genus profile Tea through the ages

Rosa ‘Madame Lombard’ dates from 1878 and epitomizes the later Tea roses with deeper coloured flowers All photographs by Charles Quest-Ritson unless stated otherwise stated unless Quest-Ritson Charles by All photographs

ld-fashioned roses Charles Quest- Musks and Moss roses that set the enjoyed a renaissance of benchmark for fashionable ‘good popularity in the 1950s. Ritson charts the taste’ in the gardens of the influential. OThey were known as roses, and popularity and of all kinds were the spirit of Overlooked hothouse flowers those bleak post-war years. Their development of But there was one group of roses, far intricate petals and sumptuous scents Tea roses from their surpassing Thomas’s for their floral spoke of a gentler, more leisurely beauty and scent, that missed out existence in the 19th century. origins in the early completely on the restoration to The guiding spirit behind their 19th century popularity of old roses. These were revival of fortune was plantsman and the Tea roses, elegant and ineffable, rosarian Graham Stuart Thomas, at that flowered through all 12 months that time nursery manager with afford their pre-war style of of the year in the hothouses and Hilling & Co. in Woking, Surrey. gardening. Until overshadowed by conservatories that were now too His target market was the compara­ David Austin’s English Roses, it was expensive to maintain in those post- tively well-to-do who could no longer the ancient Gallicas, Damasks, war years of austerity. In warmer

214 December 2015 PlantsmanThe latitudes, of course, and in first peak around 1840, after which Mediterranean climates around the Teas began to be eclipsed by the rise world, Tea roses remained the of Hybrid Perpetuals, cold-resistant cornerstone of gardens in spring. that usually flowered more than once. The breeding of Tea progenitors Tea roses then peaked again around Tea roses are descended from two 1900, before losing popularity to the east Asian species: Rosa chinensis, a new class of hardy Hybrid Teas. fairly hardy climber from Guizhou, Most of the early Tea breeders Hubei and Sichuan in China, and were French (such as Alexandre R. gigantea, a vigorous but tender Bernaix, Jean-Baptiste Guillot and climber from further south – Yunnan his son Jean-Baptiste Alexandre in China and Manipur in India. More Guillot, Gilbert Nabonnand) though specifically, they are the result of RHS Lindley Library by 1900 many were English (Henry crosses made from the introduction­ Bennett, Alexander Dickson, into western Europe of two Chinese William Paul and his cousin George hybrids, popularly known as ‘Hume’s Paul) and, to a lesser extent, from the Blush’ (1809) and ‘Parks’ Yellow’ German-speaking world (Heinrich (1824). Drögemüller, Rudolf Geschwind, We owe much to the Chinese Johann Christoph Schmidt). gardeners who selected and The first Tea roses were either conserved these two , selfed seedlings or crosses between because they differ from their wild ‘Hume’s Blush’ and ‘Parks’ Yellow’. ancestors in several characteristics Almost all are now lost to cultivation of great horticultural value. Rosa or, at least, impossible to identify chinensis and R. gigantea are lanky, because we lack detailed descript­ once-flowering climbers with simple ions of the earliest cultivars. It is five-petalled flowers, but ‘Hume’s easier to be certain of the identity of Blush’ and ‘Parks’ Yellow’ are a rose of which an accurate drawing multipetalled, bushy and repeat- was published at the time of its flowering. Furthermore, ‘Hume’s introduction. And many roses that Blush’ has the delicious tarry scent are still sold as cultivars raised in the that we think of as characteristic Sothebys 1830s have been wrongly identified. of Tea roses, and ‘Parks’ Yellow’ Even roses identified as ‘Hume’s introduced a new colour to ‘Parks’ Yellow’ (top, by an unknown Chinese artist, Blush’ and ‘Parks’ Yellow’ in cultivated roses – a pale yellow that and too richly coloured) and what is thought by commerce today are among them, many rose experts to be ‘Hume’s Blush’ (above, by often turns to cream as the flowers Redouté). Both are hybrids between R. chinensis and the same is true of such cultivars age but remains darker and deeper and R. gigantea and were the ancestors of Tea as ‘Smith’s Yellow’ (Smith, 1832), in cool, northern Europe. roses. The Redouté watercolour, published here for ‘Triomphe de Luxembourg’ (Hardy, the first time, is the basis for his famous print and Tea roses are exclusively of the rose was known to him as ‘Indica Fragrans’. 1835) and ‘Adam’ (Adam, 1838). Western breeding. Social circum­ The earliest of whose stances and economic conditions breeding. This was not peculiar to identity we can be certain is in China during the Qing dynasty Tea roses, but true of all the classes ‘Devoniensis’ (Foster, 1838). Like all (1644–1912) were not conducive of roses that were popular in the first Teas, its flowers are variable in shape to the extensive development of half of the 19th century, most and colour – which makes their numerous cultivars. In western especially the Gallica roses. correct identification particularly Europe, however, a national press, difficult – but its elegant buds are pale horticultural ingenuity, increasing Early Tea roses pink, fading to creamy white shortly wealth and fast communications all So much for the historical after opening out, while always contributed to the creation of a background to the development of retaining hints and tints of pink and market for the products of rose- Tea roses. Hybridization reached its buff towards the centre of the ➤

