Way, WAAAAAY different!
And don't be fooled into thinking that all Teas and Chinas are disease-resistant everywhere, and all HTs are not! There are certain "family" characteristics, but there are also individual variations within them.

BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING:

CHINA ROSES bloom CONTINUOUSLY. In mild climates, they are, more or less, "EVERGREEN." They are Long-lived, twiggy plants which build size slowly, and which, in time, become large, dense, twiggy bushes.
Foliage Of China Roses: smooth-surfaced, light-to-medium green, rather long, and pointed. Touches of purple, dark red, or bronze in canes, leaves, and new growth. They have relatively few prickles.
Bloom-colors often "fade-to-dark." (Change from pale shades to dark as the bloom ages.)
Chinas are the source of clear luminous reds, warm yellows, saffrons, salmons, and soft oranges. Blooms are most often single or semi-double, with loose petals.
Chinas are Heat tolerant plants, which slip into dormancy to survive drought. Some of the Chinas we know today came from China, and are thousands of years old.

TEA ROSES are related to Chinas, but derive in part from R. gigantea.
Teas build slowly into large, densely-twiggy plants, well-clothed in foliage, blooming more or less continuously.
The spiralling form demanded for the Hybrid Tea derives from the Tea Rose, but that "half-open" stage is not desired for Teas.
TEA ROSE COLORS RANGE THROUGHOUT THE ROSE PALETTE:
Reds, Pinks, Whites, Blushes, Yellows, Oranges Most special to Teas are the colors of dawn:
Golds, Warm Pinks, and Rose shading into each other, with delicate tints and highlights.

Because they are "evergreen" Teas and Chinas retain energy in their twiggy growth, and renew blooms and foliage through the year. This works best in mild-winter areas.

HYBRID TEAS derive their remontancy from the Teas and Chinas, but combine their genes with the old Northern European roses. They are probably more cold-hardy than Teas and Chinas, but sturdier of growth. They don't fare as well in climates where there is no hope of dormancy -- having inherited a need for that from their European ancestors.

Jeri

Jeri, that info. is very good. I think my Chinas are in toasted condition right now.

Carla

Redsox, when I first started growing roses a book that was very helpful to me was "Foolproof Guide to Growing Roses" by Field Roebuck who used to post here. It has the most basic information about the types of roses, the parts of a rose, difference between grafted and ownroot and lots of information about amending soil, making beds, etc. It can be found fairly inexpensively at Alibris and it is good to have something in your hands to look things up. I think you would like it. There are a slew of other rose books that have good information, as well, but this is a very good book for the basics.

Carol

Thanks Jeri and Carol. That was a great description. I read about it in the Ortho book, without really understanding.

Do most people mix Chinas, Teas and Moderns in one bed or is that beneath contempt?

I mix types of roses all the time. The effect is delightful, and helps keep the area from looking boring.

I also mix colors. Nature does that, so why shouldn't we?

The key is to plant things how YOU like it! You're really the only one you have to please. After all, it's your garden.

Sandy

Sure. Mix sorts of roses. Mix colors that please you. Then stick in other sorts of plants, and you'll find that the contrasts are pleasing.
Sandy's got it right. Plant things as YOU like them.

Jeri

Redsox, thanks for the great question! and Jeri thanks for the great information. I am trying to learn more about Teas and Chinas since I am supposed to have the perfect climate for them and I haven't tried either yet. I love to mix all types of roses together with other flowers, mostly perennials. I think that it is much nicer looking than a regular rose garden, but that is just my choice, someone else might like things in neat rows.
Diana

.....Otherwise you'll have roses and plants you don't take care of because you never really liked them in the first place. Only plant what you can't wait to run out and check on. If you plant something and then decide later on you're not particularly thrilled with it, remove it. (You can always give it away). Believe me, I'm speaking from experience!

You also have to decide what type of gardening chores you don't mind, and what ones you don't want to do at all, and plant accordingly. For example, in my area hybrid teas will need regular spraying with chemicals to keep them healthy and looking nice. I found that was something I hated to do, so consequently I didn't do it. I've removed most of my hybrid teas, and am trying to plant only those roses that can tolerate such an attitude. The teas and chinas fit in perfectly with what works for me....they can take some neglect in Florida, and I don't have to spray them. That's especially important to me in the summer when I don't want to be outdoors much, (unless it's at the beach or in a canoe), or if I want to travel.

