It was described (in 1583) and successfully cultivated by Carolus Clusius; he grew them in the imperial garden of Rudolf II in Vienna.

Its popularity was aided by Clusius's contemporary, Flemish painter and engraver Joris Hoefnagel, who contrasted it with the Eglantine rose in a manuscript illustration.

[9] An important rose, inasmuch as it is the source of yellow in modern-day hybrids, most famously 'Soleil d'Or' (R. foetida x 'Antoine Ducher'; 1900), was bred by Joseph Pernet-Ducher.

[6] Rosa foetida has exerted great influence on the modern stock of cultivated roses,[10] contributing also its susceptibility to black spot.

[8][11] The rose is described as a "spindly bush, not terribly vigorous", requiring a stake or a wall, growing up to six feet tall.