why are you ordering roses from White Flower Farm when there are so many good mail order nurseries which actually only sell roses, and are experts?

They are the only US source for this one rose that I could find, I won't again, believe me!

How disappointing. I hope the replacement is better :(

Please keep us updated.

Oh Anne, so sorry that you got such a disappointing plant! I have found White Flower to be, for the most part, a really problematic source. My late beloved mother-in-law used to always buy me gift certificates there, so I'd get plants from them because it was free. Of all the things I got from them, the only thing that still survives in my garden is my "The Works" daffodil collection - which is very lovely, and which I would certainly recommend to anyone. But all the other plants were quite frankly substandard, and certainly not worth the high prices! I think they do a real disservice, particularly to new gardeners who could easily be lured in by their admittedly gorgeous catalog photos. Its too bad they are the only source for this pretty rose - I really hope they do right by you with the replacement!

All best,

Frances

I planted the first one and it has died. Here is the replacement which I potted up and it seems to do be doing the same even though we've had rain and sun. I used premium potting soil (an organic mix with no pelleted fertilizer) and perlite. Sad, I really wanted this rose. I hope it does something. seems they scraped all the dead buds off, not leaving them to sprout again. I should probably lop it down to 6 inches but if I have to ask for a refund I'm sure they would tell me I killed it.

Oh no. So sad.

I wasn't so impressed with the condition of the bare root Above & Beyond that I received from them last week - it was very dry. Now after soaking, planting in the ground and some nice rain falling on it, I see one tiny leaf bud breaking at the bottom of one of the canes, so there is some hope. The rest of the canes still look pretty dry and dead to me but I have my fingers crossed. It was a nice size plant and it arrived wrapped in a large plastic bag (but the bag was only loosely folded over and was actually open in one place) and had shredded newspaper wrapped around the roots (but the newspaper was dry.) If I could have found this rose elsewhere, I would not have thought of ordering a rose from White Flower Farms as I have long thought their prices too high on perennials and it surely was very expensive for this one rose. I hope that I, too, don't have to submit a claim for a dead rose but in any case even if it grows, I intend to submit a comment to them. They won't know if I don't tell them they're falling short of the mark.

My Above & Beyond is growing very well - arrived a very nice sized plant, has leaves on it and is putting out well. I potted mine in a large pot - my bare roots seem to grow better that way, allowed to develop good root systems. The rose At Last arrived in a 4" pot, different from the 3 bare roots. I am going to repot it today, it looks good. The only rose of the 3 that I am concerned about is Princess Charlene. It is down to one living cane [from actually 2 - 1 was broken off when I unpacked it]. As said previously, after comparing the 4 roses, I think this one is just a lesser plant on the whole than the rest. I potted it up, mounded the 2 canes and kept watered. I now see growth coming from the 1 cane. If that dies, I will ask for a replacement - Hopefully it will live and thrive, but will be coddled in the pot for probably at least a year. But - cant get it anywhere else and it looks lovely. Hope all roses thrive for everyone. My small daylily is growing well - its just going to take quite a bit of time to mature into a blooming fan. If I want a rose and cant get it anywhere else, I will buy it and baby it - in 3 years, it should mature into a healthy blooming rose, hopefully!

Ha! My rose above bloomed bright red. Not 'Princesse Charlene de Monaco' at all. They gave me a credit after I called them today. Won't be used on roses!

That's a beautiful rose, whatever it is, but the nerve of those people at White Flower Farm is just unbelievable. First, sending out atrocious plants at outrageous prices, and then sending a replacement that's the wrong rose, probably selected on purpose because they had nothing else to send and hoped you wouldn't complain a second time. Over the years, I have heard almost nothing but bad comments about this place. I've never ordered from them, and I never will. I hope you enjoy this lovely unknown replacement, and they come through with the correct rose eventually. Diane

Oh, how disappointing Anne. You would think for that price they would get it right. Princess Charlene does look like a tempting rose. I keep seeing it on Reagans site, but with no price or way to order it.

White Flower Farm was a treasure 30 years ago but no longer.