That does sound like fun. Do you know what the names of these roses are? I saw them on their site but I didn't see any names. Let me know what you know because I might like to do the same thing. Thanks, Judy

They are usually HTs, but they may be adding floribundas now. Judy, they are unnamed, only numbered or have their code name (JACwhatever) because most of them will not be officially released into commerce. The "test" is a bit of a misnomer, since any rose from this year's batch that will be "selected" already has been and will be introduced next year.

Link below to a thread from last year that includes a discussion of the test panel roses. jont1 likes to try them out.

Here is a link that might be useful: new J&P roses

I think it's just a way for J&P to sell more roses. As mentioned above, "since any rose from this year's batch that will be "selected" already has been and will be introduced next year," I doubt very little info passed to J&P regarding them has any influence on which ones make it to the catalog. With the lead time required for growing the large number of plants needed each year, the varieties for two years from now are already scheduled.
But, you do get some nice bushes which may turn out to be named and introduced at a price a bit less than you would pay otherwise.
In my mind if it were truly a test panel, the bushes would be sent at no or very nominal cost to the tester.
Actual testing is done by a select number of growers and gardens many years in advance of their introduction.
I've seen some at ARS Rose Shows that weren't introduced until five years or more after it had won a prize by one of those select growers.

Includes a future rose of the year? Don't hold your breath on that one. I was in it for two years a long time ago, and yes, there was one Rose of The Year - Madras. However, they aren't what I would call fun because you must put as much energy into caring for them as you do your "real" winners with names in the garden. And what do you get from all that? Nothing but some no-names that may or may not turn out well. You can't show them because they have no names and aren't recognized by ARS. Two years of that nonsensece was enough for me, BUT if you want some color quick, go for it. Remember, J&P ain't what it used to be, so be careful with them now.

Hey roseman, that's how long I was getting them. I stopped for the same reasons and I was taking up room in my garden with no name roses.

I am quite sure all of the above is correct. I am just doing this as a lark [dont ask me why!] - If I get lucky and get a couple of nice ones - hooray. And if I get a nice one that isnt introduced, so much the better. I may not do it again.....but it will be fun to wait for them to bloom and see what happens. I was just wondering if most of you who ordered it end up with one good one and 3 duds, or if they are all nice. I have friends who love to go to the boats to gamble....that bores me - I would rather gamble on the test panel!
Judith

I did them several yrs back in the mid-90s. It was fun, until I found out they had already picked the next-yr's "Rose of the Year" and named it before they even sent the test roses out to us. The rose at that time was MOON SHADOW. It was the worst rose of the test batch, and I ended up tossing it. I quit doing the testing for a looong time after that because I was so disgusted, knowing that my time and effort were being wasted.

I did do them the last three yrs here tho. Mainly because I liked the looks of the pics they showed of the roses. Back when I did them before, they never showed pics of them beforehand; they only had the color stamped on the tags, so it was more interesting anyway. But the test roses they send out now, most of them do end up being marketed, either here or overseas. So it can be fun to be able to get a rose a yr before everybody else does. Or you can have a rose that may be only marketed overseas, which is kind of cool.

I actually have a wonderful rose from the 90s that is now only available in Australia and New Zealand. It's a beautiful yellow-orange called ALMOST SUNSET. So, you can have some fun with the test roses. However I find that many roses don't really show their full potential for at least 2-3yrs. I ended up not sending in any evals the last two times because I figured I was wasting my time. It's just nice to get some pretty roses earlier than the general public. I decided not to do them this time around tho, because this batch doesn't look all that interesting to me.