Comments regarding Heirloom Roses

I ordered 5 roses in 2007, yes they were little, but by the middle of the summer they were all blooming and GROWING beautifully, I will never buy grafted roses again. I'm sold on own-root roses.

Heirloom Roses is the only rose company that I deal with. Their roses are great. I have bought over 100 (hundred) roses from them (some given to friends). They start small as stated in the catalog and sometimes taken more than one year to reach full height but6 are well worth the $. Had more problems with the grafted roses. It is nice to be able to cut the rose way down or have a deer do it for you and know that it will come back as good a new. Am extremely happy with Heirloom Roses.

I orderd 4 musk roses, lavender lassie and corniela last year from heirloom. the plants came all the way across state and were fresh and healthy. i planted and could not believe the fast growth rate and vigor. they are almost full size now and bloomed 2 times in the first summer. right now they still have pretty foliage in december! I could not ask for more. the pots are deep and narrow for the roots and i followed all directions. thanks for my first rose plants that have made me into a rose nut now. I want many more. buy from them. great!!!

I planted 3 roses from this company in midsummer just as we were entering the driest summer in my memory here in Connecticut. Despite their smallness on arrival, with a little water they have thrived and grown. I cannot believe the size of the flowers on Braveheart, or the number of flowers on Champagne Punch. The third got stepped on accidently and broken nearly to the ground but since they are on their own roots and it is coming back, I expect I'll have the same fantastic performance from this plant next year. I will definitely order again from this company.

I, too, had a problem with a mislabled rose. It took two years before I realized that I didn't get what I bought. Heirloom was receptive, agreeable and understanding. However, I was happy with the rose that I did get and did not want or need that rose replaced. I have purchased a rugosa, a David Austin, and several others. All arrived as healthy own root roses in a small amount of soil. True...they were small at first (as I knew they would be) but have since grown into beautiful additions to my garden. No more grafted garden center roses for me....only own root from now on. Their customer service is great and their communication is top notch. I don't think Heirloom's prices are unreasonable at all. I wonder what some of these people are paying for their BIG roses elsewhere.

Ordered Roses from this company .Beware product is very small, almost like tender green cuttings with some fragile roots. They do take very good care in packing them and getting them shipped. However, if you attempt to plant in the hot summer (early morning or evening) the little guys may shrivel up and die anyway, even if shade is provided. Better luck planting these types in late fall or winter when its cooler here in Calif. I only wish they would put an actual picture of what you get, otherwise I would not have ordered, because I would have known their survival rate would be fragile.
I wonder what these great swings in weather will do to us gardening folk.

I live in Beaverton, OR and have been to Heirloom Roses twice, now. Their nursery and gardens are Beautiful - what a wonderful way to spend a day! The place is huge! I was there only a couple of weekends ago during their annual sale (the same as another recent reviewer). That turned out to be a very sad day, as the owner, John Clements had passed away quite suddenly only a couple of days before. The roses he bred are beautiful, and structurally superior to most. We've lost an artist and a master.

The show went on, they had hundreds of roses on sale and we came away with nearly 20, including several miniature roses from John's Miniature Roses and several other plants from John's Small Garden Plants. The staff was very open and friendly, even on a day when they were all stunned and overwhelmed. The sales woman I spoke to at the time of our purchase began to cry during the transaction, it was clear that the she and the rest of the staff is dedicated to the business.

I love that the roses are not grafted - this is something I had never even seen before. Most of the plants have had a bloom on them already, though they are only a few inches high. I can't wait until next spring for them to really take off.

I don't know what is in store for the family now, but I send them my love and gratitude for the beauty and joy they have given me, and I hope that they will continue John's legacy.

Presuming that the company endures, I don't think I will ever buy roses from another source again.

I've just received 17 roses today from heirloom roses . They all arrived small but healty with lot's of leaves and a big rootball. I think I will order more from them.

I placed several orders this spring. The roses were packed well and arrived in good shape. All are thriving, putting on lots of new growth and all have bloomed, even though they are young plants. I will be ordering from this company again. Own root virus free roses will live forever. The money I spent on them is well worth it, a great investment. These plants should live for decades, unlike grafted roses. I am very satisfied.

