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

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.

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 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.)

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

Kate

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.