When that picture started opening up, I heard myself going "Ooh, ooh, ooh". It's just WONDERFUL. Now I understand the name - it's like the roses all around the brim of one of those large hats from the 1900s. Even looks like the petals are made out of silk. Great photography, too, Jeri.

Hi, Kitkat-- Thanks for the correction/reminder: it's Heirloom Roses, not Heritage. I have yet to see Irish Hope. You're right about Austin's blowing soon and having a droop factor. But I find that if you cut them before they're open--and even if they *are* open, and *immediately* put them in water, they tend to hold up pretty well; of course, not like a hybrid tea, but hey, their flouncy, delicate beauty makes them worth it. As for plant food, at the time I took most of those shots, I was into the rose addiction heavy, and trying every darn mix and brand and method the 'experts' recommended--most some version of expensive organic this or that. In that period, one product I liked a lot is Neptune's Harvest. Since then, I was tragically beset by the nastiest of all rose pests: the Rose Weevil. Looks like a ladybug without spots but with a snout, which it uses to pierce the buds; so, when they bloom, you have swiss cheese blossoms. Or, they suck juice from the stem below the buds so they droop and die. They are horrid critters, and I was forced to turn to liquid systemic Bayer All In One (food, blackspot & insect control). It works fine and makes life easier when you're getting older, lazier, and more slothful (especially with 70 roses to deal with). Long story short, I've learned over the years that roses are tough cookies and don't much care what you feed them. And they keep blooming well even if you forget to be prompt; they just bloom BETTER if you're regular and disciplined. I've seen roses just as beautiful fed with regular Miracle Grow as with any fancy organic approach. I do, however, replenish the soil each winter with good organic compost, epsom salts, alfalfa meal and whatever else I have on hand. Once feeding stqarts, I don't think it matters a whole lot what you give them. My current rose tragedy is an infestation of botrytis blight--a fungal illness which only a very expensive product works on, called Decree; and, thus far, I'm only having limited results with it. I'm about ready to throw in the towel if I can't get rid of it, and get rid of many roses instead. It originated on my most beloved scent rose: Yves Piaget. Smells like roses are supposed to smell. Sorry for going on, but your question got me going over my live with these wonderous blessings. Karen

All right - you guys make it sound like it would be a good risk. I get a good solid week or 8 days out of both of them - so 6-7 days should be OK for the customers. I have only ever put them in straight water. Do you think it would be worth putting a little vinegar in the storage water tonight? Or at least not detrimental? I don't do bleach or anything chemical. I am perhaps being a little overanalytical but it is only the third week of having flowers at market and I want to have top quality product. But at the same time I want to have this be sustainable stress-wise for me. :) Thank goodness I know the mustard greens and all the other greens stand a week in water - I have no qualms about cutting them Thursday night.

ann beck 8a ruralish WA How does your soil look like, being high in iron? The top layer of my soil is black and rock hard clay, but the lowest layer is lighter color clay (orangish), and red roses do well here. Red roses like Double Delight & Munstead Wood both have a higher need for iron. I check the web, and it stated: "The most distinctive characteristic of an iron-rich soil is a ruddy orange or red color, though not all red soils are rich in iron. When the iron deposits in the soil oxidize, they turn a distinctive rust color that tints the soil red. " In early summer when the stems of cut-blooms are softer, they wilt easily if I use acidic rain. My cut-blooms always last longer in my alkaline tap water at pH 9, rather than acidic rain water. My tap water leaves whitish calcium and hard magnesium deposits on pots. We have hard well water, and our soil is high in dolomitic rocks (calcium plus magnesium). In the fall when the stems are harder, cut blooms can tolerate acidic rain water better with less wilting. Below are some recent cut blooms this Sept. 2022. Dark red are Munstead Wood, it's a constant bloomer as 8th-year own root, light pink is Princess Charlene d. Monaco (4th-year own-root), and whites are 12th-year own-root Mary Magdalene, lowest ruffled pink are Augusta Luis: The Dark Lady (red), Tchaikosky (light yellow), and Sweet Mademoiselle (salmon) are heavy bloomers this Sept. Tchaikosky is 4.5" across and Sweet M is 4". They are fertilized with biochar at pH 8.6 which supplies calcium and potassium for large blooms.