Holy smokes!!!!!!

Lol, I love it. Omg, it must smell so good standing any part of your garden.

I am blown away with your garden. What view.. beautiful roses. You must have a golden touch for sure.

Jin

Jackie you are a rose Whisperer for sure....lol

Jin

Please tell me this is not all one bush or I'll have to have a stern talk with my (comparatively) diminutive specimen. I know you've had lots of rain which helps, but this is a truly spectacular sight. Mine is just now beginning to put out a few buds and flowers, and a friend who lives further inland and has had even less rain has mentioned the same phenomenon, so apparently lack of sufficient winter rain is a factor. So glad that you posted yours for us to enjoy.

Hee, hee - of course it is all one bush. Most of the roses in my garden seem to have taken a pledge to grow larger than they are supposed to - I do think that our climate helps, along with the fact that almost all of the beds have been gardened for 113 years and counting - the soil is feet deep, and full of worms, etc. Luckily I like the roses that way, because it would take a LOT of work to keep them "neat and tidy".

Jackie

Amazing!

Jackie -- How old is this one?

Hee Hee . . . I am thinking, gleefully, about an eminent Rosarian who opined that everyone knew that "Tea Roses are not vigorous."

This does look to be an outstanding year for teas. Mine are just in bud (end of this week, next week, I imagine), but they are looking extremely well.

Mine are way behind. But I'll get a lot of pleasure out of seeing what NoCal's roses can do.

Jeri - this Rosette Delizy is about 10 years old. It is the rose I told folks on here about - that we planted it against (not inside!) of a metal rose pillar thingy, and the rose took it apart at the join places and carried different parts of it in different directions. We had to chop the rose by about half to retrieve the pieces.

Jackie

I suspect that would be an eminent British rosarian, Jeri (with the initials GST, maybe?)... He was clearly unfamiliar with their potential given ideal conditions such as Jackie's!

OT: For those in the mood for a song, here's the even more eminent Leonard Cohen musing on a few other things that 'Everybody Knows'... :-)

I think he wrote with the British reader in mind. It would be rather like me buying Tea roses for warm gardens, and expecting the same results...

Comtesse -- No -- in fact, this was an American. Tsk Tsk Tsk.

I have read many nasty or dismissive comments (one I remember is "tea roses are no-hopers", which WAS from England, but was NOT GST - as I recall, he usually admitted that his local climate was the problem, not the roses.) about tea roses by rose people who should know better. When I do, I always think what they SHOULD have said is something like: "Unfortunately, the location where I grow roses is not suitable to grow warm climate loving roses like chinas and teas, so I will not share my limited experience of them."

Given that teas thrive in the South of France, I have always wondered at the negative comments on tea roses coming out of the UK - surely they have heard of the explosion of glorious teas which were hybridized in France in the 19th century? Perhaps it is just a symptom of the ancient England vs France cultural divide.

Jackie

I would say that dismissive is appropriate for us, and when Beales, Austin and Thomas wrote their books, all some time ago now, they wrote more with the likes of me in mind, rather than Californian Tea rose ladies, so what they wrote is spot on - for us... Nasty is far too strong a term, I've not read anything like that from them at least..

However, I imagine for most of the U.S. their writings would not be quite so inappropriate. I don't think it's fair to judge them from the angle of a warm climate rose grower..

Few people here would buy a Tea rose, other than as curiosity. They've had their day here, ''glorious Teas'' for what they were, or were not, a long time ago, and there are only a very few remaining of any limited interest.. I think I can confidently claim that they wouldn't appeal to the rose buyer of today, European or elsewhere. I don't think they're that popular in the States even.. the Roses forum members rarely include them in their collections from what I can see, a few here and there perhaps..

Still, it's not to be taken personally...

I loved rosette delizy but it didnt like my climate. So I will enjoy your pictures!

There are some happy Teas at Mottisfont Abbey. Of course they are growing on or near brick walls which hold heat. 'Cl Lady Hillingdon' in particular was Head Gardener David Stone's favorite rose. My own ClLH looks better than it ever has this year, and it makes me remember his comments.

But yes, on the whole, Teas are at their best where it is warm. I think of them as the roses best suited to Mediterranean climates. Plants of any sort generally have requirements which make them either thrive or falter. We gardeners like to push zones, myself included. Sometimes this is to the garden's detriment.

Rosefolly

Yes, clg. Lady Hillingdon is the exception to the rule, along with Mme Antoine Mari, which is tough but doesn't grow that big.. maybe one or two others as there are about a dozen or so generally available, but they were grown mainly in glass houses in Victorian times, by the well-to-do gardeners of the day.. I don't suppose ordinary people in their cottage gardens here, ever knew much about them...

If 'Mutabilis' is also considered a Tea, I'm not sure, then that would be another exceptional rose for us. I suspect the delightful 'Rosette Delizy' would struggle..

I do know of a 'Homere' still growing against a church wall in southern England, that's been there since Victorian times..

Regarding G.S. Thomas, I felt he wasn't all that keen on Austin roses either, despite having one named after him. Just something he said ''some I like more than others'', made me think that way... reading between the lines so to speak.. but then he wouldn't know about the more modern ones, some of which are just exceptional..

Has Rosette Delizy exploded yet? It is now Sunday, I would love to see another photo.

Daisy

It's so beautiful! Even if it's not open all the way.

Wow! That is outstanding. I have heard people say teas are slow growers but most seem pretty vigorous to me. I don't think I can grow Rosette Delizzy anymore. Our winters are too subject these days to polar vortexes.

It does seem Teas are slow at first before they explode, if they like your area. I have had a few just sit there pretty much for what did seem like a long time. One year? 18 months?

Where are you erasmus? Are you Linda (Long Ago Roses) in the Southeast?

So, Rosette Delizzy has finally decided to be almost in full bloom -

She is lovely. Thank-you for all the photos. I love the delicate colour shading she has.