OK, you do know that KY and CA are very different states and that your growing conditions are different.
The first thing you MUST do is get a soil test. Do it today for the area where you plan to put the new herd of roses.
You need to know what pH you're going to put all those Dr. Huey roots into. And you need to know it fast.
If your soil is acidic, then you'll need advice to amend it to a pH more ideal for those roses.

anntn6b, yup, I know, KY is an entirely different rose-growing world than CA. I grew up in KY, tho, and my mom grows roses here and I grew up with that, so I've been seeking her advice.

that's a great tip about the soil test. where would I go to get one of those done quickly? The roses will be here in a week.

thanks!

Contact your county extension agent. Most states have mail in testing centers.
(The extension agent may also be able to tell you your soil type and the pH associated with it.)
There are so many variables to soils and to the bedrock they developed on, the rivers that may have deposited reworked materials, the periglacial soils that you might be dealing with near the Ohio River....
(And you may be in a location where corn gluten meal is cheap and useful as a preemergent bioherbicide.)

In the past, each the 5 roses you're still looking for has been available from S&W Greenhouse in Tennessee. This year they definitely had Brandy, Midas Touch and Fragrant Plum as both bareroot and potted plants.

They're probably already sold out of everything this season, but keep them in mind for next year. I've not ordered potted roses from them, but their bareroots are top quality. I've never been disappointed in their product or their service. Check out their website.

That is a lot of holes to dig all at once. Pace yourself to protect your back.

Yeah, my back hurts just looking at that list!

Some of those are great, and I've always had great roses from J&P.

Thanks, everyone!

Oh, don't worry - my back will be fine. I'm not digging a thing. We live on five acres and my husband has a tractor with a drill thingee in two different sizes - 6" and 12" - so he will go along and do all of those holes mechanically. He's outside now, running a water line for sprinklers up the side of our 200-foot driveway where we'll plant the roses. Then he's going to get a load of soil and compost to top off the dirt already there.

I'll check with our county extension agent on soil testing. I see that 6.0 to 6.6 is the best ph for roses. Our acreage was just a meadow with about 30 cows spread out over 90 acres from about 1970 until 2004, and it was used as general farming and pastureland from the turn of the century until then. I know they did grow tobacco on the land at some point, but it was pre-1970.

Thanks again for all the advice!

5 Acres that was once a cow pasture! OMG. Just imagine all the free manure that has nutured the soil there all these years!! All that good soil plus
a tractor that will do the digging for you! I'm jealous!

Your have it made!!! Your list looks delicious.

Happy planting.
Hope

Such a nightmare, for weeks and weeks these roses never arrived despite numerous calls to J&P and tons of complaints. They even had the nerve to charge my credit card on May 11, the day I ordered, instead of when they were shipped.

Finally, they arrived two days ago, nearly seven weeks after placing the order. And some are covered in black mold and white fungus. So now I'm forced to plant roses in 90-degree temps. Isn't that awful? I will NEVER order from J&P again.

Sounds like you did what another forum member did, I think it was Michelle? At home alone one night with the computer and an 'adult beverage'. She made a dent in her credit card.

KyGirl -- If the condition of these roses is as bad as it sounds, I would not accept them.
Planting bare root in 90-deg temperatures, they don't have much of a chance.
What a ripoff!

Your Credit Card company should be willing to help you with reversing this charge.
If J&P wants the bodies back, tell them, they can pay the freight.

There are enough bad reports, now, that I hope people will stop ordering from them.
The name may say J&P, but it's not the J&P we knew. How the mighty hath fallen.

I wonder how Keith Zary feels about the company he's stuck working for.

Jeri

What a disappointment for you! I'm sorry to hear that.

KyGirl -- If the condition of these roses is as bad as it sounds, I would not accept them.
Planting bare root in 90-deg temperatures, they don't have much of a chance.
What a ripoff!
Your Credit Card company should be willing to help you with reversing this charge.
If J&P wants the bodies back, tell them, they can pay the freight.

There are enough bad reports, now, that I hope people will stop ordering from them.
The name may say J&P, but it's not the J&P we knew. How the mighty hath fallen.

I wonder how Keith Zary feels about the company he's stuck working for.

I agree!!!

DO take pictures, lots of pictures.
And call and complain and keep a written record of who you talked to, what time you called and what they said.
Also send written notice to your credit card company, if the charge has already been turn into them (and from what you wrote, I think it has). Be sure to get all the numbers right...as to transaction number, etc.

Something is terribly wrong with their sending out an order with sick plants. Where was it mailed from and did it require a phytosanitary certificate for shipment? (If you could read my mind, you'd know that I've some further ideas dependent on the answers.)

It would be well to remember that J&P ain't what it used to be, so all I can say, and still be civil and kind, is "Good Luck" to you.

It would be well to remember that J&P ain't what it used to be

*** No -- nothing lasts forever. And J&P had a pretty long run.
But it's a shame to see people taken in by the reputation J&P built, now mis-used by its purchaser.

I hope the word is being spread.

Jeri

OH MY GOODNESS, WHAT A NIGHTMARE...........

ann, where are you thinking they came from that they would have a phytosanitary certificate??

Does the present-day J&P grow roses abroad and then import them when shipping them to customers?

Roses coming into Tennessee from CA require a phytosanitary certificate. I'm not sure what KY requires.
I don't think J&P imports and resells. But some states have restrictions and since KY is next to TN and has a similar climate and soils....

I've read the TN regulations, and it's against state law to sell mis-identified or dead roses. I think dead scions may be covered under both.

Oh, I see what you mean now.

However, whether KY does or not I have no idea.

I think this justifies a call to your credit card company with a disputed charge.

Most states have strict agricultural laws. You might want to look into that also.

Sandy

I recently received 7 bare root roses from J&P. They were all in good shape. I soaked them for a week and planted them in 5-gallon plastic pots in good potting soil from Rogers Gardens, a local nursery. They are all starting to leaf out, except for Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is being a little slow. The Touch of Class has a little die back from the tips of the stems, but otherwise is leafing out. I would consider soaking your roses in buckets of water for a week and adding some Vitamin B1, then pot up and let them grow some before putting in the ground in 90-degree heat. Some of the roots from the J&P roses might need to be trimmed a bit to fit in the 5-gallon pot. Might be worth a try to save the roses.

Wilson's in Frankfort may still have some good varieties left, hopefully reduced to sell. Talk to Brianna at Wilson's amd explain your situation and maybe this can be a win-win for both parties! Good luck!

Last week I received 2 roses (DAs "Crocus Rose" and "White Pearl in a Red Dragon's Mouth") from Ashdown Roses. I got an email that they were on sale. They were in excellent shape, and the Dragon's mouth rose has 3 new buds on it. I also received (DAs "Christopher Marlowe") from Jung Seeds a week or so ago, also. It, too was in excellent condition. I would definitely order from either place again.

Ashdown's sent me an email that they were delaying shipment until the weather cooled a little....and then the rose arrived as was promised.

I am sorry you had a bad experience with J&P....however, you are not the first person I've heard that's unhappy with them.

Hope you can get a response from them, or either your money back.

Michelle

ps...I'm not the Michelle with the adult beverage and the credit card mentioned above ..lol (*.*)