Newsletter  (Nov 2013)  Page(s) 13.  
 
[From "California's oldest surviving roses", by Darrell Schramm]
Two of his [Burbank's]  roses from this period, Santa Rosa and Burbank, have survived. Similar in description and twins in color, form and size, the plants were said to be hybrid Bourbon teas, or hybrid teas, and both are off spring of Hermosa and Bon Silene. He does state, “The Burbank rose was a product of seeds… accidentally garnered.” The introduction date usually given for Burbank is 1900. But the John Doyle Co. featured Burbank on its catalog cover in 1899, and American Gardening magazine published a picture of the rose in the November 5, 1898, issue. Accordingly, the correct date for its entry into the rose world would be 1898. That conclusion, however, would contradict the sources that claim Santa Rosa came first, in 1899. Scientific record keeping would have resolved the confusion. Today, both Santa Rosa and Burbank appear alike. Have they become confused over the years? Has one of them vanished and the other survived? If so, which is which? Surely, they were not the same rose to begin with, one sent out a year after the other but under a different name. Such a practice was not uncommon...

Book  (2000)  Page(s) 534-535.  
 
‘Santa Rosa’ = Thé. Il ressemble beaucoup, en plus grand, à ‘Hermosa’. Il offre de mai aux gelées ses fleurs satinées d’un rose très vif, nuancé de rouge cuivré. Résistant à l’oïdium et à la rouille, mais un peu exigeant en chaleur, il semble rare aujourd’hui… Burbank, US, 1899. Hermosa x Bon Silène.

Book  (Jun 1992)  Page(s) 328.  
 
Santa Rosa Tea. Luther Burbank 1899

Book  (1990)  Page(s) 71.  
 
Santa Rosa China. Burbank 1900... the same parentage as 'Burbank'... light pink...

Book  (1936)  Page(s) 644.  
 
Santa Rosa (Bengal) Burbank 1900; Hermosa X Bon Silène in second generation; carmine-pink, large, double, cup to flat cup form, solitary or up to 5, floriferous, continuous bloom, autumn-bloomer, growth 6/10, upright. Sangerhausen

Book  (1920)  Page(s) 88-92.  Includes photo(s).
 
"Oh, the rose, the rose, the queen of the garden, has come!" ...Yes, the queen was there, the dear queen, Hermosa, still wearing her pink gown, looking a wee bit old-fashioned....Hermosa, like all plants, wanted to grow and bear seeds; and, like all of them, all she asked was to be made comfortable. Roses are especially fond of rich loam....The few seeds which Hermosa gave as her first offering to the master [referring to Burbank] were planted with great care...It was not a great while before a flush of pink ran along the row, for each of Hermosa's babies wore the pretty pink gown. The master could tell which of the little princesses should remain with him to assist in the making of the new rose. When the second generation of princesses were in full bloom, Bon Silene came into use, uniting its beautiful form with the fine qualities of Hermosa's healthy offsprings, by giving golden dust to apply to them. After this many thousands of rose plants were seen growing in the plant school at one time....From the third generation of pink princesses crossed with Bon Silen came two fine new roses, the Santa Rosa, which had been planned, and another that was christened "Burbank. The Santa Rosa is a wonderful rose in brilliancy of color, size, and habit of growth...Its flowers are a rich shell-pink, inclining to crimson, full and double...

Website/Catalog  (1917)  Page(s) 44.  
 
Pink Roses
Santa Rosa. (Tea)  Pink, with dark pink buds; dwarf; vigorous; very free-blooming; medium-sized flowers.  An extra-fine Rose; excellent for bedding.

(1914)  Page(s) 26.  Includes photo(s).
 
Rose "Santa Rosa" (HYBRID BOURBON TEA.) The old favorite, ever-blooming rose Hermosa introduced in 1840, is possibly the best known and most widely grown of the entire Rose family. It very rarely produces seed, so that improved Hermosas  have not made their appearance until "Santa Rosa," now offered, which was grown from second general [sic] "Hermosa" seed with an unusually fine semi-double, thick petaled seedling of the well known "Bon Silene" for the other parent. In "Santa Rosa" we have a rose wonderfully improved in size, brilliancy of color and perfection of form, with "Hermosa's" reckless habit of blooming at all seasons. Every little plant commences to bloom  as soon as it starts from a cuttting, and the branches, roots and even single buds take root and grow almost as freely as grass. Flowers rich shell pink, inclining to crimson; full double reflexed petals. Plants grow in rather compact bushy form. Foliage always free from rust, mildew, or any defect. A ROSE FOR EVERYBODY EVERYWHERE. Price: $1.00 each; $7.50 per ten.

Book  (1914)  Page(s) 5.  
 
"...The Burbank rose, like the Burbank potatos, owes its origin to the discovery of a seed-pod on a plant that rarely produces seed. The plant in the present instance was a Bourbon rose...known as Hermosa. This rose very rarely bears seed, even in California, but on one occasion I discovered half a dozen seed-pods on a plant that did not differ otherwise in any obvious way from its companion plants. I carefully treasured these seeds, and from the plants that they grew are descended not only the Burbank rose, but also the Santa Rosa, and a number of others. With the fact that the Burbank rose was a product of seeds thus accidentally garnered, however, the analogy with the Burbank potato ceases. For...the Burbank rose was developed only after numerous hybridizing experiments in which new blood was introduced, and new qualities were brought into the combination. Among other roses, the strains of which were mingled with those of the offspring of the Hermosa to produce the Burbank, was the Bon Silene. And there were at least three or four others that are similarly to be credited, although the exact pedigrees of all of them are not matter of record....The new Burbank rose and its sister plant, the Santa Rosa, present further object lessons in the value of cross-fertilization, in that they are not only much more beautiful than the original Hermosa...but that they also have qualities of hardiness and of productivity that are the token of their mixed heritage."

Website/Catalog  (1900)  
 
Santa Rosa. Another of Mr. Luther Burbank' Roses. We can see but little if any difference between it and his Rose Burbank. 10 cents each; 75 cents per dozen; $5.00 per hundre