Dana - was this a body bag or a potted rose? And is this the K Mart where Venture used to be? Thanks for the heads up! Seems awful early for roses; we've still got snow.
-terry from tremont

P.S. we'll have to get together since we live so close

Terry,It's a GRADE 1 body bag from certified roses.Yes,the K-mart is in the same complex where Best Buy used to be . That's the only K-mart we have now.If You would like to get one and can't drive there some time soon,let me know .I can pick it up for you.We live with in a mile or two from the store.
Dana

Dana - thanks for the offer. Hubby and I are going to Big P-town tomorrow to look at kitchen stuff, so may stop by. I ran to the Pekin store just now and they had 4 boxes that they hadn't unpacked. No Moonlight, but they had 2 Pink Peace. They had Heirloom, but I have these on order from Heirloom. I prefer own root roses, but I did cave and get Pink Peace. They really didn't have too much else interesting; lots of Mister Lincoln, Olympiad, Perfume Delight.

What else did Peoria have? I have mine soaking right now and will pot it up and wait till spring...if it ever comes. Can you believe this weather?
-t

I can't believe they have roses now. We still have three feet of snow on the ground and another two inches coming tomorrow. Although, if they had them here I'd probably try potting them up and keeping them somewhere for a month or however long it is now until spring.

Athenainawi - I know; I was really surprised also. Walmart just got received a shipment of grape vines and they have set up their outside corral and have bags of potting soil outside. Looks strange with snow on top of it.
-t

We had some Moonlight Magic at the Wal-Mart here in Amarillo too. My husband picked it out and said he thought the pic looked nice so we bought it. I'm having a tough time finding any info on it though, even HMFR doesn't give too hot a description...
Anyone have any experience with this one?
Is it a fairly rare rose?

Terry,hi again.our local Lowe's had Jackson perkin's bare roots for a while now. They were going to get body bags and potted roses from tyler texas on last monday.The walmart on allen road might have gotten them by now.As far as k-Mart is conserned they had atleast 12-15 varieties.I was looking for perry's Lobo .They did't have any of those but instead have Broadway(a fragrant yellow and red bicolor hybridised by perry) in addition to several others like sundowner(Mc Greedy's fragrant orange blend),anastasia,gene boerner,gold medal,proud land, blaze,MR LINCOLN,olympiad,angel face ,heirloom ,double delight, etc.I thought you might want to look up for information on the one's you are interested before you come here.Lowe's on the other hand had only few non patented varieties for $14.99 .They had lagerfeild ,in case you are interested.I have seen pink peace bloom.It's a nice deep pink with a sweet fragrance.Hope you have a nice day shopping roses tommorrow.
spicymeadow,I remember what a lady from wisconsin(colder zone than our's)said about moonlight magic."If you find Moonlight magic grab it".Eventhough the label says light fragrance people who has this rose talked highly of the fragrance.Let's hope that we like what we got.
Athenainwi, looks like spring is around the corner and I plan to pot the bare roots up until when ever.
Dana

Lucky ya'll! I have been wanting Moonlight Magic, looked for it at Walmart with that particular group of Great Value roses for years, no luck. And worse....Wally usually gets in their peat pot roses [Great Value] that have really different ones, like the John Sheldon ones, and this year, nothing but body bags and nursery pot roses. What are they thinking?? Grab that Moonlight Magic, I have heard nothing but good about it.
Judith

May I ask a question on the bagged roses please? We still have snow here also in Northern CA but that did not prevent me from buying Mister Lincoln and White Magic from Rite Aid tonight. So I guess I will soak these babies for a day or so and then pot them up. They can sit out on my sunny back porch during the day and I will stash them in our cool-ish laundry room at night until I can put them in the ground. Which brings me to my question of how large a pot to plant these in? It won't be for all season. Just until I can work the ground and get them planted.

Thank you.

Kate

Dana - I actually went to Peoria tonight and picked up the Moonlight Magic and Chicago Peace. They were the only ones. When I unwrapped Moonlight Magic tonight to soak it, the roots were really cut short. How did yours look?
I went to Lowes while in Peoria and bought a gazing globe but didn't see any roses. Were they all $14.99?

Alameda - I can check 2 more local K Mart stores and see if they have Moonlight and mail it to you if you are interested. Just let me know.....

