Another point I wanted to make - is unfortunately a lot of cut flower roses that are for sale are not bred to grow here. They grow well in Ecuador and similar climates. Look at black baccara (a florist rose that's risen recently especially in wedding design) - it's plagued with disease when it isn't grown in ideal conditions and even in ideal conditions it is a poor performer. Love/Osiria fortunately is available as a shrub - breeder code JACtwin and is very available in the market. Snow Fire and Double Take are also very similar and available. The other reality is - that even if you do get a florist rose to root, that doesn't mean it's going to perform the same way as it does for the grower (who has at their disposal a myriad of fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides, and not to mention workers and lest we forget - a near perfect climate for growing 'florist' type roses). Don't get me wrong, I'm all for starting something from free-ish and it's certainly worth a try, but you gotta be realistic with the results you're going to get. I think you'd be better off seeking similar alternatives suited to your particular climate zone - by finding people nearby willing to give/trade cuttings on a similar rose, shopping around at the nursery's, and just overall finding something suited to and/or grafted to suit your particular conditions. Obviously, give rooting it a try (what's a little rooting hormone and starting mix?), it it roots! Woohoo! If it doesn't, well you're not really out anything and you know you can still get the rose you liked and/or something very similar to it that may be better suited to your area.

I would go for as fresh as possible but if they are real cheap or free - what the heck - go for it. Dawn

Melodye, I have no idea where they get their roses from. I would assume they're grown in South America, but I'm not sure. Guess I cold ask them! Judy do you have any other grocery store chains that have a florist dept? Maybe other stores might get in marked roses too. Depends on their supplier. I do know that another store we have here, Save Mart, gets in bundles of roses, unmarked, and they're $12.99 a dozen. I just love that Safeway orders from a supplier that labels them.

Florists roses are grown in a greenhouse. They are then cut into a bundle , packaged and shipped to a nursery or a florist As you can see they start off in a different way then a gardeners rose. When they get to the florist, they are cut back and placed in a cooler. They may be in the cooler for a week, until someone buys them or a design is made. More handling for the poor rose. Finally when a customers gets the roses, they have gone through a lot. That is usually the main reason florists roses don't last a long time in the warmth of the house. They also don't have a fragrance because the petals are bred much thicker than any of the garden types so the roses can stand all the handling and packaging they go through. So to root a florist rose, it will be easier if the roe has been a vigorous grower. If it was a weaker grower, then it is not your fault it won't make roots. Take about 5 cuts and do them all in a different way. Try rooting in florist oasis, potatoes, plain vermiculite etc Place each cutting in a large clear pop bottle to keep it moist.This helps to see if you are getting a fungus or if the roots are starting. When you see roots starting unscrew the top. Let's see if this works. https://buffalo-niagaragardening.com/2013/10/15/grow-rose-bush-from-wedding-bouquet-or-use-any-roses-you-get-from-the-florist/