Wattleblossom
Can only speak for myself - I have ordered from Treloar for the last 2 years and will probably do so again this year. Have no complaints whatsoever. I thought I might have had one dud last year but it was just late coming out of dormancy. The first year, they sent me Flamingo as a free rose which was a bit niggling as I am not a HT fan and never include any of them in my order. However I stuck it in the ground to keep it moist, thinking i'd give it away but its still there and flowers profusely. My next year freebies were more to my liking.

Last year I ordered from Treloars . They sent me 2 heritages instead of the one I ordered, I was annoyed at first because they were quite puny but it has worked out well as both are a good size now and are doing well. My favourite place to order roses from is Thomas in South Australia. They come quickly and they are so vigorous. Last year I telephoned an order on friday and it was there on the following wednesday (that was mid June)

Hi,
I have just ordered about 40 roses from Treloars. It was recommend to me by several people, one of which is a nursery owner in Victoria. So I hope they are good quality.

I would like to hear about Misty Downs ?

Also Roworths in WA? They have Colour Magic HT which is the first I have seen of this downunder. They do not mention if the mail order so I am calling them in the morning to find out.
Deb

Hi Wattleblossom
I haver just ordered a few roses from Treloars the latest addition being veilchenblue. Does anyone know of it.? I found them very helpful. Other than that I ordered a twin standard being iceberg and bonica last year from both Sydney Morning Herald and Garden express and was pleased. These were 60th year birthday presents and bought much delight. I was also lucky to get some five dollar specials from garden express. They didn't all grow but that was my fault. I am really looking forward to seeing my roses and I would love everyone to post their new ones onto the gallery. The others I ordered from Treloars were Floribundas, Julia's rose, French lace,and love potion and the HT's sheer bliss and amarosa. Jan

I've ordered from Treloar for a few years and have been very happy. They certainly are very good on price - much cheaper than most others I have looked at on the web - and their plants are very well packed and in good condition. They are also lovely people, and were really helpful last year when I was trying to find some more mature plants to fill some gaps in a row of standards at my brother's place, when his house painter accidentally set fire to several plants! So yes, I would definitely recommend them.

I've just completed my order for 35 roses from Treloars. Last year's orders all flourished, as did the potted impulse buys through the year.
My experience of ordering bare rooted roses is very brief, but Treloars have the best record.

Thanks Wattleblossom for putting up this post. This year is a year for firsts: my first bare root roses ever and my first mail order from Treloars and I'm feeling rather nervous about it and the keep alive factor. The other first was putting a first rose in my garden LOL so I'd put myself in the high risk taker category. Particularly when I have only the slightest idea about what I'm doing.

Its good to hear other people's recommendations and some other options that are available. I chose Treloars because its website was extremely user friendly and I had that belief that the closer the place was the better the chance of the roses surviving but I think now that bare roots are probably hardier than I thought and that rootstock is geared to the eastern coast, in other words they do know what they're doing. So I'm more open to getting them perhaps from Victoria. I'm also keeping an eye on one of the other online places (is it Magic Downs, can't remember) because they do own root roses and I'd like to try them out. Don't know if they come bare root or potted but that would be my next move. I want to know if there is much of a difference.

A question though, how much damage do the roses undergo and do you really need to trim off damaged roots and limbs as I wouldn't know what I was seeing?

Has nobody heard of Reliable Roses?

Yes, and I faxed my order this week Lozza.
Just waiting for the confirmation.
The roses I'm getting from Treloars are bulk quantities of floribundas. Their prices are irresistible. But they don't carry many oldfashioneds which I'm now more interested in. Your range is wonderful and I can't wait to get my climbers going.

