Mauirose, do Formosa Azaleas grow in Hawaii? I believe they're native here. But they're not the ones I'm suggesting. Have you seen Encore Azaleas? They bloom Spring, Summer & Fall according to the tag. I was talking to a nurseryman yesterday who said the wholesaler's property was bordered with them, blooming constantly. All kinds of colors. Several varieties grow to about 5' tall by 4.5' wide.

Sherry

Azaleas do grow here at the higher elevations Sherry and i'm sure they'd love my acid soil. Haven't seen the Encores for sale yet, hadn't even heard of them until your recent post. They sure look pretty and i'm planning to snap a few up if i see any available locally but i worry 5' might be too small to play with teas.

My own choice with my mixed rose hedge is plumbago and lavendar creating a lavendar and blue contrast. Both are easy to care for, low water and the lavendar smells wonderful, the plumbago can get4-5 feet and I keep it their, lavendar stays under 4 but looks beautiful.
la

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Here is a shot of the plumbago. It is a little darker than shown.
la

I'm in a subtropical zone. I find that some of the small salvia do well. The varieties that are supposed to be 80cm to 1m tall however generally end up at 2 m I imagine the same thing would happen in Hawaii. Gaura also grow well for me. Day lillies are great and plumbago as Luanne said.

I haven't tried the Leptospermum myself but in general with Oz natives you have to be careful about the kind of fertilizers that you use, usually the type of fertilizers that you use around roses won't suit Australian naties, however I'm not sure about the Lepto myself.

I've also just planted a South American plant called a Rubellia, it looks to be low and spreading with delicate flowers.

I agree about salvia - Mexican salvia (salvia leucantha) does great here in zone 9 - it makes a large (about 5 feet high and across) bush. Flowers are dark purple, and it blooms 12 months of the year (I cut mine back to the new growth every January, which I just did, and had to cut off armloads of blooms.

What about some clematis? Makes a great climber through tea roses, and there are bush versions, but I don't know how big they get.

Jackie

I have Salvia, Abutilon, hearty Hibiscus and Phygellius among my Teas and other roses. These may be too short for what you want, but they all bush out nicely and range from 3 to 6 feet in height. The Salvia and Phygellius are between and slightly in front of the roses as they are shorter. The Abutilon and Hibiscus are mixed in with the roses as they get taller. I do grow Pineapple Sage, Salvia elegans, and it will get to be 6 feet tall and wide. I do not grow this among my Teas as it is too big for my garden plan. If you are going to plant a Tea and alternate it with a companion against a fence, this Salvia should work well. Another plus is that it blooms in winter.

la i love plumbago, especially that new dark blue one that's come around lately but rats, lavender just won't grow for me. i've a small patch of spanish lavender that hasn't up and died on me yet but it hasn't bloomed in over a year either. i'm thinking to give a patch of dirt a good working over with some lime and try one more time. (thanks for the picture!)

Sally the scoop about leptos maybe not tolerating rose ferts is disappointing but just the kind of feedback i was hoping for. i've got a little ruellia but it's not the low, well behaved variety. i'm afraid to mix it in with the roses!

Jackie i looove s. leucantha but didn't realize it could be a year round bloomer. It would be gorgeous with all kinds of teas, what great colors. Mari says she grows clematis in S. Florida so i'm game to give it a try if i can find it locally.

jbfoodie-i was just thinking about how to 'borrow' hibiscus foliage for some of my nakeder roses! I like the look of the pineapple sage as well. Have you tried making tea with the leaves?

Thanks all for the great suggestions so far. I thought i was looking for a medium to large shrub, say 8 to 15 feet but maybe it wouldn't need to be so large judging from your responses?

If you ever see 'Provence' lavender at the garden center there in Maui, you might give one a try. It's the only variety that likes it in my garden. It may still dislike Maui, but it does so well here that it might be worth a try there.

Randy

Provence comes through fairly regularly-i'll give that one a try. Thanks Randy!

Hi Mauirose,
what kind of Teas are you going to use for your hedge?
For a dark blue shade, and year round flowering, Salvia 'Indigo Spire' is a winner.
I would also like to put Vitex trifolia and V.t. 'Atropurpurea' among Tea Roses... unfortunately, I think you can't grow the beautiful Vitex agnus-castus, which is perfect with Roses.

Maurizio i am not a very good planner. My idea for a hedge is because is have overbought ; ) i will try to work the smaller teas i have in beds and borders but these are the larger ones i am thinking i might use in a hedge:

Monsieur Tillier
Mrs. BR Cant
Arcadia Louisiana Tea
Niles Cochet
Mrs. Dudley Cross
Mme. Lambard

Vintage lists these as a '3' in growth habit so i'm sure they will go big.

These others are classed as a '2' and shown to be head high in the catalog but i suspect may go bigger? My Duchesse de Brabant that has been in the ground from a 3 gallon pot since only last June is 4x4 in a dry year.

Angel's Camp Tea
Clementina Carbonieri
Duquesa
Frances Grate's Tea
General Gallieni
Souvenir de Pierre Notting
Rosette DeLizy
Louis Phillipe
Mlle. Franziska Krueger

I have found some mistakes in my thinking so this is a good exercise for me! ex. Gen. Schablikine i thought was a large tea but Vintage shows only waist high.

The suggestion for V.t. 'Atropurpurea' is excellent. i have one in a pot now and have been wondering what to do with it. It is bullet proof in my conditions. Sometimes i fail to see the obvious. Thank-you.

Randy i want to clarify-Lavender loves Maui-in fact some folks farm it here. It is only me that it doesn't like ; (

They fibbed about CC and RD both of which are way over my head. MFK is a smaller3by4 and only Mme. Lombard--3by3 so far and it is several years old, grows here.
la

So it is as i thought, except for the inscrutable Mme. Lambard who is bigger than that in her small pot here from which i haven't been quick to release her since she refuses to show me the variability she is renowned for and instead steadfastly produces the same reliably shaped and colored blooms month in and month out. It could be worse, i know ; )

i love MFK, she is being squeezed into a crowded bed this weekend. i hope she isn't a chatterbox, la.