I ordered the gorgeous ' For Your Eyes Only' rose bareroot from J Parkers. It turned up in March looking, as bare root roses do, like a twig.
Moving on three months and it still looks like the picture below.
I have a number of roses and they're all showing loads of new growth (including new plants). I contacted customer services and got a shirty one line response saying 'it's not dead as I can see shoots'.
I've bought another one today from the garden centre, and it looks really healthy with loads of buds.
I'm not happy - my whole order from J Parkers wasn't great quality.
It doesn't look that bad, you only got it in march. It needs time to establish. I would have planted it deeper. You've got green stems, it just needs time. I would have planted in November.
When you buy DA roses you're buying relatively new varieties so the cost of their development and promotion is incorporated in the price. Longer established rose varieties usually cost less.
And yes, as with other commodities, the price often does reflect quality ... You pay more for a fabulous meal in a Michelin starred restaurant than you pay for a burger from a van in a layby.
Bare root roses are lifted and cooled in the late autumn/winter and they go into dormancy as roses do in the winter. They should be planted by late winter/early spring (Feb)so they can wake up at the normal time for roses and get growing ... That way they hardly notice they've been moved.
Bare root roses being planted later in the spring are going to take much longer to get going.
Also, those sold at reduced sale prices at the end of the bare root season are likely not to be of top quality - they are what is left ... Stands to reason they will need a bit more tlc.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
This advice from multi-award winning Classic Roses may be of help to those with concerns about their roses ... note the advice to hard prune when planting bare root roses
Mine were all ordered in Nov and planted in Nov/Dec 2016 so I don't understand why the ones from BR vary so much from the ones I got from DA and Style.
The following description if from the Rose magazine regarding rose bushes!
Grade 1 Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras must have three or more strong canes, two of which are at least 18 in. (45 cm) long. The canes should be well-spaced around the graft.
Floribundas meet the same standards, but the canes need only be 15 in. (38 cm) long.
Mine were all ordered in Nov and planted in Nov/Dec 2016 so I don't understand why the ones from BR vary so much from the ones I got from DA and Style.
You said it yourself ... the ones from BR were cheaper ... I'm afraid that in this life we usually get what we pay for.
I presume that David Austin and other growers who charge a bit more take more care of their plants, and maybe grow them on for a season or two longer than the cheaper suppliers. It all costs them money which they pass on to their customer.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks for that link Dove... I wasn't aware that bare root roses required hard pruning.
In the interest of fairness, I have today had an email from J Parkers staying that they're issuing a refund.
I have now cut off all stems down to the new shoot at the bottom and will see how it gets on. If it does get away later in the season, I'll update the thread (& J Parkers!)
Sorry to hear about your troubles too wakeshine... the rose with two long stems Id be tempted to chop right back and see how it got on. I have several David Austin roses, and they've all performed really well. I've never bought bare root from them, though.
Thanks for all the responses... as a newbie to gardening it's great to have such feedback.
Posts
It doesn't look that bad, you only got it in march. It needs time to establish. I would have planted it deeper. You've got green stems, it just needs time. I would have planted in November.
When you buy DA roses you're buying relatively new varieties so the cost of their development and promotion is incorporated in the price. Longer established rose varieties usually cost less.
And yes, as with other commodities, the price often does reflect quality ... You pay more for a fabulous meal in a Michelin starred restaurant than you pay for a burger from a van in a layby.
Bare root roses are lifted and cooled in the late autumn/winter and they go into dormancy as roses do in the winter. They should be planted by late winter/early spring (Feb)so they can wake up at the normal time for roses and get growing ... That way they hardly notice they've been moved.
Bare root roses being planted later in the spring are going to take much longer to get going.
Also, those sold at reduced sale prices at the end of the bare root season are likely not to be of top quality - they are what is left ... Stands to reason they will need a bit more tlc.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Totally spot on Dovefromabove. Timing of requesting and supply these plants is the most important part of the process.
Steve
This advice from multi-award winning Classic Roses may be of help to those with concerns about their roses ... note the advice to hard prune when planting bare root roses
https://www.classicroses.co.uk/ideas-and-advice/bare-root-or-container-roses.html
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
They don't look bad to me for a late planting. Dove's synopsis is excellent.
Mine were all ordered in Nov and planted in Nov/Dec 2016 so I don't understand why the ones from BR vary so much from the ones I got from DA and Style.
.
The following description if from the Rose magazine regarding rose bushes!
Grade 1
Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras must have three or more strong canes, two of which are at least 18 in. (45 cm) long. The canes should be well-spaced around the graft.
Floribundas meet the same standards, but the canes need only be 15 in. (38 cm) long.
Cheers!
You said it yourself ... the ones from BR were cheaper ... I'm afraid that in this life we usually get what we pay for.
I presume that David Austin and other growers who charge a bit more take more care of their plants, and maybe grow them on for a season or two longer than the cheaper suppliers. It all costs them money which they pass on to their customer.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks for that link Dove... I wasn't aware that bare root roses required hard pruning.
In the interest of fairness, I have today had an email from J Parkers staying that they're issuing a refund.
I have now cut off all stems down to the new shoot at the bottom and will see how it gets on. If it does get away later in the season, I'll update the thread (& J Parkers!)
Sorry to hear about your troubles too wakeshine... the rose with two long stems Id be tempted to chop right back and see how it got on. I have several David Austin roses, and they've all performed really well. I've never bought bare root from them, though.
Thanks for all the responses... as a newbie to gardening it's great to have such feedback.
Dovefromabove I did not know about the hard pruning of bare rooted roses.
How hard a prune? As I have only just planted mine in the last couple of weeks it is too late?
The plants came at Christmas and were heeled in until a few weeks ago .
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'