about growing Tea Roses

17 years ago

There has been some discussion about The Duchesse de Brabant here lately. This rose is a Tea rose and Tea roses need certain things pointed out about their growth habits and such for those who are just starting with them.

I am eternally grateful to the Rose Buds at the wonderful Garden Web Antique Rose Forum. They have saved my nerves and my pocketbook many times.

Most teas, (and other roses) when they arrive from the specialty nursery's, will be little twigs in small pots. They should be removed from their packaging with care. Check the soil and make sure it hasn't been shaken out and away from the roots. If needed, add some more clean soil to the tiny pot, water well, place in a part sun area (morning sun is great) and let it settle for a few days. Watch carefully so that it does not dry out.

I usually wait until I see growth, but some will re-pot into a 1 gallon at this time. If you feel that you are not comfortable with watching the water needs carefully, then go ahead and re-pot. Though you must still be attentive about the watering.

Handle carefully. I recently jerked a lovely cutting off its roots with just a gentle tug on the stem.

You can lightly fertilize when you see growth. I use half, or less, strength water soluble such as miracle grow or peter's. After it shows signs of growth you can move it into more sun.

Teas do not like to be pruned. They will be fine with some shaping after they achieve some size. But here's the thing!!! Every tea I have first sent out a large and lateral cane that dragged it's blooms in the dirt. Do not trim this cane!!! From this cane your shrub will send out many vertical canes and these will begin to build the size of the shrub.

If you can't stand it and cut it off, your plant may sulk and refuse to grow for some time.

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Comments (5)

countrynest
17 years ago
What great information!. Thanks alot. Information I can use.
Felix
Sharon Sullivan
17 years ago
I appreciate the summary and I am especially grateful for the information regarding the lateral cane. NR
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gatormomx2
17 years ago
Thank goodness you posted this great info .
My Bermuda Spice - one of the mystery teas or so I was told - has one of those canes you mentioned .
Back away from the pruners !
Tom
17 years ago
Yes, thanks for the information.

Regarding pruning, they don't need it to stay healthy, like the hybrid teas do, but they can be pruned to shape or to just cut them back when they get too large. I have several teas that are huge. I cut them back because they start taking over parts of my yard and covering the sprinkler system.

A nice thing is that you don't need to be very careful when you prune once they are fully established. I vividly remember going to a rose society meeting in Orlando where the speaker shocked us by bring in a power tool--a hedge trimmer-- and pruning one of his teas. He said with the HTs one needs to take care while pruning but with the Old Garden Roses one can hack away--as long as the rose is established.
manature
17 years ago
Thanks for the info, TR...good to know, even though I have never gotten a rose that small, or a cutting like that. I have bought all my OGR's from Seminole Springs, and they were all either 1 gallon or 5 gallon containers, with well established root systems. All I had to do was plop them in the ground, and watch them grow.

I gave away 90% of all my roses last fall, though, as I wanted to switch to a different type of garden. I do intend to grow a few OGR's here and there, as single specimen plants, but I don't want another bed full of them. When it looks good, it's great, and when it doesn't...well, not so great. I needed the bed they were in to look good most of the time, so away they went to be replaced with plants that don't have much "down time."

I know if you are really good with roses, you can make them look good all year, but that wasn't working for me. I needed something that stays greener all the time for a backdrop. Now I'm looking for a couple of roses to tuck in here or there. I had kept my Louis Philippe, but it got a "cane browning" disease of some sort and lost a cane every other day or so, all the way to the ground, until the entire plant was gone. I have to have another! Can't be without LP.

Duchesse is one I would still like to have someday in a special spot, and I'm glad for the info, in case I do have to order it.

Marcia