I know I've seen these long roses on this forum before, but I am curious about a quote in the story below:

"It takes special conditions to grow these giant flowers. The roses grow in Ecuador's volcanic soil, at 10,000 feet above sea level, and are left on the stem for about four months. That's twice as long as the typical rose, FTD vice president of design Michael Skaff told the newspaper."

What do you think that statement means? I know they can't be saying it takes 4 months for the bud to bloom. Maybe they let the stem grow for four months?

Here is a link that might be useful: Big Roses