Kate - wondered this myself. I've never had to pot roses up before planting. I'm flying blind here. I've got a couple of big pots in the shed that I'm going to drag out tomorrow if I can get the doors open if they're not frozen shut and see if there's enough room to cover the roots and support the trunk comfortably for a month. I sure hope the ground is workable by then!
-t

Terry......that would be wonderful! Will send you $$ for roses and shipping. Also.....if you want anything from Chamblees, can do the same for you. Marie had expressed interest in that......or if there are any unusual roses you cant get there........maybe I can find them for you.
By the way, I pot alot of roses that I dont have time to get in the ground right away. I get those big square plastic pots from Walmart for about $5, put in good garden soil, plant them, mulch them, water then and they do fine. Dont know in a cold climate like yours.....maybe wrap some insulation around the pot? Since I live 2 hours from Houston, dont know much about really cold climates.....
Judith [who is waiting impatiently for Walmart to get in those peat pot roses!!]

HI!
I'm the lady from Wisconsin - I do have Moonlight Magic in the garden and I love the scent and color of it. It is a decent producer of blooms, blooming in flushes. Whenever I give a gift bouquet of roses each person remarks on the scent of Moonlight Magic. It has been decently hardy here on the southern edge of Wisconsin, and is about a 3 foot bush here with nice looking foliage. I spray, and it stays pretty clean.
It can be hard to find, at least from mail order sources, it only seems to appear sporadically in body bags. I'm excited that it has made an appearance, as I'd like at least 2 more bushes! One of my neighbors is looking for it too, so I'll be checking for more!
It does seem very early for roses, but after this Winter, I am just pining to shop the garden centers!
I just came back from a trip to a milder climate, and daffodils in bloom seemed like magic to me.

Kate,

I pot up all of my bareroots, and here is what I do; soak for at least 48 hours. Pot up using good potting mix, DO NOT use soil. It depends on the size of the roots as to what size pot. Body bags usually do not have a large rootbal, so last year I used 2 gallon nursery pots for the body bags, and 10-15 gallon containers for Palatine's roses. I mist mine all day to keep them (2 minutes on/15 minutes off) moist, but as long as you go out in the morning, and again in the evening and spray, I'd think you'd be fine. Maybe pile up some mulch in the container also.

With all this talk about Moonlight Magic, I had to go over to the K-Mart here to see if they had anything. No Moonlight Magic, but they did have a bunch of Lobos. I bought one and put it in a bucket of water with a little liquid plant food to get it started. I hope it will be okay. I will keep looking for the Moonlight Magic, however. I have seen Lobo on show tables. It is a pretty one.

Terryjean, Judith and MG:

Thanks for the needed guidance. Mike I'm going to follow your instructions. I have mulch in trash cans back there under the snow somewhere:) I might even be able to get to my potting shed if the snow keeps melting today and tomorrow. Crazy weather.

Now that I feel completely empowered with what to do with my #1 grade five dollar roses I think I will go back for Gold Medal today.

Much appreciated.

Kate

You are about two weeks ahead of us - lived in Pekin, IL for quite a while. I am thinking about contacting my online vendors and having them moving the date of shipment from 3-15 to 4-01.

It is a rather nasty winter we are having for sure. I am so ready to go out and play in the mud again, even if it is cold mud. Where is spring?

I have tried body bags in the past. They are basicly bare roots with the roots hacked to fit their packaging. Pitch all the moss and other stuff that comes with them and get them to a soaking as it has been said. It is a good idea to meet the truck as it is unloading. I got two roses out of four to make it so that is not too bad a percentage, I suppose. One was a boxed JP rose that survived into a healthy plant.

Buying healthy root systems does make life less stressful.

Good luck!

F.L.

Hey FL - glad to meet a former Pekinite. When did you live here? We live outside of town in Royal Colony Estates on Rt. 9. We've been here since 1986. Since you lived in Pekin for quite a few years, did you know Pat & Ken Crawford? They owned the Christian bookstore downtown.

We even have a Menards and a Super Wal-Mart now. Big stuff.
And yes, I'm also sick of snow. I think you Iowans have had it worse than us in terms of snow. Supposed to get to 50 here Sunday, but we'll see. They're saying another 3" of snow here tonight. Yuck.
-t

I grew up in Pekin; I graduated PCHS in 1972 just in case you are interested.

