Georgetown Tea
Earth Kind is an important designation given to select roses by the Texas A&M University Agriculture program. Earth Kind Roses have been through rigorous statewide testing and evaluation by a team of horticultural experts and found to possess the high level of landscape performance and utstanding disease and insect tolerance/resistance required to for this special designation.

Earth Kind Roses are among the most thoroughly tested and environmentally responsible plants for the use in Texas landscapes. These roses do very well in almost any soil type, from the well-drained acid sands of East Texas to the poorly aerated, highly alkaline clays of central and Southwest Texas. Earth Kind roses are certainly not immune to pest problems. However, their tolerance to pests is so great that they rarely require the use of chemical pesticides.

In 1983, Dr. William C. Welch, Professor and Extension Specialist at Texas A&M University, discovered this rose in the yard of a daycare center in Georgetown, Texas. It was a large healthy specimen but the owner knew nothing of it’s origins. Georgetown Tea is among several “found” roses that Dr. Welch is credited for re-introducing in to the rose community.

The double flowers are approximately 4” in diameter with a dark salmon pink center that fades to lilac pink. Georgetown Tea is a repeat bloomer from spring – first frost. Another interesting characteristic of this cultivar is that the petals become pointed at the tips, giving the open flower a star shape appearance. Like most roses in this class, the blooms have a Tea-like fragrance. The upright, bushy plant reaches a height of 3 – 5 feet with medium, dark green semi-glossy leaves.

Cultivar Name: Georgetown Tea
Blossom Color: Dark Salmon Pink
Blossom & Fragrance: Double- Tea-like
Blooming Period: Spring – First Frost
Mature Height: 3 - 5 feet
Mature Width: 3 - 4 feet Rose
Category: Tea
Growth Habit: Medium Shrub

Landscape Uses:
Georgetown Tea is an excellent landscape rose requiring full sun for optimum growth and performance. Plants may be used in mass or as a specimen in the landscape. The flowers starry shape provides a unique appearance in the garden. These upright, bushy shrubs should be planted in a well drained soil on no less than 3’ – 5’ centers.

Join the Earth Kind Rose Brigade:
We invite you to become a member of the “Earth Kind Rose Brigade,” a group of dedicated amateurs helping to conduct advanced field testing of experimental rose selections. Your participation will be educational as well as valuable in providing information to the Earth Kind Team of Extension specialists and research scientists at Texas A&M University.

To participate, simply purchase and plant one or more of the Brigade roses then, at one, two, three, and four years after transplanting, provide the benefit of your growing experience.

These cultivars should be planted where they will receive at least 8 hours of direct sun each day with good air movement over the foliage. The use of compost and organic mulches is encouraged.

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