Comments regarding Heirloom Roses

Many years ago I bought 'Arctic Sunrise' from these folks. I planted it per instructions then wandered away and pretty much forgot about it. I came across it again a couple of years ago and started giving it the TLC it deserved and sorely needed. Even though it remains small, it blooms like crazy. Thank you so much for the lovely and tenacious plant, even though I probably don't deserve it.

I ordered a dozen or so roses from this company in the early summer. My order was processed correctly and the plants were received very quickly. All were well packed and very healthy. The plants were quite small, so I potted them and let them grow over the summer. All have prospered and had very little typical rose problems. I have now planted them in the garden and am confident that they all will survive. Hopefully, I will be a returning customer next spring!

Just received my eight roses from Heirloom. I was thrilled with the size of the bands I purchased. All are healthy and beautiful plants.
Arlene

Last spring (2008) I ordered 4 types of rugosa roses: a white, a pink, a red ('Robusta'), and a pale pink/yellow one called 'The Alexandra Rose'. They arrived in a timely fashion and were exceptionally well packed and shipped, so that they arrived looking beautifully healthy and fresh. Although they were definitely quite small, as others have noted, the root systems were well-developed and sturdy for the size of the top growth, so I felt quite confident that they would grow well for me.

I planted them in 3 rather different places in my gardens, and as you would expect the one in the sunniest spot is doing the best. 2 have been browsed nearly to the ground during the winter, and are making good growth but haven't yet bloomed (these are also probably in the least-favorable spot), while the other 2 are blooming very generously for me right now, even though the shrubs are still rather small. I expect that they will continue to grow - given the "sleep, creep, leap" adage, they are only in their "creep" year, so I'm not at all discouraged.

The company's prices don't seem out of line to me - yes, they are more than the mass-produced junk at the local big-box discount stores, but I am willing to pay for strong, well-grown own-root roses in varieties I am never able to find locally. I like to grow mostly the heirloom varieties, and they must be tough and as near to care-free as possible, since I live in a bitter, windy zone 4/5 and really expect them to perform without much special fussing. Even with the cross-country shipping, I consider these plants to be worth the cost.

I will definitely order from Heirloom Roses again, just as soon as I can find a good spot for more antique roses and make up my mind about which beauties I want most!

I have waited nearly a year before posting a comment because I wanted to see how the The Fawn (POUoma) did.
I ordered 4 of these and they did arrive in a timely manner. I was concerned about the size of the plants though. The leaves were healthy and they appeared to have well-developed root systems but they were only about 8 inches tall. One of the plants had a single bud.
They were planted in excellant soil in full sun and developed quickly. All began flowering by midsummer and had qudrupled in size by late Fall. The plants are now about 16 inches tall and 30 inches wide and covered with blooms!
I feel this company delivered good, healthy roses and a moderate price and will order again.

I received a very healthy Wild Ginger hardy rose specimen in record time. When I discovered it on Heirloom's Web site just recently, I specified an immediate ship date. Because this is crazy time for all online nurseries, I really didn't expect to get it so soon. But they did it! The rose was very well protected and packaged (love those deep pots for root development), and planting instructions are very thorough.

I ordered a couple of grouncover roses from Heirloom a couple of years ago, and they are doing so well. Considering the quality of the groundcover roses, I would have gladly waited a couple of weeks for the new order. Heirloom went above and beyond to accommodate my requested ship date, and I greatly appreciate their stellar customer service and beautiful quality roses.

I recieved my plants from Hairloom roses just as the previous reviews state. Packaged well, and in great shape. Yes the plants were small, but they tell you they will be on the website. They are first year own root roses, so are going to be small. Love how healthy these babies are. The brochure gives wonderful directions on the proper ways to plant and fertilize new own root roses.
People I would not recommend this company to are those who insist upon instant gratification with their plants. I would say Heirloom Roses are for gardeners who like to nurture their plants over time and have beautiful, healthy performers for years to come. Great company, great customer service! I have found my new rose company!

I just received my first order from Heirloom and am very pleased. The plant material arrived in great condition altho the transcontinental trip took almost a full week. I would classify Heirloom's bands as midsize -- not the largest I've ever received, but certainly not the smallest either. Based on this initial order, I will not hesitate to order from them again.

Last year I ordered a sizable number of roses. Granted they are small, but they all bloomed last year. The real test came this year to see how well they fared after the harsh winter. All are healthy and growing. No die offs. Again this year I ordered another sizable order. All arrived in healthy condition and are going great. To think I wasted money on another well known rose company and suffered many loses, which were not replaceable.

Last year, 2008, I ordered eight roses from these folks. They arrived looking quite healthy, but I was surprised at their size, best described as "slips." That was last year. This year they are large, vigorous plants producing the most beautiful Dortmund other blossoms you've ever seen. If you can stand the wait, my experience indicates that the company's impressive selection and good service would make for a strong recommendation. I'll buy from them again. Rossville, TN

I ordered two Rugosa roses that I couldn't find anywhere else. The plants arrived very well packed and healthy. They've been in the ground two weeks now and I hope they continue to look great.

The only drawback was the price tag. After the cost of shipping the roses ended up costing me close to $25 each for a seedling in a deep 4in. pot. Ouch.

Online ordering was flawless. Communications were excellent. Plants arrived in good time and in perfect condition. A great source for roses.

I've ordered from these folks several times. I've never lost a plant from heirloom roses. I've ordered plants that were advertised to thrive in various kinds of bad light and bad soil, and they've all made it!

Plants arrived promptly and were well packed.

The quality of the roses is wonderful. They are all grown on their own roots which helps winter hardiness.

