Bourbon Roses(Tetraploids) Before the opening of the Suez Canal (1871) the Ile de Bourbon, now Reunion, east of Madagascar, was an important stopping point for French ships sailing between the Far East and Europe. By 1817,Slaters Crimson China had been grown there with the Autumn Damask from Europe, and they were apparently planted together as mixed hedges. A French botanist, M. Breon, noticed an intermediate between the two types in such a hedge and moved it to his botanic garden. He saved the seeds and sent them to M. Jacques in Paris. Jacques  raised from them the original Bourbon rose, which was painted by Redoute' in 1824. It had semi-double, bright pink flowers, good scent inherited from the Damask, and good autumn flowering. The Bourbon roses were bred by crossing this original Bourbon with Gallica and Damask hybrids. The offspring varied depending which parent they took after.The only Bourbon I have at this time is S. de la Malmaison. I like this rose but I feel it is closer to a Tea rose Than a Bourbon.