Rosa Damascena is best cultivated in hedge rows to help protect the blooms from wind and to facilitate ease of picking. Gathering the flowers is quite labor intensive as it must be done by hand. There are about twenty to forty days per year when harvesting occurs, depending on the type of Rosa Damascena cultivated in the region. The roses are gathered by hand and brought to a central location for steam distillation.
The largest producers of rose oil from the different names all falling under the name Rosa Damascena are Bulgaria and Turkey. France and India also contribute significantly to the world market. Morocco, Tunisia and some other Middle Eastern countries have historically produced rose oil, but their modern contribution is minimal.
Bulgaria is a small country, but it is well known in the world with production of rose oil. The town of Kazanlak in Bulgaria was founded in 1420. It is assumed by most historians that the cultivation of the Kazanlak Rose began around that period. Rosa Damascena, known in this region as the Kazanlak Rose, were reportedly brought to the area by a Turkish judge who brought them from Tunisia and cultivated them in his own fragrant garden, and is now cultivated for commercial use in an area surrounding Kazanlak called the “Valley of Roses.” The distillate from these roses is sold as ‘Bulgarian Rose Oil” and “Bulgarian Rose Otto”.
Roza “Damascena”
17/02/2013 by danidaova
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