Xref: kermit rec.gardens:278307

I bought the roses from a very popular nursery, here in Portland Oregon,
that is endorsed by the Portland Rose Society. So I am a little confused.
Wouldn't they know the proper way to sell roses? They grow them at the
nursery, they offered to 'dig' up the roses if I didn't find what I wanted.
I thought I was buying good quality roses.


"Sunflower" wrote in message
...

"GoldLexus" wrote in message
...
I planted 3 new rose bushes about a month and half ago. They are I think
what is referred to bare root roses (as opposed to ones in gallon
containers), the roots were in a wood chip filled bag around the roots
with
the canes exposed. Anyway, they looked like they were beginning to show
signs of new growth on a couple of them but now that new growth is brown
and
dry looking. The canes one these same two are green for the most part.
On
the third rose the canes are brown and never really saw new growth on it
like the other two. Actually the new growth on the other two was only
like
2
leave buds on each nothing more. I am new to planting roses. I just
moved
into this house a year ago, it had 4 overgrown and neglected bushes that
I
pruned and had blooming all the way thru' October. I live in Oregon and
it
has been raining so they are not dried out.
Any suggestions? Are they still alive? Should I give up on them?

Bodybag roses are the puppymill roses of the retail world. The lowest
quality to begin with, then they hack the roots off, dip them in hot green
wax to hide any imperfections and forcibly compress them into sawdust
filled
plastic bags with machines. Most people, even experienced rosarians,
don't
have a lot of luck with them. It's not your fault, other than you are the
one that bought crap. You didn't know any better. A lot of people don't.
Dig them up and take them back and demand your money back. Get some
potted
ones instead. At least you can be half sure that they aren't mislabeled,
which is very common in the bodybags. Order you some real bare root roses
next year from Edmunds if you like hybrid teas or Ashdown if you like
antiques or shrubs. Real bare root roses are stored in temperature and
humidity controlled environments until it's time to ship to the customer
and
then they are packaged with damp newspaper or shavings around the roots
and
everything is enclosed in a heavy duty plastic bag and sealed. When you
open the bag, everything is plump and green and the roots are at least a
foot long, not those pitiful 3" stubs the bodybags have. Bodybag roses
are
also notorious for being mislabeled (as are most Mart roses) and for
having
Rose Mosaic Virus, which makes them produce less flowers, makes them more
disease prone, makes them more winter tender, and generally negativly
impacts their overall vigor. Most of your discount roses from Texas will
be
crap, simply because of RMV that the growers don't care to eradicate
because
it might cost them an extra nickel. Besides, with a built in expiration
date on roses, they'll always have a sucker coming back to them not
knowing
it wasnt' their fault the roses were crappy and croaked. The sad part is,
crappy roses tend to turn off folks from roses permanantly, and help to
perpetuate the myth that roses are "difficult". *Some* roses are
difficult
in *some* climates, but if you start off with the deck stacked against
you,
you don't ever experience enough success to keep you wanting to try.