Why did budding become the foundation of rose cultivation for decades, and why is the market now turning back to own-root plants? 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 find out why the budding union is a horticultural “weak spot” and what this means for you in your garden. On what basis do you choose a rose?
How did the rose change from a carefully 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 returning to own-root roses today?
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 growing techniques, and why it is still important for you to know from what and how a rose 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 alone, but became increasingly accessible to the middle classes. In Europe, the first nurseries dedicated to targeted propagation of roses for sale appeared in France and England.
This was the year when the world’s first officially recognised hybrid tea rose, ‘La France’, was introduced. It did not only bring a new type of flower shape and fragrance, but also ushered in a completely new era in commercial rose production. From then on, the rose became not only an ornamental plant but a mass-market product – an entire network of nurseries, breeders and gardeners grew around it.
Roses began to be sold as ornamental garden plants at markets in larger towns, first in pots and later as bare-root plants. Open-field cultivation was typical, and the plants were often sold at fairs and markets by itinerant gardeners or nursery assistants.
By the mid-19th century, a seasonal transport and sales cycle had developed: lifting in autumn, shipping in winter, planting in spring. By the second half of the 19th century, roses had become mass-produced, marketable goods. From that point on they were no longer only about beauty, but also about how to produce them efficiently, cheaply and in a transportable form, and then deliver them to the customer.
The budding union, where the bud of the cultivated variety is joined to the rootstock, is a sensitive and vulnerable area. This part:
The differing genetics of the root system and the shoots can lead to long-term biological imbalance, especially in older plants. Some varieties tend to “separate” from the rootstock after a number of years.
Nowadays, many gardeners try to protect the cultivated part by planting the budding union below soil level. But this is more than protection: if the cultivated part forms its own roots, the plant returns to an “own-root” state.
This is a deliberate growing decision: the rose switches to its own root system and becomes independent of the rootstock.
In reality, this can be seen as a kind of retraining:
In recent decades, rose production and trade have been transformed from the ground up. 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 and in large volumes.
The budded rose, which is economical only with a lot of manual work and in large, variety-specific batches, fits less and less well with the needs of today’s ornamental plant market. Own-root roses, on the other hand, are easier to grow, simpler for the end user and more flexible in distribution. Today’s rose market is recognising 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 age of the budded rose is fading”, we are not questioning the professional value of budding. The point is rather that the business model of the budded (grafted/budded onto a rootstock), typically bare-root rose is finding it increasingly hard to adapt to today’s flexibility, logistics and user expectations across several sales channels. At the same time, the own-root (mostly container-grown) rose is often easier to plan with, delivers more stable quality and carries less risk for the customer.
With the mass spread of modern roses, from the end of the 19th century roses became a genuine mass-market product. Budding was then the best tool for this because it:
This system worked best when relatively few varieties were produced in large series, and when trade operated mainly in a strongly seasonal, offline mode.
Budding is a high-quality technology, but it is also labour-intensive and 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 market segments today’s conditions no longer reward that production logic.
Online sales and fast, order-driven fulfilment favour product formats that can be handled flexibly. The bare-root, dormant-season model often has a narrow time window, and prolonged storage can affect quality (water loss, root stress, general plant stress).
The container model, by contrast, can often be sold over a longer period and can be better aligned with delivery logic. This is especially important when customers do not buy strictly within a “seasonal window”, but whenever they make their decision.
The budding union (the junction between rootstock and scion) is a biologically and physically sensitive joint. In practice, several potential problems are concentrated in this single area:
This is not a “fault” of budding, but a practical reality of the technology: more risk and more tasks are transferred to the end user.
The spread of own-root roses is not a fashion trend, but a response to today’s conditions:
From the grower’s point of view:
From the user’s point of view:
Budded roses can still be justified and competitive in certain situations: in large, uniform batches, under special soil and climate conditions, or where maintenance is professional and disciplined. The shift is therefore not a technological judgment, but a change in market focus.
In summary: own-root roses come to the fore where the market rewards flexibility, longer selling seasons, more stable delivery condition and a more user-friendly product. This is not a step backwards, but a modern answer to today’s challenges.
We will help you see clearly which solution is better for your garden and your goals.
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