This is a nice idea: thanks.

We have had hardly any frost and the drought lasted until the last third of October, when we got a good rainy spell. The Teas are leafing out at last after the summer rest. There are a few scattered blooms on 'Mme. Antoine Mari', 'Safrano', 'Bermuda's Anna Olivier', and a bud or two on 'Mrs. B.R. Cant'. 'Mme. Berkeley' had a few storm-beaten blooms, to borrow a lovely word from Shakespeare, now just about gone. 'Sanguinea' isn't a Tea, but it's loaded with buds that are just starting to open. Our weather is slated to get cooler and grayer starting tomorrow, which I think should put an end to the flowering season at last.

Melissa

WHAT A GREAT IDEA!!

We, of course, don't get ANY frost. AND we have had some high temperatures along with wind gusts varying from 100 mph down to "baby" gusts of 10-25 mph.

Some of our roses (and some trees) have had most of the leaves literally blown off of them. But the Teas and Chinas are in full leaf, and are either setting buds, or are happily blooming.

Jeri

Wow, I get to brag about my teas! They are looking healthy and are all blooming or have buds to various degrees. These include Safrano, Monsieur Tillier, Mrs. B.R. Cant, Lafter, Comtesse du Cayla, Papa Gontier, Jean Bach Sisley and Mrs. Dudley Cross. In my part of Texas we do get some frosts, but generally they are short-lived so protecting roses is something I have never had to do. I do believe, however, that I will lose buds and blossoms if we get an early freeze. I'm so glad I listened to others on this forum that have suggested teas for my zone AND also suggested patience for the teas to mature and come into their own. They are wonderful!
Molly

Wheeeeeeee!!
This just makes me feel good all over. :-)

I was just noticing that the G. Nabonnand who was given "one more year" this time last year, has come on like gangbusters, and finally turned into a PLANT. The size of the blooms has easily tripled.

Jeri

Oh, yes, I forgot, I also have a Gilbert N and it is looking great!!!!
molly

Mrs. B.R. Cant, looking rather like a camellia, I thought.

Jeri

Here is a link that might be useful:

Mlle de Sombreuil is in full bloom, with clean foliage. Bridesmaid and Catherine Mermet are growing well--scattered flowers here and there. Thomasville Old Gold looks glorious in the garden, but is a terrible cut flower. Therefore I enjoy all his flowers on the bush! Mrs BR Cant is covered with huge grapefruit scented flowers, nodding every which way. And Madame Lombard just finished a HUGE flush.

I too, am very happy I took everyone's advice and began growing old roses! Thanks to all.

Elaine

Mrs. ----oops Modern Roses 12 changed our rose names--- Mrs B.R. Can't. The pruners are being honed, the loppers would make Dexter proud. The Missus is going to see what how they treat roses like that in 'bama. If it just can't manage to open blooms next year, then there will be no excuses left. One flush a year that opens, one flush that balls, is entirely too little for a rose that large. Yes, they smell good, just not often enough.

I know nobody in real life who loves tea roses. And so, while I don't know if we're hugging roses or people, consider yoursef's all hugged real good.

Mons. Tillier, Lady Hillingdon, Puerto Rico all look wonderful with buds and blossoms and Clementina, General Gallieni and William R. are lookin' good...

And the chinas are two steppin' right along.

In a year where most of the roses here defoliated, the Teas have chugged right along. Mine are covered in foliage, frost nipped blooms and buds galore. The Tea that knocked my socks off this year was Marie d'Orleans. She covered herself in big beautiful blooms all year long. Of course, I love most any Tea, but I'm with Cass, Mrs B.R. Cant is on the hit list. Takes up entirely too much space to have so few blooms that open. Gorgeous when they do, but it doesn't happen very often. She has had years to prove herself and she is out of here! Lady Hillingdon got a serious pruning this spring and she has jumped back up to six feet and bloomed her heart out. Clementina, Souv de Pierre Notting, Mrs. Dudley Cross, General Gallieni and William R. Smith have made me proud all year. Now I could go on and on about the China's and noisettes too. Reve d'Or and Mary Washington, Comtesse du Cayla, Arethusa, were covered with blooms and foliage when the frost got them. The older these roses get, the more spectacular they are in the garden.

Carol

Thank you ann for the Tea Hug, I hope it becomes an annual occurance.

"Ducher" which I think of as a Tea, is lovely and has been blooming steadily for over a month. The foliage is so pretty against the white cups and the fragrance is worthy of a Halleluia!.

"Victor Velidan" Colored buds should open in a day or two.
"Angels' Camp Tea" buds are starting to open on its' last flush of 2007.