Customer service is fantastic. I had trouble with Alec's Red not once but twice and they replaced it both times no trouble. Third time was the charm, too.

They have some different roses as well as some old garden varieties you won't see often.

I buy from them every year. Very nice company.

Though these roses were smaller than I anticipated, they are very, very healthy. They adapt well, are shipped promptly, and thrive once planted. I have ordered from Heirloom Roses three times in the past year and a half, and won't buy roses anywhere else! BTW, I have over 60 rose plants in my yard/garden!

When the rose arrived, though slightly smaller than I expected, it was in very clean and excellent condition. I planted it, and it is growing well. I should probably give a end of summer report, but so far, in these high temperatures, it is thriving. When the thermometer is over 90, I water at least once a day, especially on newly planted items.

Thank you, Heirloom Roses for adding 'Peach Drift' to my "Peach of a Garden"!

Evelyn

I ordered two roses last year from Heirloom Roses. They were small when they arrived, but they have flourished in the past year and are probably 6-8 times larger. They bloom beautifully. I was so pleased with them that I purchased four more, which also look to be doing very well. Meanwhile, the far larger rose that I purchased from a local nursery promptly died. I would highly recommend Heirloom Roses.

Have planted more than 200 Heirloom Roses in my garden over the past 20 yrs, zone 5, never lost one. They arrive as seedlings, take off the 2nd yr and are spectacular the 3rd yr. Because they are grown on their own roots, not grafted, they are remarkably hardy in my cold location and virus free. Heirloom Roses get an A+ from me.

This was my first order from Heirloom Roses - one dozen, majority Bucks, several Austins. The roses were shipped May 1 (as requested); the combination of cold weather and my not having the new garden ready contributed to planting the last rose Memorial Day weekend.

From the reviews, I knew to expect small roses. Ha..I didn't know roses could be this small. But, they are very healthy and strong (survived 3 weeks in a clear tupperware bin with .5" water). Upon planting, both the garden planted and the several planted in pots are thriving. Several have small buds...I didn't know roses this small could bloom...ha !

I expect the roses to perform wonderfully and overwinter. I'm already formulating my 2009 order of Heirloom Roses.

Ordered two roses, a Rosa Mundi and some kind of super-fragrant rose (forget the name, sorry). As others have said, I was surprised by how small the plants were-- 6-8". Foolishly I put them straight in the ground, not following their very detailed instructions (which I read later) about digging a large hole and enriching the soil and all that. I also added rose fertilizer, later reading in the instructions that they don't recommend that until the second year.

Nevertheless, the roses have been in over six weeks now and I am impressed with all the new foliage, and the rosa mundi is even budding already. These roses have been very forgiving of this "green" gardener and must have been quite healthy to start with. You might be able to get larger plants from a local nursery or big-box store for the same price, but I really like that I was able to get these unusual varieties of own-root roses that came with such thorough instructions (even though I ignored them-- they helped when I planted a climbing rose from a different supplier later on!). I will definitely be buying more from Heirloom Roses in the future.

Ordered 6 Magic Carpet roses about 3 weeks ago. They arrived about 1 week after ordering. I was expecting to receive smaller plants after reading others comments but still was a little shocked ...especially considering the price. (The roses were about 5 inches tall). However, they were packaged well and arrived healthy...two of the roses had buds. They have been in the ground for a little over a week and seem to be doing fine. The two with buds are now blooming... very pretty flower. So far deer and rabbits have left them alone. I'm not sure what to expect as far as growth this year...hopefully they will take off, if not I will have to fill in with some annuals. Once they are established, I'm sure I will be pleased with my choice. Customer Service: Very Good.

I recently ordered from this company. The roses were shipped on the date I requested. They are growing well.

The roses I received are small, but with only a few exceptions every company I order own root roses from are around the same size.

I would definitely order from them again. I would also recommend them to friends.

I bought 3 roses and they all arrived quickly and in great shape. After reading reviews I thoguht they would be really tiny but they were larger than I expected (still smaller than roses I see at retial stores). They arrived within a week of being ordered and the soil was still nice and moist. I will definitely purchase from Heirloom again.

I received my roses today and they were packed very well. They seem healthy and ready to grow. I like growing their roses because they aren't grafted. They are small but worth it. This is a great company to do business with.

I placed 2 orders for a total of 10 roses last spring. Knowing they were root grown and mail order, I expected them to be smaller than the large grafted varieties that I find at retail centers or from other mail order sources. They were small but vigorous, extemely healthy. I followed their instructions precisely. All have bloomed the very first summer. I have been extremely pleased with the quality and variety of their stock. Their catalog is worth having; the descriptions are detailed - even to the quality and intensity of fragrance, and I've spent many a cold rainy winter evening enjoying the incredible assortment they have. Their prices are high for common roses, but because they are pretty much the same for ALL their stock, you can make up the difference with the newer or rare varieties, and by knowing you get the same rose you started with if there is a die-back to the root level. This is my favorite rose company, by far!

I ordered 7 different kinds of roses from them last spring. They arrived in narrow but deep pots, with healthy roots and foliage. I over did it with my plant ordering and had to delay getting them into the ground for over a month, so I foliar fed them a couple times. They started blooming right in the pots and while a lot of roses my the garden where suffering from terrible black spot from the dry spring, these looked great.

I ordered 2 Copper Star (Heirlooms own cultivar) shrub roses and they have beautiful single, soft orange blooms. They bloomed the entire second half of the summer right up until frost even though I planted them so late. They are listed as zone 6 and I am in 5, but I loved the color so much I decided to take a chance because they are on their own roots. Luckily, we had alot of snow early this year to insulate them.

They have a very large selection as well. I will definately order from Heirloom again.

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.

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.