History of Garden Roses

Hybrid Tea roses

Hybrid Teas combined the hardiness and vigour of the Hybrid Perpetual groups with the elegance, range of colours and scent of the Tea Roses.

The first Hybrid Tea 'La France’ was bred in 1867 in France, possibly from the Tea Rose 'Mme Bravy' and the Hybrid Perpetual 'Mme Victor Verdier'. An Englishman, Henry Bennett, was responsible for their further development and later introduction into America.

Early Hybrid Teas were almost sterile and were backcrossed to produce refined or pure types such as 'Opherlia' and 'Frau Karl Druschki'. These "Pure" Hybrid Teas were crossed with the Pernetiana group to produce a race of large-flowered, fairly hardy bedding roses which inherited the name of Hybrid Tea. A well known example is 'Peace' which was developed in France in 1935 and taken to America in 1940.

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