Rosa x odorata 'Mutabilis' (China Rose)

Rosa x odorata is a hybrid rose native to Yunnan in SW China. It has been considered a hybrid of Rosa gigantea and Rosa chinensis, or as a quite rare wild species that includes R. gigantea. The wild forms are cultivated to some extent. Cultivars were developed in China in ancient times from R. chinensis crosses, and these have been important in the ancestry of the tea-scented China roses, also called tea roses, and their descendants the hybrid tea roses.

The cultivar R. x odorata 'Mutabilis' is widely cultivated, and is notable for the fact that the blooms change colour from yellow to pink. It is a lax, thornless shrub and prefers an open position in full sun. This cultivar has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. H 1.5m x W 1.5m.