:
In recent decades, rose production and trade have been radically transformed. The once dominant budded rose is facing more and more challenges as a result of market, social and technological change.
Modern technology has made it possible to propagate own-root roses reliably on a large scale.
The budded rose – which is labour-intensive and only economical in large quantities per variety – fits less and less with the needs of today’s ornamental plant market. Own-root roses, by contrast, are easier to grow, simpler for the end user and more flexible in distribution. The rose market now sees them as a reform product – not as a step backwards, but as a response to the challenges of our time.
When we say that “the era of the budded rose is fading”, we are not questioning the professional value of budding. The key point is that the business model of the budded (grafted/budded onto a rootstock), typically bare-root rose is finding it increasingly difficult to meet today’s expectations of flexibility, logistics and user experience in several sales channels. At the same time, the own-root (mostly container-grown) rose is in many situations easier to plan with, offers more consistent quality and involves less risk for the customer.
With the mass spread of modern roses, from the late 19th century onwards, roses became a genuine mass-market product. At that time budding was the best tool for this, because it:
This system worked best when relatively few varieties were grown in large series, and when trade operated mainly in an offline, strongly seasonal mode.
Budding is a high-quality technology, but it is labour-intensive and in several steps depends heavily on manual work. Today this is an increasing constraint:
The result: budding can still be efficient for very large, uniform batches, but in many of today’s market channels this is no longer the favoured production logic.
Online sales and fast, order-driven fulfilment favour product formats that can be handled flexibly. For bare-root roses, the season tied to dormancy often means a narrow time window, and longer storage can carry quality risks (loss of moisture, root stress, general stress).
The container-grown model, by contrast, is often saleable over a much longer period and can be aligned more closely with delivery logistics. This is particularly important where customers do not buy within a single “season window”, but whenever they make their decision.
The budding union (the junction between rootstock and scion) is a biologically and physically sensitive connection. In practice, several potential problems converge at this single point:
This is not a “fault” of budding, but a practical reality arising from the nature of the technology: more risk and more tasks are transferred to the end user.
The rise of own-root roses is not a fashion, but a natural fit with today’s conditions:
From the producer’s perspective:
From the user’s perspective:
Budded roses are still justified and competitive in certain situations: for large, uniform batches, under specific soil and climate conditions, or where maintenance is professional and care routines are strictly followed. The change is therefore not a technological verdict, but a shift in market emphasis.
In summary: own-root roses move into the foreground wherever the market rewards flexibility, a longer sales window, more stable condition at delivery and a more user-friendly experience. This is not a step back, but a modern answer to today’s challenges.
We will help you see clearly which option is better for your garden and your goals.
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