I am fortunate to live reasonable close to this rose nursery. I've not been there yet, but our rose society will have its annual picnic there next month and I am excited about visiting and seeing the display garden. Their annual sale coincides with our picnic weekend, so I expect to come home with more plants.

I did purchase three roses from them at a local plant sale. My new roses, Little Green Snake, Lyda Rose and Dublin Bay are thriving and have bloomed well their first season in the garden. They were purchased and planted in April and were blooming by June.

I particularly appreciate the fact that they only offer own root roses. Too many times I've had root stock shoot up from a grafted rose or had the rose revert to its original root stock type. When these roses what you plant is what you get for the life of the rose.

Granted, I've purchased larger bushes from other rose nurseries, but I've never purchased healthier roses and, after all, roses grow like crazy so size is not important to me.

I ordered 3 roses and got 3 mini's free. They arrived in good shape, within 3 days (clear across country). Most of the roses were in bloom, so I can tell that they were correctly marked. They were a little mooshed, but they were packaged to minimize box size and to keep anything from shifting around. They were definitely well hydrated and healthy, and after a couple of days in the shade, the leaves have shaken off the "mooshed" look.

The thing that annoyed me is that the shipping costs were about twice as much as another place that I got roses from at the same time (they are in the same area as HR).

All in all, a pleasant shopping experience.

Excellent. My first order was for five bushes. A month later I ordered 3 more.

They were all moist with perfect green stems and leaves. The second order arrived the same way.

All bushes are now blooming, they are exactly as pictured.

Customer Service was very attentive to my questions and of course pleasant.

The instruction booklet was easy to understand and thorough.

Just wanted to let everyone know my experience with them was a good one.

I will be ordering again next year.

I am sooooo impressed with this company. I first placed my order for roses late last summer. Heirloom Roses called my long distance on their dime to tell me it was probably too late in the year to plant roses in my zone successfully. I told them to keep the order, but send the roses this spring in May. The person I was wanted to know if I wanted to have the option of reordering in the spring (in other words, I would have the opportunity to change my mind - or even not order with them at all!) Now that is what I call good customer service.

The catalogue is very impressive -and rates the scent of roses.

Anyway, the roses arrived in May - they were small! But WOW! have they ever grown! All have already bloomed - it's absolutely amazing! My only regret is that I don't have lots more room to plant lots more of their roses! Definitely consider buying roses from them, I am sure you will be pleased.

I had been looking for the eiffel tower rose for about 20 years and found finally online at Heirloom Roses. They sent two beautiful green leaf rose bushes, packed sooooo nicely that not one leaf had fallen off. Two brand new roses, not old stock stuff and no diseases either! Excellent Company!!!
I will definately buy from them again!!

I am extremely pleased with my purchase from this company. I ordered from them partly because of comments I read here, but mainly because their website gives such detailed information not usually found on other mailorder websites. My plants arrived in great condition and one even had a bloom. They are not kidding when they say exceptionally fragrant.

I've ordered 4 roses from Heirloom. For those expecting big roses, all I can say is read their web site. One of the 4 did not do well, and despite being past the 3 months, they replaced it anyway. The replacement and the matching one are only 1 1/2 seasons old and they have reach the top of a six foot arbor.

All my roses are coming from them from now on.

Last year I ordered 3 roses from this company. Shropshire Lad, Mary something and New Dawn. They were about 6 inches tall and never grew anymore. I covered them for the winter and this spring they were dead except the New Dawn. She is about three feet tall and will be 20 when matured. Maybe!!

I notified the company and they said they are only guaranteed for three months. I paid a lot of money for nothing. I was very upset, so my daughter gave me three huge rose bushes for Mother's Day. She purchased them from English Gardens.

I will be dealing with them from now on.

I ordered seven roses from Heirloom in two separate order as follows: Homerun, Dublin Bay, and Clair Matin, and then Happy Child, Apothecary's Rose, Hawkeye Belle, and Mary Magdalene. I ordered them well before the shipping date for my zone, so they all arrived together. I knew the plants would be small by reading the feedback on this page, so I wasn't surprised or disappointed when I opened the box. The plants were vibrantly healthy, though, with good strong roots.

