I ordered from all over the place; Southern US, West Coast, and Canada. I received active bands, active minis, and bareroot. All were pretty time consuming to unpack, but the extra packing care seemed to have kept all the roses in very good shape. Interestingly, the messiest and most tangled packing job were the 7 bareroots in one box, all wrapped in one plastic bag, and they are also the largest, healthiest, bloom-makin'-est monsters in the garden right now. Guess the inconvenience to me wasn't so much a trauma for the roses. I could be way off base, but I have a suspicion that streamlining the packing process isn't a top priority for the nurseries. I'd imagine that they go the extra mile to make sure that roses arrive in good condition because there's nothing worse than having a reputation for shipping dead product. I think the trade off is extra time and $$ to make sure they don't rack up warranty/guarantee expenses.

I've bought many times from Robs their really great, and their packing and shipping are outstanding, never even had a broken leaf. Lyndon Lyons is great to, but i never mail ordered from them. Visited both under the guise of a business trip, really first class operations.

Spruce...thanks for the idea about asking where a nursery gets their seed. I am surprised that they don't mind telling you. I will keep that in mind. Forest Farm is a catalog I have but I haven't ordered from them before. Thanks for the recommendation, ken...thanks for the gee tree farm idea and arrowhead alpines, girard nurseries, and for pointing me toward the ACS. jaro...Iseli, has some nice photos on their site...thanks for their ME distributor. Once in awhile I get up to Maine. You never know. tsugajunkie...yes, I do understand that white pine is native to Maine and Tsuga canadensis is native to the East Coast. I got the impression that some of the ornamental conifers are bothered by cold weather and frost. Adrian Bloom mentions in his book, not planting some varieties in an East facing location because in the spring, the early morning son would thaw them out just in time for the cold to get them later. mrgpag...Broken Arrow Nursery is a great idea! I have been there once before and they really impressed me with the quality of their plant material at reasonable prices. That was awhile ago and I wasn't looking for conifers then, so I didn't notice whether they had a collection or not. Thanks a lot! Thank you all for the help.. :-) pm2

I will continue to buy from heirloom roses. Their prices are justified in selection, collectability and quality. Its kinda like those who shop for toilet paper. I don't understand why 1 ply is even made! Don't ya love yourself? lol