Commercially available

• À odeur de thé
• Bengale à odeur de thé
• Hume's Blush Tea-scented China
• Rosa indica fragrans Redout. & Thory synonym
• Rosa indica odoratissima Lindley
• Rosa odorata (Andrews) Sweet
• Rosa odorata Thea
• Rosa odorata var. odorata
• Rose de la Chine carnée
• Rosier des Indes odorant
• Sweet-scented China
• Tea-Scented China
• Thé commun
• Thé ordinaire
• Thea carnea

127 favorite votes.  
Average rating: EXCELLENT-.  

Light pink Tea.
Exhibition name: Hume's Blush Tea-scented China

Bred by Unknown Chinese Breeder(s) (China, before 1808).
Discovered by John Reeves (United Kingdom, 1808).
Introduced in United Kingdom by Sir Abraham Hume in 1809 as 'Hume's Blush Tea-scented China'.
Introduced in United Kingdom by James Colvill in 1810 as 'Hume's Blush Tea-scented China'.
Introduced in Australia by Camden Park in 1843 as 'Rosa odorata'.

China / Bengale, Species Cross, Tea.  

Blush, darker center. [Light pink to white, light yellow undertones.]  Strong, tea fragrance.  Large, very large, double (17-25 petals), reflexed bloom form.  Continuous (perpetual) bloom throughout the season, blooms in flushes throughout the season.  

Armed with thorns / prickles, bushy, upright, well-branched.  Medium, semi-glossy foliage.  3 to 5 leaflets.  

Height: 1' to 2' (30 to 60cm).  

USDA zone 7b and warmer.  Requires spring freeze protection (see glossary - Spring freeze protection) .  

Diploid

R. x odorata (hort. ex Andrews) Sweet (1818).
Parentage is only speculation. See References. The description given above on HMF is from contemporaneous references, including Redouté, Lindley and Andrews. Many of the roses sold under this name today do not match those descriptions, including tall, climbing, once-blooming roses. One rose being considered is the Bermuda Mystery Rose, "Spice."

There is no universal agreement that any of the roses sold by this name represent the original. The original hybrid introduced to the West may very well be extinct, as it disappeared from commerce in the 19th century.

Sir Abraham Hume, Baronet /February 20, 1749 London - March 24, 1838 London), Tory politician and floriculturist, active as a rosarian together with his wife, Amelia Egerton (November 25, 1751 - August 8, 1809), founding member of the Geological society and Fellow of the Royal Society. See also the peony 'Humei'

The attribution of "à odeur de thé" to Prevost is incorrect. Prevost doesn't list this rose as one of his own cultivars, he describes the type of the Tea rose in 1829.