Never!

Some posters buy the big store cheapies and claim they have no problems. Guess it might depend on how healthy they were at the time of purchase--though if they are on sale, there may be a reason, such as they are declining ... or in some cases, nearly lost causes. I bought the HT Elle from a WAlmart parking lot--hot, hot, hot in midsummer--all the other roses were drooping, blackspotting, declining--it was really pathetic. Then I saw Elle sitting in their midst--Elle was vigorous, upright, healthy green, no disease. I figured if it could not only survive those conditions, but actually thrive, it must be one tough rose. And it has proven to be.

Don't remember if Elle was a sale rose or a regularly priced one. Just remember to find healthy looking ones if you go the sale route. I should think you could call the places you list once a week and ask if they have any $8.00 sale roses.

Good luck,
Kate

The Lowe's here already discounted all their roses last weekend and most were gone. A lot of the roses you will find now are in bad shape and are not worth the $. Sometimes you will find something but you need to look very carefully. I saw a Chicago peace tree rose with branches growing out of the bottom covered with blackspot.

You get what you pay for.

Err, well.... I know that Lowe's only keeps nursery stock for 30 days and then they discount it half price to clear it out. You won't find anything special at Lowes--only very popular varieties like "Knock Out" and such--but it is possible to get something acceptable there if you know how to care for it and choose with caution. I got a $6 mini and a $6 Double Knock-Out there in the past month. The KO was really fine--there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. The mini was a little yellowed and had some broken stems, but with light pruning and correct watering, I now have a really cute, healthy little plant.

For the most part I shop through rose vendors online like Chanblees (great prices, great plants,) but sometimes I can't resist a deal. If you know what is acceptable "damage" and what is not and how to cure the problem, I see no problem with gardening on the cheap. I do it with perennials, herbs, and roses and have had far more success than failure.

Louis--another thing you can do is ask rose growing friends and neighbors for cuttings and learn how to root them. It takes patience, but it's about as cheap as you're going to get a rose. :)

Overall, my top choice is Chamblee's Rose Nursery. Seriously. They will start shipping again in September and in So Cal I am sure you can fall plant.

If you really want to save money, learn to tell the difference between a healthy rose with fat, undamaged, green canes, ready to grow--and one that has been dried out and revived a few times and is full of scratches and dings and has spots of canker disease. It takes an educated eye to spot a bargain.

I got a rose at Lowe's last year for $1.61 that is blooming and beautiful today. The leaves had all fallen off at Lowes but the canes were undamaged, bright green, and undiseased. A few days in the shade and a lot of water and it was growing again.

The best way to get healthy roses in Southern California without paying a lot of money is to get bare-root ones at a good nursery in late December to mid January.

For "big-box" roses, the week or two weeks after Christmas, right when they get them in, before they have a chance to dry out. No one is shopping for plants the week after Christmas and the selection is excellent. But only get the body-bagged J&Ps marked "own-root". I've gotten a beautiful, healthy 'Pope John Paul II', 'Honey Perfume', and 'Tuscan Sun' that way. However they were only 2-4 dollars cheaper than getting bareroots at a good local nursery. I got the big box body-bagged because the local nursery didn't have the ones I wanted.

I also recommend learning to root your own, if you have the patience, or Chamblee's, as scorpiohorizon said--for the money they give good value. Rooting your own is not easy, but it can educate you in-depth as to how roses grow and develop.

Louis, check Target. I have had really good luck with their Sean Conway roses. In fact, I just picked up two more Julia Child yesterday - $8 a piece. I have three already but this is such a great rose I had to "rescue" these two. : ) I've also bought Austins from them with no problems.

Also, I'm not sure where you're located in So.Cal. but if you are near Ontario check out Sunshine Growers on Miliken. Great nursery with nice roses in 5 gal. pots for around $12-14. I have been buying from them for years and no problems. And there is another great nursery with a wonderful rose selection in Yucaipa - Newell's. They will probably be short on roses about now but if you can get back there in the spring you won't be disappointed. My gardens are filled with disease-free roses from them. Love that nursery! I'll link you to their newsletter.

