No disrespect whatsoever intended, but I won't shop where employees are treated so poorly.

I have bought most of my roses from wally world(about 25) and they seem to do fine. We only have two places to purchase them and the other is HD. I can't afford internet prices +shipping.Sooooooooooooooo you do what you can with what you got. Very rural AZ

'No disrespect whatsoever intended, but I won't shop where employees are treated so poorly.'

You bet, Hoovb....

Course, we are all busily boycotting Starbucks (tax dodgers) in the UK - the list of banned firms and products grows.....I am still seething about Scotts.

Eahamel,

HEB has grafted grade 1 roses ($6.98 - $7.49) and own root earthkind roses for $9.48. The canes are not covered with wax. Soak the bare root for 24 hours at least. You will be amazed how fast the new roots sprout from the old root. After planting, mound the canes with dirt leaving about the last two inches exposed to help with water lost due to transpiration. You may lose some of the growth from buds that is buried, but that is better then losing the whole cane.
Anyway, I got my Belinda's Dream, New Dawn, Duchesse de Brabant, Spice, Mrs. Dudley Cross, the Fairy, and climbing Pinkie there. Selection may vary. Not bad for a grocery store.

J, thanks, I'll check HEB and see what they have. That's really a good selection for a grocery store, and I'm not near one of those big HEB's, but will go to one for this!

I'm not too worried that mine is sprouting, they look healthy and so do the roots. In fact, the pruned root tips were still white and healthy when I put it to soak in a bucket of water with some fish emulsion and Super Thrive in it last night. I'll plant it in a pot until I decide where to put it.

Does the wax preserve?

I actually picked up 2 roses at Walmart in the past few years. A yellow HT that I don't know the name of and a Chicago Peace. The yellow grows like wildfire and produces many blooms. The Chicago Peace also did well in a big pot.

They were from Weeks (at least it had Weeks' labels on them)

You can find beautiful roses many places. However, since becoming rose-crazy I seem to want the ones that must be ordered online.

Mauve, wax keeps moisture from leaving the plant through the stems. Keeps them from drying out, in other words. Just like they wax cucumbers, apples, rutabagas, etc.

Dang for a few minutes I was so excited...supermarket with great roses...
Googled the name, it's in Texas. Washington state here...no luck.
Jeannie

Jeannie, most of our grocery stores don't have roses, but I think with Knockout being so popular, they're carrying them and other roses in bags now. Of course, a lot of stores have minis for Valentines so keep your eyes open.

I bought Miss All American Beauty (Maria Callas) at Walmart.

Do I need to soak in water before planting?

Sigh...dreaming of rose shopping here!

I ended up soaking the Miss in a bucket full of water with
drops of fish fertilizer! You know, give her a head start.

Sigh. Me too, Seil. I even drove in to the parking lot of a dreaded big box a couple of days ago knowing full well there would be no roses there. Cruised past the garden center, pretty much closed with just a couple of pallets of whatnot stacked behind the fence. Had to see for myself though.

Then, it snowed the next day! LOL!

That is okay though. Not too long and I will be driving to my favorite garden centers in Lancaster Pa, ready for shopping.

Early last spring my SO and I made the trek up there to my favorite garden center.

I was a little disappointed pulling up cause the first display areas closest to the street, normally filled with rows of potted roses, were empty. :(

We got out and discovered when we walked up the hill that the big flatbed parked on the field was ((drumroll)) JUST BEING EMPTIED of Hundreds of ROSES!!

Whoo hoo!! FIRST PICK!! What joy! :)

I am going to try and recreate that again this spring.

Tuggy3, I love your poem!! Thank you for sharing it! :)

Be thankful your summers are not as hooooooooot & huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumid.

Arid heat is more tolerable than humid heat. It just
drains your energy!

Mauvegirl-Its very hot and dry here in Arizona, but then again so is an oven and you can't go outside after 11:00am for at least 3mo without melting. Next time try a little root hormone which is pretty cheap to soak wally world roses in. Never lost a one and with our rock, chaleche and clay thats an accomplishment. Knock on wood with my fingers crossed.

...root hormone...thanks!

"The sun burst forth and out I came
With buds so round and dewy
I'd played a trick on everyone
Ha ha, I'm Dr Huey"

That is SOoo cute!!! Love it.

