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Comments regarding Roses Unlimited

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97 positives
4 neutrals
4 negatives

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RatingAuthorContent
Neutral dave12122
(83 reviews)		 On Aug 30, 2017, dave12122 East Haddam, CT wrote:

Posted on August 29, 2017, updated August 30, 2017
Posted on July 10, 2016, updated August 29, 2017
This is a tough review to write. Ideally, i would choose somewhere between neutral and positive. The situation started off with a bang in that apparently I just missed a yearly sale in which many plants were $10.00. Since I am a new customer, it would have been nice if they could have extended the sale prices for me, or offered some other incentive. (10% off my first order, etc.). But no, I just got a curt email that all the plants were full price. "Full price" is often $18.00 -$21.00 per rose. That's pretty high for the industry, so I was expecting extraordinary specimens. The plants were shipped promptly -no complaints there. However, two were less than a foot high, and the third plant was just over a foot, with a decaying bloom. In addition, the plants appeared to have been grown under a shadecloth and the foliage was stretching toward the light in an uncharacteristic manner. The rootballs were loose and quickly fell apart when taken out of the boxes. I cannot report how the plants will perform over time, or if they will survive the winter. However, I was underwhelmed by the plant quality and would doubtfully order from them again. A big negative is the postage cost, $18.00 for the three plants PLUS a $5.00 handling fee. If they offered Priority Mail instead of the ultra expensive UPS, I could have saved money and possibly purchased another rose. They seem more concerned with making money then growing a really superior product. Overall, a disappointing experience!

On August 29th, 2017, dave12122 changed the rating from neutral to negative and added the following:

I wanted to follow up on the progress of the three roses I purchased last Fall. One in particular, Barbara Streisand, was the runt of the litter, but I was hoping it would perk up in the Spring. Well, Spring came and went and Barbara Streisand made a tiny amount of growth and promptly died. The other two specimens made a small amount of growth, but their performance was noticeably poorer than roses I had obtained from other sources. I decided to wait the season out, because sometimes roses do regenerate from the root or have a second flush of new growth. Unfortunately, neither of these two things happened with the Roses Unlimited roses.

I wrote to the owner, Pat to let her know what had happened with the roses and asking if anything could be done. In most cases, I assumed I would at least get an email back expressing concern that the plants had not done well and offering a remedy. Well, it has been a week and I have not gotten a reply. Because of this, I am changing my review to a negative. Based on the very high cost of the roses, some of the highest in the industry, I would have expected super large plants, vigorous and ready to grow. Instead I got relatively small plants that just sat there all season, while plants around them were flowering and growing lustily. Roses Unlimited customer no-service is unacceptable and I definitely won't be dealing with them in the future. I should have been alerted by the meat and potatoes catalog which is just a collection of names and prices, not even colors, heights, etc. completely non-helpful. If someone is that lazy to do a proper catalogue, it often means they are lax elsewhere. Such appears to be the case with Roses Unlimited. They apparently don't want to go the extra mile for their customers, and are an embarrassment to the nursery industry.
On August 30th, 2017, dave12122 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:

Right after I changed my rating to negative, I heard from Pat. She is offering a refund on the Barbara Streisand alone. Because of that, I will go back to a neutral rating. I still have many reservations about dealing with Roses Unlimited in the future, because three out of three roses did not grow well. Hopefully, the replacement rose will grow better than the original.
Neutral bluebuster77
(26 reviews)		 On Jun 27, 2016, bluebuster77 Belmont, CA wrote:

Posted on October 27, 2013, updated June 27, 2016
Posted on March 27, 2013, updated October 27, 2013
Posted on October 10, 2012, updated March 27, 2013
Posted on March 30, 2012, updated October 10, 2012
Actually my rating was neutral. But I still like to do business with RU, they have wide range of rose varities and beautiful rare roses. Packaging was ok, no damage but all the dirt from the pot were loose inside the boxes. Plants are slight bigger than band size, throw into the gallon pot and fill with some dirt, that's it. Some comment shows their plants had buds and flowers, Nah!, I don't see any on my roses. Pricy shipping for weight of dirt, not for weight of plant. I'm not clear on price of rose as well, I don't see $16 roses, generally most are $18. Communication is fine, a bit slow but no problem. Payment system also slight complicated but not a big issue. Hope my RU roses are growing well and survive. I used EB stone rose grow to raise all my roses.

