I am dying to get a Gloire de Dijon but I'm in Zone 5A and only have an apartment balcony...but gosh that rose looks great...

OOOH this is gonna be a LONG thread! Haha. Who hasn't passed up roses these days?
I was at my friend's place the other night, were I do my Mother Theresa-ing. I forced myself to walk past the potted orphans. There was a sad, sorry American Beauty amongst them. I just don't know enough about this rose to know if it would fit in among the potted pets. Don't have alot of space left.

the origional is only found in garden/rose museums and the other is apparently a bit of a dog, as well as being too big anyway.

I've been trying hard to exercise some restraint lately, and I'm pretty proud of myself. Last year, Knockouts went to 2.00 here, and I bought several. They look great this year, and when Lowes marked them down to 8.50 this year, I wasn't even interested. I got spoiled last year! I saw Sexy Rexy on the Park Seed Buy 1-get-2-free sale, and a few others that I thought I had to have...and passed because I already ordered a bunch from the Wayside deal. Then today I was in Oklahoma and saw a Rose de Rescht and was able to walk away from it because it looked a bit dried out and I'm trying to force myself to buy only really healthy plants this late in the season. The HD there had a HUGE Belinda's Dream and I told myself it wouldn't fit into my little hybrid. I had Apricot Nectar in my shopping cart Friday and managed to put it back..a habit my daughter calls "catch and release". Wild Thing calls my name whenever I'm in Lowes, but I just stick my fingers in my ears and run. I made up a wish list to help me avoid impulse buys, but the list keeps growing. There's so many pretty roses out there. Kind of like desserts...

"Catch and release" - I love it!!

I think the huge Belinda's Dream would have been the end of my restraint. I moved mine last year and it isn't doing well, poor thing.

A couple days back at our local nursery I was walking through the rose section. I thought I would be fine since they all are looking a little bit ragged but one was in just perfect condition. Tall, full bush with incredible foliage and a pinkish-white bloom that smelled divine. I started looking for the tag which I could not locate. I decided that was a sign and left it there.

When I got home I went and checked on the three potted roses languishing on the back porch that I bought recently but have no space for I was glad I exercised a little self control but it was very difficult! I've been thinking about that rose I didn't buy ever since.

Kate

I didn't buy Rock & Roll. I'm out of room in the ground. I was so tempted though as I really wanted this rose and almost ordered it but it was only available from a few places. It looked lovely and smelled really good. I'll have to get it next year. That same nursery had Lime Sublime and I liked the color and scent on that one so it went on my short list for next year too.

Of course, if they have both of these roses when they have their fall sale, then I might have less restraint.

I really want to try any hybrid tea on fortuniana rootstock just to see how the rootstock fares in my area. I have had several opportunities, but haven't pulled the trigger so to speak.
John

Heritage - still thinking about her. :)

Sunsprite and Pope John Paul - It was really hard to pass both of them up, but I wasn't sure where I'd put them

Oh, I forgot about the Pope. It was at the same nursery as Veteran's Honor and I decided I like the scent on VH better than PJP. Both are on my short list for next year, but VH moved up a few spots due to the fragrance. PJP smells good too, but it isn't the fruity fragrance that is my favorite of the rose fragrances.

I'm still surprised that I did it, but yesterday I passed up Julia Child. She has been the object of my hunt (through the local stores and nurseries) all spring, and when I came upon her yesterday at Lowe'sÂlarge and healthy with lots of buds, in a big potÂshe went right into my cart. Yay!!

But then I just stood there, unwilling for some reason to go make the purchase. The price ($19) was on the high side for me, but I couldn't expect to pay any less for a rose of that size and quality. I gave some thought to my reticence and realized that a) I don't have a clear place to put it and b) I've done a lot of planting this year and still have quite a bit more to go even without Julia Child. But the bottom line is that I think I should save something for next year. So back she went on the table.

I can't say I'm sorry I did that, but I can't say I'm thrilled either.

I went to Home Depot to buy some perennials and out in front of the store there was a rose section. Nothing of interest for me except for several pots of The Fairy, each looking incredibly healthy with hundreds of buds on them. I'm an old rose fan and this was the only old rose in the group but I decided against buying it. I have no more room and at this point I've decided to buy a new rose only if one of my present ones doesn't live up to expectations, and I will only buy a new rose that I absolutely love and adore. My days of impulse purchasing are gone and I'm glad. It was lots of fun while it lasted but I've now entered a different stage in my garden experience, which is to enjoy watching the ones I have grow up and keep getting better, and to assess their overall performance. I think I'm growing up. It's a bit like a honeymoon compared to the deeper, more mature satisfaction of a long-term relationship. It all has its place and time, and it's all good.

