Comments regarding Roses Unlimited

**They won't replace roses that fail to make it the first year, or if you don't notice they sent you the wrong rose soon enough.**

I placed an order with RU was in 2017. It was kind of a frustrating experience from what I recall--- I ordered during the sale.... being told things were available and then ---oh actually not.

Well, I finally settled on & paid for an:
Awakening
Julia Child &
Pomponella Fairytale

The Julia Child was rather puny and died over the winter. I contacted RU for a replacement and was basically told NO. The exact response very briefly saying,

"Our guarantee is that the roses are healthy and true to name when you receive them. With the severe winter all over the states, many have lost roses and other plant material.Thanks,Pat

The rose that was labeled & given to me as Awakening seemed to be doing well. It didn't look quite like I expected but I figured maybe it was just because it was in the baby phase...I had also had a child die & was pregnant in 2017/2018 so I had a lot going on. Last year I was still preoccupied with having a new baby and two other children & the rose seemed to be doing well...

Well this year 2020... I'm looking at the roses blooms... Excited to enjoy them, as there were a lot more blooms on it... and I realized. This doesn't look like Awakening... not enough petals. It looks like New Dawn. I look more at other pictures online becoming more convinced that was the case. I email Pat with pictures and she agrees it looks more like New Dawn. I ask if she can send me an Awakening to replace it and she basically says NO it's been too long.

I'm just frustrated. Out of 3 roses I ordered only 1 survived AND is the right rose. The customer service policy seems to be "tough luck" once you get your roses. If it is too small and dies, if it isn't the right one & you notice too late... It's just frustrating and honestly makes me never want to do business with them again.

I ordered from RU years ago and wanted to buy a few more of the hard-to-find roses I bought then. I tried to call the company over and over again for several days and the phone was repeatedly busy. I spent over 5 hours trying to place an order. When I finally sent an e-mail asking about the busy phone number I was told (via e-mail) that the phone was tied up because they were so busy, but they told me I could order on-line. I don't put my credit card info on-line even though I know most companies prefer it. My thinking is that if RU cannot handle the phone, then don't make it an option..... Just say on-line orders only. Oh, and get rid of the busy signal... just tell people you aren't accepting phone orders.

I don't like leaving a negative ratings ever, but I have certainly not had a positive experience with this company. Our ministry ordered 20 roses Oct. 27, 2010. The cost of the roses was $344 and the shipping was $110. We paid for the order in January of 2011 to have the order shipped in April as is the procedure for Roses Unlimited. We planted the shipment of roses upon arrival in April. Within two months, on June 2nd, 2011 I sent an email explaining that two of the plants had already died and that a third was looking puny. On June 20th, I finally received a reply from Pat Henry stating that the two lost plants would be replaced in 2012. On April 25th of this year, 2012, I sent another email regarding the replacements. Ms. Henry replied that she did not have luck rooting one (she did not say what she was going to do about that), and the other replacement would be shipped the following week. We never received the replacement.

We only have around half of the plants we originally ordered and planted. The plants are obviously cut for rooting upon receipt of order, and shipped the following spring, which means they are less than one year old propagated by rooting in a greenhouse over the winter. I have found It difficult to plant such young plants directly into the garden and expect them to thrive without proper root establishment. The plants almost appeared to shrink after they were planted. I wouldn't order these young roses again unless I have a greenhouse to age the plants before attempting to establish vigorous growth in the garden. I have learned that the plants are a bit pricey for plants hardly rooted compared to plants aged several years found locally. And I am obviously not satisfied with the lack of proper response regarding our loss. I can find no guarantee posted on the Roses Unlimited website.

I intended to order six roses from RU during their June sale. They had all six plants I wanted. So far so good. I was ready to send in my check. In the last email exchange I expressed my hope that the plants I wanted to purchase were not infected with Rose Mosaic Virus since I was aware of the fact that RU had become infamous of sending out virused plants. As matter of fact I did see virused plants in their greenhouses when I visited them; I left there two roses I originally wanted to buy as soon as I noticed RMV on them but took the risk with 4 others that showed no sign of RMV.

Anyways, the owner�s answer to my inquiry was that it was impossible to know if the plants were clean or not. In my response I indicated that I accept the statement that one cannot know if their entire stock was clean or not, but my question referred to those specific varieties I was about to purchase. These roses were not new by any standards and RU had them for years, so RU should be able to advise me against purchasing x or y specific plant if they noticed RMV on them in the past. I indicated that it would be good enough for me if the owner stated in good conscience that she never noticed virus on the mother stock of these particular varieties or the roses propagated from them.

The response from the owner was that I better go and buy plants from other nurseries who may give me a better guarantee and she listed several nurseries that carry the plants I was interested in.

I am aware of that not every customer is concerned about getting plants infected with RMV but I firmly believe that if a customer wants to purchase clean plants, the given nursery should be willing to give a straight answer instead of being offended by a simple inquiry about this issue. I found RU's approach to Rose Mosaic Virus to be very disappointing.