BURNING LOVE® – red hybrid tea rose - Tantau
Picture late afternoon light on a Cornish veranda, sea breeze in your hair and a mug of tea in hand – BURNING LOVE® brings that same sense of refreshment home, with glowing scarlet-red blooms that hold their colour in coastal weather and cope well with brisk, salty winds and passing showers. This compact, bushy hybrid tea is ideal for shingle or small family gardens where space is precious, giving you upright, well-anchored growth and glossy dark foliage that looks neat even between flushes. Planted in a roomy 40–50 litre container or a well-drained bed, the own-root form builds quietly from roots in year one, stronger shoots in year two and full ornamental value by year three, rewarding patient gardeners with a long-lived, steady display. Semi-double cups open from velvety buds, offer a medium, classic rose fragrance and a modest welcome to pollinators, while the reliable remontant habit keeps the flowering coming for cutting or evening enjoyment. As the season closes, small orange-red hips add another season of interest, underlining the variety’s practical, multi-purpose character and making this an easy-going choice for relaxed, girly, sea-inspired planting schemes.
Usage options
| Target area | Reasoning |
|---|
| Coastal veranda container (40–50 litres) |
The compact, bushy habit and strong colour retention make BURNING LOVE® very suited to a large pot on a breezy balcony or veranda, where wind-tolerant, well-anchored growth copes calmly with salty air and passing showers – ideal for relaxed coastal-style beginners and busy owners. |
| Small family front garden feature |
Its modest height and dense, glossy foliage give a tidy, natural outline that suits limited spaces, creating a defined focal point by the front door without crowding paths or windows, and requiring only moderate, occasional care – a reassuring choice for time-poor homeowners. |
| Cutting patch for classic red stems |
Large, goblet-shaped blooms with semi-double form and medium fragrance are excellent for short-stemmed vases, bringing a sophisticated scarlet tone indoors repeatedly through the season thanks to the remontant habit – a pleasure for enthusiastic but non-expert hobby-gardeners. |
| Mixed coastal border with perennials |
The rich red flowers stand out beautifully among silvery or blue foliage and textured grasses, while the natural bushy form integrates easily with perennials such as sea kale, Festuca and lavender in free-draining soil that also protects roots from winter wet – helpful for informal-border gardeners. |
| Shingle or gravel planting near seating |
Planted through gravel with careful soil preparation for drainage, this variety’s moderate thorniness and neat frame make it comfortable beside benches, while the sweet, medium-strength scent enhances evening tea or conversation outdoors – appealing to scent-loving beginners. |
| Long-season colour in compact gardens |
The remontant flowering and excellent colour retention mean the scarlet-red display remains intense from the first buds to late-season blooms, avoiding the washed-out look some reds develop and keeping energy in a tight plot – useful for small-space urbanites. |
| Low hedge or repeated accents |
Regular spacing creates a rhythmic line of dark green foliage and fiery flowers, with the own-root form supporting long-term stability and regeneration, so gaps are less likely even after harsh winters or hard pruning – reassuring for long-view planners. |
| Wildlife-friendly decorative corner |
Semi-double blooms provide moderate access to pollinators in summer, then ovoid orange-red hips add food and colour in autumn, allowing one planting to support both ornamental structure and garden ecology with little extra work – attractive to nature-aware families. |
Styling ideas
- Harbour-Veranda Glow – position in a generous terracotta pot with polished pebbles as a mulch, paired with low blue Festuca for a soft maritime feel – for coastal balcony owners seeking seaside calm.
- Romantic-Shingle Nook – set into a shingle bed with silver sea kale and pale Coreopsis, framing a bistro set where the red blooms become a vivid backdrop – for couples creating an intimate, girly corner.
- Sunset-Tea Border – weave through a narrow border by the patio with lavender and pink lupins, so evening light catches the scarlet petals while fragrance drifts towards seating – for tea-lovers who linger outdoors.
- Classic-Cut Row – plant a short row along a path with good drainage to harvest stems for jugs indoors, keeping a clipped edge of blue globe thistle for contrast – for home florists wanting easy, repeat cutting.
- Family-Wildlife Pocket – tuck into a sunny corner with wildlife-friendly perennials, leaving hips to colour and feed birds through autumn, combining play-space edges with gentle ecology – for families teaching children about nature.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter | Data |
|---|
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose; registered cultivar name ‘Burning Love’, marketed as BURNING LOVE® red hybrid tea rose, exhibition hybrid tea and cut flower type with ARS exhibition name Burning Love. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Mathias Tantau Jr. (Rosen Tantau, Germany) from ‘Fanal’ × ‘Crimson Glory’; breeding completed 1956, introduced 1957 via Hazlewood Bros. Pty. Ltd. in Australia as an unregistered cultivar. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy, upright plants 70–95 cm tall and 40–60 cm wide, with dense, dark green, glossy foliage and moderate prickliness on the stems, maintaining a naturally tidy structure suitable for beds and containers. |
| Flower morphology |
Semi-double, goblet to cup-shaped blooms with 13–25 petals, large-flowered clusters on strong stems; remontant habit producing generous repeat flushes suitable for garden display and regular cutting. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Uniform vivid scarlet-red flowers, velvety dark buds opening to rich red; colour retention rated excellent, with only slight lightening at petal edges and gentle darkening just before petals finally drop. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Medium-strength, clearly detectable scent with a slightly sweet, classic rose character, most noticeable in still, warm conditions and well suited to seating areas or cutting for indoor enjoyment. |
| Hip characteristics |
Produces ovoid orange-red hips 10–14 mm in diameter in moderate numbers, adding late-season decorative interest and potential wildlife value where spent flowers are not routinely deadheaded. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to approximately −21 to −18 °C (RHS H7; Swedish Zone 3; USDA 6b); disease resistance moderate overall, showing resistance to black spot and powdery mildew, with rust at moderate levels. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in sunny, well-drained soil with moderate maintenance and occasional plant protection; recommended spacings from 30–55 cm depending on hedge, mass or solitary use, and suitable for large containers over 40 litres. |
BURNING LOVE® offers long-season scarlet colour, a compact, natural habit and dependable repeat flowering on a durable own-root plant, making it a thoughtful choice if you would like a quietly striking coastal-style rose.
