CHAPTER V 



HYBRID TEAS 



The beginner could scarcely go far wrong if he filled 

 his garden with Hybrid Teas, so far as the planting of 

 bush and dwarf roses is concerned. The majority of 

 them are fairly vigorous, and easy to grow. They blos- 

 som abundantly in July and in September, and give 

 quite a lot of flowers in August, October, and even 

 November if the weather allows. There are now so 

 many varieties that the beginner's chief difficulty is in 

 making a suitable choice, for some are so much more 

 valuable than others. The two chief drawbacks of this 

 class of rose are the lack of fragrance in many varieties 

 and the thinness of the blooms — that is, their prone- 

 ness to become full blown very early in their career. 

 These two defects, together with the lack of intense 

 colour, afford plenty of scope for the lamentations of 

 modern writers on roses, and if printed regrets could 

 work wonders (as sometimes they have the credit of 

 doing), our Hybrid Teas would by now be perfect. It 

 is pleasant to be able to chronicle that so far as lack of 

 rich, deep colouring is concerned, the omission is being 

 made good. The want of fragrance is still, unfortunately, 

 a sore point with those garden lovers who cherish the 

 rose above all things for its sweet scent. A generation 



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