RE. the body-bags, I've been trying soaking them 24hr in alfalfa tea then planting in a big hole with well-amended soil. Have had pretty good luck with them when I purchased them early & got them in the ground quick.

I went to walmart today looking for drill bits and left with a Queen Elizabeth instead!

I just couldn't help myself! 6 beautiful blooms on long canes and tons of foliage. I figured for $13 it wasn't much more than just buying some cut roses (and hey... Mother's Day just passed & I'm a new momma!)

I'm pretty excited to see how she does... but I won't be devastated if she dies... win-win!

Mercat... what are your favorite stores in Lancaster?

I live about an hour away and make the trek sometimes... maybe next year I'll get my roses out there!

Mary, I don't know how I missed your poem, but that is marvelous! Thank you! Kim

Mary, that is so funny. I laughed out loud at the breakfast table, and my DH had to see what was so funny. Of course, he didn't get the humor.

Update on Fragrant Cloud Body Bag Rose

It bit the dust. I was going to plant it today, and picked up the pot it was in. All the canes were dying from the tips. It hadn't put out any new growths, or if it did, they died. Rather than do anything radical to try to save it, It has gone to live with its Ancestors. I remembered what people here have said about virused rootstock, and it's in the trash can, pot, dirt and all, even though I don't know that that's the problem.

R.I.P.

It was not destined to thrive. No more BB roses for me. A few weeks after getting this one, I passed up two that I really wanted, and now I'm glad that I did.

Oh, bluegirl, I love that poem, too! Dr. Huey is in bloom all over my neighborhood, looks so great for a few weeks.

Vintage has it on their rose list, and my question is, "why?"

That poem was based on a true experience. I did raise a little body bag Mister Lincoln that is a big blooming wonder now. It was heartening to see it go from not so robust to shooting toward the sky. Mary

"Vintage has it on their rose list, and my question is, "why?""

For the same reason anyone would sell Fortuniana, Gloire des Rosomanes, Odorata and multiflora. Each is a magnificent rose in its own right, where it is suited. Until Captain Thomas released Dr. Huey, there were no cold hardy, darker colored "Dooryard Roses". Everything was white or pastel. Dr. Huey was a real break through in its time and every bit as worthy to grow as any other hybrid wichurana of its vintage. Like the other 'root stocks', it is invasive and undesirable where it is not suited nor wanted, but put it where it is happy and suited to its climate, and it will stop you in your tracks.

These roses were developed for zones 6 and 7 gardens, where cold hardiness was (is) a real issue. The "rose season" was not all that long 93 years ago when it was released, as longer flowering, sufficiently cold hardy roses hadn't been developed anywhere near the level they are now. Climbing roses were used much more then for porch posts, fences and walls because of the house styles of the areas and of that vintage. Huey gave you a real choice: dark, rich, glowing crimson instead of a pastel or white. It earned its place in history for that and for enabling the American Rose Industry for more than half a century, good, bad or indifferent. Kim

Was at a Walmart a week ago and noticed they still had bodybag roses at full price. And they are exactly what you'd imagine a 5 months old bodybag rose to look like.

Just a dozen feet away were potted roses of the same variety for a few dollars more. (Such as Christian Dior)

Beats me how such things go unnoticed by management...

Tuggy! What a darling poem!

I bought a $8 "body bag" rose at Home Depot a couple months ago... it was leafed out and all (Olympiad). Stuck it in the ground within a couple days and it is thriving! Tons of leaves... no blooms yet... but out of my 16 young roses only 1 bush has buds yet... so I'm not concerned

Over Christmas, I had several occasions to be in WalMart and I do wander through the "garden department" out of curiosity. No, I don't buy because I want things which have been taken care of. Hines Horticultural used to be a premium grower, but they have been reduced to dumping product into WalMart and other outlets. Each time I went in, the plants were denser, more crammed in the area and nothing was being watered. I asked the "garden manager" and he stated he had complained to store management and the buying office repeatedly. He was receiving over $5,000 a WEEK cost in material, much of it not even suitable for this area, and at that time of the year, he said he was lucky if he could move $5,000 worth of plants a MONTH. Management knew, it was the buying office who seemed to be paid for how much stuff they bought, whether it moved or not. You can bet they are like Home Depot and Lowe's in that if it doesn't sell, they don't pay for it. If it dies, or if it is returned, they charge it back to the grower. What a waste. Kim

No matter where you go around here, body bags all full price. Its only been two weeks since we had snow. Less than a week since the plants trucks started showing up all over. So its been a late start to spring and for sales.

