Identifying Tea roses

Of all the rose families the Teas have the most lost varieties. Once, 120 years ago, there were more than 200 Teas but today only 25% remains. Because so many disappeared from the grid it's no rare thing that so called "lost Teas" are found again or should we say "claimed to be a specific lost rose"? When this happens the debate can begin wether or not this found rose is the real original variety. Tea experts from around the world give their opinion till they reach a concensus... or not. Sometimes you have one side saying no it isn't the rose and the other side says yes it is the original.

The biggest problem with found roses is that we can't compare them with other living specimens, we have to rely completely on the old catalogs and descriptions that are available from that era. Luckily we often have old drawings from the roses in question and if we are very lucky even very old photos. But it always remains tricky... 

We also have many Tea roses of which we know for certain they aren't the real variety but since they are getting sold as such we keep using the original name. The imposter has become that specific rose although she isn't. A good example is the Tea Francis Dubreuil. Everybody agrees that the original rose is lost but nearly all nurseries sell Francis Dubreuil, that is, it's replacement. In this specific case the imposter is a far better rose than the original as it has a magnificent dark velvet red color and one of the most delicious rose fragrances in the rose realm. Francis Dubreuil today is a HT from Kordes... 

In this new series we'll discuss Tea roses which have imposters in commerce claiming to be a certain variety. I'll give tips on how you can determine if your nursery sells the real deal and not the imposter(s) but if the real rose isn't in commerce anymore you'll have to take the imposter.

It's always good to look up your rose at Helpmefind or on this blog. If the real, original rose is lost Helpmefind usually says: Francis Dubreuil in commerce or Madame Berkeley in commerce. It means that the rose in commerce isn't the original rose but is so widely spread she's regarded as the real deal.

I hope this new series will help you to get the original variety if she's still commercial available and not lost. If she's lost you'll have to do with the rose being sold as...