What to expect of these Teas in zone 7a:

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Hi all! After years of wishing & being dismayed by worries of hardiness and lack of experience, I have decided to bite the bullet and plant some teas in my yard this spring!

I am very curious to hear what you all have to say about the size and overall shape and growth habits of these teas, as well as any experience you have with hardiness in the zone 7a/6b areas that are right on the edge of safe for growing teas. I live in a fairly urban area of Knoxville, in East Tennessee. It seems that whenever we get a forecasted temperature for my region, my immediate area is always a few degrees above whatever the forecast states... so hopefully these few degrees will equate to a slight head up in hardiness for these teas I'm hoping to grow. (at least all this ugly concrete & these densely packed condominium buildings I'm surrounded with are good for something!)

I know that this past winter there was an El Nino, & I'm really hoping that this extremely mild winter we just had isn't luring me into some false sense of security!! I don't know whether or not to really "count" this as a successful test of hardiness, since it was such a bizarre roller coaster ride of warm and cold.

The teas that I either have already or that are on order from Roses Unlimited for this spring (shipping April 11th- woohooo!) are:

Lady Hillingdon (Doing pretty great in her pot, but I want to see her prospering in the ground. I'm hoping she can fit in a 4-5 foot wide area I have right next to my front door so I can enjoy her often)

Climbing Lady Hillingdon (in ground already, survived the winter with zero dieback, but since this was an extremely mild winter so I don't know if that will be the norm)

Duchesse de Brabant (in ground already, planted right at the end of last summer, had a tiny bit of dieback but I think it was my fault since I planted her too late, I may have to move this one based on what you guys have to say about her expected size in my area, she only has about 2-3 feet on each side to grow)

Madame Joseph Schwartz (tiny baby thing, will probably be a while till she's ready to plant out, I killed my first one due to inexperience a couple of years ago, so I'm going to baby this one)

Ducher (planted this tiny baby last summer and forgot about it because it was so small, until I was removing all the leaves that fell on my garden through the winter and there he was, healthy as ever with zero dieback, if it turns out to be a large plant he may have to get moved, but I think I heard he stays small)

Anna Oliver (another tiny one, might be a while till she's ready)

Madame Antoine Mari (survived the winter very well in her pot on my covered porch)

Mrs. B. R. Cant

Monsieur Tillier

(these last two are the ones I'm most curious to hear about the dimensions of, they are both on order from RU, I know that they are not small plants for those of you in warmer zones & honestly any compare and contrast of bloom on these last two will be welcome as well, in photos they look very similar, but it so hard to tell in a photo)

Thank you for any assistance you may have to offer!

Jessica

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Comments (2)

Poorbutroserich Susan Nashville
8 years ago
Glad you took the leap! I'm in Nashville and grow many teas etc and a few you mentioned. For me, I've grown mine in pots for 2-3 seasons so that they develop enough root mass to come back if most top growth is destroyed.

For those in the ground I give them a pine straw cocoon. Also, your microclimate sounds beneficial!

In the polar vortex winter before this last one my five foot tall Mutabalis died nearly to the ground. Rebounded amazingly well!

Have fun. Susan
KnoxRose z7 thanked Poorbutroserich Susan Nashville
Buford_NE_GA_7A
8 years ago
I had both Monsieur Tillier and Mrs BR Cant. They both get large. I think Mrs BR Cant has a better form and will stay more compact (although still large) while MT will be more of a rambling shape. Same as Susan, I lost most of the above ground growth during the polar vortex, but they grew back fine. Unfortunately I had to dig them up when they tore up my yard. They didn't survive in the pots (probably my fault). I do have 2 new Mrs BR Cants now. Before the polar vortes, my Mrs. BR Cant was about 8 feet wide and 5 feet tall.
KnoxRose z7 thanked Buford_NE_GA_7A
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What to expect of these Teas in zone 7a:

Comments (2)

Poorbutroserich Susan Nashville

Buford_NE_GA_7A

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