White Flower Farm takes a very grand view of itself and caters to a clientele that consideres itself to be very grand. Go there sometime and you might possibly rub shoulders with Martha Stewart, her friends, her neighbors, Martha wannabees, and other dilettante plant "enthusiasts" who manage to spend part of their weekends in the Hamptons or Greenwich/Darien/Rowayton, CT giving directives and blank checks to their gardeners.

If you have resources to squander on acceptable, but unremarkable (and certainly not exceptional) mail order plants, then feel free to squander those resources at White Flower Farm. -- Just my opinion . . . others may have differing views.

My suggestion: If the variety is available elsewhere, then opt to avoid WFF.

White flower is a good company. They send good quality plants. They also have very good instructional videos. Edmunds is also very good. If it matters to you, what are the ages and sizes of the plants. Sometimes that makes a difference in price. Have had very good experience with both of these companies. You may want to choose a rose specialty house, like Edmonds.

The WFF catalog is scrumptious. They show long mixed beds, mixed shrub borders and a multitude of big pots artfully arranged. Its one of my favorite gardening magazines. Each year I purchase one or two things to stay on the mailing list. This year, there's a nice selection of dahlias so I'm going to get a couple to keep in pots on the deck & over winter in the garage. For roses, I'd go with Edmunds.

I really like Palatine's plants. They're always quite large and well grown and they're sent healthy and well packaged.

I've also ordered from Regans with very good results. They also send out large, healthy bareroots.

For bands, which I don't often do in my cold climate, I have gotten beautiful little gems from Burrlington and her serivice is the best!

For own roots growing in a pot (these are NOT "bands"), I prefer ordering from Roses Unlimited or Chamblees.

For grafted roses, bareroot, I have several different places I order from, such as:
1. Canadian nurseries: Pickering or Palatine (multiflora rootstock)
2. Regan
3. David Austin (probably Dr. Huey rootstock)

For tiny little "bands,"--I never order bands --don't like having to fuss over them--but Heirloom Roses is supposed to be a good place to get them.

If I can't get my selected rose from any of the above, then I order from wherever I can get them--avoiding one place whenever possible (but it is not always possible).

The Antique Rose Emporium is another good place----for older roses--but I've forgotten for the moment if they are own root or grafted.

I'm sure there are other good places out there also. These are just the ones I tend to order from repeatedly.

Kate

For the roses you want, go with Edmund's.

Follow Ken's advice. Ordering roses from White Flower makes no sense when you can generally get superior plants of the the same variety from other reliable sources.

As stated in my response above, for roses go with a retailer that deals in roses. Guess we all agree.

S & W also lists TZ as available. I have also had good luck with this company. Pretty Rose.

Thank you all for your input! I think I will give Edmunds a go and see how i fare.

One quick question--what are bands?

Hi there Dandy,

You are in Sacto and I'm in the Delta Bay area. Fairly close. I realize that Fremont is not close to you, but if you have a chance, you should visit Regan's. My favorite nursery, , , for 30 years now. Also they have a good rep for delivered bare roots. I have never had a 'band'. But I understand that they are very tiny, but potted roses. I made the mistake of saying once that I got a band from Chamblees (also a great place) and was told in no uncertain terms, that what I purchased from Chamblees was much larger than a band.

andreark

I just planted some bare roots from Reagan and they were great.

DandyLioness, having lived in Sacramento I know how hot it can get there, and I just wanted to mention that in my experience Jasmina is a rose that really does better in a cooler climate. There may be other pink climbers more suited to your climate unless you are really in love with Jasmina.

Bands are the tiniest (as in underdeveloped) roses you'll ever find--check out the heirloom.com site. My advice, don't bother with them--you have to baby them until they are large enough for normal treatment. In other words, you have to wait an extra year or two for them to catch up to where your bareroots and potted roses are when you receive them.

Sorry I brought them up. Some people swear by them--I guess they are cheaper--but I think they are a total waste of time.

Kate

Agree, Kate. And our growing season is so short. May be with the wait in warmer zones. Only buy bands if I cannot find an older plant. Often the case with unusual plants.

I've had great results with Chamblee. With nurseries as with people, beware of any web site that that talks about its spirituality, how angelic they are, how much holier than thou. Reliable people and web sites, deliver a good product, do a good job with less angel music.

You know, I really don't mind the small bands and plants that come. Yes, it takes them a good long time to catch up, and it's a concern, but I find I am quite enjoying watching them get bigger bit by bit. The confusing ones for me are the small band climbers that seem to take their time.

Unlike Madame Alfred Carriere who shot up from a tiny little band the second I turned my back!!!

I think bands are definitely out for me. We only plan on being in this home for 5 years (give a few) and I want to get the landscaping going :) Perhaps that's a thought for the future though...

Thanks for the Regan Nursery tip! I gave them a call and they're already potting up their bare root roses so I think I'll head over in a month or so and at least get a good look at the blooms in person. Looks a bit like I missed the rose boat this year, but that's alright, now I have plenty of time to do my research for next year :)

I've had really good luck with Roses Unlimited and Heirloom Roses so far.

I've also gotten some great Weeks roses at Walmart!

Palatine

Rogue Valley Roses - Oregon. They mostly sell bare roots but some larger containers too. Good quality and fast growth for my garden in So. Cal.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rogue Valley Roses

I had to chime in, in support of my Texas growers. The Antique Rose Emporium has supplied me with the most beautiful own root 2 gallon sized roses for the past 5 years. Everything ships on time and they come neatly and securely packaged each time. Most of my teas and Chinas are from them. Chamblees is also awesome and provides great service.

Tops for me are Chamblees and Antique Rose Emporium [live 2 hours from them, go there often, can vouch for their quality!]. Just got fantastic roses from both Palatine and S&W. Have ordered from Edmunds. Would only order a rose from White Flower if I could not get it anywhere else due to expense. They do have nice perennials.

Shopshops and Alameda - The Antique Rose Emporium and Chamblees sound great. I don't plan to order any more roses this year, but in the future I am going to give them a try. I have a sister-in-law from that area and I can recall her mentioning how good ARE is.

I've heard good things about Roses Unlimited in North Carolina.

Is Pickering no longer in business? No one has mentioned them. I bought good plants from them a few years back.

Harryshoe - Pickering is still in business and let it be known that they would be shipping to the US this year. I have placed an order with them and it is scheduled to be shipped in a few days. I ordered from them in 2011 and was pleased.