Take pictures and then email them or phone them and explain why you are unhappy. If they sent the wrong rose, I think they might very well be willing to send the correct one. If the potting soil was everywhere and the plant damaged or ruined as a result, they might very well give you a refund.

As to BS and white powder on the leaves, if the rose is otherwise healthy and growing, I would just plant it out in the sun and water well--and pick off the leaves with BS on them. The white powder will probably disappear with sunlight and good air flow.

I think you will find that if you are really upset, they will be willing to work with you--but it helps to be polite as you describe the problems. : )

Let us know how it goes.

Kate

You have a right to be upset. I would be on the phone already asking for the correct rose or my money back! Boscobel is at all my local nurseries this spring so it should be available somewhere.

Often times nursery roses will have some diseases on them. They're grown and stored in cramped quarters usually so diseases can flourish. The white powdery stuff is probably mildew and as Diane said should disappear with good sun and air. The black spot should too but taking off any yellowing and spotty leaves will help clean them up. I would isolate it from your other roses though until those have cleared up.

I'm going to send them a gently worded email in the morning. Hopefully I can get the rose I wanted. In the meantime, I will nurture this baby and hope everything clears up! I'll be sure to let you know what happens!

Kansas girl, agree you should get on the phone with Customer Service asap 800-328-8893 with your order number & receipt in front of you for reference. (Saturdays 8 am - 4pm Central Time.) A personal conversation by phone is usually more productive than email, though an immediate email to follow up your call, detailing what was discussed, is also important. Explain your problem - you've received the Wrong Rose after indicating you'd accept no substitutions without your authorization. See how they offer to correct the mistake. Acknowledge that you understand how busy they've probably been getting out orders for Mothers Day & that mixups can happen, that you ordered it for yourself & you'd be even more disappointed if it had been a gift to your mom, how fabulous David Austin's reputation is, that sort of chat. You want the service rep to be kindly inclined to help you, so be sure to convey that you're not unhappy with them personally, but with the situation, which you're sure they want to correct appropriately. Take note of the names of anyone with whom you speak.

Personally, I'd want the rose I ordered sent at no additional charge to what I'd already paid. If the rose was unavailable, I'd want a full refund. I'd expect to keep the wrong rose sent in any case as apology for the mishap, unless they sent their carrier for pickup with a prepaid return label. I might mention at some point that the soil was knocked out of the pot of the wrong rose, assuming they'd want to know that as well. (The bit about the mildew & blackspot I'd keep to myself, as it can indeed be brought on by the stress of shipping, and will usually right itself. However, if the Right Rose arrived that way, I'd call to let them know the condition & that I'd be expecting a replacement if it didn't shrug it off.)

I expect they'll apologize for the error & get this straightened out graciously. On the offchance that the service rep is not helpful, nor their supervisor, my aces would be letting them know I'd take it up with my credit{{gwi:807}} card company and mention of Gardenweb & Dave's Garden Watchdog membership.

Sorry you got this mixup on your first foray into mailorder roses! Something similar seems to happen to us all eventually. Better you're aware from the get-go that it's not what you ordered, since with roses that don't bloom until a later season, some have only discovered the mistake after nuturing a Wrong Rose for months.

(Thought I'd linked DA's contact info & hours - here it is.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Contact info

This post was edited by vasue on Sat, May 10, 14 at 13:58

I was surprised that it came with blackspot as one should avoid introducing strains of blackspot from other areas as local roses may not have as much immunity against a non local strain as those strains already in your area.

call them. you are paying premium prices at DA, so they need to provide a premium product.

bought 7 DA own root from Chamblees and they were magnificent. Some were even blooming or in bud. Healthy as could be. With all the rain and no break to spray....I gave them some sulphur powder. (JUST IN CASE).

Just read this post on the Antique Roses Forum, regarding bareroots it seems...

Here is a link that might be useful: David Austin Buyer Beware

As I posted on the thread linked to above, I have always had a good product and service from David Austin and I have ordered from them on a number of occasions.

There 's always two sides to a story, I guess.

Kate

I got a got ahold of them yesterday. I sent pictures and they apologized profusely! They are sending out a new rose Monday morning. Very lovely people! I will continue to buy from them in the future!

That's good news, Kansas! I've purchased from DA before and always had good service from them.

Don't send email, it may take them a week to reply to your email. Which may aggravate you even more. I sent them an email after 1 week of hearing nothing, and they did not reply. Call them instead.

My 5 bare roots delivered on Friday. They were scheduled to be shipped out in 2 weeks. But when I called on Tuesday, the customer service person was very polite and told me that she will have them shipped the next day. I would suggest that you call them. They are very customer friendly.

This post was edited by Joopster on Mon, May 12, 14 at 9:32