Jeri, I've bought plenty of body bags with leaves sprouting, and never had a problem with them. They didn't lose the leaves, nor seem any worse for the wear keeping them.

Maude, it's a little late in the year for the Lowes/HD body bags. In Feb and early March they are usually pretty darned healthy and I have had awesome luck with them. This time of year, likely they've been around too long, and you may need a little extra luck on your side.

You must ensure the roots have water access. If they are wilty/droopy they may just need more water, especially if you didn't soak them in water for a while prior to planting, or drench the planting hole before planting.

They generally recommend pruing the canes, which I tend to do when I plant them. But I haven't ever removed leaves if they remain on the remaining canes. Jeri - won't those leaves actually help bring in nutrition to the plant? I still have so much to learn...

I buy body bag roses all the time and I've never snapped off healthy leaves. If the leaves are white instead of red or green then, yes, they will probably not survive. But if they are a healthy color they've always done just fine for me. If you want to experiment, leave them on and watch and see what happens to them. If anything does die you can remove it then with no harm done.

Harmony, You're in zone 9 while Maude is in zone 5b. We're just getting our bagged roses in the stores so for us, it's not late. All bagged roses are harvested beginning in late November until the end of December. They're stored in huge refrigerated warehouses and shipped to stores as the season progresses Northward. If stored properly, what we get in March/April are almost as good as what you get in February/March.
While not removing sprouts may not harm the bush, it mostly depend on the experience of the buyer whether or not one must do it. Very light green or white and long sprouts as a result of lack of sunlight will most often fry when exposed to the sun. Normal colored growth will most often survive.

The original message included the statement: "I wouldn't be so worried but everyone's bad opinions coupled with the fact that they are looking kind of droopy and wilted is scary."

Removing young healthy shoots that are not overly developed isn't necessary, but IMO, if the shoots are wilting, then the roots are not capable of supporting this growth and it would be better to remove them. Of course, this is just one more opinion.

I have planted "body bag" roses for years. I have pretty good success with them. I prune them back slightly when planting them, maybe cut off an inch or two from the end depending on how long the branches are.

Also check the branches for wax and remove it. Sometimes they coat the ends with wax so they don't dry out. That is why I prune them. Or you can gently scrape it off with your fingernail.

I also give them a dose of B1 at planting time then about 10 days later. That seems to help with transplant shock. Just keep them well watered but not soggy. And don't worry if the first set of leave fall off, more will come.
Clare

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Get Paraffin Wax off Bare Root Roses

They'll be fine...I don't plant them until mid-May (and they sell them in March/April) so they stay in the old farmhouse (used as storage for now) with a little water added to the bag, every few weeks. Constant temperature of about 45 degrees, big window and they are all leafed out and starting to bud, when I finally plant them. I thought they did much better, than the ones I tried planting in early April.

Point is, everyone's situation and climate is different. Keep trying different things, until you find what works for you...and I NEVER pull leaves off anything. Just my two cents :)

I purchased these body bag roses last years from Lowes and they've been doing great. I went and purchased more today.

Here's another

Another

Another

My plan is to fill this entire area under the pine trees with body bag roses. I going to take about 200 bushes, but we'll see

I just bought a body bag Cl. Coral Dawn. Soaked it for an hour then planted in a pot in good soil. I made a collar to put around the canes out of the heavy paper it was wrapped in inside the plastic bag - this will keep the cold winds from drying the canes out - then filled that with soil. Also bought a Granada in a peat pot and planted that the same way. I know they are cheap roses, but I enjoy doing this to see if I can get them to grow - their roots were pretty puny.
Judith

Yes, you can save roses which have been butchered to fit the packaging for body bags quite successfully, but you are missing out on the bliss that comes with starting out with a healthy plant and seeing it take off.

I've done it both ways and I'd much rather start off with a strong and healthy plant. Both require the same kind of care and the body bag roses can catch up, but it's so much easier and, to me, more rewarding to skip the body bag roses.

Smiles,
Lyn

It might be the fertilizer. I would water them a lot for a while to see if they quit pouting. If they haven't been in the ground too long, you can haul them out and soak them in water and then put them in a pot and start over with them in a shady spot for a while. I don't know how wilted those leaves are you are speaking of, if they are just a little droopy, I might leave them alone and see if they recover. If they are seriously shriveled- they are not going to bounce back, so you might as well remove them instead of watching them dry up and feeling anxious about it.

