La France

Since it's appearance La France has been labeled as a HT, a Hybrid Perpetual and a Tea. But actually nobody really knows what she is but it's 100% sure she has Tea parents. Now regarded as the first of her class, the Hybrid Teas, La France, in my opinion, has more in common with the Teas than with the HT's.

Bred by Jean Baptiste André Guillot in 1867 this fabulous rose deserves all the credit she can get.

The rose was found as an unnamed seedling in a bed at Guillot nursery. Guillot said: She stood in a bed filled with chance seedlings (so not a result of a specific cross) and she really looked different from the others. She already bloomed in her first year which was quite remarkable and the quality of the flowers was so big... I decided to give her the La France name. 

I don't know her parents specifically but they are 100% Tea for sure.

La France was an instant hit and the whole rose world was in awe of the beauty and fragrance of the flower. In the twenties of the 20th century the discussion began which rose was the first Hybrid Tea and several candidates were on the list but eventually it was La France which was chosen as the first of her kind, the HT's. Was she really the first? Probably not but the other candidates also lacked 100% certainty. One thing is certain: La France is one of the most beautiful roses ever created.

La France is a rather slender, upright growing rose of approx 100X80 cm or 3X3 feet, maybe a little bit higher. Foliage is light green and certainly not strong or leathery. The shoots aren't particularly strong or thick but rather thin. Buds are more oval shaped and turn light pink when almost opening.

Then the miracle happens: From those buds light, silvery pink with darker reverse petals appear in typical Tea style. When she's almost completely unfolded her petals curl back giving her a majestic, regal appearance. This appearance is combined with a truly heavenly fragrance: Tea, citrus and Damask, utterly enchanting. Just like most Teas the flowers of La France have the nodding weak neck syndrome. Flowers are mostly borne solitary but they can stand in small clusters of two or three. Blooms in flushes throughout the season 

Does La France only has great qualities? No, she isn't flawless. Even a queen isn't perfect and the weak spot of La France is her susceptibility to rain. Glorious in warm and dry weather but a horror in damp, rainy summers. The petals are thin as filo pastry and they glue together when wet. Result: Balling

It's important to keep this in mind when you're in a rather wet and damp region. Are your summers rather dry and warm? Then La France  has no equal.

Zone 6b to 10b, drought and heat resistant but sadly she hates rain. Prune only lightly or not at all. Can be grown in pots. 

One of my favorite roses of all time 

A climbing sport exists and is a real gem when grown in the right climate. Can get six meters or 18 feet