On October 10th, 2012, bluebuster77 added the following:

Super heathy roses and of course true to the name. They bloom short period of time, so I can identify my roses. Ready to transfer to larger pot within a year. I still have endless list to buy more roses from their huge selection. June sales was outstanding, you don't have to missed this.
On March 27th, 2013, bluebuster77 added the following:

Most healthiest and grow quickly big as grafted rose bushes. Better than other own root roses I ordered last year. Great selection with lots of rare variety. Still processing to order more roses this year including upcoming sales.
On October 27th, 2013, bluebuster77 added the following:

So far so excellent!!! Two straight year, I never have bad experience to order from RU. All roses are quicly vigorous as I mentioned on previous feedbacks. My top 1 seller on own root roses.
On June 27th, 2016, bluebuster77 changed the rating from positive to neutral and added the following:

Just received my another order, very disappointed with packaging which is not efficient. This is not my first purchase, however, their packaging is not improving. They used bag, tape and custom made individual boxes, securely stapled but more than 50% of potting soil are loose and scrattered all over in the big box. Room t ball are loose and barely cover with soil. Only big credit for them is good plant size, true to the name and so far over 20 roses I bought non of them die.
Neutral Just_One_Nerve
(3 reviews)		 On Sep 17, 2013, Just_One_Nerve Boise, ID wrote:

I decided to give this company a chance with my business based on the reviews here, HelpMeFind/Roses and GardenWeb. I may have been expecting too much, but I was simply not thrilled by the experience though my order was kind of "business as usual."

To begin, their website could use some updates. Pictures of the roses along with growth habits would be useful along with an improved search tool for "fragrant," "color," or "cold hardiness," would be smart additions. It should have a clear "Order Now," button that informs customers about how to order and what to expect. I do not typically expect to e-mail or call companies when I order online so I took a leap with contacting the company due to what I had read on the aforementioned websites and since they had contact information on the website.

With regard to the service, my initial email on 8/8/13 was answered promptly same day, though not as thoroughly as I would have liked but did include a suggestion as requested. Subsequent email on the 12th went unanswered, and it was one confirming a desire to order. Sent another email on the 13th asking about placing an order and asking what to expect. Response on the 14th confirming which roses were in stock, but did not address how to actually place the order as requested. They did not have many of the varieties I wanted instock which definitely left me disappointed.

I called on the 14th and placed the order with a friendly woman who gave me an order number, and an expected shipment date of 9/9/13 which was basically a month away. I should have asked for an explanation for the delay in shipping, since I was a little disappointed by the news. But figured it would give them time to receive my check, allow plant growth and provide shipment during a more ideal planting time regarding seasons. Would have liked to recieve a confirmation email for the order or something, but referenced the order number on the check that was sent out on 8/14/13. They cashed the check on 8/21/13.

I called on Monday 9/9/13 to confirm that the order was to be shipped and to ask for a tracking number. Was provided a tracking number which they only do by request. I just received the plants yesterday Monday 9/16/13 a week after the shipping start date. Not entirely their fault as I should have requested it be shipped on the prior Friday due to the distance in shipping from Carolina to Idaho with 5 business day shipping (which doesn't include the pick up date).

The two plants arrived a bit wilted. The shipping box was ~ 8"x8"x24", with an 8"x8"x8" box used for both plants roots together stapled secure from the outside. The top of the root box did have some soil and plastic bags inside but didn't keep the bottom of the outer box totally clean. One plant has 3 spikes total between 12-16" tall with 1 bud, and the other has 1 spike 8" tall and then a swath of 4" tall spikes and no buds. When I originally received the order I thought only 1 plant was inside. The plants were not as full as I was expecting. I was expecting to see gallon sized pots with a more nursary like appearance. Total cost for the 2 plants including shipping was $55.00.

While I would probably order from this company again, I would do it after trying other avenues first.
Neutral JohnHPorterf
(3 reviews)		 On Feb 1, 1998, JohnHPorterf wrote:

Late summer 1997, I phoned Roses Unlimited to inquire if they had a specific rose available for Fall planting. I was assured that they did, but their "last shipping date for 1997 was next Monday." They gentleman suggested that I express a check to him, in order to receive the rose. (Their last shipping date was a full month earlier than any other rose nursery I've spoken to.) I expressed the check to him, which was promptly cashed. Two weeks later I received notice that the rose ordered was "too immature for transplanting." They would ship the rose, when it was of a more substantial size, which would be "sometime in 1998." I emailed the company and requested a refund, which was promptly issued.However, I'm still out the express mail charges.I only wish Roses Unlimited had checked the condition of the rose before suggesting I express mail payment to them.I may try them again, but I'll be very wary of them until they prove themselves to me.