Chapman, Lynne
Drage, Noelene
Durston, Di
Jones, Jenny
Merrifield, Hillary
West, Billy
Tea Roses - Old Roses for Warm Gardens

280 x 230 mm, 256 pages, 400 colour plates
ISBN 9781877058677, $59.95, Hardcover
Rosenberg Publishing, 2008

Teas—once almost forgotten—are now being acclaimed as superb roses for warm gardens.

Bred for a century or so from 1820, they were descended mainly from Chinese garden hybrids introduced into Europe in the early nineteenth century. Teas brought characteristics that had not been seen before in European roses. These included an intriguing multi-layered fragrance; a new range of colours; a higher-centred flower shape; gently nodding heads; and a bushy, twiggy growth habit. Even more importantly, the Teas whose ancestors came from temperate to subtropical areas of China bloomed almost continuously in favourable conditions and did not need a dormant period.

The authors aim to bring together the observations and knowledge they have accumulated about the Teas and to tell something of their past history. Full details are given of roses currently being sold as Teas in Australia, as well as some Tea-like found roses. Descriptions are first hand and not just a repetition of what has been said before.

They authors grow most of the Teas known in Australia, and these are a large proportion of those commercially available elsewhere. Consequently, the information given about them will be relevant wherever these roses are grown.