Ingrid

Sounds like you're learning the concept of "enough", Ingrid. It's a great antidote to greed. I am back in greed, but had a few years of "enough". Huh? You can ungrow up? Maybe just some of us.

I passed up an Endless Summer hydrangea marked down. Hydrangeas like water and we're in another drought, or continuation of old drought.

I passed up a neat firecracker plant this morning because it was too expensive. I don't think I could have passed up Rock and Roll. Impressive, Athena.
Linda

Way too many to mention here. The list would go on and on. I try not to go past any roses for sale unless I specifically have a spot to fill. Otherwise my place would be over-run. My will power when it comes to not buying roses is almost non-existent.

I posted almost two months ago about how Wild Thing kept calling my name, and today I gave in. Lowes had them marked down to $4, and that's a great price for the 3 gallon blooming size, since they are really healthy. They...I bought 2, plus a Carefree Delight. i found this thread again while searching for any info on Wild Thing. The search machine is not working so well here...
Oh, I stopped passing up 2007 and 2008 Floribundas when the price dropped to $9 at a local nursery. My new ones are even holding up in this 100 degree heat. I know, I took a chance buying this late in the season, but so far, so good. Anyone else give in lately?
cindi

I have filled the cart at Vintage, Heirloom and RVR numerous times this season but have not followed through. Because of shipping costs, my sore back, the hot weather and right now I don't know where they would fit. I tell myself that the ones that I want are mostly similar to what I already have. And I just don't really "need" them.
I will have to be really careful if I happen to go to a nursery this month when (and if) Austin roses are being marked down. That's my weak spot.

If I must confess on Saturday I bought Black Baccara and Flower Carpet AppleBlossom. The former because I had been thinking about it all year long and I was at the nursery which carries it and they had a pretty nice one. I bought the AppleBlossom because it was just so cute and pretty with its cheerful little blossoms. I don't know where it will go. I think I have a spot for BB.

I had to face the 'and you plan to put those where?' question from my husband when I got home but it was still worth it:)

Kate

Ya wanna know how stretched to the limits I am? I passed up the opportunity for free you-dig Buck roses!

Yes, I passed on this opportunity. I have too many in pots as it is, and have to pick some more up from Karl, still.

(But maybe a four-dollar 3 gallon potted one I might not be able to resist....)

Yeah...this tells you how obsessed I am: I would consider driving clear to Illinois for free you-dig Buck roses!
Buck roses are definitely superior to any others in our extreme climate. You don't need any nametags to pick mine out. I'm trying to get local nurseries to carry more. Our Rose Society held a sale this spring with just Buck and Earthkind roses from Chamblees, and we sold out of 400 roses in 4 hours.
I can't keep roses in pots--the heat just boils the roots. All of mine are planted, and it's real tough to resist those sales, even though I keep telling myself to wait and buy fresh plants at a better planting time. I don't know which is the bigger draw--the cheap prices or the need to "save" neglected roses.
I have managed to say 'enough' on my daylily, hosta and heuchera collections. Still adding iris and daffodils, but there's no impluse buying on those.
I'm still kicking myself for not buying more on the great HD sale here back in May. Those roses look awesome now. who knew that was going to be such a great buy, or that this part of Kansas would get 2 inches of rain every week all summer?
cindi

I passed on two 'Benjamin Britten' at Target - $8 ea. Did the "catch and release" thing. I did not pass up two more 'Julia Child' - they remained firmly caught in my cart. The three I already have seem to never be out of bloom.

Now I'm wondering if I should go back for the 'BBs'. Anyone want to enable me? : )

Diana

I passed up a KO at Walmart, marked down to "$14"!!!!! That is still too high. Then I went to Home Depot, I was picking up a sprinkler head and found a cast iron plant stand 1/2 off for $6....then I saw the pot of 5 own root roses(I can divide them), hybrid teas, minature, grown in Canada....that I bought, $9. :0)

After all my fine words up above I've acquired Angel Face and Betty Prior, the latter just yesterday for $5.99. BUT, there were reasons. Route 66 is doing ever more poorly so I placed Angel Face near it to have another mauve/purple rose in case it didn't make it or just became too ugly. Mrs. Doreen Pike is doing badly in its spot and will be moved to a place were two drought resistant plants have almost given up. Replacements I can justify but I won't buy unless I have a spot in mind. Rosetty Delizy has unfortunately given up it's life (my fault, I left the water running all night) and I'm now looking for a Souvenir d'un Ami to replace it. Of course none is available on the west coast but hopefully someone will have it in the fall.

