I also seen all of the negative reports on Hortico, but it seems that many of the more recent postings have been positive. I therefore placed a small order with them for some very hard-to-find older Austins that I have grown before in another town: -English Garden (ordered it twice from Pickering and was sent what I believe to be either Charles Austin or Yellow Charles Austin-one plant threw a 9 foot cane: definitely NOT English Garden -Cressida: one of my favorite Austins -William Morris -Claire Rose: flowers last forever; will grow to 9 or 10 feet with flowers only at the tips of the canes, but responds well to pegging. I do hope that the plants they send are truly these varieties, as I understand that many were sent mislabeled roses in the past. The UPS put it out for delivery at 4 AM this morning, should arrive today!

Yup, I still have bands to pot up today. The Hortico roses were planted an hour after delivery. Spring is in full swing here with temperatures in the 70's this week, so I dared not procrastinate. The other week I was potting up bands from Burlington well after dark. I wish Hortico would bring back their full catalog instead of only half their inventory. They've recently become the only North American source for many rose varieties, when other nurseries went out of business. Perhaps have some type of wishlist system that would propagate a variety once enough demand is reached.

Glad ya found your invoice Lilyfinch! That's a good thing that Hortico does.... charging less for a smaller plant. And believe me, most of the time they make up for it. Like I said, I got 2 tiny GINGER roses last yr, and right now they are big ol' things sittin' in the raised bed waiting for a spot. I think I will donate the second one tho. Don't need two of them. I'm very anxious to see that new rose ROYAL KATE. Not much about it anywhere, but I did see pics on the image tab of Google. Looks like a pretty pure lighter pink. Lilyfinch you will love CHANDOS BEAUTY. Mine got up to (almost) 6ft last yr. It goes from a pinky-white to a creamy apricot and even some yellow tones depending on the temps.

I have ordered a number of roses over the years from Hortico, including Augusta Luise. I've always been pleased with their plants, and haven't noticed a big difference in the size of Hortico plants and those that I've ordered from Palatine. I don't think the Augusta Luise from Palatine (they are calling it Augusta Louise) is quite the same as the "real" AL. I've noticed a difference in color and petal count in the AL from Palatine compared to Hortico's AL, which seems more like the original Tantau plant (also called Augusta Luise (trademarked) on Tantau's site. Diane