Rosa x odorata, the tea rose, was brought to the West from China in 1808. It is closely related to the China rose but are distinguished because of their tea-like fragrance and larger, white, pink and yellow flowers. The advantage of these roses at the time were that they bloom throughout the summer and into the fall unlike most other types that bloomed only in the early summer. The down side of tea roses is that they are not very hardy on their own rootstocks.