Lindsey - the best thing you can do is to find your local Rose Society, and ask them if they have any information on which old tea roses anyone grows in your area, in the kind of sun/shade you are planning on growing them in in your garden. Not all tea roses are OK with "not much sun", in a cool zone. Some are, but you need LOCAL info. Perhaps someone on here will respond who grows teas in your area.

Jackie

Lindsey, I agree with what Jackie said, but I'll add to it. Teas definitely do better in more sun. Although I have a few in less than perfect light conditions, they are in warm positions, and all get at least 6 hours. My happiest teas are in full sun, other than Mons Tillier, who is in a half-day afternoon/evening exposure. He loves it.

Teas are not one-size-fits-all, especially in zone 7. We get much more rain than they do out in CA, but the flip side is we get winter damage they don't get in CA. That's the main reason you need local advice. In *general*, my teas are much smaller than what they would be in more southern or western climes. But still, they range in size from just under three feet to (well-) over six feet. You'll need to research each variety you want to grow, and make adjustments per their individual mature size. It also depends on whether you're looking at true teas, tea/china crosses, early hybrid teas, and whether their habit is spreading, upright, gangly, twiggy, dense, bushy, etc. Even among true teas there will be a huge difference in size and structure. So you can't just say "plant them 'x' feet apart". I would aim for adjusting the distance so that the mature bushes just barely touch, if at all. Twiggier, less dense types could be planted a little closer. But in the humid South, they need all the air circulation they can get. Though it might look lovely to have them intermingling their branches, by mid-summer you'll have disease issues you could have avoided just with air movement. I don't spray, usually, and my teas are among the healthiest roses I grow. If they were slightly more hardy, they would be the only roses I grow, even not considering their beauty.

Good luck, but I fear you're going to spend a lot of time on HMF in order to really answer your question. Of course, come back here for real-world experiences, just take them with a grain (a bushel?) of salt if the responders aren't fairly close to you.

John

FWIW, I have a long hedge/wall of what will eventually be large tea roses at the back of my property...the intention being to create an impenetrable barrier...I have them planted 5-7' apart. Most of them are still <5 years old so they aren't crowding each other yet, but eventually they should be. I have no idea how they'll do at that point, but I hope they do ok!

I also have Lady Hillingdon planted in a hedge next to some other OGRs (bourbons/damasks/etc.) which are 4-5' apart. Again, the goal being an impenetrable barrier. So far she gets along very well with her neighbors, no problems that a bit of minor pruning can't take care of, and I think she's pretty close to full size now.

Different teas grow to different sizes, I think, so you'll need to take that into account also.

I should add that my teas get full sun; our climate is pretty dry during the summer; and our winters aren't severe enough to cause much die-back.

I appreciate the replies. I've been busy this week making changes in the European section.

Most of my teas have died--probably partly my fault but also the lack of warm, sunny positions. These five are the survivors:

Spice--looks and behaves much more like a China

Safrano--still in a pot and struggling to recover from being pulled up the year before last. This morning I moved its pot to what I hope will be a better place--4 to 5 feet from Mme Lombard

Lombard--the best performer--rebloom is okay but the bush is lean and leggy

RosetteDelizy--small and in a pot--produced several pretty blooms this year

CL. Devoniensis--in place since 2004 and spectacular before a cold winter killed it to the ground--now it suffers from lack of sun as trees in the woods behind it have recovered from a hurricane in 2003

Sh. Devoniensis--small and still in a pot since I raised it from a cutting of Cl Devoniensis

The Richmond Rose Society does not have any teas on its recommended list, despite the fact that they flourish at Hollywood Cemetery, about 12 miles from me and half a zone warmer. I'm not surprised--I went to a meeting once years ago--all the talk was of chemicals and the President reminded everyone that he disliked roses "that showed their stamens." I never went to another meeting.

Lindsey

Ugh the Richmond RS sounds like a MISERABLE meeting!

I love Rosette Delizy, she's one of my favorites.

What are some of your other favorites? I prefer yellow, peach/salmon, and warm pink tones and varieties with good rebloom.

My European roses outshine the teas because they get enough sun for peak bloom in mid-May.

Lindsey

Lady Hillingdon is a favorite, I planted her in a special location so I'd be able to admire her loveliness. Here she is earlier this year:

Most of my other yellow/salmon/peach teas are still too young to be able to tell which ones are better than others.

Mine were 8 feet apart.

Now I wish it were further apart.

Sheila I think they look wonderful together and with the colors of the sky behind…. perfection perfection!

Who are they? And how long did it take for them to get that big?

Oh that's such a beautiful picture @Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR !

Gorgeous roses, and with that pink sky... Wow!!

@slumgullion in southern OR Lady Hillingdon looks amazing! I didn't know about this rose. Stunning!

Sheila I wish I had as much landscape space as you do!! My property is much more cramped...I have to squeeze everybody in close together. But your double row of teas looks amazing!

I love the photos Stephanie and Slum. Mine were Madame Antoine Mari and Madame Lombard in this double row Tea garden planted 5 years ago. The ML in the back was supposed to be Georgetown Tea but was a second ML.

Stephanie--I think you are right about being at the boundary where Teas grow well and where they do not. Hollywood Cemetery is on the James River, zone 7B. I am north of that maybe 10-12 miles in 7A. I recall that someone I knew in my area (slightly north of me) who had lovely roses said she never could do much with Teas and that Safrano was a small, pitiful plant in her garden. Safrano is neither small nor pitiful in Hollywood. I will say that Cl. Devoniensis and Lamarque were big and spectacular for me until the shade in their part of the garden increased, but they were never always in bloom. Both were planted in a sheltered place at the southern end of the garden on the south side of a building. They are still alive and have produced a few lovely blooms this year but are only a shadow of their former selves,

The only roses i have which are always in bloom are the Macartney rose and the two Musk roses (double and single). Both Musks are in a sheltered location near the back entrance 10-15 feet from Mme. Lombard and Safrano's new place.

Lindsey