Ingrid

I keep drooling over and then passing up a few scrumptious roses that I desperately want from Rogue Valley.

Camayeux
Mel Hulse (Barden)
Conrad Ferdinand Meyer

Must. Empty. Pot. Ghetto. First.

When the pot ghetto is empty, I will no longer expect myself to behave. On that note, I have a bunch of things to give to a local rose society member - that's one way to help the ghetto thin down. :-))))

Here's the really sick thing - I've been forcing myself not to go near the nurseries, HD, Lowes for fear I'll see something marked down to a "must take" value and now all of you are enabling me by telling me of your incredible finds. It makes me want to RUN to the nurseries, etc to see if I too can find roses I've been coveting at yard sales prices. It truly is rose addiction.

rosalita, you are not alone! :o) I am forcing myself away, too.

cindi in ks, yep, that's pretty dedicated, lol! What yuo'd spend in gas would buy several good roses, ha ha! I do hear good things about the Bucks. I just have one, and it's new to me this year.

Ingrid, I doubt you will be sorry with Angel face. She is right at the top of my personal favorites list! JB's like my purples and mauves best. But Angel Face is near perfect for me. The scent, heavenly. The color? I could eat it! And those ruffled petals? Be still my heart!

I passed up a perfectly healthy, own root, 3 gallon J&P Christopher Marlowe that was marked down to $12, why? I already have one in the yard and I don't have enough room for duplicates (except Abe Darby!). It was hard to not buy it on principle, but I think I'm moving out of the crazy acquisition phase as Ingrid mentioned. BUT, that doesn't mean if I found a Marchesa Bochella or a perty Bourbon for a killer deal, that I wouldn't buy it :)

Eric

Mexican hat, I must tell you that there is really no need to pot up cfm, it is a very vigorous rose. So now you have no more excuse!LOL !

Angelcub, get out the door this minute, hurry, go to Target and get those Benjamin Brittens before someone else snatches them up. Benjamin has been blooming in my garden nonstop since May. Awesome color, clean foliage, perfect plant. I actually think it's my best Austin. Just don't plant it next to Pat Austin, like I did. Those 2 colors just don't blend, oh my, call the fashion police on that one.
My Julia Childs have bloomed all summer also, but they did get a little black spot. Most of our rain has come at night, so that's understandable. I have not sprayed them, either.
ok, was that enough enabling? Glad to help.
cindi

Len, I don't think I'd have to pot up any of the roses in that crowd! :-) Gallicas and mosses shrug off shipping stress completely. Uh-oh...

I gave in. Two weeks ago I drove past one of the nurseries that has lots of JP roses and they had a sign for a rose sale for 50% off. My husband wouldn't turn around, but a few days later I went back. They had one last Veteran's Honor that looked a little small but was in good health. I took it home with me and got it planted last weekend. I figured getting it now would help me avoid ordering from JP and I did have a spot open.

LOL! Thanks Cindi! Yes, that's the sort of enabling I was looking for. : ) I did really love the bloom color on them. I think they had 4 so maybe I'll luck out when I go back in say . . . a few minutes! ; ) I need to go out and pick up a few things anyway so why not continue on down the road to Target. lol!

Btw, they had a Pat Austin, too. I hesitate because I've read she really hangs her orangey blooms. How does yours do?

Mexicanhat, I've got one of those pot ghettos, too. I give up on emptying it until Dec. Just too many good deals out here. And then I have a friend who works for one of the large plant distributors - she is always dropping something off at my house. I so need a greenhouse!

Diana

Well, I passed on another one. Wal-Mart had five dollar Mr Lincoln's but they looked so horrible it wasn't hard at all to turn a blind eye.

Kinda wish I could have put them out of their misery.

Diana, I need a greenhouse, too. Or maybe a second home in England. :-) The problem is right now the pot ghetto doensn't look so bad... But I have a bunch of things rooting in the mist frame, and I'd like to start some roses from seed. That will MORE than fill my poor little cold frame!

