I brought roses back with me from Armstrong's inside my carry-on bags. I could only bring back one or two, max. I just put them in my bag and sent them through the X-ray screening without any problem. I have brought back Carol Burnett, Plum Crazy, and Phyllis Diller with me that way. My Plum Crazy did not survive the Easter freeze of last April, unfortunately. I brought them back with me in January and let them grow in the house in a sunny window, and they did okay. I brought them back as carry-on because I cannot be sure of how the temperature is controlled inside the cargo part of the aircraft. At cruising altitude, the outside air temperature can be down to -65F. Depending on how the temperature is controlled in the cargo compartment would determine whether the roses would freeze in transit. This time of year is planting season in California and Arizona. The roses are in paper pots and in plastic 5 gallon planters. The big planters are too large unless one has a cargo vehicle of some kind. The plants are also actively growing or beginning to grow, as has been mentioned. Some of the larger planted ones are also in flower. I think that if I were to make the trip again out there in January to get the roses, I would consider driving a vehicle that would have a heated cargo interior such as a station wagon or SUV so that transit temps can be controlled minimizing freezing risk to plants that are already growing. Driving would be a royal pain, but at least you could get as many as you want, go where you want, and control the transit temperatures.

Thank you all for your responses. Berndoodle, thanks a lot for that list of sources. I will take your advice and ship from the UK. Hoovb, that's a good idea but I don't have any cuttings, plus I think that there would be some restrictions on sending random plants into a foreign country. Dove Song, thank you for your kind words. When such awful things happen, there is no way to ease someone's pain--all we can do is to let them know that they are not alone. Thanks again.

Instead of calling myself hostalavista I may have to change to The Procrasto-nator! I want to thank my sender but I lost her name, I tore the little address tag off the box, stuck it in my pocket and washed it, (maybe). So I still want to thank you for the three hostas you sent. They arrived in excellent condition. Thank you so much and thank you Kelli for doing this swap, I know you put alot of time in it. Here's hoping I don't get BARRED from future swaps! Hostalavista, Linda

Last winter I ordered from Lazy S's Farm Nursery, Bluestone, and Garden Crossings (and I always order some fall bulbs from Brent and Becky's,) and I would be happy to order from any of them again. All had some unusual plants and some more common. I think I got the biggest bang for my buck from Lazy S - plants were a bit more expensive than Bluestone, but a lot bigger and incredibly well packed. Garden Crossing was more expensive than Lazy S but they had some things I really wanted and they were lots less expensive than White Flower Farm. (Again, incredibly well packed and much bigger than Bluestone.) Bluestone plants need to be planted pretty much right away because they are in such tiny pots, so you either need to have a bed ready or plan to repot them to bigger sized pots if you plan to keep them for a while before they go into the ground. Mine from Bluestone always arrive looking a bit more battered than plants do from any other nursery I order from, though most of them seem to recover alright. http://www.lazyssfarm.com/ http://www.gardencrossings.com/ Digging has suggested some great relatively local nurseries - even if you mailorder this year, consider going to at least some of them this summer. You may find things that you'll want to buy, either for this year or when the budget (or a kind benefactor) allows.