The Hybrid Perpetual roses were strong, healthy plants that made the Tea roses appear rather weak and spindly, but Tea roses had beautifully shaped buds and flowers in shades of soft yellow that were lacking in the hybrid perpetuals. It was an obvious move to cross the two, and in 1867 the first Hybrid Tea, ‘La France’, a soft pink double, appeared. Although not immediately popular, the development of the Hybrid Tea proved so significant that 1867 is now recognized as the official cut-off date between Old and Modern Garden roses. It wasn’t until the bright yellow, double-flowered Rosa foetida var. persiana was introduced into the breeding program by the French breeder Pernet-Ducher that Hybrid Teas started to become the dominant roses. Unfortunately, the early Hybrid Teas were rather tender for European gardens, a situation that was remedied in the mid-1940s by the increased use of R. wichuraiana. While Modern roses began with the first Large-flowered roses in 1867, not all roses bred since then are classified as Modern. Roses classed as Hybrid Perpetual or Tea roses bred after that time remain Old Garden roses.