General information: around 1000 taxons
Area: 1 ha
The Botanical Garden’s Collection was established in 1998; in 2008 it acquired the status of a national collection, taking the name of the National Collection of Cultivated Rose Varieties. It is the largest collection of roses in the country and is of worldwide importance in terms of variety and species diversity. As of 2018, the collection is being revitalised and relocated to new sites.
The Test Garden for New Rose Varieties was established in 2018 and registered with the World Federation of Rose Societes in 2019. It works in cooperation with the Polish Association of Rose Breeders. The Polish Nurserymen Association has assumed honorary patronage over the Garden. Rose breeders from all over the world can send shrubs of new self-bred varieties to the Test Garden for assessment of their ornamental and functional value. The assessment is carried out by an international jury during the annual Warsaw Rose Trials competition. Its first edition took place in 2020. Every year about 100 varieties are accepted to the Test Garden for a three-year testing period. The garden consists of two parts: A, for varieties not yet on the market, and B – for those that have just been introduced to the market.
The National Collection of Cultivated Rose Varieties is comprised of several sections located in different parts of the Botanical Garden. The presented species and varieties show the diversity of cultivated roses, from those known thousands of years ago to the latest novelties from breeders from all over the world. The presented roses are representatives of all cultivation groups (park roses, climbing roses, large-flowered roses, poliant roses, ground-cover roses, miniature roses) and nearly all groups in terms of origin (Bourbon, remontant, Noisetta, tea hybrids, etc.). Roses with an important place in the history of rose breeding and Polish breeding are also collected. The progress of breeding results in at least several dozen new varieties being introduced to the market every year. The shrubs, due to the enormous diversity of this genus, have been planted in heterogeneous combinations, taking into account not only their origin and membership to particular groups but also colour, flower shape, the breeder, growth characteristics and other features relevant mainly for later practical use. The collection is attractive from spring (shoots, thorns, first flowers from the beginning of May) to late autumn and early winter (fruit, shoots, thorns, discoloured leaves, last flowers and buds).