Tea Roses

The Rose, wherein, the Word Divine makes itself flesh…

Dante

In England, Tea Roses were much loved by the Victorians, rose writer of the day William Paul describing them as possessing ‘bewitching tints’. They were often considered the most elegant of the roses with their long pointed buds opening into gently curled blooms, usually tinted a gentle hue of peachy-pink or the famous ‘tea-rose’ soft apricot-yellow, growing paler as the flowers aged. They possessed a warm, distinctive fragrance, said by some to be reminiscent of tea, hence their original name – Tea-Scented Roses. Although some say that the name comes not from the odour of the flower, but from the fact that they were brought back to Europe on Tea-Clipper ships.
For all their virtues, in a European climate they did have a major drawback – tenderness to cold, although, if you live in a warm climate, this is not an issue and they are among the best of the Old Roses to grow. Given enough warmth they often continue to flower well into winter and are particularly resistant to black-spot – a fungal disease that thrives in warm, humid climates.

Origins in China

The early prototypes of the Tea Roses were varieties of China Rose brought back to England from botanists visiting China. Redouté illustrated two of the most significant imports in Choix: ‘Park’s Yellow Tea-scented China’ and ‘Hume’s Blush Tea-Scented China’.
Before they arrived in France though, they had to cross the channel at a time when France and England were in the throngs of war, lead on the French side by the Emperor Napoleon. It is an often quoted story that Napoleon’s first wife, the Empress Joséphine was held in high esteem throughout the courts of Europe and that during the war, the British Royal Navy by order of the Prince Regent of England, allowed through special cargos of plants destined for Empress Joséphine’s gardens.
Among these was the Tea Rose, ‘Hume’s Blush’ introduced in 1809. Although ‘Park’s Yellow’, the other import Redouté illustrated, would not be introduced until some time later in 1824.

Ancient cultivators

In their homeland of China, the original Tea Roses were crafted long ago by Chinese horticulturalists who tamed a giant once-flowering climber into a repeat flowering plant suitable for the garden. The original Tea Roses are believed to be a hybrid between the China Species rose, R.chinensis and the subtropical climber, R.gigantea, which grows in the rain-soaked south of China and Burma. This giant climber has flowers with reflexive petals opening from slender pointed buds and the flowers nod on thin flexible stalks. Nodding is believed to have evolved to keep water away from the interior of the flower where it could interfere with pollination. It has passed this characteristic on to the Tea Roses along with its climbing ability. Sometimes you will hear Tea Roses referred to in a disgruntled tone as ‘hanging their heads’; the flower drooping downwards on its thin stalk, but this can turned to advantage when it is trained to climb high, allowing you to look up into the flowers from below.

The Tea Roses were used extensively in early breeding programmes, becoming parents to the first generations of Hybrid Tea Roses. To this day, the Hybrid Tea Rose remains the most commonly grown class of rose, although many gardeners are rediscovering the beauty of growing the original Teas too.