The roses that I saw in the Big Lots out here in the last two weeks were already dead. The green shoots do not mean anything good -- only that the plant has exhaled its dying breath trying to sustain itself on whatever sugars it managed to store in those dying canes.

DO NOT beat yourself up. Those roses were dead when you got them. Buying roses at Big Lots is never to be recommended. But the ones that I saw there two weeks ago set a new low even for them. They were completely dead. Consider it $4 spent on an education, not a bargain.

If you want roses now, it is too hot for bareroots in Austin anyway. Bareroot season in Austin is Jan/Feb. Try some that come from a reputable nursery and which are already growing in pots.

They were very dehydrated, and needed to be put into a bucket to soak for at least 24 hours before planting.

Now, are the main canes still green? If so, then you may have a chance. That new growth probably fried off in the heat. New growth may appear.

If they are brown, they are definitely dead.

The ones I saw were brown at the bottom, green at the top, while still in the store. That means dead.

You have nothing to lose by letting them stay awhile to see if they'll re-sprout. Keep them moist but not soggy and maybe give them some dappled shade in the hottest part of the day. You could also try mounding up the canes with soil to help keep them moist. For future reference, if you see these roses in the big box stores or places like Big Lots buy them as soon as they come in. They give them no water or care at these stores so they dry out quickly. If you can get them home fast and keep them watered until you plant them they stand a much better chance of surviving. If they've been sitting around in the store for weeks though don't waste you money. They're past recovering. The other problem with the baggy roses is that they have a very high rate of mislabeling. So chances are the roses you bought aren't what the picture on the front says they are. If you're willing to gamble and like surprises, go for it, they're cheap!

You have [at least] two wonderful rose nurseries in Texas, Antique Rose Emporium and Chamblees. Both have online ordering, even if you can't get to them anytime soon. Both are very helpful. Look at their offerings, select some you like, then call and talk to them about your conditiuons and telkl them you are beginner.

And don't feel bad. Many of us have bot cheap bag roses somewhere along the line.

It is possible to get decent body bag roses IF (big IF!) you know what to look for--it takes practice.

Sometimes growers just have too many of one variety and sell them off cheap, even if they are good quality. Those are the ones to jump on. The canes should look green, plump, and not dried out. They should look good and look fresh. If they don't look fresh and good, keep shopping.

Already-sprouting-but-still-in-the-bag is a bad sign: it means they've been out of cold storage a while and have had time to dry out and begin to die.

Think about buying fresh vegetables. Do you pick the wilted lettuce or the limp broccoli? No. You want the fresh stuff. It's the same with roses!

I always said I would never buy a body bag, then a new nursery opened last spring with body bags of varieties I had not seen before. They were green, plump, and looked fantastic! I bought three, and of those three all grew and bloomed great! O'Reilla was mismarked, but Picante and Today were marked correctly and look as if they made it through their first Michigan winter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Today From my Garden

I bought a Home Depot body bag for $6 of Comte de Chambord. Here she is now. She smells wonderful.

{{gwi:252910}}

I bought two $2.50 body bags from Big Lots. Yeah they were mislabled, but here is the first "faux rein des violettes" It has a slight fragrance and looks like a hybrid tea to me.

{{gwi:252911}}

{{gwi:252913}}

The other potential reine des violettes doesn't have buds yet, but it looks very green and healthy. Money well spent for me. Just use good judgment and don't buy anything that looks dead or diseased.

Kathy, my questions were for the OP. I know that you know dead... ;-))

Update: They are now officially dead, even for my untrained eye! Lesson learned and now I know to start the bareroots a bit earlier next year for my area. Thank you for all the comments. Hopefully, I will be back to report success on some potted ones this year!

Take them back. Otherwise, Big Lots will count this as a "success."

I agree with Kathy. Return them so they know that the roses were not good.

Mike, that Today is gorgeous! Sorry about O'Rilla. That one is so hard to find! I loved mine but it never was very vigorous and didn't winter for me.

Amber, there are tons of pink HTs so it's hard to say but your mislabel looks like it could be Queen Elizabeth. I got both my Rose de Rescht and Reine des Violettes as body bags from Home Depot about 5 years ago. They are growing like monsters and were both correctly labeled. If you're going to get baggy roses Home Depot and Lowes at least try to water them once in a while.

The other potential Reine des Violettes hasn't bloomed yet so maybe it is correctly labeled. The mature stems do not have thorns, but the underside of the leaves have tiny little thorns. Also on the stems there are some isolated "hairy" areas. To figure out what the hybrid tea could be I might you back and look at the dried out body bags and see if they sell any that look like mine.

I agree with you about the watering issue. What like of nitwit expects an actively growing rose to live for weeks and weeks without any water? The bags aren't magical. I did get mine right after they arrived at the store but they continued to sell them for several weeks. Maybe they could just soak them in a bucket every so often.

New gardeners: do yourself a favor. Invest in a healthy rose from a reputable nursery (they appreciate your business) then ask the wonderful people here for advice on growing them. You'll be so happy you did!

I brought them at biglot during the winter month. Plant them outside and now they are big and healthy. There are nothing wrong with them. Just don't buy them late in the season.

I bought about 10 body bags from both Lowes and Home Depot in February almost right off the truck. Every one is flourishing.

I also saw the remnants of these body bags still lingering around and being sold in same stores in April. They were clearly dead on a sale rack for a few dollars when they should have been canned.

I think the key is to really understand what you are looking at. I finally did see a "Big Lots" store out here, and indeed they did have some nice dead body bags. I think seeing rose bags on an end cap next to the laundry detergent aisle is a good clue to run the other way.

The more experienced you are (or the better timing for fresh off the truck), the better odds you'll have. If you buy dead, you'll have dead.