Pekin has really grown. DW was born there. Our family lived there from 1969-1979. We still have family there and visit several times a year. We lived on Briarcliff Court, with a creek in our back yard. The houses were new then. We had black loam that went down as deep as one would want to dig.

One shouldn't miss those three / four weeks a year, but it adds up. 50F degrees sounds real good about now. Enjoy!

My son sent me this to cheer me up:

"I thought you would like this one:

Dear Diary: Iowa Winters:
Aug. 12 - Moved into our new home in Iowa . It is so beautiful
here. The hills and river valleys are so picturesque. I have a
beautiful old oak tree in my front yard. Can hardly wait to see
the change in the seasons. This is truly God's Country.

Oct. 14 - Iowa is such a gorgeous place to live, one of the
real special places on Earth. The leaves are turning a multitude
different colors. I love all of the shades of reds, oranges
and yellows, they are so bright. I want to walk through all of the
beautiful hills and spot some white tail deer. They are so
graceful, certainly they must be the most peaceful creatures on
Earth. This must be paradise.

Nov. 11 - Deer season opens this week. I can't imagine why anyone
would want to shoot these elegant animals. They are the very
symbol of peace and tranquility here in Iowa . I hope it snows
soon.

Dec. 2 - It snowed last night. I woke to the usual wonderful
sight: everything covered in a beautiful blanket of white. The oak
tree is magnificent. It looks like a postcard. We went out and
swept the snow from the steps and driveway. The air is so crisp,
clean and refreshing. We had a snowball fight. I won, and the
snowplow came down the street. He must have gotten too
close to the driveway because we had to go out and shovel
the end of the driveway. What a beautiful place. Nature in harmony.

Dec. 12 - More snow last night. I love it! The plow did his cute
little trick again. What a rascal. A winter wonderland. I love
it here!

Dec. 19 - More snow - couldn't get out of the driveway to get to
work in time. I'm exhausted from all of the shoveling.

Dec. 21 - More of that white snow coming down. I've got blisters
on my hands and a kink in my back. I think that the snowplow
driver waits around the corner until I'm done shoveling the
driveway.

Dec. 25 - White Christmas? More snow. If I ever get my
hands on the snowplow driver.
And why don't they use more salt on these roads to
melt this snow?

Dec. 28 - It hasn't stopped snowing since Christmas. I have been
inside since then, except of course when "Snowplow
Harry" comes by. Can't go anywhere, cars are buried up to the windows.
Weather man says to expect another 10 inches. Do you have any idea
how many shovelfuls 10 inches is??

Jan. 1 - Happy New Year? The way it's coming down it won't melt
until the 4th of July!

Jan. 4 - Finally got out of the house. We went to the store to
get some food and a deer ran out in front of my car.
It did $3,000 in damage. Those beasts
ought to be killed. The hunters should have a longer season if
you ask me.

Jan. 27 - Sleeted today. The rain turned
into ice and the weight of it broke the main limb of the oak
tree in the front yard and it went through the roof.

May 23 - Took my car to the local garage. Would you believe the whole underside
of the car is rusted away from all of that salt they dump on the road?

May 10 - Sold the car, the house, and moved to Georgia.
I can't imagine why anyone in their right mind would
ever want to live in the State of Iowa"

Thoughtful son lives in Seattle. I still like living in Iowa. We get very little snow. Even I have a snowthrower. We are usually known as the land of frozen mud.

I think that the former was written by someone who lives in a state a little NW of here. Now; "they" have something to complain about and they "didn't" mention tornados. Thoughtful son is thinking of moving there as he and a bunch of his old college friends go hunting there each fall. He says he misses having seasons.

He is welcome to this one!

Hey Bustopher - my hubby graduated from PCHS in '73. His name is Steve Crawford. He works out at the Powerton station and is their IT person. Remember the giant stack in sky? He grew up on a farm across from where the station would be built, and when the land was sold, they moved to Glenmar. He went to Rankin Grade School.

Foghorn - you will definitely have to give us a shout the next time you roll into Pekin and come visit. Speaking of tornadoes...about 5 years ago a big one roared through and went through South Pekin (tornado alley) and up Red Shale and took out the old white house next to the Dirksen cemetery and went up through Morton. Close call for us; missed us by about 1/2 mile. It was so big it that it picked up those huge towers that the electric goes across, so the whole area was without power for about 5-6 days. I think they said it was a F-4. Bad boy. It was in May and it got real hot and hit about 9:30 that night. I hate the ones that come at night. I was outside trying to coax my little kitty inside and I could hear it. The skies were red and ugly.

