Lucky you! U think Julio will winter fine in NY. .

I have noticed HD and Lowes having more varieties of roses than just Knockouts. Good find!

I also noticed that lowes has more varieties in my area too. I bought my strike it rich earlier this spring there and just two weeks ago noticed that they had Julia child roses. I have two already but I went ahead got another one so far it looks better then my two small ones I got from Jackson perkins.

I just remembered that HD also had Zephirine Drouhin. The Lowes in my area only had one rose all season - Europeana. That's it. I remember just a few years ago when Lowes had a nice selection but those days are gone. I sure wish I had a Chamblee's or ARE in my area.

Seil, I'm still traumatized by the winter kill this past year so I do worry about long-term survival so it's nice to hear that you think JI will get thru the winter ok.

So now I'm sitting here on a Saturday night wondering what the other HDs in my area have in their garden centers. Hmmm.

Ehlerslw, how is your Strike it Rich doing? Are the blooms apricot or a deeper gold? Another new addition to my garden is Happy Go Lucky, child of Strike it Rich & Julia Child. So far it's doing great, with several pale yellow blooms. It's a cheerful accent & stands out.

so far the blooms on the strike it rich are a light color since the weather has warmed up. also it does not have as many blooms on it now that it did a month ago. I have a feeling that it will be September before I see a lot of blooms on it again. the leaves are staying on it good.

I was lucky enough to find Strike It Rich at HD early in the season. Later in the season, they didn't have it or any of the better roses, mostly Knock-outs and a few lesser-known regular roses. My Strike It Rich had not been properly pruned, but it produced many beautiful flowers. Right now it has several new branches growing, each with a flower bud at the end. Next spring I will prune it properly to eliminate some weak canes. I didn't want to do it now because even the weak canes have blooms.

I was really counting on Lowe's to have some interesting roses. So much so that I had asked for a Lowe's gift card for Christmas. Instead it was mostly dead bare roots in late April and mostly mislabeled Peace roses and one called Brandy. This is the first time in years that I've gone this long without buying at least one plant at Lowe's. Instead what little money I had went to Westlake Ace hardward store where their 50% and 75% sales help me replace my white bleeding heart, lantanas and one colocasia that I lost to the harsh winter. They even had a nice selection of roses, several that I wanted but I didn't get there fast enough so I had to settle for Oregon and Moondance. They had one called Pumpkin patch but I decided against it. HD selection in roses has been a sad state for several years now.

I got my Sunsprite at Walmart several years ago and it has been one of my best roses.

Surprisingly, found pairs of Kordes' Golden Gate climbers & Belinda's Dream shrubs at Lowes this Spring. Much greater variety than in recent years. They were offering truckloads of floribundas & hybrid teas at intervals, mostly out of patent classics but some newer patented ones as well. By this time of year, rose deliveries mostly over (sigh). Still check them out any time I'm in town, hoping they'll happily surprise again.

Looking for a replacement Fragrant Cloud this year, a couple of nurseries carried poor & neglected choices. Stopped at Lowes & came away with a great specimen, as well as one of the Smooth Touch roses (Smooth Angel) for a high-traffic spot on the back deck. Very pleased with this year's roses from Lowes. Golden Celebration came from there years ago before local nurseries offered it & continues to excel.