"Mrs. Dudley Cross" first buds about to open for last flush of the year.

"Comtesse Emmeline de Guigne"s finished blooming in mid-October, no new buds on either plant.

"Mme. Berkeley" is a young plant and has decided to rest this month, she usually blooms in Nov. where I live.

"Hauselt Plot Tea" set buds a couple weeks ago but they rotted in the rain. Boo hoo.

"Georgetown Tea" bloomed two weeks ago, and will probably not bloom again until spring.

"Marie Van Houtte" is at the end of a flush.

"White Maman Cochet" bush form. bloomed two weeks ago and is probably done blooming for the year. Climbing form of White Maman Cochet" produced one bloom this summer and has one bud now, I don't know what is up with her, the bush is 4 to 5 feet tall. I was expecting a dozen blooms for that size of bush, glad I have the bush form. My heart sings when that Tea rose is blooming.

"Rockhill Peach Tea" is resting, still has all its' leaves so it may set buds soon, I hope.

"Duchesse de Brabant" bloomed two weeks ago. I have a double sport bush, one third of the bush has sported to the white form, and the other third is the blush form "Miss. Caroline". I love its' trio of mutlicolored bloom, which appears like a ready made bouquet.

Our Tea- Noisettes
"Mme. Alfred. Carriere" is finishing her last flush of the year.

"Crepescule" is at the end of a flush.
"Reve d' Or" is putting out new growth, but no buds.

Cultivation notes:
I live in Emeryville, across the bay from San Francisco. Our microclimate is warmer than S.F., p.m arrives in spring and b.s. after July. Which means I must spray "Angels camp and Georgetown Tea or they defoliate quickly. This is not a problem only a few miles further east into Oakland, where the lack of morning mist from the bay makes for a dryer microclimate.

Love love love Tea roses, It is the only class of rose I've wanted to add to my collection for the last year.

carol, My Marie was my best performer too! And her color became a dark cerise which I love.

jeri - WOW, that pic just made me add Mrs. BR Cant to my wish list.

And I'd like to thank all of you for enable me to teas. They are perfect for my climate and I've come to really treasure them.

Thanks for the hug. Mine are mostly looking healthy and leafy despite some roses, even Knockout (!) having bs! I think it's stress, related to drought. I didn't spray nearly as much because of the drought.
Anyway Gen. Gallieni is having a growth spurt which I hope won't get nipped. He's having his first interesting bloom, quite large but unopened. Still, it's pink with red outer petals.
My baby Gilbert N is settling in. Wm. R Smith is looking determined to live though my dog dug holes all around him. Angel's Camp Tea is covered in blooms, bedraggled by rain and frost. My other teas are mostly quiet but green.
Linda

Monsieur Tillier has center stage now, as Duchesse is demurely resting. The color we're seeing now the nighttime temps are cooler is so glorious on Monsieur! Lady H,. still young, is clearly about finished for the season. In Texas I had a Christmas bouquet from Duchesse, still expect a few more blooms from her here. I'd like a report on Faith Whittlesby, anybody?

All of my Teas are blooming. Clementina Carbonieri has not stopped and has tons of blooms. Marie van Houte, Mlle. de Sombreuil, Lady H, Duchesse de Brabant, Etoile de Lyon, Alliance Franco Russe, Archduke Joseph and Souvenier de Pierre Notting are all blooming now-- even Marechal Niel has a bloom. The best are the Duchesse, LH, CC and MvH. Their leaves are looking great--no more PM. I just adore my Teas!! They sooo deserve a hug!

Jeri, I'm glad your G. Nabonnand is coming along nicely now. Mine has been good from day one in the ground. Its blooms morph into true beauties during cool weather like this time of year and in the early spring.

But I want to seize this opportunity to brag on my Mrs. Dudley Cross. Man, is that rose healthy looking right now! I have been admiring its foliage and graceful canes all week this week. I wish all my roses were as healthy. But she's a BIG MAMMA.

Randy

All my teas are preparing for their December flush, bursting with healthy new growth. That includes Mrs. Dudley Cross, who I moved in October for the *fifth* time in her young life to a location where she can finally grow as large as she wants to. My star producer is Mons. Tillier, but I rarely hug him owing to his prickly attitude. My other teas are Mme. Antoine Mari, Gen. Gallieni, Bishop Darlington, Georgetown Tea, Safrano, Lady Hillingdon, and a lovely cupped, pink-tipped white thing that the Dallas Arboretum had labeled as Duchess of Kent.

