I have now spent my first summer growing tea and polyantha roses in containers on my dry, windy and often shady Chicago balcony. I initially chose 9 cultivars with the intention of using them as "summer annuals" and observing their performance in my very harsh, unusual conditions. Here is quick run-down of how each cultivar performed:

1. ÂMarie dÂOrléansÂ.  This is a GORGEOUS rose that came as a two-gallon plant from ARE. She produced her first blooms for me in late April and I have to admit I was at first disappointed at their lack of bright color (it was a shapeless pale pink) and utter, complete lack of fragrance. Her next flush of blooms, however, took my breath away. She covered herself in huge (as large if not larger than many hybrid teas I have seen), glowing, dark cerise sea urchin-like blooms. And, in addition, she developed a strong and wonderful tea scent. She has grown vigorously all summer, now being at least 4-5 times larger than when she was planted, and with extremely rapid rebloom. Growth is very spreading and angular so far, but still very interesting and architectural. She now has several robust basals with a multitude of buds, and her blooms now have more petals and a perfect quartered form with the cooler temperatures of autumn. Her foliage is lush, ample and dark green with a very slight blue-grey tinge. No disease or insect problems to speak of.Â

2. ÂSpiceÂ. Another top performer, this one came as a one-gallon plant from Rogue Valley. Growth is extremely full and restrained and I canÂt recall even a single day all summer when this plant did not have at least a few open blooms. Fragrance is extremely heady and strong, often like grapefruit, but sometimes it can develop an unusual, unpleasant stinky quality almost like rotting garbage. When it smells like grapefruit, I love it and it can rival 'Jude the Obscure' for intensity. When it smells like the other, it makes me cringe. I have this one growing in only 3-4 hours of direct sun per day and there have been absolutely no disease or insect problems to speak of. Although it is beautiful and elegant, and extremely easy to grow, I am not sure how I feel about the occasionally stinky blooms. I want a rose I can stick my nose into all the time and not be afraid of surprises. Â

3. ÂMadame Antoine Mari. This is another beautiful tea that I have growing in only 3-4 hours of direct sun. It came as two-gallon from ARE with blackspotted leaves. The blackspot infection never went away and eventually decimated all of the original foliage even though I diligently plucked off all affected leaves and sprayed with sulfur. In addition, a whole army of spider mites attacked her and sucked the life out of the few remaining leaves she had. Needless to say, by July she was a sad, bare-stemmed little thing and I didnÂt have much hope for her. I thought for sure she was a goner. But she surprised me by completely releafing with impeccably clean foliage (no signs of disease or pests can be found) and producing several flushes of exquisite, perfectly formed blooms all through the month of August. She has the most perfect swirled, creamy pink buds and I love her strong tea fragrance. She has now sent up three very robust, tall canes that each end in giant clusters of buds which are themselves already forming new growth with buds. What a resilient little beauty!

4. ÂDevoniensis (bush form)Â. I was looking so forward to growing this rose, but she turned black and died shortly after being repotted from a band. Not quite sure what I did to her :-(Â

5. ÂMadame BravyÂ. An impulse band purchase from Vintage that has proved to be a wonderful investment. Extremely vigorous and completely disease free even in mostly shade, she has been growing and producing the most gorgeous white blooms that are usually tinted an amazing peachy-flesh color in the centers. The texture of the petals is silky and almost transparent and her fragrance is divineÂan intense, marvelous, sweet, heady, slightly fruity, face powdery tea scent that is positively addictive. Even though I think 'Spice' is a great rose, I think 'Madame Bravy' is a superior white/blush tea in terms of bloom form and fragrance. I wonder why more people don't grow this rose? Â

6.  'Clementina Carbonieri'. Another impulse band purchase, this rose has turned out to be very tough, hardy, and resilient. She has been dutifully trying to grow and blossom all summer long, sending out wonderful, snaky stems covered in spotless blue-green foliage. The few blossoms that she has managed to open have been beautifully formed and scented, but the problem is that not many of her buds have actually been able to develop. Why? Because she has been taunted, mocked and abused by the neighborhood squirrels all summer.  Of all the pots on my porch, they have chosen to consistently wreak havoc on poor 'Clementina'. She has been repeatedely uprooted, her new growth has been broken off, and her new buds disappear without a trace. I tried everything to keep the squirrels away, but nothing worked. Last month, I finally had to cover her pot with chicken wire. Still, throughout everything, she has been unfazed. She quietly puts out new growth and buds and has never had a trace of disease or insects, even with very little (3-4 hours) direct sunlight.  If she can ever grow up, she will be a magnificent rose.

7. 'Marie Pavié'. A good rose with no disease or insect problems, rapid rebloom, outstanding shade tolerance, an excellent growth habit, and strong, heady musk perfume. Problem is, she is kind of boring to me as a pot rose. She would be lovely as a hedge or as a garden accent, but growing in a pot she looks bland. Is it wrong to feel this way about such a good-natured rose that keeps blooming her heart out? I almost feel guilty, especially since white/blush roses are my favorite. She came as a lush one gallon plant from Rogue Valley.

8. 'Perle d'Or'. I LOVE this rose. Fabulous color and delicious musky-tea fragrance, and the blooms are actually much larger that I thought they would be. But, alas, she does not love me. She has been a slave to spider mites all summer long and all of my treatments with insecticidal soap and neem oil have only lessened the problem temporarily. But when she blooms, she is perfect and her immaculate buds can take your breath away. Oh, if only she would do well in my conditions! When I have outdoor garden space again, I may plant a thousand ÂPerle dÂOrÂ, but right now it looks like I must live without her. I have had her in 5-6 hours of direct sunlight all summer. She came as a two-gallon plant from ARE.

9. ÂFerndale Red ChinaÂ. Another rose I was really looking forward to that turned black and disappeared as soon as I repotted her from a band.

Overall, the teas are definitely the winners and, for the most part, they have performed admirably throughout the summer. They are much hardier and much more vigorous than I expected them to be. I am so used to reading in rose books that teas are "weak growers" and "slow to establish" that I really didnÂt have huge expectations for them. But, wow, am I ever impressed! I love their gracefully nodding heads, divine colors and beautiful perfumes (except for the scent of ÂSpice on a bad day).

At the end of the season, I plan on taking my four favorite performers and placing them in my unheated storage space for the winter. If I had to choose right now it would be ÂMarie dÂOrléansÂ, ÂMadame BravyÂ, ÂMadame Antoine Mari and ÂClementina Carbonieri (the latter for her gracious, accommodating nature). I hope I can keep them alive through the winter.       Â