Orchids symbolize " nobleness and tenacity of character". https://www.asiasentinel.com/alice-poon/culture/the-orchid-and-confucius/ I know that in the Tang dynasty, roses were relatively rarely-mentioned, and symbolized the wild far West. Li Bai ("the Drunken Immortal") mentioned roses much more than other poets did, one of the few relics of his birth in modern Kyrgyzstan. I'm sure that roses probably picked up additional connotations after the Tang, but I'm not sure what they are.

Many thanks to all.

I believe that‘s the theme song 《初恋女》of the movie 《初恋》（first love）which was released in 1937. The lyric was written by famous poet Dai Wangshu (戴望舒). The original sentence is 终日我灌溉着蔷薇，却让幽兰枯萎。 One tricky thing is 月季，蔷薇 and 玫瑰all translated into ‘rose‘， while the first two are very common in classical Chinese, 玫瑰, instead, is a symbol from the western world and rarely seen before late Qing Dynasty. Back to the lyric it self, Jeff has given nice explaination. These two flowers usually being used to describe women with different characteristics. It is said that the orchid refers to poet's first girlfriend, 施绛年 (the younger sister of 施蛰存，the famous scholar), while the prickly rose refers to his wife, 穆丽娟 (the younger sister of writer 穆时英). There are also rumors said that 穆丽娟 was angry about this poem. Therefore it can be also explained as the choice between morality and love.

As Chris had said that "orchids" are noble in character because they are not showy and having "quiet" beauty. On the other hand, roses are boisterous in their colors and scent, overpowering. So, I guess, the fellow cares only for women of exciting nature that no mother would approve and while the "girl next door types are not on his menu; I am putting it mildly. Do you remember what term they used for "roses"? 玫瑰 or something else?