By the end of the second year, my Duchesse de Brabant was about 3ft tall and wide. In the third year, it reached 5ft. Grown in part sun and fertilized with bonemeal only once at the beginning of the spring. I do apply alfalfa tea 2-3 times a year and found that this especially encourages growth.

A lot depends on how large your rose was when you received it. My DdB from ARE was in a large pot and began to grow and bloom almost immediately, whereas one that arrives as a band may take a year longer to reach the same size. You can never tell what a rose will do. I've had some sit there without any growth whatsoever for almost two years and then burst into growth. Others shot up the moment they hit the ground.

Mine is also growing slower than I can tolerate . I have 3. One from are , about 3ft wide and 2 tall . The others were from chamblees and one is still 1 by 1! I keep giving it the side eye but it dosnt feel threatened. The roses do want to bloom a lot and no disease so they stay . But I may cull two of them .

mine are 3 years old .

Lily, hang on. You might cull the small ones right before they take off. I had a Tea band sit like yours last summer and now it really is taking off. I'm so happy I didn't give up. You've already done the hard part.

My Duchess is going on her 4 or 5th year and didn't start putting on much size until this past spring. She has been my slowest growing tea but I had read that she takes time to put on size so I have been patient with her and she is definitely worth it, I love her blooms.

Just to add to what I said about my DdB: I got her from ARE three years ago as a nice-sized plant in a 2-gallon pot.

Think of tea roses, in the context of how long they take to mature, as if they were large climbers. Expecting them to be a mature size at 3 years is just silly. They live ( at least on their own roots) for 100+ years, and in warm climates bloom for 9-10 months. Impatience is NOT a virtue.

Jackie

Looking back at my records, my DdB will be 3 years in October and is over 5 feet tall. I've never fertilized it but it's constantly pushing out new buds and blooms. It gets some morning sun in my hot garden and it, along with Aloha and Blush Noisette flanking it, is growing and blooming without fertilizer, but they are all watered often.

I got my ddb from the sac cemetery, I figure it will take time being a tea but it does bloom well , I added some fresh soil around it and now need to mulch it.

Yep, both of mine were slow starters. Now I have a new test of patience-- Dr. Grill. Looks like it'll be one of those which grows sideways at first. And William R Smith even slower; in fact I may go ahead and put him in the ground to see if he likes that better.

OTOH I am impressed with G. Nabonnand which has grown quickly, alarmingly so. I thought I'd allowed a LOT of space but he will need every inch.

Slow for me, too, as mentioned. Probably slower here in PNW than warmer climates, but DEFINITELY worth the wait! She is my favorite tea. Wait 5 years, and you'll see enough of her potential for satisfaction. She just gets better each year. Carol

After 4 to 5 years mine is finally producing those beautiful petal packed blooms that drew me to her in pictures. I agree with Carol that she might be slow to settle in but she is soooo worth the wait.