Greenhaven--seems fitting that Mr. Lincolns should be $5, but it's too bad they don't show him the respect of proper care. ;-) I avoid the whole garden section of walmart in the summer because it either makes me depressed or mad.
Angelcub, my Pat Austin is tall and bushy enough that the bunches of blossoms look like small bouquets, and don't really droop. I will try to get some pics on photobucket and post a link later.
Yesterday I went to buy a Peter Mayle and and SKy's the Limit, but came home with Elizabeth Taylor and Polka instead. Also a Centennial Star jumped on the wagon with no advance warning! I passed on 3 I've really wanted--the Peter Mayle, Shocking Blue, Sweet Promise. They were 9.95 in 3 gallon pots but they really had not grown much beyond the 15 inch canes they started with in the spring. Look like they had lost their leaves and were starting over, also. We have a long warm fall here, but then a sudden freeze usually, so anything I plant now has to be pretty healthy, I think. Should I go back for those? Is that a good price for the chance I'm taking? They have been sprayed and fed and watered. Also saw a Lasting Love with a beautiful bloom. Full price here in great shape early in the season is between $17 and $21. To me a good buy is $5 or less, on a healthy plant. Oh i also walked by some vigorous Topsy Turvy bushes because they looked awful after rain. They hold on to petals and they just don't weather well. On a nice day, I might have bought one.
cindi

I have basically no self control. Some of you are extremely admirable! I had to take my daughter down island last weekend, and I told her that I thought we would take a minor detour on the way home so I could stop at my favourite nursery. We were passing another nursery on the way to that nursery, and they had a big sign that said 30% off roses!! Well, my car just slammed on the brakes and turned right into that nursery parking lot all on its own, I tell ya! I picked up a Pat Austin there, which is in full mega-bloom in my backyard right now, but it is indeed hanging many of its pretty coppery orange blossoms. I also bought Ballerina, for which I've been looking, in honour of my daughter who is a dancer. Its foliage looks pretty much dreadful, but it is blooming its heart out, and I will nurse it back to better health.

We continued on to the original destination nursery, where I picked up Graham Thomas, but since my daughter flat out refused to ride home in the trunk of the car, I had to pass on Guy de Maupassant. Don't think for one second that I haven't thought about driving back down island to get it!

Self control isn't happening here. I went to check out a new OSH about 20 minutes from me and they had a small but healthy 'Angel Face' for $5.99. It's now sitting on my porch with the two 'Julia Child' I got at Target. That Angel's mauvey-purple looks pretty good with the buttery yellow of Julia. ; )

Cindi, would love to see your 'Pat Austin'. You won't believe this - I went back to that Target and got distracted with the buddleias they just got in. I am doing a hedge of them on both sides of my fence out back and they had some gorgeous ones for $20 ea. Totally forgot about the roses. Duh! Guess I'll have to go back. I know they still have some because I walked right by them. Plus I know the manager of the nursery well so she would put a BB away for me if I called and asked.

Mexicanhat, of course your pot ghetto doesn't look bad. It's filled with gorgeous roses! lol!

Diana

Well, see, now my issue is that our rose garden is new, and my DH is actually in the process of expanding it...and there's gonna be all this ROOM! However, his tolerance for expansions is going to be limited, as our soil literally has to be pick axed 18 inches down and then amended before the roses will deign to live there. So, I'm trying to be circumspect about buying...

I fell in love with a Mardi Gras about a month ago, but decided it had to stay at the nursery until I could get home and check out its zone. Our growing season is short, and I've decided that we're not putting in roses that are marginal, and then spending the month of May watching them get killed back repeatedly.

My husband is going along with this in theory, but its hard to take him shopping with me, because he's rose happy himself, and if he catches me drooling on one his response is always, "Do you want that? You should get it! Here, let me put it in the cart for you..." THIS DOES NOT HELP MY COMPULSIONS!

Also, I had the NURSERY enabling me the other day; I put Circus in my cart (which I've wanted since I was a little girl, as my mom grew it) but then thought I should maybe wait until the spring so it'd have a season to get going. I guess I went too far with checkout, because though I didn't buy it, the company emailed me and said that they saw I'd started my order and not finished it, and wanted to make sure I hadn't forgotten to finish the transaction... SIGH.

Lara

Admiral Rodney on ebay. I was torn, but having just taken advantage of the sales at Heirloom and Vintage online, couldn't justify it. Bidding got a bit fierce on it though, :)