HTH!
Diana

Here is a link that might be useful: Newell Nursery

Reread what Hoovb above has written and keep rereading it until you understand what all the words mean. (The search function on this forum will answer thousands of your questions.)
If you're going to do this on the seriously cheap, you do first need to be sure that you don't buy a bargain, only to have it bring expensive-to-cure diseases into your home.
Then you need to become a total do it yourself-er. Find a good Double Delight and root it. Etc.

I have purchased three roses from Rite Aid this year along with buying a few from many reputable nurseries. They were all about $9.00 from the former. Although I've enjoyed the ones that were bargains if they died I would not be that sad. If my roses from Palatine died I would be extremely upset. I kind of consider the cheapies to be glorified annuals.

Kate

Reread what Hoovb above has written and keep rereading it until you understand what all the words mean.

*** I couldn't say it any better.

Look, you're going to have to dig a hole, amend the soil, protect the plant from
the summer heat (which is building, now, in Southern California).
And you're going to pay for increasingly-expensive water.
You're going to go to all that trouble, whether the rose costs $5., or $50.

So why would you waste a $50. hole on a $5. rose?

Jeri

A $50 hole for a $5 rose? What are you planting them in? I don't spend any where near that and I've never lost a rose in 30 years. I've gotten tired of plenty of them but I've never killed one. lol! I plant them in a mix of chicken manure compost, bone meal and my native soil - sandy, decomposed granite. I feed them alfalfa meal a couple of times a year. They get watered twice a week. Sometimes I give them fish emulsion in the summer if I remember. I don't think I spend even $5 on the "hole" when all is said and done.

With the exception of the Target roses I've bought in the last few months for $8, most of my roses have cost me between $10 and $20. They were all potted. I don't do bare root - just doesn't interest me. I've never bought any from mail order either since I always find what I want local. And I agree with those who've said get to know what a healthy rose looks like before you buy.

But $50 on the "hole"? Please enlighten me. : )

Diana

I just picked up 2 deals @ Walmart, but the lady managing their garden center is a rose nut. :0) They were well cared for, sitting on racks, not on hot pavement. I got them for $3.50 ea because they were the last 2 she had. I picked up more gorgeous rose bushes fresh off the truck for $7ea about 8 weeks ago. I like the 1 year warranty,but don't expect to use it. I agree, know what your buying......then buy cheap! I have 40 rose bushes & my double delight was not over $8. (Good pick!)

2 Adv. that cause me want to buy "Mega store" plant

1.) Potted roses with bloom let me sniff their scent. I love roses for their scent

2.) I have no experience with mail-order. My neighbors are crazy they would walk into my front yard and play(at least 5 ppl at the same time). So I would believe they will open my packages if postman leave them in front of my door.

3.) I could take bus and choose the one I want.

4.) I'm a students. My mom quite upset with grow plants that not edible. She will be more upset if they are expansive. By the way any edible rose(for hips) recommended?

Yes, that what I want to do. I think roses are good when they just arrived, but start to spread diease to others healthy roses after I period of time. For this reason I post this post to figure out when I can get fresh roses.

Yes I seen there are blackspot infected roses in Target at another city.

Yes I know good quality worth a higher price but what happen is my family don't own the house. So when I move I might not bring them with me. So I want to seek for low-cost healthy that I will not vry over if I can't bring them with me.

True, Lowe's have discounted plant. Too bad there are no Lowe's nearby where I live that I could take bus to go there.
What happen is my neighbor dose grow roses as much as San Jose,CA dose. The most important thing is they are NOT fragrant. I addicted to the roses at Target. I assume it a "Double Delight". It smell just like Rose scented lotion.

how much you get from local nursery?? The $1 from Lowe's is it the body bag type. BTW why many people recommend own-root roses?

Sean Conway roses are good. That where I'm addicted to roses again.

the search engine always to sensitive and bring me lots of not so important posts.

My family collect ll gray water ot water or crops and plants. So we are not spending too much money on water. We are very save. I bleive $5 roses will have nice fragrant bloom right?

I'm so jealous:)

louis_c, I think you want a cheap rose for all the right reasons! :o)

I wish I could hep you with your original question, but I am not in a climate like yours at all.

I do know that rose petals are edible, too, but most people use them as flavor and not food.

Best of luck to you, fnding the best fragrant rose at the best price!

I know for a fact our Lowe's keep it for more than 30 days. I have seen stuff there all summer, especially tree roses.

I have bought body bags on the cheap too and discounted roses. But like hoovb said I know what to look for now.