As for the good/bad in growing bareroots....I don't know what zone you are in... but in my zone (6a/5b) The only difference between a body bag rose and a rose in a 2 gallon pot at the nursery is that the nursery took the bareroot and planted it in a pot in their dirt 10 weeks earlier and charged you $20 for the favor.
When roses are grown for sale to nurseries --they are removed from the ground and chopped into their bareroot size and chucked in a refrigerator to go dormant. Then they are shipped at the appropriate time to the nursery. Or they get bagged up for sale at big box stores. They aren't coming out of the ground and potted up and shipped in dirt with a bigger full root system to the nursery.
And own root roses in pots- are generally sold pretty young-- and young roses have less ability to weather hard times, in my opinion.

... take a look at the root systems of potted roses at nurseries- you'll see they aren't that robust. And that's not a bad thing-- growing roses in pots isn't a necessary middle step-- so roots into a pot is overrated- if you ask me. I should say- this is my experience in a colder zone. It sounds like in some of the hotter and super dry zones in CA, the potted stage is important to get a big root system established before asking the rose to survive in the ground. And maybe a greenhouse is the best place to get that taken care of for you... but up here, it's not all that helpful.

I actually prefer bare root roses because you are less likely to get a bunch of greenhouse bugs in the dirt or on the foliage. Like thrips. Plus I think roses fully wakened up and growing in pots are much higher risk of being hurt by delayed watering at a nursery.

I have never had a bare root rose die on me and I have abused some terribly. I bought maybe 10 last year - and that included bonica and Granada and Mr. Lincoln. I kind of lost interest in those last three and didn't have any interest in digging their holes. so I watered them in their bags but did not plant them out for months. MONTHS. I even was gone for a month and they didn't get watered, but I left them in the shade. None died and all grew fine and bloomed when I finally planted them. The thrip storm I had going here probably was their worst problem. I don't recommend this as a way to treat your roses (I expected them to die) I only offer this story as an example of how not fragile bareroots are.

Roses are ridiculously tough. They will thank you for doting on them by giving you bigger bushes and better blooms- but they can take a little abuse too when things are getting started.

This post was edited by lola-lemon on Mon, Feb 4, 13 at 6:33

Hit or miss for me in Tampa Bay. Didn't stop me from buying about 20 this year. I almost hate to say it. My problem with them is mainly the fact that they have been waxed. If I can get past the canes dying back they'll last long enough for me to graft.

If I could find body bagged roses at 2$ a piece, I'd be in trouble. Usually about 8$ here. Sometimes you have to say yes, other times, I'll pass. Good way to get some out of patent roses for the most part.

Huey doesn't usually live long in my sandy nematode soil. In another part of the country, I'd be a little less weary. I saw some great Buck roses in bags a few years ago in PA!

Best of Luck!
Andrew

I may have posted this Charleston Low Country Rose Society article on body bags before. If so, perhaps those who've not read it will find it helpful.

I agree with everything Mary Beth says in the article, including her observations on the often remarkable differences between bagged rose bushes and bagged rose tree standards.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shoppers Guide to Bagged Roses

Jaxondel, this is great advice on picking a rose. A person should pick the best they can. I think it is important to note though, that nurseries also sell lower grade plants out of the bag. Knowing what to look for is key and you have offered the guidelines.
... I've bought mislabled potted plants, dried up expensive bareroots shipped from texas costing 5to 6x what one body bag costs, and half dead potted plants which arrived shipped from whereever. Nothing is guaranteed, unless of course, it's guaranteed. And then you get your money back. ;-)
I think being able to pick your plant is really the most fool proof method- not buying a bad rose. Buying local is the way to go- though often the choices are limited.

Here is a link that might be useful: american rose society - Bare roots

This post was edited by lola-lemon on Mon, Feb 4, 13 at 17:07

lookin4you2xist (Andrew), I'm not sure I should tell you this, but the Big Lots in the Tampa Bay area got in a bunch of body bag roses for $3.50 a couple of weeks ago. They were in rough shape even then, but I took a chance and got an "Oklahoma." They also had some at Aldi, but they only lasted one week before they sold out.

It can't hurt to just stop by Big Lots to pick up some snacks and if you happen to browse by the roses......;)

Be prepared to get some different from the label roses. My neighbor buys them and plants in groups of three like David Austin suggests to make a big bush quickly. Sometimes, one of the three is something else entirely. I used to use them in the center of pots surrounded by strawberries to sell at my yard sales. Now I sell antiques and oldies that I have rooted because people like something different than what they see in the stores.

