I would be interested in seeing the answer as well. I ordered MBRC as well as three other teas for April delivery, with the plan to grow them in pots. All are bands. I figure that it probably would be OK as (i) at least for the first two or three years, MBRC won’t outgrow the pot, and (iii) since our growth season are far shorter, it won’t get the opportunity to grow all that big. Of course, this is mostly guesswork, but we won’t know for sure until we try, right?

I came across this picture in helpmefind, and think it is evidence that this can be done..

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.173609

My own research (totally unscientific, and unsupported by any first-hand knowledge whatsoever) is M. Tillier is a tea having blooms similar to MBRC that is smaller and reacts better to pruning. I don’t think MBRC would be the best tea to grow in pot. However, I prefer MBRC’s bloom form.

You can literally grow any tree or plant in a container.
All you have to do is compensate for the fact that you are growing them in a container.
Water it every day in a container when the temp is 90, every other day when the temp is 80, every 3 days in the 70s, (I asked a rose grower this question and this is what he said), Just keep in mind it is in a container, so if you notice it really needs more water mabey in the second season, you might have to root prune it.
You wait til all the leaves are off, beofre it leafs out in the spring, take out of container, cut the roots shorter with sharp clippers, change the potting soil, stick back in fresh potting soil for it's second year.
It is good to go now for at least 1 or 2 more years without having to root prune it again.

When you feed it, don't use quite as much rose food on it, remember, it is in a pot.
I have 2 big hybrid teas in pots, I have had them for many years. PopeJohnPaul II and I root pruned it in the late fall last year. It is doing really good. I think my oldest one might be at least 6 years old now.
Just remember about the water, it is really important to water it like the nurseryman said, it works.

Tea roses come in different shapes and sizes. On the Vintage page, there are illustrations showing small, twiggy teas, medium sized bushy teas and monsters. For pots, I'd suggest a small to medium sized plant. In the DC area, Mon Tillier is 6x6 in the ground, not what I'd call a small rose. Gen Schab has the same look as MT and is much smaller so he'd be my pot choice.

Vintage has lovely photos as well. I strongly suggest you start there and study the Type 1 and Type 2 teas.

Thanks everyone! I also read in Peter Schneider's rose book that he grows 'Lady Hillingdon' and that it does very well in his Ohio garden.

Mas -- Yes, from what I heard on this forum, Hillingdon is a hardier tea than MBRC, and can be planted in the garden here in where I live (Zone 6b NJ). Another hardier tea is Duchesse De Brabant. I remember Christa from NY, whose posts I follow closely, said she grows it.

Mark

The Brits did it in Edwardian and Victorian times, so why not? In my "land of endless summer" climate, they aren't happy remaining in pots, but in your shorter season one, you should be able to, particularly the smaller growers. Kim

I'm in a land where we have 4 seasons. Almost summer, summer, HADES, and two days of fall.

I have to grow in pots. The key is keeping them well watered and fed. I use a water soluble rose food at the recommended strength and frequency for pots. Report every two - three years and WATER.

Here I have to water 2x a day when the temps are over 100 (about 3 months), 1x a day when the temps are 90s or 80s, and a couple times a week otherwise. I'm installed an automatic drip watering system this spring so traveling and busy days don't doom the poor things.

I grow anythign in a pot. A big enough pot, weighed with rocks can hold even a VERY large rose bush. And I just prune them to the size I want for where they are.

I love the four seasons comment!

I think I am giving growing more tea roses in pots a chance.

you can grow them in pots. They just won't get as large as they would in the ground. I would worry about leaving them out in the colder weather because potted plants feel the cold more than plants in the ground. If you have a garage or basement to bring them in, that would be ideal.

There are some smaller mannerly teas. Devoniensis, Rosette d'Lizzy and others. The Vintage site is great for seeing the potential size of teas.

Christopher -- the one I would be a little concerned about is 'Le Pactole'.

It wants to be a VERY BIG PLANT. And until it reached the size it wanted to achieve, it mildewed for me.

Also, 'Red Smith's Parish' -- because "Smith's Parish" here is truly a monster -- a big, BIG plant.

