DavidAustinRoses.com sells grafted as does Parks, J&P sells own root (labeled New Generation) and those are really dang big roots. Chamblee's, Roses Unlimited, and Ashdown are own root. I think VintageGardens.com are own root too but someone may need to confirm that. Aprille gets her lovely Austins at ReganNursery.com, I have an email out to them asking if they are own root or not.

So would it be cost prohibitive (shipping) to order one here and there in order to find the selection you want?

Well, it does cost more to order from several different places. I ordered from 6 or more different vendors last year and the shipping was, well, a lot. This year I have it narrowed down to 3 or 4. Two of them have roses that ended up back ordered, one has a rose I wanted to find locally and couldn't, and the fourth has some very unique roses that I am trying to decide how much I need. Of places that carry Austins I'll recommend Ashdown and Roses Unlimited for own roots, and Jackson and Perkins for grafted, although they have some on their own roots too. I bought The Prince from Ashdown and it's done very well. Golden Celebration was from RU and it had a bud when it came, but it hasn't bloomed since. I think it's the lack of rain that's been hard on it though. JP has some exclusives so you might have to order from them if they have something you want.

What I did last year was pick out what I wanted, then find out who had it, then make a spreadsheet comparing prices. I only ordered from a place if they had at least three roses I wanted to make the shipping easier to handle, and I tried to order a lot from one place as much as possible. Unfortunately I wanted some harder to find roses so I ended up ordering from more vendors than I wanted to, but it was worth it to me to get exactly what I wanted. Always check Dave's Garden Watchdog first to find out feedback from people who've ordered from them.

I ordered after xmas so I had more money available and had time to think about what I wanted. Last year one of the new Austins from the DA website did sell out early so if you want a new intro you might want to order as soon as you see them announced.

J&P has 2 new Austins and they aren't listed as own root, neither is Bishop's Castle. The rest are own root, I got 6 from them this summer and they are insanely healty. I got 3 Chianti's from Ashdown and they are fabulous healthy too but they were potted and shipping was more than the roses which is to be expected. I agree with athenainwi's shopping method. Figure out what you want, who carries it and see how you can make it most cost effective with shipping. Shipping fees have been particularly high recently due to the USPS going nuts.

If you want particular ones, you'd best order early. I ordered direct from David Austin and received grafted roses of good quality (bare root). They shipped from Tyler Texas.

I also bought own root/bare root Austins from J&P, they were a bit larger (except for the Glamis Castle, which was small). I had thought that Bishop's Castle was own root, but I'll check.

In the past I have also bought Austins from Ashdown (own root in pots) and Wayside (bare root grafted, not as big as David Austin or J&P). I've also bought from Chamblees, but I think they are smaller than Ashdown and of not as good quality.

I have 2 Glamis Castle in pots and they are doing well. I'd check the size before putting any Austin in a pot.

My Golden Celebration came from Chamblees. It was very small, a little larger than a band-sized rose. It has taken some pampering to get it going, but it is growing well now.

My Heritage came from The Antique Rose Emporium. It was huge and grew well from the start, but they don't carry any of the newer ones that you are looking for.

Randy

I've ordered MANY from David Austin, and they are truly large healthy roses grafted onto Dr. Huey rootstock. I've come to realize that my soil does NOT like Dr. Huey, so, I won't buy roses on Dr. Huey. I did order two David Austin roses, The Alexandra Rose and Comtes du Chambpaigne, from Pickering this year (on multiflora. So far they look great and are growing and blooming...not "stunted" as those on Dr. Huey. FWIW...whatever anyone has said negatively about The Alexandra Rose, I've NOT experienced it. It's gorgeous and blooming its head off. I have also gotten some ownroot from RU and Chamblees which, in time, I think will do fine...they're slower to get going.
Robert

I order from DA in Tx and Pickering Nurseries. Pickering's shipping costs are reasonable despite them being in Canada. I think with DA if you buy 4 roses you get one free, that brings down the price a bit. Also if you order 10 roses shipping is free.

I don't think it matters how early you order, even if you prepay. If they are out of stock of a certain rose when it is time to ship your order, you're out of luck.

I thought if you prepay you are "guaranteed" shipment of that rose. Not true? I am very confused about whether I want grafted or own root for containers. Won't they be slower to develop in a container anyway? Also, I have never planted bareroots before. So if they don't do well, I won't know if it is the container, the rose or the bareroot. Suggestions?

Some vendors will reserve the rose for you as soon as you order. Others will take a certain number of orders, ship out the roses by requested ship date, and often run out of roses before they get to the later ship dates. Some vendors will have problems with their crops and the last people to order will not get the rose. Some vendors will take all the orders they get and check inventory only right before they ship. You'll have to ask the vendor what their policies are.

My backordered roses are two from Ashdown that had problems in a freeze and I was notified very early that those would not be available and I was able to pick substitutes from a 'secret' list that was only made available to the public after I had placed my replacement order. Did I mention how much I love Ashdown? Palatine roses had one of my roses be too small to ship when they were ready to send it out. I am now at the beginning of their list for the rose and I should get a nice big rose next year. Hortico found out that one of the roses I ordered was out of stock when they went to ship it and I was able to pick a substitute.

I don't grow roses in containers so I can't help you on that. I think it might be easier to do own roots in containers since they are usually smaller but I don't really know.

I have ordered DA's from Chamblees own root (Texas), Pickering grafted (Port Hope ON Canada) and Countryside Roses own root (Mississippi). I think the size of the plant would matter more than whether it was grafted or not (but I could be wrong). I think Tamora or Sharifa Asma would be good in a container.

I bought 4 roses from DA's website this spring during their excellent sale. BIG healthy canes and now they have leafed out and one has even bloomed. Ironically they are doing much better on the Dr Huey, than the ones I bought from Merry Gro on Fortuniana rootstock last fall.

I have 2 from DA's website I got during the sale (May) also and 6 own root Austin's I got from J&P a month later (June). The J&P are much larger and producing a lot better. It may be a zone thing but DARoses.com is out of Tyler Texas and that's not so far from me here. They are still good sized and leafed out, looking good but the J&P's are huge and really really leafed out. Both sets have bloomed.

I have the same experience michelle. The DA's are grafted and the J&Ps are own root (most of them). But even the grafted one, Bishop's Castle, was very quick to put out blooms and is going gangbusters.

I think it depends on your soil and climate which does better, own-root or grafted. Here, with heavy clay soil, I have found that the multiflora grafted roses from Pickering do the best, and the Dr. Huey ones from DA roses sometimes sulk and the roots don't get any bigger. In a pot that wouldn't matter and Dr. Huey would probably love a good potting mix. The more robust and healthy Austins can also be grown own-root here, but not all varieties are suitable for own-root in my garden. Of the own-root venders I found that Chamblees is the best value and Roses Unlimited costs more but they ship bigger roses.

This is exactly my experience with David Austins. I purchased mine from a local nursery that buys directly in bulk from David Austin, so I guess mine are grafted onto Dr. Huey. The 7 David Austins that I have in pots are doing great and provided a great show in spring. Now, they are getting ready to rebloom. The ones that I have in the ground (Tamora, Graham Thomas, Queen of Sweden, Molineux, Dark Lady), bloomed but the plants are not as vigorous as the ones in pots. I guess they really don't like the clay soil.

What kind of soil do you use in the pots? We have clay soil too, which I have amended. I have 5 HTs and a few minis in the amended clay soil and 4 HTs appear to be doing okay, but I don't know what to expect, it being the 1st year. My HTs are all grafted on Dr. H.