Randy -- I loved Mrs. Dudley -- but she did not like our climate.
Marie van Houtte, OTOH, is happy here, and is blooming away.
She's an EVEN BIGGER MAMMA!

Jeri

Mine are in the basement grow room, drenched in insecticidal soap and rose powder as part of an ongoing very early spider mite winter war - Baronne Henriette de Snoy, Maréchal Niel, Mlle F. Kruger and Mrs Dudley Cross. Aaahhhh ... only 6 short more months to go in the basement. My Alice Hoffman (China ... not Old Blush) cuttings took which is really pleasing since it does not appear to be offered anymore.

Mrs B.R. Cant is among my most generous bloomers - right up there with Franziska Kruger and only a step below Gilbert Nabonnand and Le Vesuve, both of which are workhorses of the highest order here. And she's better than Marie d'Orleans, though Marie is certainly no slouch. I wonder if the difference is due to clone strength or simply a more fortuitous microclimate?

Madame Berkeley, Etoile de Lyon, and General Gallieni are currently at mid-flush here, and looking good.

Enchantress and Perle des Jardins would be at mid-flush if they hadn't lost their buds to weather induced balling and general crappiness. Perle des Jardins performs well in warm weather, but I didn't see a single decent bloom from Enchantress this season. Not one. She did much better in the pot ghetto last year, which is the only reason I intend to move her rather than re-move her.

Rosette Delizy, Monsieur Tillier, Mlle. de Sombreuil, Le Vesuve, Lady Hillingdon, Clementina Carbonieri, and Franziska Kruger are at the tail ends of generous and well executed flushes, with only a scattered few unopened buds remaining.

Mrs. B.R. Cant, Madame Joseph Schwartz, and Safrano are beginning new flushes, and Smith's Parish is covered with tiny buds that are probably doomed to a premature death.

Most of the others have recently completed flushes and will hopefully be content to call it quits for the season. I don't think there's enough time left for them to start over.

Mrs. Dudley Cross, the problem child of my tea collection, managed a small but well executed flush last week - with the emphasis very much on quality over quantity. She earned herself another year in the garden by providing 5 enormous and perfectly formed blooms for my Thanksgiving table. She's four years old and I had no idea her blooms could grow so large! I could only interpret their appearance as evidence that she may have finally turned a long awaited corner. May have... I should probably go ahead and get another plant anyway.

I have very few teas ( and the 3 new teas are babies) so I guess I am not hugged :-(. Let me know when you include Noisettes, too.

I'll slouch in to praise my Teas, stranded in their pot ghetto waiting for their new home to be completed. These were mostly bands received on July 1, so maybe I shouldn't feel so sheepish. Monsieur Tillier is the man! His scrawny little body managed a flush of 6 blooms - 3 still in bud. LaSylphide gave me 3 sweet flowers this week. Arcadia Louisiana Tea had 2 (almost more than her leaves.) Marie d'Orleans managed one or two but she looks beat. These cool, damp nights have brought the ugliest BS - yech! Jean Bach Sisley gave half a dozen floppy, dangling blooms. Mrs B R Cant has A bud. She's only been in since March so I'll give her some slack. The Duchesse is the gangliest lady I've ever seen (also in the ground since March), but she's been flushing right along, getting pinker as it gets cooler. Her fragile looking flowers are amazing. She has a few on her now. Maman Cochet Cl has shown no inclination to bloom in her pot, but she loves throwing those thorny canes! And Mme Caroline Testout, Cl seems to be conserving her strength, apparently stretching out those baby roots.

I've been digging too much in the front yard to notice flushes in the back yard, but I'm sure the Spring will hold many wonders. And I do love them - on faith.
Sherry

My only tea, Amazone, is tucked in the garage sleeping for the winter. Sometimes, when it's in bloom, I would like to give it a big hug:

{{gwi:305255}}

Mine are sleeping in the basement root cellar. Enchantress and Devoniensis seemed ready to bow to the oncoming winter, but Rosette Delizy refused to give up her nice green leaves. I started to strip them by hand but there were soooo many (she had a very happy and healthy year!) that I soon gave up and popped her into her heavy duty garbage bag anyway. I'll go in with the shop vac and clean them out as soon as she finally lets go.
And Homere has been laid to rest on the compost pile, poor guy. Just couldn't show me blooms worth all this effort.

I think you have to have great devotion to grow Teas in Northern Michigan. :-)
I salute you!

Jeri

All of my teas have decided they should grow a foot or two in the past month. Covered with buds, they look like they think it is spring!! Had plenty of roses for my Thanksgiving table, looks like I may have them for my Christmas table as well.