December 2015 215 genus profile flower. ‘Devoniensis’ is said to have been bred by crossing ‘Parks’ Yellow’ with ‘Smith’s Yellow’, the latter itself a seedling of ‘Parks’ Yellow’. ‘Parks’ Yellow’ was a good producer of seeds, and its influence is noted in the sulphur-yellow colour that underlies the pinks, salmons, and whites of many of the Teas. One of the most important early introductions, ‘Safrano’ (Beauregard, 1839), is thought to be a simple selfed seedling of ‘Parks’ Yellow’. It proved a fertile parent for further fine Tea roses and remains one of the most widely grown today. The flower industry on the Italian Riviera dei Fiori (Riviera of Flowers) was founded on millions of flowers of ‘Safrano’ conveyed by the expanding European railway network to Paris in one day, London and Berlin in two days, and St Petersburg in four days.

Later Tea roses Several important Tea roses were bred in around 1870. ‘Catherine Mermet’ (Guillot, 1869), ‘Marie van Houtte’ (Ducher, 1871) and ‘Anna Olivier’ (Ducher, 1872) proved sturdier and, in some cases, hardier than older Tea cultivars. Crosses with China roses led to the emergence of Tea roses with darker colours such as ‘Madame Lombard’ (Lacharme, 1878) and ‘Général Schablikine’ (Nabonnand, 1878). All are widely ‘Safrano’ (top) was an early seedling of ‘Parks’ Yellow’, probably the result of self-pollination. grown today and helped to establish ‘Catherine Mermet’ (above) and ‘Marie van Houtte’ (opposite top) came 30 years later and are hardier a second period of popularity for Tea and more refined. Tea roses with deeper colours, such as ‘Général Schablikine’ (opposite centre), roses in the period leading up to the appeared in the late 1870s. ‘Maréchal Niel’ (opposite bottom), the most yellow of Tea roses, especially in cooler climates, became a symbol of wealth and was popular as a cut flower. First World War. decorator, John Wills, supplied of Rosebery, later a British prime Symbols of wealth 2,000 blooms of ‘Maréchal Niel’ minister, the display of wedding gifts Writers of the 19th century (Pradel, 1864) to drape the pictures, was surrounded by floral decorations frequently referred to Tea roses mirrors and walls of the Mansion which incorporated no fewer than as ‘the aristocrats of the rose world’, House for a ball. Wealthy enthusiasts 3,000 Tea roses. Often they were but there was a hidden message such as the Rothschilds at grown in pots and brought into behind the cliché. This was that Tea Gunnersbury Park in London grew the house when they flowered. roses were the flowers of the rich – their Tea roses in purpose-built Tea roses were also fashionable symbols of wealth and plenty. greenhouses. When, in 1878, on the Riviera in France, where ever- In 1874, a leading London Hannah Rothschild married the Earl increasing numbers of wealthy

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persons spent the winter months. Here they were treated as garden that could also be cut for the house. In the half century before the First World War, breeders such as Nabonnand poured out a dozen or so new cultivars every year, and named them after the distinguished gentlemen­ and fashionable beauties of the day. Few were an improve­ ment on what had gone before but they were immensely popular. The 3rd Lord Brougham and Vaux even published a book about his collect­ ion of Tea roses at Cannes in France, asserting that it was ‘a place truly suited for the successful cultivation of this most beautiful of all flowers’.

Competitive showing The larger-flowered Tea roses were shown competitively. John Pemberton, a breeder of Hybrid Musk roses, referred to ‘Souvenir d’un Ami’ (Bélot-Defougère, 1846), ‘Devoniensis’, ‘Niphetos’ (Bougère, 1843), ‘Maréchal Niel’, ‘Catherine Mermet’ and ‘Marie van Houtte’ as popular exhibition roses in 1877. The popularity of shows and competitions altered the standards expected of Tea roses. Flat or cup- shaped flowers were abandoned in favour of cultivars with more and firmer petals, high-centred buds and altogether larger flowers. Examples of these included ‘Maman Cochet’ (Cochet, 1893), ‘Baronne Henriette de Snoy’ (Bernaix, 1897) and ‘William R. Smith’ (Bagg, 1908). In 1901, Samuel Reynolds Hole, rose expert and Dean of Rochester, recommended 42 Teas as exhibition roses, most for cultivation under glass. Even after the First World War, cultivars such as ‘Mrs Foley- Hobbs’ (Dickson, 1912) continued to be popular for exhibition, and many English amateurs thought of Tea roses principally as a means to win prizes at shows. ➤

