Local nurseries try their hardest to stock what the rosarians want. Jude the Obscure was offered by Bakers Nursery, 40th Street & Osborn, last year. They usually stock some 7000 roses each December. Berridge Nurseries, 46th Street and Camelback, also stocks several thousand roses in December with sporadic shipments through the year. Harpers on Scottsdale Road (south of Thomas), Summer Winds on Tatum & Bell and A&P Nurseries in Mesa all stock roses most of the year. The West Valley has a Summer Winds on Bell Road and Star Nursery on Thunderbird. I understand that Sunset Nursery on 59th Avenue is still open although I haven't been in there for years.

Up until a few years ago, nearly 70% of all roses sold were grown out west of Phoenix. Jackson & Perkins had fields out there before they moved them to CA. There are still hundreds of acres of roses near Litchfield Park but development is encroaching at an ever rapid rate.

The nurseries place their orders in September and should know if they'll be getting certain roses. Star, Weeks and J&P are the usual vendors so there isn't a lot to choose from in Austin, mini or OGR offerings. I get most of my Austins from Bakers or batch an order with other rose society members or attend a rose society auction.

The first rose show of the season is Nov 4 in Green Valley, south of Tucson. Nov 17 is the Mesa/East Valley Rose Show at Mesa Community College and the West Valley show is Nov 24 at the new Glendale Civic Center, 57th Ave & Glenn, during the Glendale Glitters opening weekend. All of them open to the public at 1pm.

I think the rootstock for Arizona is Dr. Huey.

Erica:

Are raised beds an option? That would take away your worries about soil anyway although it would create more watering. You would not have to worry about hard freezes correct?

Kate

Thanks, everyone. December... argh! I will call the locals and see if anyone has anything now. I really want to get started in the fall, and not wait until spring. (Instant gratification, who me?)

So here's another question: who is shipping NOW? I'm seriously considering Chamblee's even though they are own-root, just because they will get here right away... and really I shouldn't complain about the soil, because most of them will probably live in containers permanently anyway.

Kate: As I just admitted above, I will most likely be using containers, so that will obviously help. Raised beds are an intriguing thought, but it would be some big $$$ to do it in my particular landscape, I think. There's an area around the pool that might be possible, though. I'll have to consider that.

Oh, and no one needs to tell me that trying to keep JUDE in a CONTAINER in ARIZONA is probably suicidally stupid. But I must try. It'll be a big container. :)

Why don't you try something on fortuniana rootstock? I know several folks out in Arizona who have switched to this rootstock and are VERY happy. Cool Roses usually has a good selection of just about everything. K&M Nurserys carries very good roses and Becnil Show Roses has a very good product. There are many folks in the SW that have delt with these vendors and are extremely happy. I have delt with all three and am very satisified with everything I have gotten from them.

Hi Ken,

Yes, I've heard (read) about fortuniana here and on the Phoenix-area rose society sites, and I would love to try it.

Unfortunately I am devoted to Austins and it seems that they're very, very hard to find on fortuniana. I'm hard of hearing so making phone calls is difficult, and those particular vendors don't seem to have a ton of info online. (I can handle calling the locals to see if they have any potted roses, but my husband will do some MAJOR eyerolling if I make him call Kentucky or whatever and ask about "Jude the Obscure on fortuniana." He is an engineer. ;)

Thank you again!

Preferred rootstock depends on the rose and who you're talking to. Fortuniana gets rave reviews. Dr Huey is widely available. Trusted friends have told me that multiflora grafted roses may not have the life expectancy of hardier stock. If I can get a rose on own-root, that's what I go for. I, too, prefer Austins and am not adverse to growing my own roses from cuttings upon occasion. That's how I got Red Intuition. Some rose society members are grafting their own roses on Fortuniana. Perfectly legal as long as they don't start selling them or mass-producing.

I have a floribunda on Fortuniana and have a Double Delight on order. DD isn't a great rose here on any other rootstock or own-root, so am trying one last time, lol. The three companies Ken mentioned are the ones recommended locally.

Mail order bare-roots should be delivered between Thanksgiving and Valentines Day. Anything later may encounter 100F days in March and croak on the spot. Before deciding where to order your roses, check their shipping times. Of course, I can't stress strongly enough the importance of buying local. You know the old saying, "Use it or lose it".

Up until March most of my roses were in containers waiting for a 2-year remodel to finally get finished. Out of 100+, 14 of them didn't survive record-setting summer heat. That's the last year I'll keep that many roses in (crock)pots, even with shade structures, light colored pots and twice-a-day watering. The roses in whiskey barrels fared far, far better.