Valley of Roses
Valley of Roses
Bulgarian roses bloom from the end of April until first days of June, but because of specific climatic conditions in the different micro-regions, some flowers blossom earlier than others and may have individual oil properties.
Rose flowers are delicate and tend to lose oil content in hot and dry weather. At the same time, again during hot and dry weather blooming reaches its peak moment and all flowers must be collected in the same day.
Because of the meteorological conditions and the short harvest season, a very strict organization and timetables must be established of when the roses must be picked, how to be packed and stored, then transported and received by the distilleries. In order to keep the standards for pure Bulgarian rose oil, distillation must be done in the first 10 – 15 years after flower picking.
The water that is used in the process is under a strict control by the government health authorities.