Is there such a thing as a small Tea?

16 years ago

I mean, in a climate in which Teas and Chinas grow well and tend to get large. "Small" means 4'x4' or less at maturity. Mine all just seem to keep on getting bigger, and I think all of us who grow warm climate roses in warm climates know by now how ridiculous size estimates are when they're based on British sources. My very oldest roses here were planted five years ago, so I don't have much of a data base. What is your experience?

Thanks,

Melissa

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jacqueline9CA

7 years ago

All of the mature tea roses in my garden (Rosette Delizy, Anna Olivier, Le Vesuve, Duchesse de Brabant, Mme Joseph Schwartz, Safrano, Mme Alfred Carriere , Niles Cochet, Reve d"Or, Lamarque) get huge, except the ones growing in more than partial shade, which get large (over 7-8 feet in diameter). I have another half dozen baby ones, which I am watching. So far they are not eating the world, but I can hear them planning on doing so when I walk by them - sort of a faint growling noise.

Actually, the only old roses of any kind in my garden which stay about 3-4 feet tall or shorter are all polyanthas, except for Eugene de Beauharnais, which is a china or a bourbon, or something. It is one of the old old original roses in our garden. Because it sends up sprouts from what I presume are runners from its roots, we now have 4 of them. None of them gets taller than 3 1/2 feet. Unfortunately, they are sort of wimpy in our climate. So, I am going to take the latest new one I discovered yesterday (inside of a bush of Gourmet Popcorn) and put it in a large pot and see if it is happier there than out in the wilds of our garden where it has to compete with other rampaging plants in my never neat-and-tidy garden.

Jackie

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Comments (17)

carolfm
16 years ago
Yes, I have one Tea that fits your description, Westside Road Cream Tea. After several years, it is about 2 ft tall in my garden. I saw the mother plant when we visited Gregg's garden and it was about 3-4 ft tall. Beautiful rose and very well mannered. This is the only Tea that I have grown that didn't get much, much larger than the estimated size. The next smallest Tea's in my garden stay around 5-6 feet.

Carol
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bbinpa
16 years ago
Or, perhaps Blummenschmidt. I have this variety. It was new last spring and it bloomed well last year. Overwintered extremely well and looks healthy so far. Nice scent.

Barbara

Here is a link that might be useful: Blummenschmidt at HMF
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bluesibe
16 years ago
Melissa, I keep Marie D'Orleans small as it borders the sidewalk in the front of my home. It is narrow maybe 2.5 ft wide and about 5' high. I grow Isabel Sprunt in a pot and keep her very small, about 2' high. She never sulks and loves to bloom.

Carol
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ronda_in_carolina
16 years ago
Faith Whittlesey is supposed to stay compact.

My Duchesse de Brabant is only 4 feet tall. YMMV
{{gwi:220948}}
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nearlywild
16 years ago
All my teas are huge...I mean huge. I would not recommend a tea for any small spot.
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melissa_thefarm
Original Author
16 years ago
So there may be occasional contained variety if you look. I was just wondering; fortunately I have a lot of space. Carol, I have and love 'Isabella Sprunt'. She acts just like her sport parent 'Safrano', maybe a bit more susceptible to disease, though I'm not sure about that. IS gets big like 'Safrano' in my garden. I would guess that yours accepts pot life gracefully, but would grow larger if it had the soil to get its roots into. I'm surprised IS isn't more widely grown: it's sooooo lovely, with those large lemon yellow blooms on that dark green and wine red foliage.

Melissa
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bluesibe
16 years ago
Melissa, I couldn't agree with you more. I love the very pale yellow shade against the red canes, the lovely aroma, buds and blooms. If I had your space, mine would be inground, but, alas, I am caught in an urban plot.
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barbarag_happy
7 years ago
Anybody growing Aussie Sixer? I love the look of this apricot tea but don't know how to place it.

Seems with teas, you really don't know what you have until they've been in the ground 3 to 4 years...
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ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
7 years ago
The only one I'm aware of that is supposedly truly on the small side is Enchantress. On the other hand none of mine have grown huge, even supposed giants like Mrs. B.R. Cant. Part of it is the heat and drought, but the other is that in all honesty I'm not a very good gardener. Lack of energy is part of it, but I really believe it's an innate talent that you either have or don't. Madame Melanie Willermoz, La Sylphide and Cels Multiflora (which may be a China) were some of the more delicate ones in my garden when I had them.
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Buford_NE_GA_7A
7 years ago
I had Marie d'Orleans and it was a monster. With fangs. Duchesse du Brabant is not that tall but gets wide. Mlle Franziska Kruger was a nice mannerly tea. Lady Hillingdon is tall but not wide.
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User
7 years ago
Homere is supposed to stay on the small side.

Also, look at Ducher. It's normally called a China, but some call it a Tea. In the references tab for Ducher at HelpMeFind, there is a quote from a genetic study that says Ducher, along with Jean Bach Sisley and Miss Lowe's Variety, ended up in the Tea group.
barbarag_happy
7 years ago
Ducher, yes! Here in 8B it is a compact and shapely bush; love the delicate and refined bloom. I also like Jean Bach Sisley which has raspberry-pink blooms which quill in a very distinctive way; another tidy grower which assumes a more or less mound shape. JBS has really nice foliage too; it's a good looking plant (not like some teas which are all elbows and knees every which way..)

I love hearing these two are teas, that makes sense from what I've seen of them in the garden.
jardineratx
7 years ago
My smallest tea is Duchess de Brabant. I have two of them, (from two different sources) and they are about 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide. One of them is about 10 years old and the younger one is about 5 years old. I do only light trimming and have never pruned either one of them very hard. My 9 year old Ducher has topped out at about 5 feet tall.

Molly
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Kippy
7 years ago
"Rainbow"!is considered a tea, it stays small
comtessedelacouche (10b S.Australia: hotdryMedclimate)
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I've just mentioned this on another thread, but Marie Lambert/ Snowflake stays small - low and spreading. I'd say it wouldn't be much more than 4x4ft even in our warm/ mild winter climate, plus I believe I read (maybe on HMF) that it doesn't mind a bit of secateur action to keep it more compact if required. However, it used to look rather pretty spreading around in a wildish sort of way when I used to visit it at Ross Roses. It was in semi-shade there, IIRC.
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hartwoodroses
7 years ago
'Mme. Antoine Mari' is smallish for me, 4x4-ish. 'Mme. Joseph Schwartz' is similar. Both are lovely.
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Is there such a thing as a small Tea?

jacqueline9CA

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Is there such a thing as a small Tea?

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