Mine look about the same as Ann's. Group hug for Teas, sure.
I love my Teas and it saddens me when I hear about other's Mons. Tillier. Ann, that was the one I cut way back from RRD.
You guys' list make me want more Teas.
Carol, you are right bout those Chinas and Noisettes, they are huge and threaten their neighbors.

Carla

Carol, you are right bout those Chinas and Noisettes, they are huge and threaten their neighbors.

*** But BEAUTIFUL!
We have one location in which one rose after another has failed.
It's one of those SW-facing retaining walls, and the heat can be intense.
We put 'Louis Philippe' there, and he's a wow.
The worst problem he has is that in the worst of the Santa Ana winds, blooms will dry out, but they're
replaced so quickly, it hardly matters.

Jeri

Still hugging my Teas, but I have to brag on Louis Philippe, too. With one in the ground and one in a pot nearby I was a little concerned a few weeks ago. The potted one was nearly bare, and I thought, uh-oh, I'm killing this plant. (I'm a rose rookie this year, and several aren't looking good.) But that LP is now bursting with leaves and starting to bloom. I guess they cycle through these things. I can't believe he and the others survive so long in pots. It's a wonder! Oh, and LP in the ground has a LOT of blooms on him!
Sherry

Nice idea. It's interesting to see what's going on in other parts.

My DDB and MJS are in big pots. They are 6 or 7 years old. Lots of leaves on them yet. The Duchesse is trying to put out a little new growth but for the most part they look like fall is here. They lose all their leaves over the winter, here, but only for a month or so.

A bit of bs now, none all summer. Nothing compared to other years. It's the drought. Everything just stays SO dry, I literally hosed all my potted roses down every day during the summer, sometimes twice. We are ALL glad for this cooler weather.

No blooms or buds as we had hard frost 2 nights in a row at the beginning ov Nov. It's been a rough year for the roses with the harsh weather and early freeze we had in the spring contributing. But the 2 big ones had flowers all spring and summer and beautiful bunches of huge fragrant blooms in October.

The only 2 blooms in the whole garden are on a 2yr. old start of the the Duchesse that was protected under an azalea during those cold nights, and poor things are hanging their heads and pouting, but still smell good.

And since y'all mentioned it I love my LP, too. What a trouper that one is. Not to mention those exquisitely beautiful little blooms and luscious scent.

Oh my gosh, my hats off to you who must keep you lovelies in the basement, garage or root cellar for 6 months.

Sending (((hugs))),lol, from my little corner of the garden.

Just a minute here folks....ah, I am dislodging the thorns of Mme. Lombard from my chest, neck and upper lip. Don't think they'll infect too bad.

This is a great thread! It would be hard to tell which are the best here. All of a sudden teas that were very weak so far are putting out lots of nice growth and are most attractive. Still the best of the best, now, are:

Souvenir de Pierre Notting....stops cars going round the school.

Etoile de Lyon, Vintage version

All the Cochets.

There are more but I have to get back to work...and find the Bactine ;-)

Jerome

Riku in zone 3, and Veilchen and other far North gardeners,

I admire all of you for your determination to grow Tea and China roses in your climate zone. Veilchen, your "Amazone is breathtaking.

Lux.

My Duchesse de Brabant is tucked in for the winter, I mounded the crown with mulch. Now for the wait to spring, wish I could fast forward to spring right now, LOL!

OK, you guys enabled me. I just put in an order at Vintage. DH was looking for something to get me for Christmas. He has some gadget in mind, but I told him I'd rather have roses. So he handed me his credit card...

So here is my list:

1 Souvenir de Pierre Notting T Band
1 Clementina Carbonieri T Band
1 Lady Hillingdon T Band
1 Mrs. B. R. Cant T Band
1 Marie van Houtte T Band
1 Devoniensis T Band
1 Freiherr von Marschall T Band
1 Huntington Pink Tea T Band
1 Monsieur Tillier T Band
1 Duchesse de Brabant T Band
1 Enchantress T Band
1 Pierre Notting

I have no idea what Enchantress and Freiherr look like, so if anyone has them, please let me know how they are. Right now the special at Vintage is you get 2 free 12.50 bands when you buy 8. I added 2 more roses because they ship in boxes of 4, so the shipping was the same.

The only thing is I forgot to put a ship date! I responded to their email confirming the order and asked them to change the ship date to 3/1/08. I don't want to have to baby bands through the winter in the garage.