I opened this topic because I wanted to read everyone's opinions about these "body bag" roses. Imagine my surprise to find out that I was the one who started the thread last April. So, I figured I should let everyone know that the roses are doing very well. After they got over their initial shock they started putting out healthy new leaves and cains..

There was one bush that I was worried about because it just seemed to look weaker and smaller than the others. As it turns out, it was just a slow beginner and it eventually caught up to it's neighbors:)

Maude

Go Roses! That's great news Maude. Hope they give you many blooms this year.

Amberroses - Thank you for the heads up. I know exactly the store you are talking about! I bought a couple bare roots from them 3 or 4 years ago. The time it took me to go thru the big boxes didn't make it worth the $$$. You are 100 % correct, the roses looked pretty bad.

At least if I hit the Home Depot or Lowes they are shipped standing. The key is to get them early! I always plant them in containers first, just to make sure they are labeled correctly.

I look at body bagged roses as annuals for the most part. If they were grafted on Fortuniana it would be a whole different ball game.

Regards,
Andrew

All in all, as I reflect back over the past few years, I have had fabulous success with body bags from Lowes, and decent luck with Home Depot. Orchard Supply's have been consistently mismarked, but I've still gotten some really nice roses from them. Walmart's (out here anyways) typically look unhealthy to me, and I don't buy them, and I have yet to talk into a Big Lots. Now the majority of my purchases are from local nurseries and I'm starting to place online orders, as I no longer see varieties I don't have (or that I want) from the big boxes.

Andrew, you never know how long a Dr. Huey rose may last. I have a Queen Mary 2 on Dr. Huey that has survived for 8 years now planted in the ground.

This morning, the big chain Texas grocery store, HEB had
Belinda's Dream & climbing New Dawn. I bought both of
these classified as Earth Kind roses.

I also saw Maria Stern, Caldwell Pink, Duchesse de Brabant among a few others.

I plan to train New Dawn to climb up the shed's pillar.

All this talk about body bag roses makes me think about a scene from the movie The Princess Bride. To quote it:

Miracle Max: Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do.

Inigo Montoya: What's that?

Miracle Max: Go through his clothes and look for loose change.

The ability to distinguish "all dead" from "mostly dead" is a very useful skill for a gardener. "All dead" for roses is dried out and brown.

Four years ago I bought a $5 body bag rose named Electron from Home Depot. It had 5-6" roots and 3-4 canes. I planted the graft 6" deep. It quickly grew into a very nice bush and continues to do well with no winter protection. {{gwi:260000}}

Should body bag roses be planted with the graft buried even in warmer areas? Does this help the plant form better roots? I just bought a few - I live in Texas, our winter is about over - wondering if I should bury the graft or put it above the soilline?

I always deep-plant body bags--2-3" below soil. I picked up 2 Souvenir del la Malmaisons, Mrs. Dudley Cross, Sombrueil, cl Peace, Angel Face & Dbl Delight this spring.

The plants I got last year from HEB did well. This year I got them as soon as the store put them out. They had chopped roots. I soaked them 24 hrs in alfalfa tea & planted them at once. They are all breaking buds now & look real good--I'm hoping the quick planting & soaking will give them a leg up in restoring their roots.

I hadnt thought of soaking in alfalfa tea! I have some bare roots ordered and bet that would be good for them too. How many cups of alfalfa pellets per gallon of water do you use? I soak my roses in those big round plastic tubs that you can get at Walmart, not sure how many gallons they hold.

Some of you sure get nice selections of body bags!

Yeah, I was shocked to find roses in peat pots & body bags at our local grocery store. Only bought 2 OGRs last year--didn't expect much, but they did fine after a sulky start. This year I started checking the store out every few days & grabbed the plants as soon as they were put out.

The local Home Depot has a few old HTs & a few OGRs. Very chopped roots but the plants are budding out well.

I started soaking them in alfalfa tea after reading someone here recommending it. Do it with all bareroots & it seems to give them a jump start.

I think those WM tubs are ~20 gallons. I soak in a molasses tub ~30 gallons with 1 cup per gallon of pellets. Just alfalfa-ed all the roses starting last week. Now for some rain....