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‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’ (Béluze, 1843), was perhaps the most important seedling from ‘Jaune Desprez’, and subsequent back- crossings to Tea roses tended to be called Teas, even if they were climbers. ‘Gloire de Dijon’ brought greater hardiness into the Teas, but the hardiness of these Tea-Noisettes varied greatly: ‘Maréchal Niel’ is generally regarded as a greenhouse in the UK, but there is a plant of ‘Homère’ (Robert & Moreau, 1858) that has grown against the south wall of the parish church at Staplefield in Sussex since 1862. It is said to be the oldest rose in Tea roses with high-centred buds, such Britain. So far as ‘pure’ Teas are as Rosa ‘Maman Cochet’, were favoured concerned, Reynolds Hole listed for competition use some 62 cultivars as hardy in most of England. Further improvements western Europe. It was natural that Right from the start, the race of they should be crossed with Tea The rise of Hybrid Teas Tea roses was enriched, and roses, with their complementary In most of Europe and North rendered hardier, by crosses with qualities of huge flowers, drooping America Tea roses were eventually Noisette and Bourbon roses, as stems and delicious scent. ‘Jaune supplanted by Hybrid Teas. Their well as with the first two Chinese Desprez’ (Desprez, 1830) was one hardiness suited the economic cultivars to reach Europe – ‘Parson’s of the earliest offspring – a probable climate of the 1920s, when garden Pink China’ and ‘Slater’s Crimson’. cross between ‘Noisette Carnée’ and owners could afford fewer gardeners These last two were introduced to ‘Parks’ Yellow’. ‘Gloire de Dijon’ than before the First World War. Europe prior to the ancestors of the (Jacotot, 1853), probably the result Furthermore, the introduction of Tea roses. The old European roses of a cross with the Bourbon rose yellow-flowered ‘Soleil d’Or’ (Pernet- such as Gallicas and Albas are tetraploid, but R. chinensis and Another popular competition cultivar R. gigantea are both diploid, as was Rosa ‘Mrs Foley-Hobbs’ are all the cultivars that came from China to Europe. Crosses between diploid and tetraploid roses are often sterile so could not be used to advance breeding. But there was another new race of diploid roses in a rapid state of development in the 1820s and 1830s. These were the Noisettes, repeat- flowering climbers originating with ‘Noisette Carnée’ (Noisette, 1815), a cross between R. moschata and ‘Parson’s Pink China’. These bore large numbers of fairly small flowers in large clusters – they were elegant, musk-scented and hardy in much of

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During the 1950s, Arthur Wyatt in England began to make a collection of re-found Teas. His work was continued by plantsman James Russell at Castle Howard in Yorkshire and rose breeder Peter Beales of Norfolk. Interest in Tea roses picked up again with the growth of enthusiasm for plant conservation in the 1970s. In the 1960s and 1970s, John MacGregor IV at Huntington Botanical Gardens in California collected Chinas, Teas and Noisettes. Also in California, much work was done at the San José Heritage Rose Garden in the 1990s, A climbing Tea, Rosa ‘Gloire de Dijon’ backed by such nurserymen as Gregg emerged from a Noisette breeding line Lowery at Vintage Gardens. At the and quickly became a success same time, Nancy Steen in New Zealand and Gwen Fagan in South Ducher, 1900), derived from Conserving old cultivars Africa were making collections of R. foetida ‘Persiana’, led to brighter The Anglo-American nurseryman lost roses of all types. shades of orange and yellow among Francis Lester was one of the first, However, it was the German the Hybrid Teas than were ever in the 1940s, to look for Tea roses National Rosarium at Sangerhausen found among the Teas. Even in in old gardens, cemeteries and that did most to re-establish Tea Mediterranean climates, Hybrid abandoned farms in California. He roses, by making budwood freely Teas were widely used for garden gathered cuttings and discovered available to collectors and display. Their popularity was that they were easy to root and nurserymen worldwide. All through regrettable, not least because Teas tenacious growers. He noted that the inflationary 1920s and the are less susceptible to fungal diseases they required no spraying and were decades of Nazism and Communism than Hybrid Teas. at their best when left unpruned. that followed, the German National Rosarium at Sangerhausen preserved a remarkable collection of around Rosa ‘Mrs B.R. Cant’ is being used in a breeding programme in India 100 Tea roses by protecting them every year against the ravages of a central European winter. In all, some 2,500 Tea roses were bred and introduced between 1820 and 1920 and, of these, perhaps no more than 300 remain in cultivation. Nurseries in France, Italy and California have made a speciality of collecting them and offering the widest possible selection. Altogether they list some 250 different cultivars, but at least 50 of them are ‘found’ roses that exist under temporary names, so there is probably an element of duplication among them. And some nurseries include not ➤

