In 1885, breeder Joseph Pernet-Ducher found the color he was looking for in a garden in Lyons, France. He spent the next 25 years crossing and backcrossing until he achieved the first pure yellow garden rose, Rayon d'Or. From this rose have come all the modern yellow roses. There are still no truly blue or black roses, although a dark red rose will get blacker if black ink is added to the vase water. By far the most popular is the hybrid tea which offers a wide range of color, fragrance, flower size and shape.
Hybrid teas have large flowers with a high-pointed bud.
They are repeat bloomers, often blooming throughout the growing season. They are upright shrubs, producing one flower per long, sturdy stem, making them excellent for cutting. Floribundas produce flowers in clusters, and are usually shorter plants than hybrid teas. Old Garden roses, sometimes called old roses, old-fashioned roses or antique roses, are the varieties that existed before 1867 when the first hybrid tea was bred. Climbers don't actually climb, since they lack the tendrils needed to grip surfaces.