I don't know all of them, but I do know MOST of them.
That's a lovely selection of roses. I hope they love Georgia as much as they love CA. :-)

Jeri

Bet, that man handed you his credit card and that is the worst damage you could do?? :-). You obviously needed me to help you shop.....nice list, nice husband and what a great present.

Carol

Well, I did limited myself to what I think I could plant and take care of. I'll try to do better next time :)

I planted Enchantress this year and love it. Its coloring is somewhat like Comtesse du Cayla, as I remember it, but with a slightly more substantial flower--i.e. more petals, holds its bud stage longer, and, for me, stronger fragrance (it's not that hard to beat the Comtesse in the fragrance dept.) However, like Comtesse, the edges can get a little crispy, and I'm not totally sure that hot sun is the definitive reason for why the flowers behave this way. But at any rate it is a very rich color for a tea rose and I like it a bunch. Mine is from Roses Unlimited. I may have a photo but I'll have to dig for it.

Buford, you're giving me list envy!

Thanks Patrick. I picked it because it was described as having a deep color. I didn't want to have all white/pink/yellow teas.

Now all I have to do is figure out where to put these guys!

Lovely, lovely Teas. I was feeling envious and pitiable on account of all those roses in bloom in everyone else's gardens while I have just a half dozen flowers or so in mine, but then reality gave me a gentle nudge: ours is the northernmost garden with Teas in the ground of everyone who has posted so far. We're just below the 45th Parallel, the same latitude as Bangor, Maine and central Oregon. Portland and Seattle gardeners? The Swiss/Italian lakes? Anyway, we're not doing so bad. You southerners, enjoy your wonderful roses. I concur that the folks who have to overwinter their Teas in cellars and garages are stout gardeners indeed. I'm enjoying the thread.
Melissa

What a great week we've had in the tea bloom department despite having a slight frost last weekend. We've had a steady flush of blooms on all the teas and chinas around here. The colors are rich and lovely because of the cooler temps. The Duchess looks especially lovely in her pink blossoms. Mrs. B.R. Cant and Mons Tillier are new to my garden this year. Still in pots, but oh, so fun. Ducher, Cramisia Superior (sorry about the spelling) and Sombreiul (sigh, gotta practice my French spellings) are having a nice late fall flush. My china, Mutablius, is bursting with blooms.

Silly roses. We will have a hard freeze within the next couple of weeks. They should be going to sleep, not putting on new growth and buds. But I'm not griping. They look incredible.

Hugs to the teas and their growers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Soul

I've just noticed that in my yard, where almost everything except the cats gets black spot, the teas are blackspot free. It could be location, since most of them are in one bed away from the front of my house.

Still, there are other roses in that bed that have bs. And Reve d' Or is right next to Veilchecnblau. Veil is covered in bs and is losing it's leaves, but RdO is clean and full of lush green foliage.

The only one that has some spots is a newly planted Louisiana Arcadia Tea, which was in a pot next to some very spotty bands of Barrone Prevost....

Well, I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Reve d'Or.
It's always been disease-free for us. (In, of course, a much different climate, but still ...)
Both the one we had years ago, which the cable guys killed, and the young one we have
now, which is a cutting from the Sacramento City Cemetery plant.

We were discussing, the other day, where some things should go.
DH wants that Reve d'Or where it will be very visible, and I can't argue with that.
The other thing he really wants is another 'Setzer Noisette.'
Which means we need to try to propagate ours.

Jeri

Is Reve d Or a once bloomer? I had one bloom on it before the Easter freeze hit. After that I think it was exposed to herbicide, but I think I only had one or two blooms the whole summer/fall. This is it's first full year, maybe it will bloom more next year.

Bet, my RdO spent a year or two growing like gangbusters. I saw a few blooms but not many. Now that it is established, it has many, many blooms all of the time. My RdO actually blooms more than Crepuscule.

Carol

Carol's right.

Reve d'Or is a very good example of a rose that doesn't show you what it can do until it gets a little bit of maturity.
In my experience, once it achieves some size, it will start blooming. Most heavily in the spring, to be sure, but every year its repeat should get a bit better.

Jeri

If Anyone is within 50 miles of daytona Beach,Fl.I wish they would drop by and witness my MvH about 18 by 12 and still growing.Covered with that pretty red new growth.

Now I'm scared Pete.....

Well after the freeze and the round up, RdO is all over a 6 ft fence and arbor, so I have great hopes for it next year. DH and I have to spend some time this winter getting that and Sombrieuil attached to the fence and arbor. Sombrieuil is on the other side of the arbor and is like to put someone's eye out.

I also have a Zef D that grew about 10 feet this year and I have to attach it to the deck posts....