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Difficulties in identification exist: ‘Archiduc Joseph’ (top left) is more pink than ‘Monsieur Tillier’ (top right), and plants currently sold as ‘Clementina Carbonieri’ (above left) are thought to be identical to ‘Souvenir de Gilbert Nabonnand’ (above right) only true Tea roses but also list hybrids that are closer to Noisettes or China roses in their appearance.

Modern breeding potential What does the future hold for Tea roses as a genetic resource? They are unlikely ever to be bred again on a large scale. So many good cultivars have survived from 100 years ago that there is no need to look for new combinations of Tea rose genes. Cynics might say that their genetic gold mine has long since been Rosa ‘Étoile de Lyon’ worked out. But it is worth

220 December 2015 PlantsmanThe remembering that, with very few A rediscovered cultivar known exceptions, no-one nowadays breeds informally as “Philippa Pirette” Gallicas, Damasks, Bourbons or any has not yet been identified other class of old rose. A good choice of cultivars is available in all parts of the world where Teas flourish and it is difficult to see how they could be improved by further breeding. Most enthusiasts focus instead on bringing together the many foundlings that are grown under ad hoc names in different parts of the world. They can then compare them, minimise duplication and perhaps identify them. Tea roses do, however, have an interesting potential for crossing with other diploid roses. They could be used to develop entirely new races of roses that are suitable for particular climate conditions, or that display an ‘Clementina Carbonieri’ (Bonfiglioli, tendency to expand both upwards unusual and attractive combination 1913) in commerce is identical to and sideways. Almost every shoot of features. Imagine, for example, ‘Souvenir de Gilbert Nabonnand’ produces a flower or cluster of crosses with hardy American species (Nabonnand, 1920). He is fairly flowers. For these cultivars, even such as R. virginiana and damp- certain that a cultivar known before the bud has opened, the nodes loving species such as R. palustris, informally as “Anna Olivier” grown below it expand to bear further both of which have a natural in Bermuda is identical to ‘Étoile shoots that will also flower. The tendency to repeat-flowering. de Lyon’ (Guillot, 1881). plant therefore builds up to become Of greater importance is their use All experts now accept that Peter a thick mass of shrubby growths in crosses with other groups of roses, Beales was wrong to identify a once- with buds and flowers at all levels. especially with members of section flowering Noisette Rambler as the Over-pruning will kill them, but it is Synstylae. In this way, perpetual- original ‘Parks’ Yellow’. As for also accepted that commercial cut- flowering ramblers could be raised ‘Hume’s Blush’, the most that can be flower cultivars need pruning to for subtropical climates – parts of said of it is that three distinct roses carry large, long-stemmed blooms. the world where considerable are in cultivation under that name. Some of the later Teas have growth is expected in the market The jury is still out on whether any Hybrid Tea blood in them and are for all roses. In India, Viru and Girija of them is correctly named. therefore fairly hardy – ‘Mrs S.T. Viraraghavan have used ‘Mrs B.R. Tea roses are so variable that they Wright’ (Dickson, 1914), for Cant’ for crosses with R. gigantea, in are best identified not by their example. Summer heat, with long effect a back-cross to a species from flowers but by their leaves. That said, spells of temperatures over 30ºc, will which all Teas descend. some of the most beautiful of all ripen their wood so that they survive Teas are ‘found’ roses, known only winter frosts down to -12ºc. Identification by their temporary names: “Isabella Most Teas do best when grown Problems of identification remain. Ducrot”, “Octandre” and “Philippa on their own roots and planted Few can distinguish between Pirette” are examples of first-class deeply. Cuttings root easily, and ‘Monsieur Tillier’ (Bernaix, 1891) cultivars still in search of their true many nurseries sell Teas growing and ‘Archiduc Joseph’ (Nabonnand, identities. on their own roots. 1892) – the latter is pinker. The leading European expert is John Habit and hardiness Charles Quest-Ritson is a Hook of La Roseraie du Désert in Tea roses do not always respond well writer, translator and joint author Aquitaine, France. He believes that to pruning. They have a natural of the RHS Encyclopedia of Roses

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