The high summer temperatures with rainfall in some USA climates could easily account for the size of Chamblees La Biche. In Northern California right now the evening temperatures near Vintage Gardens are 50°F/10℃, the average August temperature is 64℉/18℃, and we've had no rainfall since May 4. Near Dallas, Texas, the average temperature in August is 85℉/30℃, and it has rained every month at least once. Teas love to grow in the summer. California has summer drought every year. This year we also had winter drought. My Teas are just surviving. None has grown more than inches except for a young Le Vesuve.

I've repeated this story told by Gregg Lowery many times, and I'll repeat it again: there was but one rose found by Phillip Robinson that Vintage Gardens sent to the Huntington. The Huntington in turn distributed that one found rose. Different U S nurseries arrived at different attributions, including Mlle de Sombreuil at Vintage and La Biche at the Antique Rose Emporium (very close to Chamblee's). I really don't want to buy the ARE/Chamblees La Biche to conduct this comparison, but I'll do it if it would help resolve anything. At least we'd have both U S roses from the two sources, Vintage Gardens and Antique Rose Emporium, grown in the same climate.

It is true that Mlle de Sombreuil is more vase shaped than the typical Tea. It is also more vase shaped than the typical Noisette. I'm sure that with training, I could train it as a climber, too. I haven't seen a picture of La Biche that demonstrates true climbing canes, with blooming laterals at each bud eye like E. Veyrat Hermanos, for example. I do see a rose restricted to only 3 canes putting long growth into those few canes.

If anyone has a picture of La Biche blooming on laterals all along a climbing cane, I'd love to see it.