I planted them in the enormous holes that the planting instructions recommended, then was horrified as the weather turned absolutely freezing. I worried about the little ones, but they survived just fine with no particular help from me. The Apothecary's Rose arrived with two tiny buds, and they bloomed within two weeks, filling the area around my door with a delicious fragrance. (I couldn't bring myself to debud as the instructions suggested.)

Out of all the roses, the Dublin Bay seemed to be the only one that was a little unhappy. However, the sun came out these past few weeks, and it is making up for lost time. (My hopes are high for that particular rose, as I bought it to honor my husband, who is from Dublin and who has been watching the rose with an eagle eye.)

This is the first time I've bought roses from anywhere online, so perhaps I had no real expectations from good or bad experiences in the past. However, I know beautiful, healthy plants when I see them.

I do wish Heirloom would have a good sale every now and again, though, as we who love roses only want more of them. The pricey-ness of the roses was a little ouchful, but not that bad, if I also consider the once-charming rose, that I bought from a large hardware-associated garden center, that visibly succumbed to RMV within a few months of my purchasing it. Shame on those people and kudos to Heirloom for policing their stock. As I am a new gardener, I didn't even know that such a thing as RMV existed until my sad experience with this other rose. As I spoke with people in forums about RMV, some recommended Heirloom as a place whose stock could be trusted. So I went back and placed the second order that I wrote about in my first sentence.

The only area for improvement that I can suggest is a little better communication, preferably online. I wasn't sure when I would receive my roses, and I pined away in Zone 5, waiting. I got a letter in mid-April saying that my order would ship in the first two weeks in May, and it did ship and arrive as promised. But some handholding e-mails (even a form e-mail as the shipping date approached) would have helped me pine a lot less and be a lot less worried that I would miss the shipment somehow.

Still, I love my roses and will order from Heirloom again.

I ordered a David Austin - Evelyn rose last year from Heirloom Roses. I had to make multiple phone calls before I received the plant. I was never told it wasn't "in stock", and that they were GROWING it from a teeny-tiny cutting. I had to wait over 2 mos before I received my TINY (5") plant for the same price I would have paid for a full size potted rose from my local nursery (who didn't have it in stock). It was in good shape however, and I hoped and prayed it would survive our winter.

A year later, the plant is about the 2-1/2' tall and blooming beautifully. I just wish the plant had been bigger to begin with for the price I paid for it!

Received two small and not so green roses today and, unfortunately have two more on the way. I hope the two yet to come are much better. They arrived the same day as the Chamblees rose which was bushy, green with new growth and in a large pot. No comparison! I am very afraid these roses will not make it.

I ordered from Heirloom roses just once: they charged my credit card right away, but they sent me the merchandise after 11 days. I paid way too much for shipping charges, (considering it took 11 days for the roses to be delivered) and the roses are so small. One of the 2 plants I ordered came with 5 burned leaves ( 50% of the plant in that case, since it really has 10 leaves on) and that was for sure an unpleasant surprise! I am going to plant the roses today, and I hope they'll grow to be beautiful and diseases resistant plants ..... Incrocio le dita!

Order several roses from Heirloom, I did pick them up in person instead of having them shipped. I knew the roses would be smaller in size based on reading the reviews here, but they are robust and healthy. Fully leaved, a few have buds and one or two are blooming. I'm extremely pleased that I got to go in person, the shop is wonderful, so many varities that are not in the catalog and website. I came home with over 50 roses from them and certainly would have loved to have brought more home. I will absolutely order from them again. I'm already trying to figure out what I can pick up from them in June!

Alison

I just got another shipment of bands from Heirloom roses.
The first shipment came a month ago- I have to say the roses from last month (miniature) are already bigger than the shrub- size roses that arrived yesterday. So they start out small, but really take off fast
They also have a big selection of roses.

