You need to find someone in your zone who grows it - the size of teas and chinas is very dependent on the climate. I grow it in zone 9 in No Cal (cool wet winters & warm dry summers). I planted a baby one about 8 years ago, and it has reached its full size. It is about 8 feet tall and 7-8 feet wide and deep. Again, you cannot count on that - but you CAN count on not being able to rely on any source that is not in a similar climate to the one you are in.

Jackie

Same here, Vettin. Mine wants to be wider than 6', but I'm not letting him. I deadheaded him today by cutting back to the next leaf after the cluster. Most of the time there was already new growth sprouted. It worked out well, I think. He's probably about 4' tall. Maybe he'll shoot up this year, but he's been slow to grow in height. He seems to prefer getting wide. Hopefully, someone in your zone will reply. Maybe you'll be in the minimum size range.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

Three of my Le Vesuve bushes are approximately the same age as Sherry's and I've also found them to be wider than high, although mine are unfortunately not as big as Sherry's. She won't tell me her secret, but I suspect it's the ungodly humidity since all her roses grow like weeds.

Ingrid

What does the scent of le vesuve smell like and how would you rate it's strength of scent?

I can't smell Le Vesuve at all, but have trouble smelling most tea roses except Duchesse de Brabant and Mme. Joseph Schwartz. However, a gardening friend whose nose is pretty fine-tuned also can't detect much fragrance. It may be that roses are more fragrant in general in a more humid environment.

Ingrid

sabalmatt, I haven't ever detected a scent, and I am able to detect the tea scent.

Ingrid, I think perhaps the reason for Le Vesuve's (and other plants') size in my garden is the amending I did to the original soil and the annual composting. Despite the fact that it is still sand and will dry out very quickly, it is now loamy (except for having no clay) and with daily misting it doesn't dry out. So the plants get lots of sun and plenty of nutrition and moisture which apparently equals large size.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

Don't meant to digress, but Sherry I just looked at your latest blog about alfalfa and was amazed at the amount (up to 5 cups) and frequency of application (every 10 weeks)that's recommended. I'm not about to do that (especially since alfalfa costs three times as much here) but it has motivated me to at least fertilize more the 30 or so roses that are about one year old and in most cases a lot younger. If I can make those youngsters grow faster and bloom more it would have quite an impact on the appearance of the garden.

I love your blog!

Ingrid

I'm a zone 6er and some springs I cut my Le Vesuve down to the ground. She bounds back to eventually become about 3 feet and at least as wide, sometimes wider. I really love this rose because once she starts blooming she continues the entire summer until frost. I used to have two, but lost one over a really bad winter.

Hope this helps.
Barbara

I use lots of alfalfa pellets also, the 50 lb. bag does for one application and I use abt. 4-5 bags every 6 months, but I just throw it on I don't brew it.... I alternate with Milorganite, 2 40 lb. bags each time, abt. every other month.... also Black Hen 3-4 20 lb. bags every other month or so...also Black Kow.... I try and keep a good layer in the garden all the time... also Epsom Salt, don't forget that....also leaves and clippings for mulch.... I just put whatever bag of stuff I am using in my cart and wheel it out and throw it on with a plastic margarine tub, and use it for all my other flower beds, the Impatience and butterfly plants, everything, including the Papayas, etc. sally

Here in California I put a generous layer of alfalfa down once a year, right after pruning, then cover that up with compost or an organic mulch, sometimes both. That is it for the year. Of course, we have clay-based soils in this area, though mine is a more moderate sandy clay. The extremely sandy soils of Florida may require more frequent amendment.

Rosefolly

"Mine wants to be wider than 6', but I'm not letting him."

I see that those were my words last April. Ha!

Here he is 10 days ago. The round bed is 6' across, and he hangs over on the right by almost 3'. He's about 5' tall. If he'll ever quit blooming on that right-side cane, I'll trim it back a bit. He really did suffer from our terribly dry summer and grew hardly at all on the left side. I keep saying I'm going to put in a couple of micro-sprinkler heads to replace the in-line drip that's there that must be inadequate. I had been thinking his problem might have been sulking after this winter's pruning, but I don't think that now. I'll probably trim him this winter so he's just inside the bricks. He's 2-1/2 years old.

He's back in bloom mode after taking the summer off.

{{gwi:252229}}

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

Sherry, your Le Vesuve is beautiful! I'm sorry though that it took the summer off. Of course you had lots of heat and for once the summer was rather mild here and my Le Vesuve bushes bloomed most of the time. It's interesting how different your pruned bush looks from my sprawlers. It's a rose that seems to look great either way.

Ingrid

Ingrid, mine was pruned bare to about 4x4 this winter.

I figured out that we didn't have our normal rain this summer and without the rain every few days our temperatures didn't cool down at night so the roses didn't get a break from the heat. Ours aren't as hot as yours temperature-wise, but the sun is very strong and heats the ground as well as the air so you can imagine the relief of a cooling downpour along about 4 or 5 o'clock. My meager spritzing in the morning was not enough to compensate for the lack of 6 or 7 inches of rain in each month between July & Oct. We got less than 2" a month in June, Aug & Sept and about 3.5 in July & Oct. But at least I now know the symptoms and that they do survive.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

If I do grow this rose -- and at this point I'm planning to -- I want it to grow as big as Jackie's. The space I am considering demands a huge rose.

rosefolly, once your new rose starts to put on some growth you might try alfalfa to make it grow more quickly. I use alfalfa meal on my roses and it really makes them put on new growth after just a week or two.

Ingrid