Judith - My search for Moonlight Magic goes on. K-Mart in Washington & Morton didn't have any. But now that I know you want one, I'll watch Wally World and keep checking the K-Marts.
-t

Terry,I soaked the bare roots also and was not happy with the size of the roots(5-6 pencil sized roots about 5-6 inches long).It's going to be a challenge to make a bush out of that.I guess we have to be happy that we found a rose in the first place and do our best to make it thrive/live.
Alameda I went back today to check if they had any left .No luck .I even checked if they had any they have't put out and was told that they had everything they got put out.They are going to get another shipment in March and I will continue to look for MMM and if I happen to see any I will first grab them and then I will post here.
Dana

Dana - BTW, I have a own root pink Fairy rose start that I need to dig up in the spring if you're interested in a freebie. Plus some extra daylilies. Just post back here and we'll connect since you live so close. Thanks again for the heads up for Moonlight Magic. I'll keep an eye out also for additional shipments at the Pekin store and also let you know if I see any good stuff at Wally World and Big Lots.
-t

Moonlight Magic was one of my favorite roses. Even though it had RMV the blooms were magical... Unfortunately, it got hit with blackspot pretty bad and had to go bye bye. Now I have Neptune in it's place...

Ok, I've been following this thread, and you all got me so interested in this Moonlight Magic that I thought I would go to our Kmart and see if they had any. Most of the Kmarts around here have closed, but I thought I knew where one was. Thirty minutes of driving, and I pull into what i thought was Kmart, only it was a walmart. Ok, I'll go in and check their roses since I'm here anyway. You just never know. Well....I walked out of there with 23 new roses. 23!!!! They had signs up--all roses $2. They were the body bags, and they are all oldie but goodies, but they all look healthy. They are just starting to leaf out, so I think I can keep them from growing too fast in my cool garage. I have a 300 foot long fence that is going to have great color if all these make it. I read posts from people all the time who luck upon these great deals and I get so jealous. It was so much fun picking out the roses and talking to other people there who really didn't know roses. They just got the shipment in 2 weeks ago so they have not had time to torture them and it's been relatively cool so I have great hopes. At any rate, I never did find the Kmart. I looked up the address and I was 2 miles from it on the same road. Maybe after I get all these soaked I'll look there too. A few years ago, I told myself no more HT's, just Earth kind, shrubs, or Austins from now on, but I couldn't resist. The timing and the weather are all in my favor. They are from Sexton Roses in Tyler TX. I'm telling you, it just made my day.

So Cindi - which ones did you find? For $2, I figure it's worth taking a chance. I bought a few from Wal-Mart about 15 years ago and they are some of my best bloomers and they never have BS and no RMV. I found Pink Peace and Chicago Peace...two I've been wanting forever, along with Moonlight Magic. All thanks to Dana.
-t

Perfume Delight, Mr. Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth, Electron, Tropicana, Cl. America, Cl. Blaze, Cl. Pinata, JFK, Kordes Perfecta, Arizona, Cherish, New Day, Curly Pink, Don Juan.
Old ones I've tried before, mostly grafted, but i have space to spread them out, so I'm not too worried about disease. Some I bought just so I'll have cutting roses. I ended up with 8 climbers and kind of wish I had bought several blaze to cover the fences with all the same color. I tend to buy one of everything and it ends up looking like a crazy quilt. I'm tempted to go back today before the storms move in to see if they are still marked down. I'm also going to look for the KMart and the Moonlight Magic! I had this addiction under control when all I had was the city lot, but now with 10 acres to fill, I'm on a roll. Yeah...let's blame Dana...Thanks, Dana!

FL - just noticed this post, and I loved your "Ode to Iowa"! One just like it was circulating for Montreal, and several other Canadian cities. The first time I read it I was laughing (crying?)hysterically, having just returned from shoveling the front of the driveway for the third time. It is right on, especially the part about the snowplow guy waiting around the corner for you to finish clearing the snow. So far this winter, we have had about 300 cms of snow (10 feet) here. Oh, I am so ready for spring.

