Étoile de Lyon (Anna Olivier des Bermudes)

Étoile de Lyon is one of the very best light yellow Teas and is praised for its stunning cut flower quality. Guillot created this rose in 1878. In Bermuda this rose was found and they called it Anna Olivier des Bermudes but it was only in the nineties that it was proven this rose was in fact the old Étoile de Lyon.

Étoile de Lyon bears big, Sulphur yellow with deeper yellow center flowers. They are very double and have a moderate Tea fragrance. 

The blooms are borne solitary or in small clusters. The flowers don't have the weak neck syndrome and are held on strong branches. This makes them perfect for cut flower use. The blooms last at least five days before they drop their petals and indoors , in the vase, they last even longer. No wonder this was a very popular greenhouse rose especially bred for the cut flower industry.

Étoile de Lyon grows into a well rounded shrub of approx 150X100 cm or 6X4 feet. In the right climates she gets bigger. She has several flushes during the growing season. New growth is red or bronze. Zone 6b to 10b. Drought and heat resistance is good but during wet days the big buds may struggle to open properly.

This rose is a tough cookie but she hates one thing: Pruning! Just resist the urge to prune, she can die from it. Good for pot culture, beds and cut flower. 

Francis Dubreuil in commerce

The original Francis Dubreuil was bred by Dubreuil in 1894. It was a slender, twiggy, rather little shrub. It could reach 100X100 cm or 3X3 feet and was ideal for pots.

The rose had stunning dark red, double flowers with the typical nodding head of the Teas. It had no fragrance. 

We have records of the rose till 1910 and after that the rose disappeared completely from the grid... till she emerged in the late seventies/early eighties at Sangerhausen. Peter Beales distributed this rose internationally to nearly every nursery. But there was a problem: The rose didn't match the early catalog descriptions. The Sangerhausen Francis Dubreuil had typical HT, almost HP foliage, the flowers didn't have the weak neck syndrome and they were extremely fragrant while the original rose didn't have scent. This Francis looked like Papa Meilland, Oklahoma, Mister Lincoln and others. The only two matching features were dark red color and fit for pots. This wasn't the real Francis Dubreuil...

Today this imposter rose is sold in many many nurseries and still as Francis Dubreuil but the discussion of which rose it actually is keeps raging on. Some say it's Barcelona from Kordes, a HT from the thirties but others don't agree. In the meantime the original Francis didn't re emerged so it's reasonable to say the rose has become extinct and is lost to us... 

Although the current Francis is an imposter it's still a very appealing rose with incredible fragrance. She needs lots of TLC so a lot of manure, water and fertilizer. Put it in a pot in partial shade to protect the beautiful flowers from burning. 

Zone 6b to 9b, rain tolerant. Doesn't like full afternoon sun and also she's isn't drought resistant.

If you love the very fragrant deep red HT's from the past you'll definitely like this rose 

Mme Lambard (Mme Lombard)

Mme Lambard was bred by Lacharme in 1878 as a result of the cross between Mme de Tartas and a direct descendant of Safrano. It is a most beautiful rose which shows the quintessential essence of the Tea roses

Mme Lambard (often called Lombard or Bloomfield cemetery Tea) is a real color chameleon as it's flowers can vary strongly depending on the temperature. She's light pink to candy pink with bronze or coppery highlights and salmon pink shading. Best color is during cooler temperatures. She flowers almost continuously from late spring well into Autumn. The flowers stand in small clusters. Very strong Tea fragrance. The bloom shape reminds us of a double Safrano with the typical scrolled back petals. They make a very elegant impression 

She can be quite vigorous and a strong grower but generally she get 120X120 cm or 4X4 feet. It's an extremely tough rose and there are many specimens today of 60 years and older.

She's among the most Hardy Tea roses and you can grow her in zone 6b to 11b. She doesn't like to be cut for the vase as the flowers quickly fade. Rain, heat and drought resistant.

Mme Lambard is one of the best examples of the sheer beauty of the Tea family

Mme Bérard

Mme Bérard (Dijon Tea) is a magnificent climbing Tea with Noisette blood. She's perfectly Hardy in zones 6b to 10b. I'll tell you exactly why this is a must have beauty

Bred by Lévet in 1858 as a result of the cross between the very famous Gloire de Dijon and Madame Falcot, another immortal Tea beauty, Mme Bérard delivers the best features of both parents.

Big buds unfolding into quartered, buff, Faun colored flowers with a strong fragrance. They are mostly borne solitary or in small clusters. Reblooming is very good and at the same speed of her parent Gloire de Dijon. Overall the Mme Bérard flowers give a very baroque, opulent impression.

Growth is quite strong and this rose can get up to 350 cm against a wall, that's 12 feet. A big obelisk or piramide is equally good. There's one point of attention: Mme Bérard needs a warm and sunny spot to perform at the best of her abilities. Give her a warm protected spot. Don't prune, she hates it.

So let's recap: Zone 6b to 10b, requires full sun and heat, can sustain heat and drought but rain isn't her friend. 

Gloire de Dijon has lost much of her vigor due to deteriorating DNA. Millions have been grafted and the plant seems weakened. Luckily Gloire de Dijon was a great parent and she gave us a couple of very good children. Elie Beauvillain but also Mme Bérard are among them. Mme Bérard looks very much like Dijon but has much more buff color. 

One of the great Tea roses! 

Adam (The President)

Adam is supposed to be the very first Tea created by Adam in France in 1838. However, the traditional story is very much disputed and it's almost 100% certain Adam isn't the first Tea.

Adam has many imposters especially in America and Australia. If you really want the original rose you have to keep your eyes open but even then there can be doubt as not few rosarians say that the original Adam has been lost. 

The real Adam has medium to big, light pink with darker reverse, very full, almost quartered flowers. Buds are long and pointy. A strong Tea with citrus fragrance is present. The flowers are mostly borne solitary but small clusters of two or three are also possible. 

Adam is a climber and can reach 250 to 350 cm or 8 feet 11 feet. The shoots are very thorny. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. Needs full sun to open properly. Rain tolerance is satisfactory and heat and drought resistance is quite good. Do not prune. Zone 7b to 10b

Adam is also called "The president" or "President" in the USA but it's the same rose. 

In Australia and in big parts of the USA Adam = Mme Bérard so you don't get the real Adam but the magnificent Gloire de Dijon daughter Mme Bérard. That's not so bad as Mme Bérard is one of the most beautiful Tea Noisette climbers. However, she's not pink but rather buff yellow or coppery with apricot. 

All in all the mystery surrounding Adam still continuous to this day. Just remember that Adam = The President in the USA and often you get Mme Bérard instead of the real light pink rose. Both are worth growing! 

Mme Bérard is often confused with Adam 

Rubens

The greatest Baroque painter of all time, Peter Paul Rubens, has a few roses named after him. This Tea from 1859, created by the great Moureau / Robert, was the first...

Big, globular, cream white with flesh pink shading and salmon pink center blooms appear mostly solitary in small clusters. They are very full and have a moderate Tea fragrance. 

Forms quite a rounded, well balanced shrub of approx 120X100 cm or 5X4 feet. Wood is dark green and red when young. Big, dark green foliage

Parents are unknown. Zone 7b to 10b. Can take quite some rain before the flowers turn bad. Also heat and drought resistant. Needs full sun and doesn't like pruning.

A beautiful variety