For those of you buying these packed roses, may I suggest putting a good tablespoon of mycchorhizal granules in the planting hole. The granules will make a symbiotic connection, through lots of little threads (hyphae) with the roots of your plant, thereby increasing water and nutrient uptake as there is a greater surface area available for uptake of what the rose needs. I believe RootGrow is a reliable brand of granules. I have been using mycchorhizae for some years and, in trials, have found a significant increase in both health and vigour. Of course, planting in the ground alleviates some of the need for extra mycchorhizal amendments since there will be many already present, but for those planting into pots, this is a valuable and extremely efficient way of increasing rootmass and therefore fast nutrient uptake.

Hi I recently bought two body bag roses. I love roses so thought I would start from scratch. Its been two weeks still have yet to grow something on it. So do I remove the wax or let the sun melt it. I'm getting impatient lol I was hoping to see some growth by now.

Thanks a bunch

Deb

If the canes are still green, then wait, it can take 4 weeks or more for some varieties to break dormancy, the plant is growing roots. Don't try to remove the wax, you'll do more damage than not.

Can anyone tell me the “brand name “ of what is being referred to as “ Body Bag “ Roses.

i did not prepare mine as I should have for Winter, and sadly 4 look dead,

o i Need to replace. My favourite was “Pretty Face” mauve.

can anyone help me. Please email me at : margaretagill@yahoo,ca.

Thanks so much.

it is so difficult to get help at Home Depot with this virus.

any hel is appreciated.

i need like 2 mauves, and maybe a yellow and salmon.

Thank You.

My bagged roses are my favorites. I almost only do bagged roses. Here are my favorites

These are some more

Oh, well done, Gardening Teen!! I especially love your Blue Moon...what a healthy looking beauty!!

Thank you!!! Bought 3 and one died so I bought another. That’s the only one that was blue moon!!! They were pretty sick first but I figure that it’s more rewarding to save them. If I buy a healthy one then I’m not really doing anything. If I can’t love them when they aren’t flowering and healthy, how can I call myself a rose lover? You gotta love the good and the bad. I never abandon them, even if they are ugly! That’s my philosophy and it’s why I buy bagged ones! They need me more than a healthy one. They are plants too even if they are sick and they deserve just as much love as any other plant!

The mislabeled red one had one flower the size of a softball! It’s always a win as long as they live!

What I noticed is that the body bagged roses, seem to be the ones out of fashion. But this year the Big Box seems to have more popular ones: Eden and some others along with the out of fashion ones. But it is as my grandmother always said, give it 10 years and it will be popular again.

GardeningTeenager You are just way out a head of the trend!!

GardeningTeenager - I find it so exciting that you're starting your rose adventure so young...where will this journey take you...to OGRs, to small blooms, to ramblers...your tastes will change and it's exciting!! I'm not saying this well. LOL I mean that you are lucky to start so young. :) :)

@rosecanadian I just love my roses! I already have about 25 small bloom mini roses! :) They were valentine's day rescues from a local hardware store!

@ann beck 8a ruralish WA

IS EDEN REALLY IN THE BIG BOX STORES THIS YEAR!!!???

I have to find one now! I need it for my garden, I can't believe such a beautiful rose even exists! It looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale!

Gardening Teenager - congratulations on your rose interest! I learned to love growing things in 1973 when my mother was ill and couldnt care for her plants. Still have the first gardening book I bought. I went from house plants [thought I had to have every one in existence!] then ordered 6 roses from Jackson Perkins and have been hooked ever since [I will be 74 next week]. My addiction now includes daylilies. This is a hobby that you will enjoy all of your life - with me, the addiction just gets worse - the beauty of the plants enchants and the joy of working in the garden brings peace and serenity that is a solace in times of trouble and an all consuming interest that takes up any free time. I just got 9 roses in the mail from Roses Unlimited and am so excited to plant them and watch them grow!

Oh and congrats on your body bags - I have them too. The roses of years ago are still here because of a reason. I have many of them and love them as much as the newer ones. Who cant marvel at the huge blooms of First Prize, the perfume of Mr. Lincoln and so many others? Hope to see more photos of your beauties.

Judith

I promise I’ll post the first bloom i get! I’m super excited for this year!

:) :) :) :)

I agree that you are lucky to have found a passion so early in life, esp one that you can pursue in some form your entire life! I love body bags and found many roses I otherwise may have overlooked that do well in my yard, such as Pink Pet, White Meilland and the gorgeous Medallion. I even found Lavender Crush at Walmart a couple of years ago, but all the rest came from Menards. One year that had so many unusual varieties; I only regret those I didnt buy such as Buxom Beauty. They were listed under other names. This year the choice is extremely poor so I dont think any are in my near future.😒