Both of the roses I wanted (a replacement Anna Jung) and Mme. E. Souffrain died at Vintage I guess. :( sigh. Never got to see Anna Jung really get going, this will be my second miss on that rose.

I decided to try to get two of these for replacements, I guess we'll see what I actually end up getting.
Frederic II de Prusse (china)
Laujuzan Tea
N 92 Nanjing (tea)
Mme. la Comtesse de Leusse (Tea)
Alice Hamilton (China)
Vicomtesse d'Avesne (Noisette)

my thinking was that I don't have many chinas and noisettes but the ones I do have seem to do great... and I love teas and have yet to have a really good one so I was willing to give it a shot.

I'm sorry you didn't get all of yours, Ingrid. I just received an email confirming my order of two French imports. I didn't really know what to order, but at least the two I ordered made it through all of the travails. They are shipping the 30th of September which is fine here. I can overwinter them in the greenhouse if need be.

kay

I'm with you, mashamcl, very confusing, guess I need a drink, too...

I'm glad I didn't read carefully, in that case, since I e-mailed them right away. I can't think of any reason that people who ordered in the first place shouldn't respond right away. I wonder if September 28 is for those people who didn't order any several years ago but would like to try them now.

N 92 Nanjing from my first order made it but Lady Mary Corrie didn't. I'm not really heartbroken since this gives me a chance to have another early hybrid tea, a group which I've really begun to enjoy. They still have the charm of the tea roses without being so large, although they do require a bit more TLC. They seem to like it warm and dry, and that I can certainly give them.

Ingrid

I emailed Gita, got a reply back immediately; we can order replacements anytime.
ogrose

Thanks, ogrose, I just sent in my replacements :)

Masha

Angel Gardens in Florida has Anna Jung. I wonder if it is the same rose as Octavus Weld (Australia)/Angel's Camp tea (California)/Jost Plot Tea (Sacramento Cemetery). There's a lot of resemblance.
Anita

I received confirmation of my order for Silver Queen, allegedly hardy to zone 4. With a spring shipping date! I was afraid I might have to take delivery in late fall.

The instructions were confusing. The list of potential replacements are small and not great for my space or taste. None of the three I originally ordered survived and I have already had to manufacture and order two "replacements" (neither of which really were for the roses ordered). I have requested one "replacement" tonight from the meager list available and, if it is not available (I hate competitive buying, period), I have requested a refund. A sad end, indeed.

My replacement requests were for Silver Queen and Salmon Wings, with four alternates. I'll take what I can get and be happy, am not too picky, especially with the service they have given over the years!

This is so sad...

I had to have a replacement rose as well and I requested Verona. I never would have looked at this rose except for having to shop for a replacement from what was available. It looks like something I will really love and who names a rose for their wife that is a turkey? I hope you all get some beauties to fall in love with even if they were not your first choices.

I know it enrages many of you to hear criticism of Vintage.....but I honestly have been unable to suppress a smirk over some of their business shenanigans, over the years. True, it is a small, 2 person operation.....but otoh, Trevor Whites, a small rose grower I have used for years, is basically a one man and his dog number which has never, ever offered less than fabulous bare roots at the best price in England.....without endless incomprehensible mailing lists (yep, I get 'em from Vintage too).
Loyalty, it seems, is truly priceless.

I am getting six fabulous rare roses. I had to replace one. I am thrilled for this opportunity.

I remember reading that one of the reasons so many roses didn't survive was because they were kept for days at some cold European airport (or something along those lines). For Vintage this must have been a very expensive proposition, having to care for traumatized roses for well over two years and having many of them die along the way. I don't imagine it helped their financial situation much. They tried to do something that undoubtedly took much paperwork, planning, time and money in order to offer a unique opportunity to American old rose lovers, and it's sad for everyone that the rewards were less than hoped for.

Ingrid

This is what happens. It's a bit of a gamble to import roses. It was many of the roses from Hooks nursery that were in trouble. Not the fault of Hook or Vintage necessarily. Sometimes things get hung up in import. The teas were especially vulnerable.

And so, of course, I went for two Hook teas, plus 1 HT, and managed to pick ones that failed to survive the import for all three. This being my usual story in matters of luck and chance, I stay completely away from gambling of any sort...

