kumar varadan wrote:
Different nursery's web page say different sizes for JFK and Fragrant
Cloud. I am in Zone 9 and like to get ideas.

In my Zone 9, JFK gets about 6 to 7 feet tall and nearly as big all
around (after about three years in the ground, budded - not own-root,
ageing to about ten years or so). The only set of Fragrant Cloud
specimens (a sample of may be 5 or 6 plants) that I have seen in my zone
were about two years old, they were some 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide,
and I have no idea how big FC will get ultimately. I have the impression
that with both JFK and FC, it might be possible to prune and keep them
around 5 feet all around without damage to their performance. However,
that is just an educated guess, not an answer from real experience.

I am looking for rose bushes (red and white) that are not more than
3-4 feet tall.

One Tea rose that stays compact, has the loveliest red colour and the
fragrance to break a susceptible heart is Francis Dubreuil. Here is a
link for it from a would-be seller:

http://www.uncommonrose.biz/r/francisdubreuil.html

Mine is about three years old, and is certainly staying around three feet.

Your best bets might be among the China roses or Hybrid China roses.
They tend to stay small even in this very mild climate where anything
with a hint of R. gigantea genes tends to get gigantic. One good thing
about your (as well as my) mild climate is that you (we) can grow the
China roses (as well as Tea roses) with relative ease, for these are not
terribly cold-hardy roses.

I grow Eugene de Beauharnaise - among what one might call 'red' roses,
and really love this rose which also stays compact and beautiful.

Incidentally, you might try Ashdown Roses - they are having a sale right
now, and they tend to be very helpful in answering questions. Also, they
might have more suggestions as might be suitable for a hot and humid
climate than I with my mildly hot and mostly dry climate can think of
(IIRC, you grow roses in Texas or in a Texas-like climate, which is very
different from my Zone 9 climate).

Sorry, I have no suggestion on small shrubs of white roses - am not too
fond of white roses, with reds, mauves and yellows are more my colour
preference in roses.

Oh, here is a link to the China Roses at Ashdown:
http://www.ashdownroses.com/ogrthumb...lass&class=HCh
Their e-mail address is , and their toll-free
number is 877-ASHDOWN.

All the best.

--
Radika
California
USDA 9 / Sunset 15