I have never ordered roses before, and I was a bit taken aback by the babies that I got. Never-the-less, I planted the little guys and they survived a couple of our unpredictable winter freezes without fuss and now that spring has sprung here in Texas my two climbers are "stretching their legs" and are vigourously growing. Time will tell, but so far I have been impressed with the plants' hardiness.

The roses are a tiny! Literally, two inches tall. Shipping was prompt. Packaging was good. Not sure if I would buy from them again. Got much larger and mature roses from Nor'East Miniatures. Those are blooming, not sure if the ones from Heirloom will even bloom this year!

We make a yearly visit to HR every year. It is a treat to drive through Oregon's Willamette Valley where my mother grew up to this beautiful rose garden in the middle of no where. For anyone that lives within 2 hours of this nursery every year (that I know of) they have a 1/2 price sale, we went this year. Their selection is awesome, get there the first day plants go fast! Over 400 different varieties. Unfortunelty, I did not buy enough and had to mail order some. But it is a special treat to get new roses in the mail. All winter my new additions have held up great. Plant them like they tell you and you won't be disappointed. Add some every year and you will have the best smelling garden in town.

I am so so happy with the roses I got and I am definitely going to order more as soon as I figure out where to put them! Just like everyone else I got these itsy bitsy baby roses. It didnt bother me at all. I also had to wait a few days before I could plant them but I kept them moist and they already started getting buds before I planted them. I have never grown roses before and I wasnt sure what to expect. I thought maybe I would start seeing results the following year after letting them get settled in their new home. In just a few short weeks they were blooming gorgeous roses and the leaves were very full and green and they were still blooming even when it was getting colder and I live in MA! I cant wait to see how they are going to do this coming summer and order more!

I live in the neighborhood, so I've bought several plants directly from them, and am very satisfied. If you're ever in the Willamette Valley in the summer, find the time to visit in person. Heaven for anyone who likes roses.

Before ordering from Heirloom Roses, we'd never bought any roses by mail, so had no expectations regarding plant size. Yes, they were small but we suspended our disbelief and dug the big holes, amended the soil, etc.--also provided water for the few months in summer that it never rained. The Don Juan climbing roses have grown like crazy and there were some (fragrant) blooms. They have exceeded our expectations; no bugs or blights or crappy-looking leaves. We have an extensively landscaped one acre shade garden plus water gardens, so don't need any more high maintenance plants. These roses have encouraged us to consider using the few sunny spots for more roses, which we'll order from Heirloom.

I ordered a hard-to-find english rose from this company. I realized from the other posts that it was small, and it was so I wasn't really surprised. However, the little rose took off and bloomed. I then noticed the bloom was nothing like the rose I had thought I ordered, so I called up heirloom roses and an associate (she was very helpful and nice) told me I should let it bloom again because the first bloom isn't really representative of the true bloom. If this second bloom didn't match, they would send me another rose bush no charge.

So the second flush came and was indeed the true rose I ordered. So I'm happy.

I was very happy with all of the roses I received from this outfit. I'm just sorry that I found out about them so late in the shipping season.
Yes, the plants are "smaller" than potted plants at the bulk nurseries, but they are very healthy and the selection is phenomenal. Having planted roses both from Heirloom roses and from a major hardware store nursery, I can tell you that the Heirloom roses have done much better in establishing themselves and growing than the "bulk" purchases--which were large to start out but seemed to struggle after transplanting.
I'm looking forward to ordering more roses from Heirloom next spring. With the tremendous variety that the have to offer, I'm sure that I'll find plenty of new additions for my garden.

This has been my first order from Heirloom Roses. I ordered 9 English roses and 4 climbing roses, this past spring. I am happy to report that as of late September, all are thriving and some have bloomed. In particular, the climbing roses have grown substantially this first season. Certainly after a few months of growth, I would rank their current size similar to grafted roses purchased from large mail-order companies or at local nurseries.

I ordered two roses from Heirloom, a Buck rose Prarie
Star and Madamme Issac Pierre . Yes I was surprized about the size of the plant, they should give you some idea of that in their catalog. Having said that both of these roses are the healthiest, fastest growing roses in my garden. Prarie Star has given me many beautiful blooms this year. I would definately order from them again.