Some people love hybrid teas, don't mind spraying, and enjoy exhibiting.

We're all different. That's part of what makes it all so much fun!

Sandy

I'm with you on that, Sandy. It would be helpful to see a list of the roses that do well for you. Brandy

And I found as much as I tried to carefully plan the layout of my new garden this Spring, I'm definitely going to have to move a few out, dig them up and relocate somewhere else. They aren't growing the way I expected or I've found a better use for them in a new area. And starting with zippo rose knowledge does leave a lot of room for a learning curve - not exactly mistakes but not the best decisions. But what else have we got to do???

I, too, am concentrating on Teas and Chinas. There are a few other individual roses that are tempting me (not Austins anymore), but we'll see. I really do love Belinda's Dream - very clean even in Humid Florida.

Also, what out for Hybrid Chinas. Several of them are once-blooming. Just so you know when you buy it what you are getting.
Sherry

Sherry, I am in the same situation as you. I have my bands potted up and they are awaiting planting this fall. I just finished my plan on paper. So, you are a little ahead of me.

What are some of the things you learned? What would you do different? This may help some of us new-to-roses people!

Karen

Jeri when you describe chinas and teas as dense, twiggy bushes, is what you mean that they are somewhat sprawling and bushy, as opposed to HTs, which are more upright?

The bed I am thinking about is small, so I think more upright would work better here. I have another area in mind for the future for more "bushy" roses, OGRs and maybe DAs. Are HTs and Floribundas the only upright bushes?

You got it redsox. Think of them as real BUSHES.
But remember that many modern roses need space too.

When you THINK you've decided what roses you want, do a little more research.
Find out the eventual size and habit of those SPECIFIC cultivars.
And remember to plant them for the space they will EVENTUALLY take up.
So your bed will look "sparse" when you first plant, until the roses grow up to fill out.

Jeri

Sorry, Sandy, what I meant was it would be nice to know how all those new roses you planted are doing, especially Louis Phillipe, and Austins' Tamora and The Prince. Brandy

Hi Brandy, Louis Philippe is still in a pot, but sure needs to get planted! He is totally clean and very happy as long as the pot is in full baking sun with lots of watering. When I put the pot in an area that gets sun from noon until sunset I started to get some cruddy leaves. Whether or not this would have resulted in a significant amount of cruddy leaves, I don't know. I moved the pot back so it could bake and he is happy as long as I feed his drinking habit. On the other hand, Cramoisi is happier in a spot that gets some shade in the morning, with full sun the rest of the day. He sulked in full all day sun. Go figure!

Tamora and The Prince have been almost totally clean. The other Austins that have been doing great are Abraham Darby, Jude the Obscure, The Dark lady, Molineux, Sharifa Asma, Pretty Jessica, and Chaucer. Sophy's Rose (own root) has also been very healthy with half day of direct sun, is new this year, and amount of bloom is steady but not any degree of wow factor yet. May or may not keep her. She's young so I need to give her a chance. She may also want to be moved into full all day sun. I may do that this fall.

The other Austins I have bloom extremely well, even in this heat, but with the exception of Molineux, who is on his own roots, the others are on fortuniana. This may make a difference, I don't know. I'm glad I got what I did on fortuniana when Ken Muncy was still alive. I don't know of any others who are authorized "dealers", who graft on fortuniana.

I quit spraying, and these have stayed wonderful with no chemicals so far. I'd have to get through another summer with them to be sure, but most of my hybrid teas are now shovel-pruned, and the Austins have stayed healthy. I don't plan on doing much spraying again, perhaps only after pruning, and now and again for some extenuating circumstance, so I'm only keeping roses that can handle that.

