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William R. Smith flowers

16 years ago

I've got a decent beginner's collection of Teas...and in that collection is WRS. I put all the teas in during the spring of 06. So, they're all about the same age. My question is this. Does WRSmith have flowers that are significantly bigger than the average mature tea? Some of my other teas to which I'm comparing him are.. Lady Hillingdon, Rosette Delizy, Mrs. Dudley Cross, Amazone, Blumenschmidt, Mons. Tiller....

Because, right now his flowers are definitely bigger than the other teas I have. I'm wondering what to expect from the teas.

Robert

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Comments (9)

carolfm
16 years ago
Yes, WRS has bigger blooms than most any Tea that I grow. Similar in size in my garden are Baronne Henriette de Snoy and Mrs. Dudley Cross(she has some huge blooms in the fall). WRS also holds his blooms more upright. The Tea's have blooms in all shapes and sizes from very small (Rosette Delizy for example) to the large blooms of WRS.

Carol
rjlinva
Original Author
16 years ago
thanks Carol
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William R. Smith! I loved the William R. Smith I grew in NC - lovely big substantial flowers, good rebloom and healthier than most of my other teas who attracted PM like someone paid them for looking powdered. So ... I just ordered WRS again, will see how he does here in England. I never grew ML, so can't say anything about her, although from the photos I've seen I don't quite like her flower shape as much as I like WRS's, although she's still pretty. I think WRS's blooms are more distinct, a bit closer to a very old fashioned HT, and that's why I like him. You probably can't go wrong with him. Andrea
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You don't say where you are located. My experiences with growing Tea Roses in containers is all in a very very mild (no winter for practical purposes) climate -- and may not be relevant for you. That said, we grew several Teas in VERY large pots on a sunny patio here for perhaps 5 years. At first, they grew and bloomed well, but over time, they really slowed down. When moved to spots in the ground, all took off like a shot. I think that, if I wanted to keep a Tea that way PERMANENTLY, I would have to periodically prune, pull it out, root-prune, and re-plant. TOO MUCH WORK! But in a colder climate, they might do fine that way. Certainly, Lily Shohan did it, in New England. Jeri
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Trish, I'm so sorry you're experiencing the same thing I did. Some roses, like Bermuda Kathleen, seem to be doing well after removing the afflicted canes, but others had to be taken out. Mrs. Dudley Cross, a lovely rose, I've had to remove twice, but that was due to unremitting mildew. Not every tea rose is created equal, but one of the best and fastest-growing and blooming for me has been Mme. de Sombreuil. If any other roses fail, I would be very tempted to put this one in its place. La France has been replaced with another La France, since I simply can't do without this rose. Keeping my fingers crossed. Losing large roses is especially depressing, and the only bright spot for me has been replacing them with roses that I've chosen for their toughness in my heat, which has also given me the opportunity to replace the soil with a better-quality one, which will hopefully enable the new roses to do better than the discarded ones. Good luck to you!
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jerome
16 years ago
Hi Robert. What Carol says sure has been my experience too. Of the teas here, WRS and Baronne Henriette have the largest flowers. Also in this category (at least here) would be Maman Cochet and White Maman Cochet. Etoile de Lyon (Vintage clone...since I hear there are different strains) also has very large flowers for me. All these types nod less than the others.

Smallest flowers so far: Rosette Delizy and Clementina Carbonieri...but neither of these are anywhere near mature, just went in between last November and April of '07. Great thread.

Jerome
carolfm
16 years ago
Robert, another Tea that I believe is going to have big blooms is Comtesse Emmeline de Guigne. Mine is still a baby but the size of the blooms on that baby plant have been impressive. Do you have this rose? I would love to know if the blooms are even bigger as this rose matures!

Carol
patrickd_nc
16 years ago
Carol, I have a young Comtesse Emmeline as well. I was enticed by descriptions of big blooms. Mine has not bloomed yet.
rjlinva
Original Author
16 years ago
I recall another Tea with rather larger flowers...Tipsy Imperial Concubine...but, to me this seems more like a Hybrid Tea...it's gorgeous none the less...and I don't have comtesse emmeline...yet..
carolfm
16 years ago
I have Tipsy Imperial Concubine and she does have huge flowers but she seems more like an early HT to me as well. She is also a little stingy with the blooms but the ones she has are gorgeous. Of course, mine really isn't a mature bush yet and that might improve with age. You probably would like CEdG, the color and form of the blooms are very pretty.

Carol
berndoodle
16 years ago
Yes, I'd say it's a tie between William R. Smith and Baronne Henriette de Snoy.
gnabonnand
16 years ago
My teas have big blooms in the spring and fall, and very modest sized blooms during the heat of the summer. Like Carol said, Mrs Dudley Cross especially builds up large bloom size during cool weather if she is happy.

Randy

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