Experience with Heirloom Roses

Hi,

Just want some feedback from you guys that have ordered roses from Heirloom Roses - I am planning my rose garden and some of the roses they offer are just absolutly gorgeous. I am looking to hardy roses! ( roses specially good for our wonderful New England weather - cold winters and humid summers!!!) Don't take me wrong... I LOVE New England and I am dying for a rose garden!!!!!

I welcome your comments!

Thanks

Kassia, I never used them but I think I remember that people on the rose forum liked them. If you post there or just email Zuzu who is the top rose maven of the forum, you could get a better answer.
Dave

Okay Dave do you know everything?? LOL

I posted here because someone suggested I find out from people from our zone. What I really would like to know is because they are grown in California, I am wondering if they work for us here. Are they hardy enough??? what will be the better rosed for our area???

Kassia, you already had some contact with Repeat_Bloomer, who has wonderful rose gardens. another member in the northeast from Long Island is moyseii. take a look at this web site

http://www.moyesii.com/

you could d-mail moyesii and see if there is any info about Heirloom to share. if not, the web site is a real treat anyway. Did Cottage_Rose answer over on the rose forum? she's not Northeast, but she's in z4 or 5, I think.

I haven't ordered from Heirloom yet, but what I like is that they have own-root roses. and as Repeat_bloomer said on the rose forum, even if the plants are smaller, you are better off in the long run for hardiness with own-root rather than grafted roses. I have one grafted rose in my garden now and the graft died. I'm lucky that the root produced a beautiful rose, but it's not the rose I bought.

Thanks Gram... I will do that...

I am looking at colors for the rose gardens and trying to change some stuff... I have been looking at prices of things and to be honest It's scary... I am doing a list of things and listing the priorities... this is my last weekend free to plan... school starts soon... so I have my planner open and unless I write down to "order roses from Heirloon" and the phone number next to it I will never get to do it...

Now I made another mistake... I got the white provence lavender... but I am thinking of bringing into my bedroom because my window is huge and gets sunlight all day ... so I hope they make it alive and as soon as the forsitias bloom I will put them out and hope that they grow at least for the summer ... them I will get the hardy type and plant it next to those and see what happens...

I have tons of notes already...

Anyway, do you like Daturas? I am going to have tons of seeds... if you want some let me know...

thanks

Gram, what a wonderful website. Thanks for the tip!!!!!

If you ever need a list of failures just Dmail me!

Thanks Pirl... mine is getting bigger by the day!!!! but it's what happens to me... I am such a dreamer... and I just do a lot before researching.... then I find my mistakes and go "ooppss... why didn't I research that before?????
But like my friend Kelley told me last night for the 100th time "you are so passionate... about everything ... nursing school, roses, now turtles... your dogs... even the database implementation at work!" (she used to be my boss... poor woman... I feel sorry for her sometimes...) ...
but eventually I learn....

You can make a motto out of Oscar Wilde's quote:

I can resist anything but temptation.

Dawn, I feel like there is SO much I don't know. Hardest is the stuff I learned that I'm not 100% sure of anymore!
Pirl: Great quote!

Kassia, You can grow a ton of roses here. I think your first decision is what type of rose do you want to grow? As in hybrid tea or shrub or climbers or floribunda... (there are a bunch). Hybrid teas are the most popular and closest to a florist rose but they are often grafted, prone to disease, don't flower as heavily, etc. Most people grow them using chemicals.
I have mostly shrub and climbers.I look for own root roses like Gram says and also for repeat or continuous bloomers (there are some heavily flowering roses that are gorgeous but have 1 heavy bloom period)
In short it depends on personal taste, organic/nonorganic tendencies, one's patience level with fussing over plants. I don't like finicky, try to stay organic, and fine rose bushes unattractive if they are not in flower. So my nursing a few blooms out of a hybrid tea rose has moved on to shrub roses like Bonica which I have planted near the street, seldom water, never spray, snow gets plowed onto them all winter and they do great.
I hope this helps. If you know what type of roses you want, I'd be happy to try & help more.
This is a great place to get roses:http://www.chambleeroses.com/

Good Luck!
Dave

Dave, thanks...
The only right thing I feel that I did this year was to buy 1 floribunda (which I really like the shape - but since it was from Home Depot not a great buy,,, but it has plenty of new growth, just too skinny for my taste). I also got 1 grandiflora... I really like this one - and of course I got 2 yellow hybrid tea... which I think will take few years to really be a good plant... I got a CHicago Peace Rose - this is a gorgeous rose and lasts several days... and of course a Royal Amethyst - this one was absolute gorgeous and the smell was just amazing... I hold on to that pot for as long as I could... I dragged that poor plant everywhere I sat in my yard... I would sit in the sun to study and put the rose right next to me... (now is planted and I am sad that I can't see any roses from my bedroom window,,, ). I also got a climber (tropicana) it took forever to start and for the looks of it, I don;t think it will bloom this year... I hope to get another climber but this time I want own roots...
I am open to sugestions as long they look good with purple...

so far the only ones I have got that are doing fairly well are the miniature roses... I have 13 and just ordered 5 more... I planted 3 on the ground and the other ones are in pots... they are going on a flower bed maybe this year if I finish the flower beds... some blackspots right now so I sprayed with fish food - the one ti

Gram is helping me design the rose garden and so far it looks great...

I am making a list of roses and I will post it here for you guys give me your opinions!!!
thanks

Kassia, Good mix! Take a look at Chamblee's, they might offer some good stuff. There are old threads in the rose forum that mention favorite roses and shade tolerant roses. I also think the knockout series is an amazing bunch of performers.
Dave

Kassia's got her eye on knockouts for one of her borders, Dave. see, great minds do think alike ;-)