Don’t let a rose’s thorns keep you from buying this beautiful flower that heralds the glorious month of June and the beginning of summer. Maybe you want to buy a rose for someone you love and you aren’t quite sure how to proceed. You don’t have to worry about prickly situations when you consider some of the following suggestions when you go to make your purchase.

1. Species, Varieties and Hybrids Abound. With 100 species and 13,000 varieties of roses, you really do have a world of beauty at your fingertips, and you can tailor your buying choice specifically to each person for whom you ever buy a rose. For example, if your loved one brings to mind Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor or Cary Grant, you can express those feelings with the respective rose in their honor, which is often the result of hybridization. Native to Asia, North America, Europe, northwest Africa and general northern regions, the rose thrives in a multi-season cycle.
2. Hue and No Cry. You might feel overwhelmed by the truly amazing range of colors available to you, but it is to your benefit since you can accommodate nearly any favorite color or sentiment with a rose. Each beautiful you choose comes in colors as varied as white, pink, crimson, orange and yellow. Hybridizations can result in amazing rainbows of colors, all in one flower. If you prefer to keep things all-natural, you can still mix up the colors to represent a wide range of emotions, you can choose a rose cube brimming with color.
3. Dodge a Bullet. If you come across a bundle of roses where there are some flowers that haven’t bloomed, you might skip that bouquet. Once roses are cut and added to bouquets, and they have not yet bloomed, they are referred to as “bullets,” and they are not likely to bloom. Unfortunately, these buds are duds and will never take their rightful place as a cut flower in most vases. The best time to buy roses is when they are in partial bloom and the petals are slightly loose, promising an extraordinary bloom, so your loved one can enjoy them in all of their magnificent glory for a beautiful experience.