Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Roses in Bags ... Just Say No!

It's that time of year again!  Just as we are at our lowest point after enduring the cold and darkness of winter, in mid-to-late February, the Roses in Bags arrive to tempt us with their promise of summer.



At $4.57, what's the harm in picking up a few of these babies?



Almost all of these are lovely older varieties ... ones that our mothers and grandmothers grew.  Tempting, so tempting. 



The canes on these look pretty good.  Most of them are green and firm.  I see a little bit of canker and a few dead canes, but not many.  If they stay outside in the sunshine for much longer, this situation will deteriorate really quickly.

The main problem with these roses is the way they were grown and the way they were handled prior to their arrival in the store. These canes that you see have very little root in those tiny bags to support any sort of vigorous growth. In a bare root rose, root mass should AT LEAST equal the mass of the top canes ... and more roots than that are even better.



Careless handling during digging and packaging leads to mix-ups.  Way too many of these labels are meaningless, because the rose in the bag may not be the one on the label.  If this happens, there's no one to contact for a replacement.  (Don't even get me started on how they were displayed out in the open, in the sunshine, at the store.  This is a recipe for failure, and a clear disregard for the quality of their product.)



In this display, there was also a section of roses in larger pots.  Just say no to these, too.  Though the canes on these were a little bit larger than the ones in the bags, I'll bet they also have tiny, hacked off roots lurking in those pots.  The label says the pot is plantable and bio-degradable ... a great way for the packaging to conceal the truth in the pot.



Those of you who have been around here for a while know that I do this every year, trying my best to save all of you some money and some heartache.  Here's my best advice, if you have a weak moment and cannot resist the siren song of these roses ... you get what you pay for.  If you buy these expecting to have a high-quality rose garden for very little money, you will probably be disappointed.  If you want to buy one or two just to see what happens, this is a better attitude.  If you walk away shaking your head, I have done my job.

If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them via comments or email.

21 comments:

  1. Great advice. I have had many disappointments over the years with the BigBoxStore roses. xo Diana

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  2. I saw the saddest display of these in front of a Dollar Store the other day. The Dollar Store! Most had only one cane! I did shake my head and walk away, of course, as it was so sad to me. Most of these roses will just die on the table. Sad, sad indeed.

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  3. I could kill them even if they were perfect.

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  4. lol...I love to hear you rant! But you are so right! The saddest thing is they will sell them...I've forwarded your blog onto friends who are likely to buy these...yes, even I have friends that will do that! Can you believe it? God is watering my roses today. :) donna

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  5. My parents decided to give my husband three roses for his birthday, and I decided on L.D. Braithwaite (as I think you already know, actually). These roses will be ordered once the ground is frost-free as bare-root plants from a small rose nursery near my parents' house that my mother has visited and where she was given loads of information and advise in spite of not actually buying anything that day.

    I also have one supermarket rose growing in a pot in our courtyard; it was sold as a red climber but has turned out to be a decidedly peach-coloured non-climber. Pretty enough to be worth the 4-5$ I paid for it, but no more than that.

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  6. Hello,
    When will your roses be for sale this year???

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  7. Jean, and anyone else who is interested, the first batch of this season's roses for sale is on the web site right now.

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  8. This info is very helpful, and tells me what I suspected, but now I have facts from you. Thanks.

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  9. I always thought these 'roses' looked too good to be true, lol, after learning this from you last year I now know better!! Hugs, Linda

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  10. Both the gardener and Mr. Blue Jeans had a good laugh from this post! Can you believe the gardener did buy just one? Only time will tell...we send our best to you and all of the family.....

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  12. It is pretty easy for me to just say --NO!!

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  13. Seeing these in nearly every grosery and hardward store is always one of the uglier sights of late winter, right up there with crape murder and fresh red mulch.

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  14. Hi Connie,

    I'm surprised that you did'nt just scoop them all up and "save" them.

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  15. This is funny to me (sort of, sort of sad), because this was what I originally thought a 'bare root' rose WAS. So, when all the books said that bare root was a great way to buy roses I thought either they or I was completely incompetent. Those things never grew!

    Around here, the only way they sell roses are leafed out in a big pot, or in a bag like you show. Since then I've bought roses in bands online, and grown many other plants from tiny bare-root specimens, but the memory of those bags still has me a little gun-shy of a 'bare root' rose.

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  16. Thanks for the info. We've had such poor luck with roses and my husband thought it was him. Love you!

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  17. Thanks Connie, you have forgotten more than I will ever learn about sweet roses. I love them and like most people think they should grow themselves. I definately would have been the person to grab 5 or so at that cheap price. I am going to your website to look.

    If you get a chance on Sat...I have big auction...

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  18. Excellent advice! I do miss my roses that I left behind when we moved to VA..... one day our new house will be finished and I can get my hands in the dirt again!

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  19. Thanks to a terrible storm that took a major branch in one tree and stressed another so much it had to be taken down, we have a WHOLE LOTTA light coming into the back garden. We'll have to wait for spring/summer to see how much sun to re-figure the garden. I suppose roses are out of the game now, huh?
    Catherine

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  20. Have never had any luck with bagged roses. Thanks for your annual reminder.

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  21. I just received 9 bare-root roses from a grower who supplies to a big box. You are correct, the roots are disappointing. I am soaking them in water, and planting today. It isn't worth it to send them back, I think after 1-2 seasons...they might catch up. You get what you pay for!

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