I was extremely happy with my order from Treloars last year. I have never mail ordered roses before, and they were so beautifully packed, and very generous with extras. Very healthy plants. I will order again - just a few as I am running out of space.
Misty Downs? What can I say? I haven't mail ordered so I can't comment but my Alistair Clark roses last year included several wrongly named ones. That is not good enough for me. Their tagging system in the garden leaves much to be desired - I think there is a lot of guess work when reading from well faded tags. Poor growth was another factor, but mine werre in fairly poor soil. I expected the AC's to cope with that though. I am hoping they do better this year after a good prune.
Reliable roses will be getting my order this year.
Once we build our new building for work, I have big plans for a large garden, landscaped according to my directions with sweeping grassed areas and deciduous trees, walkways, and large beds of roses and siberian irises. I can go mad on roses then :-) This is on low, flood prone land that stays green all year, so I can happily call the grass "lawn" but will need raised beds for the roses.
Cheers, Jan

From past experience I can say that Reliable Roses do carry a very wide range of old roses, their specialty. They have a cool website with lots of piccies, if you can find your way around, a pity really that it is a bit tortuous.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:2113175}}

Laurie - this is a question of curiosity, and not belligerent or argumentative - but why is your website designed the way it is? It is, as you admit, a little hard to find your way around. A search function would be a godsend. Is it because web designers are too expensive, and have different idea about how things should be structured from what you would like?

Your website has GORGEOUS photos, and a wealth of information, and it seems like such a waste to have it so badly structured. However, there might be a good reason it is teh way it is, and I have missed it.

Kate

Thanks everyone for the information regarding Treloars. I feel resonably confident now about placing an order.
I'm at the stage with buying roses where I'm only replacing the trouble makers and the ones which don't like growing in the Blue Mtns.
I like Floribundas and had great success last year with Honey Perfume from Swanes. Wanting to buy more, and, after reading so many good things about Reliable Roses on this forum, I went straight there this year only to find 'HP' and a few others I want not listed, at least as far as I could tell. Their website really needs some work. I found the Treloar website just so easy and with a great range of Floribundas.
Deb, you asked about Mistydowns. Well, their roses are often very small, frequently mislabelled, which is very, very frustrating given that when you move a rose you have to take a lot of soil as well. The last time I bought roses from them the package contained one piece of rootstock with no graft. I later found the grafted piece loose in the box! When I rang them, they said they were sorry they couldn't replace it as they had sold out but would send me a credit. They never did.
BTW, has anyone ordered that gorgeous looking climber from Treloars called Red Pierre?

It's horses for courses. If you want popular HTs and Floribundas you order from the big places, Treloars or if you really want to spend up, Swanes (I still can't believe what it cost for 3 City of Goulburn!!).
If you want oldfashioned roses go for Reliable, or Hedgerow. If we don't support the growers of old roses, before we know it there will only be a choice between Iceberg and Gold Bunny (both great roses, but hey there's more).

I agree, there are different needs that can be filled by different vendors.
When I was living in the US I ordered all of my HT from Jackson Perkins. Truly a great company. I would also add they donated over 500 roses to a nursing home I worked at, being prompted to do so by one little phone call. There was a local grower I also used. I ordered all of my perennials from White Flower Farm, another fantastic company. But the local and large Green Thumb Nursery was one of my favourite haunts and I spent a lot of money there over the years.

So far in Australia I have received roses from Hedgerow both bare root and potted and all have grown very well, their service was excellent and they were very helpful. I did hear that they have recently sold, but Hedgerow will continue with the new owner. This year I have found a small business perennial grower and have placed an order, have not received them yet but feel very confident. I am also placing another order for perennials with a small company in Tasmania. I will be ordering some roses from Reliable soon who have been very helpful and I have already ordered some from Treloar. I have gotten most of my natives from Stock Native Nursery in NSW who coulcd not be more helpful and itnerested and the remainder from the Vic. Park Lane Nursery which is also a training centre for the disabled. European trees from a local grower.

Word of mouth is very important to me along with service and selection. I do like to shop on line and prefer not to use snail mail. I would pay more to not have to order a catalogue to see what they have. Web sites can be very helpful and can really assist in your research and ordering. But it is also a great pleasure to wander around a good nursery, pick out your own plant and if they have a coffee shop all the better! I support small business but also feel that larger companies can also fill a need and provide good service.
Deb

Lozza, yes I'm getting into the heritage roses because of their hardiness and many preferential qualities to the newer roses of which Reliable Roses has a brilliant range : do consider reading the monthly cultivation tips page for roses if you haven't already. Seriously, an Australian rose growers month by month guide - highly valuable.

http://www.reliableroses.com.au You need to click on the about us link to find the rose lists ( the about us page doesn't just list the adress and growing information)from there you can get to the sales list for 2006 and information pages. I got a little lost at first. If you click on the next pages link you'll learn a little about Lozza's rose breeding. Lozza, my only wish would be that you relabel those links so idiots like me don't get lost trying to find the ordering pages. But regardless of my inability to steer it's a great site. I didn't know that you bred Alistair Clark, I'm a little awed. I hope I'm not embaressing you.

