I cant speak with personal experience, on teas or chinas (only just started with shrub/hybrid tea types) but I have been looking into growing teas and doing a bit of research...and being a renter everything must go in pots..
Apologies if you have heard of it already, but one book you should try and get your hands on, is "Tea roses: Old roses for warm gardens". Loads of information, and lots of great pictures, plus, its written by 6 Australians.
They recommend Duchesse de Brabant, Mme Antoine Mari, Marie Lambert and Papa Gontier, on the basis that these ones are both well foliaged and repeat flower quickly.

Would love to try Tipsy Imperial Concubine..even if just for the name alone! Although the pics I have seen of it certainly don't hurt..

I grow quite a few chinas and teas, many of which would be awfully large for pots. Archduc Charles is a restrained plant here, but Old Blush and Duchesse de Brabant are much larger, and at four years old mine may not be finished spreading. I do not grow Francois Dubreuil. I also do not prune so I have not tried to control the roses' enthusiasm either.

For a change in color Lady Hillingdon might be a consideration. Obviously you'll want to steer clear of the biggies like Le Vesuve, Mrs. B.R. Cant or W.R. Smith. Enchantress, if you can get it there, is one of the few small teas.

Have you considered the small Bourbons, such as Mme. Dore? The Bourbons do quite well in my hot, dry Mediterranean climate. Romaggi Plot Bourbon is another good one, although probably not available for you. Souvenir de la Malmaison is just about my best rose, blooming endlessly, with very little disease except for occasional mildew when it's not summery. Cels Multiflora is a gorgeous tea, more like a China, which stays narrow, with thin branches. Have fun choosing!

Ingrid

Ducher looks beautiful in a large pot because she almost spills out of it. You can see it on www.weareroses.com. Also if you do a search of Francis Dubreil from this website youvwill find a beautiful picture of one growing in a pot for several years. I think the grower was Carolm who sadly passed away recently. I also grow my F. DUBREIL. In a pot in North Texas. He's going into the ground this fall because it is ver hot and dry here in the summer and I'm tired of the frequent watering.I hope this helps.

As per the aforementioned Australian book on Tea roses, if you can't find 'Ducher' look for 'Marie Lambert' -- they're claimed to be the same rose.

:-)

~Christopher

Thanks everyone,

I have that wonderful book and have seen the suggestions for pots.
I thought it was odd that Papa Gontier was sugested for pots when its apparently such a vigorous bush and that Tipsy was reccomended for pots in the text but not on the list. Oh well. Sadly Marie Lambert isnt available to me.

There are some shrubbier teas available, but I think now I will go for another China. Perpaps Princess de Sagan, Hermosa or Cramoisi Superieur. The teas I liked all get bad reviews, and Chinas seem to be pretty much plant and forget.

Sorry Ingrid, I had a climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison that recently got cut of at the base and poisoned. the flowers were nicely scented but prone to balling in teh late spring rains and the colour was insipid. Plust it was a rangy, thorny thing that I kept getting stuck on. So it had to go. I do however have two Madame Isaac Periere's. Trained as pillar roses which I could never be without. they don't Don't see those smaller Bourbons available.

I used to have a Lady Hillingdon, but i gave it to my neighbour. A beutiful rose but quite large and prone to fading out in the sun. It's planted under two Callistemons now and is doing ok with afternoon shade,

Adam

So I bit the bullet and ordered Tipsy Imperial Concubine, Hermosa, Archidic Charles and Cramoisi Superieur.

Hopefully they go well for me.

Small to mid size Chinas are all good for pots. Among the best suited for, there are Hermosa, Beauty of Rosemawr, Arethusa, Fellemberg, Comtesse du Cayla, Louis Philippe, Louis XIV, Alice Hoffman, Unermüdliche, Rival de Paestum which I have growing in a blue glazed Pot since 2006 and it's always gorgeous. Among the Teas, I can suggest 'Mme Bravy'.
Not to forget the Poly-Teas like Cécile Brünner, White C.B., Jenny Wren, etc...

Maurizio, how nice to see you posting, have missed you. Have also missed seeing newer pictures of your breathtaking garden. I imagine you're very busy, but if you ever have the time to post some photos we'd be thrilled.

Ingrid

P.S. Your advice, as usual, is impeccable.

If you can't find 'Marie Lambert', keep an eye out for other synonyms:

'Snowflake'
'Priscilla'
'White Hermosa'

:-)

~Christopher

I asked a similar question a few year back and based on feedback from this forum, I am growing the following in pots right now:

Duchesse De Brabant
Mrs. B.R. Cant
Lady Hillingdon
Mm. Dudley Cross

Eugene de Beauharnais (hybrid China Bourbon?) is small, healthy, remontant and very fragrant. I have two in pots here in the Los Angeles area with Alyssum and Erigeron spilling over the sides. All my teas get too big for pots except Enchantresse.

Thank you all again.
I had contemplated Comtesse du Cayla and Louis XIV but had read some bad comments about their BS susceptibility, so opted for hardier varieties.

Spotted pest, I am thinking of companion planting with sage, oregano and thyme. Do you have any issues with growing herbs in the same pots?

I have to jump in and comment that based on the size of Lady Hillingdon in the Sacramento Cemetery garden and specimens I've seen of her around the San Francisco area, she would never be happy in a pot. She can get HUGE.

Diane

I agree. i recently saw a mature Lady Hillingdon at a nursery. She would not be happy confined to a pot.

I fell in love with China roses on a trip to Mauritius in 2010, so I am very happy to be finally getting a hold of some :)

I saw a picture (a few years back) of Maurizio's 'Rival de Paestum' in the blue pot, and I have never forgotten it. Lovely, lovely, you should definitely consider it.
And I agree that Lady Hillingdon would get too big for a pot - I volunteer in the Sacramento Cemetery Rose Garden, and Lady H. is beautiful, but BIG. And Mrs. B.R. Cant is enormous here. However, we have a China called White Pearl in Red Dragon's Mouth that is much beloved and not huge.
Laura

I've had to yank out some of the more enthusiastic companions I've tried in pots (e.g. chartreuse feverfew and greek oregano) primarily because they were growing so tall they were drowning out the roses. I am growing Clematis Viticella with Annie Laurie McDowell and that combo is working out well. Campanula Poscharskyana is a nice tame companion for potted roses, too. I tend to plant in good sized pots so there is adequate room for everyone's roots.

I just realized that you are in Australia! I had a rose that I absolutely adored in a pot, a rose that grows, and is probably available in, Australia. It is an early Hybrid Tea called Betty (1905), a lovely warm flesh pink with a rather blowsy look. It was very special. "Billy Teabag" posted a really nice story about it on Help Me Find, in answer to my query for information.

Sadly i have not seen that one available.It does look like anice plant for pot culture though.
Idid pick up a Sophies Perpetual which I have potted as well as a "la versuve" which i have planted next to my "Radio Times".

I'm putting together mixed pots for some roses this year -- my little collection of crimson and dark-red fragrant hybrid teas. I'm using only annuals as companions in these pots because I don't want anything "taking over". The roses will be the "thrillers" and I'll pick tame annuals for the "fillers and spillers." I found faux barrel planters (made of resin) at Home Depot for $20 each. They're 22 1/2 inches across at the top and about the same height, narrowing at the base to about 12 inches diameter. If you go to their website you can see what I mean.

:-)

~Christopher