It depends upon which trial. Some have been in existence for a very long time, others are relative new comers. You had the AARS trial gardens for decades; there are the European trials at large, public gardens; American Earth Kind Trials; one at Rose Hills Cemetery here in California and a newer one back east among others. They're where roses are grown in a garden, some sprayed, some not; the level of culture varying greatly from trial to trial, and evaluated for specified periods of time. How valid the results should be considered for you and your area depends upon where they're held, how close to your conditions and climate those where the trial is held are, what the stated criteria are for the trial and how knowledgeable their judges are. It's fun and interesting seeing a rose has won something, but it all depends upon WHY and WHAT it won. Googling the name of the trial and researching who and how they determine winners can be rather "illustrative". They're going to vary from honestly valid trials all the way to the rose version of a reality show competition. Kim

Laura, Thanks for the info on 'Crescendo' and S&W. I've often ordered from that supplier & have always been pleased with their product. They are, however, "middle men" and purchase all their roses from wholesalers like Weeks and the now defunct J&P. Viewing the small, leafed-out plants visible in the photo I linked to above, and considering the fact that S&W is offering the rose only as a container grown plant, I'm led to strongly suspect that J&P was planning to market this rose only as one of its 'New Generation' (own-root) series, & that's probably what S&W is offering. IMHO, if true, that's not good news. I've been underwhelmed with other 'New Generation' plants -- 'Pope John Paul II' and 'Sedona', for example, are two very promising roses that would probably perform much better if grafted. PJPII recently became available on Fortuniana. I'll wager that on that rootstock it will be vastly superior to the wimpy 'New Generation' plants that I'm coaxing along. Unfortunately, Fortuniana is not an option for me.

Well then look for us next year -- same time, same place. We had a few internet bidders, but mostly it was locals, and, as expected, we had more roses than bidders. So there were some great deals to be had. I was "bottom fishing," (i.e. searching for those rarities that didn't get much bidding attention from anyone else) and ended up spending only a total of $80 for ten roses, all for interesting varieties that are mostly new to me. But now I have them and will post photos as they bloom. I got roses that run the gamut: Ain't She Sweet -- Joe Winchel's hot pink hybrid tea from the same line that produced the rose "Dolly Parton." Beauty Within -- a new J & P yellow floribunda. introduction that won "best floribunda" at the International Rose Trial at Rose Hills just last month. Bukavu -- a Louis Lens hybrid musk that has been winning at rose shows recently. Honorine de Brabant -- a striped OGR bourbon for my stripey collection. Merveille des Rouges -- a red polyantha. New Orleans -- a brand new shrub introduction from Heirlooms this year that I'm excited about. Robert Clements -- an Heirlooms old classic that has many good reports, but I've never seen this orange shrub in person. Schubert -- a mauve shrub that grows like a polyantha Summer Fashion -- a pastel yellow and pink floribunda I used to grow and remember liking. Vif Eclat -- a red hybrid musk, which I bought because hybrid musks are usually pink and white, so this seemed very unusual. Again, I'll post pics when I have them of these, and we hope to see you next year. Btw, Connie was correct -- we don't ship for free, but rather at "our cost," which mean you pay for shipping, but only the actual cost of postage and supplies, nothing for our labor and no markups of any kind. Kathy

Wow! So this is how it's supposed to look. Mine balls all the time. The few blooms I get that aren't messed up are gorgeous. I ordered me a new one to see if my first one was a dud. Yours is beautiful!!!