Did you know that roses have seeds and plants sprout from them? These flowers, known for their heavenly scents and resplendent beauty, are closely related to apples and apple trees also grow from seeds, said rose enthusiast and horticulturist M.S. ‘Viru’ Viraraghavan, who along with his wife Girija Viraraghavan, has authored the book, Roses in the Fire of Spring.
Addressing a gathering at a reading hub organised byRoja Muthiah Research Library (RMRL) and the Dravidian Professionals Forum here on Saturday, the former IAS officer said that to get a new plant, seeds and germination are a must.
“It takes a minimum of 7 to 8 years and sometimes even 15 years to identify a good rose that can grow in hot climates,” he said.
Introducing the book, Mr. Viraraghavan said the idea was to create new roses for warm climes.
He spoke of the challenges of growing roses in the southern Coromandel coast.
The original roses brought in from the West, which used to flower only during spring, had to be hybridised with the continuously flowering varieties brought from China.
“Early on, rose breeders decided that wild varieties found in West Bengal and in the northeast should be added to our species,” Mr. Viraraghavan said.
The 180 hybrids created by the couple over the past 30 years are mostly using the Rosa Gigantea from Manipur and Rosa Clinophylla, which grows in water. Both grow in the wild.
The varieties created from the Gigantea include the Churachand named after the last king of Manipur and Naga Belle after the beautiful Naga women.
Ms. Viraraghavan explained that roses are not new to India.Roses find a mention in a king’s stone inscription that is now submerged.
Many Ayurvedic texts talk about treatments using roses, she added during a conversation with author Geeta Doctor.
To a question from the audience on why one of their hybrids was named after E.K. Janakiammal, the couple said that the book that they regularly referred to was a chromosome atlas written by her.