Judith

Our K Mart had roses in the Sunday ads so you know I had to go look. Sure enough they were right in the front of the store just inside the doors. Two racks, no Moonlight Magic though. A lot of very old roses and nothing I felt I had to have so I left empty handed. Very unusual for me.

It's weeks away from planting time around here and way too soon to purchase them. I've done that before and learned the hard way. It's too cold to put them outside and if I try to keep them in the basement I get that ugly anemic white growth all over them and they never take off once I can geet them outside.

Ah, well, it will eventually be spring, I guess, I hope!

I arrived at our Kmart today as they were unpacking the shipment and there were no moonlight anythings. Just old old roses, and 1 1/2 grade, at that. Around here, the Walmart, Kmart and Lowes all have exactly the same 20 varieties of bagged roses, all from the same suppliers in Tyler. Walmart had a higher grade and a bigger bag, and Lowes had the same ones in peat pots for twice the price. I buy them this early because if I wait, they will have dried out or leafed out in the store. My "take a chance and buy a few" price for the body bags is 2.50 or less.

I got 8 roses at Lowe's the other day all in peat pots and all except one- Sombrueil have started budding out in great shape.

The selection was 95 percent OGRs (which is fine by me) and Apricot Nectar and Hawaiaan Fragrance.

Seil,

In a month or so, check out the produce market on 12 Mile & Dequindre for body bags. Very large plants from Canada, and usually a few you would not usually see. Found a World Peace last year.

Terry,I have noticed swollen buds on the canes of MM today .I plan to pot it and cover the canes with a zip lock cover and see what happens.Thanks for offering fairy rose .I might take your offer when it is planting time.I myself may have to dig up some roses including a three year old knock out, country dancer .I have spots for eight roses and am getting sixteen roses and plan on picking a couple of roses at the local nursary.I have to somehow accomidate all the roses and a few more.Thanks for the offer again.
Dana

Dana - I have swollen buds also on MM. I was worried cuz the roots were so short. The other Peaces have some some big swollen buds also.

I have about 40 roses arriving next month plus some other perennials. I'm planting a hillside so DH doesn't have to mow there. I'm lucky; have 2.5 acres...lots of room. I am getting Country Dancer also along with some other great Bucks. Yesterday was great outside - 69 degrees!; cut down all my clematis and cleaned out some hydrangea beds. Now talking snow again tonight and tomorrow. What a tease!

Also forgot ...have lots of clematis to offer also. They can be white or purple..they spring up all over the place.
-t

Thanks for the tip, Mike, will do!

WOO HOO!
Finally, roses have arrived in Wisconsin! I went to the K-Mart in Racine and there was a small selection of body bags!
I didn't buy any, but after this winter it really does my heart good just to see them! No Moonlight magic, though. A few of them had the thickest canes I had ever seen in a body bag rose.
Spring must not be far off, even if there are 6 inches of snow and ice on the ground!

hi,
If anybody is interested in buying moonliht magic check your local walmarts.I saw them at our local super walmart.They had two.I got one incase the one I already bought is mislabelled and other one was't as good so I left it behind.
Dana

Dana - was it a body bag? I just went to WW in Pekin and they had a bunch of BB in also and a few peat pots. I didn't go thru all the body bags, but I did grab two Intrigues.
-terry

Terry,they were in grade#1 body bags for $4.99.I would have bought the other one also if it was as good as the one's we got in k-mart .If anybody from GW wants it I will go back and look for it.If you decide to come here to pick it up it is way back in the rack in the back row .
Dana

Dana, which WW? I'm going to Peoria to pick up the grandson later this afternoon, so may stop by. Thanks for the heads up. BTW, Big Lots in Pekin had Reine des Violettes. Interested in one if they have more?
-t

Terry ,It's the super walmart on the university.If you plan to look for moon light magic thre is one in the back row.I haven't checked in the walmart on the university yet.There are lot of john sheldon roses in the peat pots.I picked luscious yesterday.About the ogr's.I see them in our home depot too.For now Iam not planning on adding any more old garden roses I want to see how the rose de retchet I planted last year does .Most importantly I don't have bed ready for the one's I have alredy bought.Thanks for the offer though.I hope you will find what ever you are looking for.
Dana

Dana - just went to Pekin WW and found two fat Moonlight Magics. Also picked up Luscious. I'm putting in a huge hillside, and DH figured I have room for about 120 roses. I've been making a pig of myself. Thanks for the heads up.
-terry