...........and on the other hand, my last roses from Hortico, just two which had been on back order, I received late last Spring. They were the best packed roses I have ever had. I wondered if they had turned over a new leaf, or if indeed plants in this kind of packing were meant for export only eg. US!:) They had some kind of moist material around them, and then they were in a foil packing. They were absolutely awesome. One was Grace and the other was Fredrick Mistral! Received in excellent condition I was pleasantly impressed, and I should have written and complimented them. Both roses by the end of the season, looked like they were mature plants of a couple of years or so. If they continued to ship like that, then I would be more than happy. But I have had some problems in the past, I must admit, but then I also have had with Pickerings. My order for Spring is not in yet. I will be ordering from both companies, so we will see how we go this time. One thing for sure is that I have learned enough to check thoroughly and not accept anything that does not turn out. The secret is to put your complaint in before the year is up. I am still very ticked at wrongly named roses I recieve from time to time, and not really realize until the season is over! I still cannot identify the two Cottage Roses I ordered from Pickerings, Cottage Rose, they are NOT! I would be tempted to get the extra roses from them, and if you are not happy with them. Let them know a.s.a.p. Cheers Kate, and Good luck. Pauline

Ingrid, my Grusses are doing wonderfully this spring, throwing canes with candelabras and nice leaves. We'll see if they keep this up. I was not happy with them their first year - BS and leaflessness from the heat. Hopefully, they just need some age. Can you grow Clotilde Soupert there? I'm really thinking I'm gonna love this rose. I bought two last August. The nursery had one in the ground fully leafed out, so I said THAT's the one I want (at home my roses had no leaves!) They are throwing nice strong canes and are full of buds and blooms that are really smelly. Flowers aren't as big as GaA but more petals. They're supposed to be on the small side, but I don't know about shade. Mine only get maybe 5 hours or less. Don't know nuthin' about rust, but I'm sorry about your GaA. I did the same thing to one a few weeks ago. No hesitation. And Lamarque went right in his spot! Sherry

Balling on Pink Gruss? I've never heard of it. I've grown both the original Gruss & five specimens of Pink Gruss for years and I've never had one single bloom ball. And don't think that my climate eliminates balling. For instance, Clotilde Soupert & Paul Neyron have made me crazy with balling. But never any of my Gruss roses. I've found that roses that ball elsewhere usually also ball in my garden. The only exception has been Souvenir de la Malmaison, which never balls for me. Randy

"How pretty!" Indeed it is a beautiful rose, and a fine garden subject because the plant habit is so attractive and it repeats well. You might want to do a little light staking the first year, as the big flowers will bend the young canes. I slightly prefer the regular 'Gruss an Aachen' for its color variation, which includes the mild salmon-pink of 'Pink Gruss,' but I love both.