And General Shablikine if the one in the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden is average for height. It was taller than me.

But thank you for making that list

Not a Tea rose, but what about the china Archduke Charles?

Mine stays smaller and is very pretty

Wow, I'd never containerize a tea as it would outgrow pot really fast, becoming root bound and eventually declining. Perhaps in colder climates it is diff but they want to be gigantic. Only roses that have done well for me in containers are minis and polyanthas

For California, I really agree with bossyvossy. Teas, here, can be grown in a container for a time (in fact, we do) but they really need to get out of the pot and into the ground, to flourish.

At one point, we had three Teas and a Ragged Robin in HUGE pots, on our sunny patio. They did "ok." But when we moved them down the hill and put them into the ground, they took off instantly, and about doubled in size, in a year.

There are things I'd keep in a pot.

We have 'Sunshine' in a pot (and it will doubtless stay in one). I would grow "Sophie's Perpetual" in a pot, and 'Eugene de Beauharnais.' I think you could grow 'Prospero' in a pot.

But in a grow-year-round climate like this -- most of them will never fulfill their potential -- even in a truly huge pot.

Jeri

Thank you for amending the list I typed -- I had a feeling there would be some which grow very differently in California than Vintage Gardens' growth habits would suggest. You also have to remember, though, that up here where Winters can be harsher, Teas will grow three steps in a year and get knocked back a step (or two) after Winter -- so your ultimate sizes will likely take many more years to achieve here, if at all.

I have limited experience with Teas -- I have only 'Lady Hillingdon' and "Bermuda Spice", and only since Spring 2013. The former was very slow-growing for me, anyway, and what it managed in its first year was cut back to the mulch line after last year's severe Winter. By the end of 2014, it managed to get back to the size it was the year before, but with a couple more stems.

"Bermuda Spice", on the other hand, put on a lot of growth its first year, but also got cut back hard last Spring -- down to about four inches above the mulch line. By the end of 2014, it grew back to about four feet tall and about as wide -- maybe a little wider.

Here's a thought I'm beginning to cultivate about Teas up here -- they can take a hard pruning, so long as what you cut back is not older than a year's worth of growth. Whenever I've read about how to go very lightly with pruning them, the rose pictured is rather well-established, and the canes are starting to get woody. I'd agree that it's best to leave them alone. But when I cut back soft, green stems on "Bermuda Spice" during the growing season -- even harshly, if one was really awkward in its direction -- very quickly new growth emerged. I wonder if, in a colder climate and when grown in a pot, other Teas could be handled similarly.

It wasn't until I saw that Stephen Scanniello (who lives just a bit south of me, also in NJ) grows Teas that I even considered trying them, and it seems they're a bit more tolerant of pruning here than suggested in warmer climates. Of course, much of that "pruning" will be the necessary removal of freeze-damage.

Looking at some of the Teas on "my list" on HelpMeFind, I see that private gardens on Long Island and public gardens in NYC also grow them. They may never become as big and glorious up here as they do down there, but the fact that many keep on blooming through our Summers makes them valuable nonetheless. Perhaps as long as a basic (albeit short) framework of wood can be maintained near the base, annual growth emerging from it can be tolerably removed each Spring. Maybe it's possible to maintain them the way many people maintain Buddleia bushes -- cutting back most of the previous year's twiggy growth and allowing it to bloom mostly on new wood. I wouldn't choose to do it that severely, but last Winter made that choice for me.

This is just what I'm going to investigate and try -- I have no experience to back up my thoughts other than how "Bermuda Spice" quickly rebounded after a necessary hard prune last year. This Winter being more mild, I'm not planning on removing anything but dead stems since this rose is in the ground and I want it to put on more size, but perhaps our conditions will allow Teas to be maintained at smaller sizes that will allow them to be grown in large pots. It's certainly something I'm going to be trying -- and I'll be sure to share my results as I continue to post here. After all, you're not a real "gardener" if you haven't killed a few plants as as you go along and figure out how much you can get away with, right?

:-)

~Christopher

I would worry about Marie d'Orleans. I had it, and it unfortunately died when I had to dig it up. It also had sustained a lot of winter damage last year.

