Hybrid Tea Roses

Popular with both gardeners and florists, these repeat blooming roses produce long-stemmed beauties that bloom from mid-spring to late fall on plants that are easy to care for.

Hybrid teas are a cross between old-fashioned tea roses and hybrid perpetual roses.

They usually produce a single flower per stem rather than clusters as other rose types produce.

The plant is a shrub with an open airiness. Long pointed buds unfurl as they open.

Flowers vary from single rows of petals to over 60 petals, and can be up to five inches wide.

The plants grow to about four to five feet tall. They grow in areas where temperatures stay above 10 degrees Fahrenheit or need protection in colder regions.

Choosing the Right Variety

Depending on your climate and growing zone, there are many varieties from which to choose.

By carefully selecting a variety best suited to your conditions, hybrid tea roses are not fussy. Study the tags on plants and look for characteristics that work well in your zone.

Mildew resistant varieties are best suited to regions with high summer humidity. For dry, hot summers, heat tolerant varieties are better.

Care and Maintenance

Since these are repeat blooming roses, they are heavy feeders and require regular fertilizing.

In early spring, before new growth begins, apply the first feeding. Continue feeding weekly or bi-weekly, using a fertilizer especially made for roses.

Maintain a pH between 6.0 and 6.5. Yellow leaves indicate that an iron supplement is needed.

Half a cup of magnesium sulfate worked into the surface soil twice during the season will intensify color. Water well after application.

Check the expected first frost date for your area and stop fertilizing six weeks before to prevent tender new growth damage in winter. Mulch the roots to retain moisture and coolness in the soil.

Prune to shape in early spring, leaving at least a few leaves on each stem. Cut away any dead or damaged canes. Remove any with signs of disease.

Canes that are less than 1/2-inch diameter should also be removed. Cut the remaining strong, thick canes down to 1/3 their length, but no shorter than one foot.

Cut at a 45-degree angle, 1/4 inch above a bud facing outward. This hard pruning will encourage larger flowers on stronger stems.

Varieties

There are many varieties of hybrid tea roses in white, pink, lavender, yellow, orange, red and multicolored.

Among the most popular for repeat bloom and disease resistance are white, Elizabeth Harkness, Polar Star and Pristine; pink, Congratulations; yellow, Goldstar; orange, Mrs. Sam McGredy; red, Royal William; and multicolored, Shot Silk.

Fragrant varieties include pink, Bewitched, Eden Rose, Perfume Delight and Tiffany; yellow, Apollo, King's Ransom and Peace; orange, Folklore and Mrs. Oakley Fisher; red, Americana, Fragrant Cloud, Legend, Mr. Lincoln, New Yorker and Olympian; and multicolored, Cary Grant and Double Delight.

With so many varieties and continued bloom, hybrid tea roses are sure to become a favorite in every landscape.

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