Nadia, Yes, Jean is always telling me that the website is a mess, and thank you for your input. I will try and simplify it.

You do me an honour saying that I bred 'Alister Clark'. It is in fact a sport of 'Marjory Palmer', a mutation that I captured and bred on. A truly lovely rose and wonderfully fragrant like Marjory. Breeding involves cross pollination on the other hand.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:2113176}}

SORRY FOR BUTTING IN BUT JUST READ JANCOL'S POST, JAN IF YOU CONTACT, THE COMPANY THAT SUPPLIED YOUR $5 ROSES THEY WILL SEND YOU NEW ONES THIS YEAR AS I HAD THE SAME THING HAPPEN TO ME ,I ONLY GOT ONE FROM THE FIVE THAT ARRIVED TO GROW, FOR ME SO THEY ARE REPLACING THEM THIS SEASON ALSO MAGNOLIA THAT DIED ,
LORRAINE

Thanks Nadia for that bit on Lozza's site. I got lost there awhile back and because I am on very slow frustrating dial-up I haven't got back to it.

Knowing he sells Alistair Clark is enough reason for me to go back which I will do as soon as I get off here.

Lozza I may have some questions about the growth habit of these lovely roses. Can hardly wait to see what you have - won't be able to order any though probably until next season - unless there is something I can grow drape over a barbed wire fence and don't have to prune! Also chasing something that will sprawl over the ground above it if roots are sunk into good planting soil.

Hi Lorraine,

I didn't know that. I will have to get on to them because my black boy climbing and blue moon climber turned up their toes. I don't have the receipts though. Thank you.
Jan

hi jan they usually keep a record of all sales especially if they delivered, I also didnt know they would replace them either until I rang to complain,I did everything I could to get the roses growing at the time to no avail, but you will have to keep remimding them so you dont get lost in transit,dont ring (to expensive),send them an email and explain what has happened, was also told the roses will be replaced with whatever I choose, good luck,
lorraine

Franny, Paul Transon will do both.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:2113177}}

I use Treloars and Reliable, but another one you are all missing out on is Ross Roses, www.rossroses.com.au.

They have a True Blue collection of Australian breeders roses and also good selection of all roses. They may have run out of their catalogues by now, they are much in demand, but try the site.

Hi Lorraine and all other gardenwebbers
Glad to be able to tell you that garden express is going to replace my three climbers. Thanks for letting me know about this. Jan

I would like to warn everyone about Reliable Roses. I ordered $162.00 worth this year and then 3 weeks after their due date I rang to be told that they could only supply some of the roses and that they would reimburse me the $60. The roses eventually came, and no complaints there. But I had to chase up Jean Newman for the $60 cheque, which came about 2 weeks later.

However, that cheque bounced, was dishonoured by the bank, and now I can't get any reply to phone messages or emails from this company. (I've been emailing them all week!)

I think this is totally outrageous and unprofessional - just be warned! I think it's more like unreliable roses...

Treloars are great, consistently good quality, but I wanted more of the old fashioned roses. I've had some roses from Misty Downs this year but the quality is patchy, some are powering along but 3 or 4 have suffered dieback and will not leaf up.
Micko

Thanks for that advice micko, re 'Reliable Roses'. This message is getting a bit old, 2006, but if the original post person is still logging in, I, too, mail-ordered and received a couple of roses this year and also a few last year from Treloars and they all arrived in excellent condition and are growing strong.

I always buy mine from Treloar's. In the old days, one of the Treloar girls used to be a regular on this site, that was when it was worth watching. See how long it takes a posting to disappear, did you say this one was from 2006!!! Ye Gods.

Yeah, April 19, 06! Wonder if "Wattleblossom" is still checking entries. I guess not.

Does Rose Mosaic Virus bother you when you order your roses from those nursery?

I bought my old garden roses from mistydowns. They are in great condition and are growing strongly. I don't have die-back problem.

I've tried Treloars but I haven't tried Swanes or Magic Rose Garden yet.