Vintage's bad breaks on these imports certainly are just what happens sometimes and not their fault. An email from Gregg clarifying that the replacement-ordering process was separate from the final scrum for these plants next week did arrive this morning, so that was good.

Though not receiving the fabulous rare roses I was dreaming of from Europe, I very much appreciate that I have many fabulous, equally rare, domestic roses that I would never have enjoyed, except for Vintage.

It must have been toughest of all for the people of Vintage, watching the roses and seeing the damage. I really feel for them. They wanted every one to be able to have something wonderful. I can't imagine the frustration for them having it turn out this way.

Campanula's comment reminds of an exchange on a vege gardening forum about runner beans. A British gardener was telling us Yanks how there were much better cultivars than Painted Lady, etc. etc., just as if those might even find their way across the Atlantic. Mind you, a decade ago, American seedhouses had never heard of runner beans. By the 21stC, we were lucky to be able to choose between two!, count em, 2! whole varieties of this exotic cultivar.

There are likely as many excellent rose nurseries in Campanula's home SHIRE, or at least nearby shires, as we have in the entire USA. If we had the wealth of options as do the fortunate gardeners of England, we too would doubtless be a lot more particular about our patronage.

I had my heart set on two particular roses and chose another two simply to fill up the box. Alas, all I am getting is one of the filler roses. I have asked for 'Yellow Mutabilis' as a replacement. I don't grow regular 'Mutabilis' and thought it might be fun to grow the more unusual version. 'Mutabilis' is a very drought tolerant rose in my climate, happy with watering every third week.

On the other hand, since I gave the spot I was holding for 'Annie Laurie McDowell' to 'Renee', this opens up a spot for ALMcD when it eventually becomes available. Every cloud does indeed have a silver lining. And this still leaves me with room for another rose on the fence, maybe two if I take out 'Trier', a rose I'm not overly in love with (because it is wickedly thorny and does not repeat). I'll be on the lookout for something special.

I will very much miss getting those lovely boxes from Vintage delivered to my doorstep. It has been an important part of my gardening life for the past fifteen years or longer.

Rosefolly

Without meaning to be snippy or malicious, I think the long-running Vintage saga of can be compared to the soaps my mum used to love - Peyton Place and the Forsyte Saga (or moresh*te as my sis and I called it).

Of course, it is hateful to see any small business go under and I fully sympathise with those of you who will miss Vintage. It is much more than a retail outlet, I know - it also has cultural significance and despite being a tiny business, it created a definite brand - surely a prerequisite for customer loyalty, based on a singular love of roses.....with profit quite a long way behind. A rarity.
As far as I can see, the door is not closed on Vintage.....just another turn in the (extremely meandering) road. The knowledge and experience of Vintage's proprietors is still there in the world....and so are the roses, I thought......so who knows?

I too got the email, which did away with 3/4 of my order. I am very much over Vintage at this point. Unlike some, I don't have a whole lot of patience or sympathy left. It seems that Gregg took on way more than he could handle, and there were unwise financial decisions made, and the whole thing came tumbling down. I was on the rollercoaster for a long time with the place, mourning & whatnot but not anymore. Now it's just annoying. Two years after payment, to be told, Oh well actually, we can't send you most of these. It's just a pain in the ass. I said, You know what? Forget the replacements, just refund the money - but of course they don't want to do that now. So I sent a list, and who knows what I will finally end up with. At this point I don't even care. They charge such a fortune for rooted cuttings, they should have been the most profitable rose business on earth! It's like, enough already. Enough with the weepy emails and the "last" sale. It's the longest good bye in the history of human trade! You screwed up & you lost your business - end of story. Just close already, while I still have a couple of good memories of doing business with you.

This post was edited by chatwariq on Sat, Sep 21, 13 at 22:42

Ahh, Peyton Place, remember it well on our little black and white tv... Yikes Campanula, that means I am old enough to be your mother.

Well, it is what it is, we will carry on and grow our roses, and yes, I'm ready to be done with the drama. I didn't get either of the roses I ordered, selected two replacements and some alternates, we'll see what happens...