I occasionally pick up body bags in late winter when I'm starving for roses. Plus a lot of worthy old varieties are body bagged & not available anywhere else (esp. now, sigh).

Some have been mis-marked (especially, in my experience, from Wal-Mart--won't buy pre-bloom from them anymore). Some die.

But quite a few have done fine, even very well. Love, Peach Belle, Iceberg, Tropicana from Lowe's--excellent. Blue Girl, Chrysler Imperial, Duchesse de Brabant, Spice, Souvenir del la Malmaison, Rosette Delizy, et. al. from HEB--doing great.

I picked up a New Dawn, cl. Pinkie, Sombreuil several others this spring as body bags or chopped-roots peat pots. They're looking swell, too.

Have a Pink Peace, First Prize, Paul Neyron & Tiffany in 5-gallon pots from this year. A mis-marked Maria Callas bloomed pale pink--oh well. But an older body bag now in the ground (was suppossed to be Granada) threw beautiful fragrant white flowers with a pink edge this spring. I had just ignored the poor cruddy looking thing for the past couple of years--this year it was gorgeous.

Ironically, I think body bagged roses can work fine for folks that understand what they are & are willing to baby them & accept their risks. Unfortunately, the uncertainty of them can disappoint a person newly interested in roses & frustrate them out of planting roses again.

Re. Lowe's--my favorite place to pick up cheap perennials. I prowl their death racks on a regular basis. They've provided my yard with tons of 25 cent dianthus, lavenders, society garlic in gallons for a buck, you name it. They've got all the spring blooming lilies on the racks now & in a couple of weeks the orchids will be there. Such a dang waste, but I enjoy rescuing fine plants for pennies & restoring them to health.

And cheers to Dr Huey! And Ragged Robin! I enjoyed reading about their history & do appreciate them as good roses in the right place & climate. Ragged Robin is a fine repeater for me.

This post was edited by bluegirl on Thu, May 16, 13 at 16:52

Mary, your poem gave me such a good laugh...My DH didn't understand it either, but I "splained" it to him. thanks.
kay

Mary, your poem gave me such a good laugh...My DH didn't understand it either, but I "splained" it to him. thanks.
kay

Eahamel, sorry to hear your FC bit the dust. I don't know if you have Meijer's in your area but mine had some beautiful big potted ones if your still interested in it.

Bluegirl, I do the same thing at Lowes! The first place I always check is their clearance racks. I've picked up tons of bulbs and perennials for a song just because the blooms had already faded and they weren't considered sellable any more. I even picked up Frank Benardella's Focal Point in the sale bin one year. It was black spotted and nearly leafless and I got it for $2.00! It's gorgeous now and blooms it's head off for me. I'm disappointed this year though. Lowes got a big bunch of minis in but none of them have name tags. They're just labeled by color! ARRRRGH!

Hoo boy, This spring I pigged out on Lowe's throw-away lavenders. They had Spanish, Augustifolia & Provence in deep 4" pots for a buck. Lavender grows to large shrub size in my zone, a wonderful fragrant bloomer. And they were throwing away plants at half the price you would pay for a tiny slip in a 2" pot.

Dianthus thrive & form thick everblooming clumps here. They were chunking them away for .25 for a 2" pot or a $1 for big six packs. These are PERENNIAL & ever-blooming here. Also bought feather celosia $1.00/sixpack.
They had impatients, petunias & marigolds, too. I need to check if the lilies will do here--they didn't in my old zone. The society garlic had so many bulbs stuffed in the gallon pot they couldn't be separated. It sure pays to prowl around there once a week or so. You can save so much money you go broke :-p

I bought Gene Boerner and Margaret Merrill at Walmart a couple of months ago. Im not sure if they changed suppliers or something, but they were the healthiest bodybag roses I ever purchased.

Tammy

Mmmm, Margaret Merrill--she's pretty. Gene's pretty, too, but no scent--bummer.