Why do Teas bloom more and longer than other roses?

Tea roses are known for their excessive blooming season. To know why we have to look at the origins of the Tea roses and they begin in China. Our Teas are the result of crossing R. Chinensis (The China rose) with the more tropical R. Gigantea which can be found in eastern India, Burma, the Himalayas and southwestern China. Because both parents originate from warmer regions than the European roses the result was an almost perpetual (all year round) blooming period. Of course Europe isn't the warmer part of China so here the Teas would stumble on winter boundaries. In the warmer parts of Europe and America but also Australia the Teas could flower almost year round but in most parts they did go dormant when temperatures dropped below 5 degrees Celsius.

For our Teas today it means that they start to grow much earlier in spring. When temperatures permit they wake up and start to grow. In my garden in Leuven, close to Brussels, it means that when there's no frost and winter temps are mild the Teas start to grow resulting in early blooming. This year some Teas had flowers in early April and they will continue to flower till the first frost will silence them. This can be in October or November or yes, even December. So depending on the region you're living in Tea roses will have a much longer flowering season. 

This has one significant downside: It makes them more vulnerable to frost. Teas have less hardiness than let's say Hybrid Teas or Bourbons and certainly less than the Alba's. Frost won't kill them (as long as temps don't drop lower than -12° Celsius) but it can severely damage fresh new growth. That's why it's so important to keep in mind the hardiness zones. If you're in zones 8b and higher it's unlikely your Teas will get killed during winter but zone 7b can sometimes cause trouble when severe frost is predicted.

The bottom line is that Teas don't go dormant entirely. They go in standby mode and when temp rise they react immediately and start to grow. It's only normal they can face some frost damage when late spring frost occurs.

Devoniensis: A magnificent Tea blooming well into autumn till first frost forces it to stop