I was apprehensive about buying roses from this company, what with everyone saying how small the plants were. But they had a good selection, so I thought I'd risk it and bought a half dozen plants from them last April. The tiny but healthy roses arrived promptly, but there was a problem with the billing. I called them - they were very polite and professional and took care of the problem in the time it took for me to walk across the parking lot. Best of all, it has only been a couple of months and my tiny roses are already blooming their heads off.

I ordered and received 3 very expensive Roses from them in late April. They were packaged well and were very healthy apon arrival but, I have never seen such small plants in my life. It's like a joke. They are so small that I have had to put ugly crabtraps around each one so that the rabbits and my dog won't damage them. I have this beautiful show stopping garden with these ugly crabtraps standing out for all to see. At their apparent growth rate, which has been minimal so far, I figure they'll be wearing them all summer long. This Company should grow their plants at least another 6-9 months before selling at such high prices. I'm not very happy.

Wonderful! I would definitely order from these people again! My two full and fat William Baffin seedlings are bursting with life!! I planted them and the very next day, they began putting out some new growth. Today, I watered them again and I'm AMAZED at how healthy & happy they are.

Who cares if the seedlings seem small compared to other companies when they are so healthy?? In fact, I would rather have them on the small side, then they can take off in MY garden, not in a greenhouse.

Thank You Heirloom Roses, I will be putting in another order very soon!

I knew before I ordered that the roses would be small and overpriced. (And they were, including an outrageous $4/plant shipping charge.) I also suspect that they root cuttings to order, as I can't see how else they could maintain such a huge selection. So I made sure to place my order in plenty of time for them to do that.

My roses arrived at the agreed-upon time, late enough to plant outside in Massachusetts. They were beautifully packed, and despite the trip across the country, only a couple of the tender new leaves were damaged. Each rose came in a square little "tree pot", maybe 2.5 inches across and 6 or 7 inches deep. They were some of the best rooted cuttings I've ever seen - each little pot was full of roots, but they weren't at all pot bound - they obviously grew them exactly as long as ideal to ship me these cuttings.

A couple were flowering. (Despite being tiny things, 6-12 inches tall with stems no thicker than a USB cord.) I hope that doesn't discourage them from vegetative growth, but it did reassure me that the roses were what I had ordered. All looked healthy and had copious new growth.

Anyhow, in general I prefer to order from east of the rockies, both because the shipping is easier on the plants and because I worry about spreading diseases. And in general I look for cheaper, larger plants. But Heirloom Roses isn't aiming at the "value" market, they are aiming at the market that wants a particular, hard-to-find rose, and I am satisfied. Next time I am in that market, I will order from them again.

I ordered 2 roses from this company. Jude the Obscure & A Shropshire Lad. In anticipation I dug two very large holes expecting to receive the size rose I've received from other companies in the past be they bareroot or not. I was shocked when I saw the roses. "Twigs" . 4-5". I'm not exaggerating. Stems were soft. Tiny. I wrote to them laughing because they were so tiny and I had dug these enormous holes. We had a rain storm and they didn't make it. So I wrote to them telling them of my disappointment and how their reputation is on the line sending out such puny roses. Seedlings. I paid over $40.00 for these twigs. I wrote my huge disappointment but received no reply. I proceeded to order from S&W and got healthy large, full potted roses that are beautiful and doing great. I wish nurseries would provide an example photo of what you will receive. MerryGro does this and I'm expecting a delivery from them soon with hope the photos were accurate.

I' ve ordered twice from Heirloom Roses and have had little luck both times. The roses are rooted cuttings that are generally much more expensive than larger rooted cuttings (and budded roses). And in spite of assurances that these would outgrow budded roses in several years, only a few have ever "taken off". In addition to this mislabeling of roses seems to be a problem.
I thought that I was alone in my experience until I mentioned my problems to several other members of my local rose society. Who shared similar experiences. Mislabeling seemed to be a particular common theme.
As has been previously stated, Heirloom has a great catalogue; however, if they are interested in keeping mail-order customers I would strongly suggest higher quality control and/or lower prices.