On Sat, 19 Apr 2003, Jayne wrote:

I've always bought roses in containers, but I ordered one via mail order
that I rather fancied & it just looks like an old stick - will it really
grow well?

This is a very usual method to sell rose and is known to work, *but*,
it is recommended up to late winter (if that), when the rose is
dormant.

Since you bought it, why not try it? Put the roots in a bucket of
water for a day or so, prepare the hole with plenty of organic
matter, plant it (the right way up :-))) and keep watering it. If it
does not work, the effort to prepare the hole has not gone wasted, you
can always plant another one (I don't think rose sickness will come to
play if the rose does not live there for a while).

Good luck!

Kostas