In just the last few years the world has watched actress Angelina Jolie go through a baby boom with the adoption of her children Maddox and Zahara and the birth of baby Shiloh. Jolie's motherhood garnered worldwide attention, but not all baby booms draw stares; some go utterly unnoticed. Take, for example, the baby boom that occurred in the rose world during the 1990s.

The eighties saw only a few dozen rose varieties available to consumers through flower shops. But, during the nineties the rose went through a good, fertile production period that resulted in the creation of numerous new rose varieties. Today consumers have over 120 rose varieties to choose from. Although most people who regularly purchase flowers probably noticed some new colors and varieties popping up in their local flower shops, a survey commissioned by the Society of American Florists (SAF) revealed that about half of those people who participated in the survey thought only 50 or fewer varieties existed.

Once available in limited colors, like red, white, pink, and yellow, the rose boom generated blooms in colors and shades previously unseen. Red, of course, remains the color of choice for most people, especially men, but other colors are catching on. 62 percent of the women who responded to the SAF survey indicated they prefer other colors, such as yellow, pink, peach, and white. Some of the newer colors like lavender and orange, are also becoming favorites.

The new color varieties have resulted in the common colors of red, pink, yellow, and white becoming entire color families consisting of shades from light muted colors to vibrant, bright colors. Reds now include every shade from bright raspberry to orange-reds to dark, rich reds. Pink is no longer just the traditional light pink commonly seen in bridal bouquets; it's now the light pastel pink to the hot pink, and everything in between. The pink family also contains hues like peach, apricot, oral, and lavender. Yellow includes lemony-yellow, gold, and two-toned blooms. It has become the second most popular color choice among men. Even white isn't just white; this color family now includes bright white, ivory, and champagne.

Not only did the rose baby boom give the world many new colors to choose from, it also gave us changes in bloom size, shape, stem length, and fragrance. So, with all these color choices and characteristics, roses can be the perfect floral choice for anyone you'd like to send flowers to-even if it's Angelina Jolie and her own brood of babies.