PERTH REGION OF HERITAGE ROSES IN AUSTRALIA
Di's Ten of the Best Tea Roses
Passionate Tea Rose enthusiast Di Durston, co-author of Tea Roses: Old Roses for Warm Climates, lists her Ten Best Tea Roses - and they are gorgeous. Starting with Safrano from 1839, explore the beautiful world of Di Durston's Tea Rose fancies!

Saffron to apricot, pale buff with age
Safrano 1839
Safrano is a very early tea from 1839 and has remained popular since its introduction to Australia in 1850. This stunning tea rose flowers saffron to apricot in the bud stage then changing to pale buff with age. Safrano is very prolific and repeat flowers quickly. It is a very hardy tea rose and is drought tolerant. This tea rose sets many hips.
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White, pink shading, ages to blush colour
Madame Joseph Swartz 1880
This beautiful Tea Rose is the white sport of Comtesse de Labarthe and was introduced in 1880. The white blooms of Madame Joseph Swartz are tinted with soft pink, exquisite in colouring. This is a grand rose, highly scented and a very persistent bloomer.
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Very large double high-centred rosettes
Maman Cochet 1892
Flesh-coloured rose, shaded with carmine and salmon
yellow. The flowers are large and full with long fine buds. This splendid rose should be included in every tea rose collection. Many old neglected ruins still have this rose growing freely without being tended.
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Pale chamois yellow, tints of rose, vigorous bush
Mrs Dudley Cross 1907
Pale chamois yellow beautifully illuminated in autumn
months with tints of rose in the way of Marie van Houtte, but the flowers are larger, fuller and of better habit, being carried well above the foliage on strong upright stems. A vigorous bush, with very clean foliage.
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Soft buff to old gold, intense silk apricot in centre
Wood Street Tea - Study Name
The fascinating colours of the blooms are difficult to portray. Soft buff to old gold with a very intense silk finished apricot in the centre. It has splendid constitution with dark bronzy green foliage and wood that make a delightful contrast against the unique coloured blooms. It is very floriferous and has
a pervading perfume.
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Shaded salmon, petal base of terracotta or buff
Anna Olivier 1872
A very popular Tea Rose, Anna Olivier is shaded salmon with a petal base of terracotta, and may also be buff. It has very clean foliage and grows to a large bush. A distinct lovely variety, Anna Olivier is beautiful in a bowl, with large, full and well made flowers. This Tea Rose is a delight! Read notes from "Tea Bag Lady" Di Durston HERE
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A very good Autumn blooming rose
G Nabonnand 1888
G Nabonnand blooms open in cold weather and is particularly good in autumn. With lovely pale salmon-rose, shaded yellow blooms with very large petals and handsome buds. G Nabonnand sets many hips.
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Blooms have quality of fine bone china
Madame Antoine Mari 1901
Blooms are a washed ivory shaded with a lively
rose pink, the latter colour pervading mostly the outer petals. Almost evergreen foliage and the blooms have the quality of fine bone china.
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Loosely double, apricot to old gold
Lady Hillingdon 1910
This Tea Rose has the most lovely, loosely double, apricot to old gold coloured blooms and deservedly popular since its introduction in 1910. Both wood and
foliage are of remarkable beauty, very clean and disease resistant. The colour of the new wood and new shoots is purple. The scent is a fruity apricot. Read Di Durston's reflections on this gorgeous Tea Rose HERE
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Robust growth, flowers freely & continuously
Fake Perle - Study Name
A splendid rose, of robust growth with free branching
habit, flowering freely and continuously. The blooms are a deep sulphur yellow passing to a lighter shade at the edges of petals. The blooms are large, and the texture of the petals is smooth with great substance. Foliage is of a dark bronzy green.
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The Tea Rose Book
Tea Roses: Old Roses for Warm Gardens

Published in 2008, and awarded a literary award by the World Federation of Rose Societies in 2009, this definitive resource book about Tea Roses was written by 6 members of the Perth Region of Heritage Roses in Australia. Find out about the writing of this now quite rare book.