162 
GARDENING IN THE SOUTHWEST 
Tea Roses 
Identified 
Suggested 
Varieties 
Height 
Pruning 
Chief 
Character¬ 
istics 
Origin 
carmine-orange buds which fade with age to a pretty pink. 
The Teas are an old race of bushy, everblooming Roses, mostly 
in yellow tones with disease-resistant foliage, which is little 
troubled by mildew or black-spot. They are not winter-hardy in 
the North, but are seldom killed by the cold weather in most 
sections of the Southwest. Their chief faults are a restricted range 
of color, and an inclination to "ball”, a term which, when applied 
to Roses (mostly the soft, heavy ones) means that they do not 
open properly. This is due generally to weather conditions, but is 
one of the most exasperating traits that a Rose may possess, for no 
one likes to have a whole crop of blooms "go bad”, and most of 
the Teas bloom in crops. 
One Tea which never balls is Lady Hillington . It is widely 
planted in this section and ranks as the most popular yellow rose. 
An often weak "neck” (a characteristic of the Teas) and a tend¬ 
ency to fade badly in the heat, constitute its major faults, but it 
is one of three Teas that should be in all Rose gardens, the other 
two being the cream-colored William R. Smith and the deep pink 
Lap a Gontier. Other Tea Roses grown in numbers in the Southwest 
are the two Cochets, white and pink, Dudley Cross , Helen Gould , 
Harry Kirk and Mrs. B. R. Cant. 
The Teas are generally of but average height. They require only 
light pruning, as their chief value to a garden lies more in the 
number than in the size of their blossoms. They improve wonder¬ 
fully when given frequent cultivation and heavy feeding. 
The Teas are almost as little adapted to the Southwest as the 
Rugosas and should be left as largely to the true South as the 
Rugosas to the true North. Their strong tea-fragrance and lovely 
foliage cannot make up for the fact that only a few of their 
multitudinous flowers are worth gathering, except in those seasons 
most favorable to their proper development. 
HYBRID TEAS 
The Hybrid-Tea originated as a cross between a Hybrid-Per¬ 
petual and a Tea. It inherited most of the hardiness of the former 
and the everblooming tendency of the latter. Though Hybrid-Teas 