What concerned me about that rose was more than the blackspot was that the rose that provided the long stem was trying to take over. Bad news.

What we are trying to say is be careful.

Sunni

Louis, if you do not own the home you live in, I would recommend keeping them in large pots so you can easily move them with you. Just a thought.

We are only trying to help you avoid wasting your hard earned money on a plant that could be disappointing, will die, or worse yet, infect your other roses.

The Own-Root question: "Body bag" roses are generally roses that are grafted onto the root stock of a faster growing rose. This makes them grow faster in a shorter period of time. That's fine, unless the rose dies back and the root stock grows up instead. Then you are stuck with a very fast growing rootstock that will most likely disappoint you with climbing limbs and only one bloom in the spring. Own-root roses won't do that to you. That's just the tip of the iceberg--I am sure others can tell you their main reasons for own root preference. But some people don't really care much about own-root vs. grafted. I prefer own root, but it won't stop me from getting a grafted rose if the conditions are right. However, my 100-year-old house used to have a whole row of "Dr. Huey" (a common root stock) roses growing along the fence, and I guarantee you that at one time, every one of those Dr. Hueys was growing as something else.

Trust me--we were all once newbies to roses. I used to buy the $5 plants in bags because it seemed economical at the time--but more often than not I was disappointed in the results and/or lost the rose. My husband always tells me that "We don't have the money to buy cheap s@!t." What he means is that when you buy junk, you have to keep spending money to replace the junk and eventually, you've spent a fortune on junk. But if you invest in a good, long-lasting product just once, you spend less money and have better results.

I recommend that you invest a bit more money in fewer plants.

That's just my two cents. Honestly, it sounds like you have a list of excuses to not listen to the advice. *shrugs* Think outside the box and consider other options rather than shooting them down. We're only trying to help.

You don't have to ditch out money in vain, buying iffy body bag bareroots or neglected potted ones in teeny-weeny containers from big box stores. The trick is to know your local nurseries and know their marketing patterns.

For example, one of the big local nurseries just 10 minutes from our place keep their roses in excellent health all season long (in fact, all their plants and products are in excellent condition). The regular price for a potted rose is at a premium - $30. However, every year in late September/early October, they try and get rid of a large chunk of their nursery stocks. So that those lush, huge roses in 5 gallon containers are discounted to $10.............along with other bargains.

It pays to visit your local nurseries frequently, not necessarily to buy, but to browse and to chat up the nursery staff.

Now is the time to buy 2-gallon roses at Home Depot at full bloom for $6. Below is Sunbright which I bought 2 weekends ago. Very full bushes of Double Delight, Mister Lincoln, Tropicana, and Peace were also available. I couldn't believe it. Something interesting though. When I took it out of the pot to plant it, the anchor roots were folded upwards. I had not seen this before. I unfolded the roots and planted it and it seems to be doing well.

SUNBRIGHT
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$9, is that cheap in US dollars? I pay less here in Australia from Target, Woolworths, K.Mart, etc. Autumn (Fall) to early and mid winter for bare rooteds. After that they've been in the plastic sleeve too long and I'd reject 'em - and I wouldn't pay any more for a bare rooted rose that $7 US (or Australian).

Here are some roses on sale today at Home Depot on Harbor Blvd in Costa Mesa, Southern California. $6.47 for 2-gallon roses, including Mister Lincoln, Fragrant Cloud, Peace, Oklahoma, Angel Face, Showbiz, Rosa Purple Heart, etc. Mister Lincoln was not blooming but the bushes looked OK. 5-gallon Iceberg's are also on sale for $16.95. Such a deal you can't believe.

ROSES ON SALE
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OKLAHOMA
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SHOWBIZ
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ANGEL FACE
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PEACE
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ROSA PURPLE HEART
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CLOSEUP OKLAHOMA
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UNLABELED PINK
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I have bought quite a few from the big box stores as well as from my favorite nursery and online.

The complaint I have about the big box stores is selling "blends" -two unnamed roses in the same pot. What is that all about???

I would guess that blends are two roses that started out as small bare roots that the grower decided (based on prior experience) wouldn't make a normal sized plant for sale, so by putting two in one fairly small pot, with their growing skill, water, special growth stimulant fertilizers, shade cloth growing houses, they can get the blends to the size of their normal singles.