All of my Archduke Charles are exceptional. Souvenir de la Malmaison, Dainty Bess, Cramoisi Superieur, Prosperity, Mlle Franziska Kruger, Archduke Joseph, Aunt Belle's Tea, Gloire de Dijon, Niles Cochet, Crepuscule, Nachitoches Noisette, Mrs. BR Cant (I have several), Lady Hillingdon, Maggie, and La Biche have stayed very clean with the exception of a few yellowed or crud leaves here and there. I just pick them off if I happen to be walking by. They have stayed attractive and foliated, and most are blooming very well despite the heat. I noticed they are resting a bit between flushes. Most of the above were planted within the past year. Maggie and Lady Hillingdon have been in the ground almost a couple of years.

Maitland White and Anna Olivia (I think I have the Bermuda form), absolutely do not need to be sprayed. Spice is also awesome, but suffers heavily from thrips here. Anna gets thrips once in awhile, but she is a keeper anyway.

I feel the key is adequate spacing between bushes. I follow the guidelines that the Antique Rose Emporium advises. For example, if they say the best kept size for a rose is between 4 and 6 feet, I figure in Florida they will want to be the 6 feet and add an extra foot. So I would space that rose 7 feet from its' neighbor. I know teas can get larger than that, but Mike Shoupe feels they bloom better and are more attractive if pruned by about a third off each year (or twice a year). I also personally do not want unkept monsters that are so large I need a ladder to tend them. I figure Mike knows what he's talking about. I feel,as he does,that plants need some degree of rejuvination, but in very small doses, otherwise they'll sulk. I tend to prune only in the spring, as I don't enjoy pruning in the heat. I'd much rather just do the puttering type of work, like deadheading now and then, when it is hot out. The heat is no fun down here unless you're in a swimming pool.

I also irrigate every day in the heat, and try to do some regular feeding and composting. What is nice about these old roses is that when it is hot out, I am not about to kill myself with feeding them and they do fine anyway. I just make sure they get some slow release at the onset of hot weather, and I make them wait till it cools off foir additional feedings. I'm hoping I can stand to do a feeding within the next few weeks. Sometimes they get a liquid food treat. I used to kill myself out there. Not anymore!

Hope this helps. Oh, some of my bands that I potted up have stayed very healthy too.

Sandy

Karen, what would I do differently & what did I learn? Well, I hate to admit it, but I scrimped on space. I knew the expected plant dimensions, but I was exhausted from digging. Didn't want to dig and amend another shovelful. So I don't think I left the extra space necessary in Florida. It may work out all right though. The way the garden sits now may be deceptive, because the companion plants I put in in March as 6" pots simply exploded in size. I used Gaura, and I had no idea it was going to get 4+ ft tall. I put in a Blue Salvia without reading the tag that said 3 ft tall and wide. And it achieved that quickly plus. When you plant tiny rose bushes, be patient with what looks like an empty garden. Even if you don't need to space them 6 ft apart because in your area they don't get that large, it will still look empty. You have to live with the emptiness for a while, because you WILL need the space later. I went organic from the beginning, and I do think that's what contributed to the large companion plants and roses, too. I have never been this successful with plants, so it must be from feeding the soil rather than feeding the plants.

At this point - 6 months after the start of my first rose bed - that's what hits me. I really didn't know the rules of gardening layout. I had no Master Gardener by my side. I didn't know the plants I was dealing with firsthand, so it was a guessing game on my part. That will always be the case in first efforts - unless you're patient and get some training. That's not me! And that's OK. The experience was very useful, and the mistakes are fixable. But I'm very glad to hear that roses are tough and tolerate being moved. Hopefully, the gardener can tolerate the move!

I'm still ignorant about perennials though! Someone help me! How do you prune these things? Lately, I've just been hacking them off several inches from the ground. I don't know if they're going to die or throw out new grow or what. The Salvia did - and then some. My garden isn't big enough for that thing! Really, if a shovel was a car, I shouldn't have been allowed to dig without a learners' permit. But it's only a shovel - not rocket science, and it IS fun after you get a shower and some Gatorade in you.
Sherry

It's not simple to say HTs are upright, they are more upright, but some of mine take up a lot of room. My Double Delight is about 6 feet wide and gets bigger every year. Mr. Lincoln is about 5 feet wide, but up to 7 feet tall.

My teas are too young to report on size, but Marie d' Orleans is blooming like mad even in this heat/drought.