It was big, not the huge creeping growth of a BR Cant, it was more upright, but it was way over my head. I had started to cut it back by removing older canes, but it still was enormous. And the thorns, OMG. When it died in the pot, I was sad, but I've decided not to replace it. I love the blooms, but they are not worth the trouble. Besides Mme. Lambard blooms have the same quality but a bit pinker in color.

I think the main reason teas in pots don't appeal to some people is that they probably will never reach their true potential, the larger ones anyway. But if that is the only way you can grow them, I say go for it!

BTW, I have Homere and Blumenschmidt in pots, given to me by someone. They've been out all this winter and last and have not suffered major damage. So that is interesting.

Buford, I had Sunset outside in a large pot and it survived last winter and began to leaf out only to die in March/April during a freeze-thaw cycle. So my potted teas are in the garage this winter and I drag them out during warm spells.

Butterfly, What size pots do you use in dimensions? Thanks for all the info and great post vabyvlue!!!

Buford -- I agree with what you're saying about why "Teas in pots doesn't appeal to some people" -- and also that if that's the only way to grow them, go for it anyway! I have seen pictures of some extraordinary gardens in the tropics, utilizing species most of us would consider as only "houseplants" because they wouldn't survive outside. Right off the top of my head is a couple who garden in Hawaii -- imagine landscaping there! Similarly, these species reach their "full potential" in these climates, but that doesn't mean others don't get enjoyment out of them growing in pots, even if it means they'll never gain their "full potential" size and glory. The bigger concern would be if the results warrant the efforts, and that will vary greatly with the degree of interest and commitment of the gardener in question. Try it out -- the worst that can happen is that the plant dies, or you decide to toss it.

:-)

~Christopher

I asked Beales about General Schablikine before ordering, and their nurseryman told me that in their chilly z7 ish area with cold easterlies, the General can still reach 5ft, although they keep it smaller usually. I was asking in the context of wanting a centrepiece shrub though, so big was good news for me. Unfortunately, it did not occur to me to ask exactly how they managed the trick of keeping it smaller, sorry about that!

This post was edited by FDUK on Mon, Feb 9, 15 at 7:55

Mrs. BR Cant and Mon. Tillier are monsters in the ground for me, wouldn't try either of these in pots - though they are fabulous in the ground.

Judith

I'm reviving this post because I just put some tea roses in pots... whoops! Homere, M. Franziska Kruger and Jesse Hildreth.

Oh well.... they will do fine while they grow for a while since they're just younguns anyways. It was never really going to be a permanent plan.

But... I read on HMF that Smith's Parish is a good container rose. I didn't really believe it. That seemed strange to me since it gets ginormous! Of course I consulted with the masters here by searching and viola... here it is... NOT recommended long term! I will probably keep it in a container anyway for a while while it grows....until I put it in the ground... but darn that HMF!

Great reference post everyone! Super helpful when considering adding some pots!

Even some of the polys, which are supposed to be "smaller" plants (at least in climates like Northern Germany!), can quickly out grow containers. Have you SEEN La Marne at the Sac. Cemetery? You can get away with such things if the climate dwarfs or freezes off feet of growth annually, but not where they never stop growing.

Yeah, I should have known better. The bands are so small it's fine for now, but I will still probabaly get them out sooner rather than later anyways... and put them in plastic pots instead up in my raised 'propagation beds' just to make it easier for me to watch them, tend to them, and transplant them to the ground later. Pots are kinda a pain here in CA. Great other places, but we are spoiled and lazy in CA. All that root pruning and potting up... meh.

It is actually raining (more like drizzling) this weekend here so I will let them be for now and probabaly move them out after Thanksgiving.

Congratulations on the rain! We're being warned of an inch to an inch and a half tomorrow. Of course the work wasn't quite as far along as it needed to be for the inspector to sign the inspection so today would be stucco, but the house is water tight and they can stucco in the mud! Some of these "cute" roses in bands are like the "cute" Italian Cypresses and redwoods in gallon cans people plant very close to walls and hard scape. But, they were SO "CUTE" in those little pots! LOL!