Two teas and a China that I ordered from RVR last year also showed evidence of having been hanging around on the benches in a band pot for a loooooong time -- even woodier and leggier than yours. I imagine some rose varieties don't have a lot of turnover... I must say I was somewhat surprised at the less-than-stellar condition of the bands I received, but since they were tea and China, I figured they would break new growth all over once potted up and getting good root growth and they have, though still on the road to being good-looking plants. However, yours is an HP and a variety that I am not familiar with, not to mention being in a different climate, so my experience may not apply!

Thanks catspa! Im glad your bands are doing better! What's crazy is that they just added the Baron back in stock!! It was sold out for a while and when I went to place my order they had restocked it the week before. I'm let down by the rose, but am waiting for more input.

I have received bands like this that once replanted in a 1-2 gallon pot burst out with new growth in 2-4 weeks and did well as per catspa's experience. It is amazing they can do that. The old cane can be trimmed off later.

good to know Sheila, thanks! I probably will end up just keeping it and repotting the band into a gallon container to get bigger.

When you get roses as bands, what growth you see upon arrival is not "the rose" it will become. It's just the tip of a branch from the mother plant which has been made to grow roots. The function of the growth you see now is feeding the roots until they have the reserves to send forth new canes. Once that happens, you can snip away the original "baby canes" -- they've done their job.

:-)

~Christopher

What Christopher said. I would either pot those up or plant them in good soil right away, don't leave them in the band pots. I have ordered from Rogue Valley andthe roses always do well. I haven't lost one yet. And some did look as pitiful as yours do right now.

I have similar woody roses from RVR that have sat doing nothing but surviving the past year. This year, however, some of those are showing signs of life and new canes coming from underground. I'm hoping the rest follow suit. It is frustrating to watch other roses take off whilst these woody ones sit and barely look alive. It helped repotting some of them in new soil. I left them in the same locations but have had to add pots to my landscape because of so many losses due to gophers, I am finding all the roses I replant in pots are doing wonderfully as I am putting in a good potting soil mix with no pelleted fertilizer to shock. Before I was mixing potting soil with my sandy soil at the edges and while some did very well, others did not. Having been on Rogue Valley Roses grounds I doubt you would get a better one. Many roses have sat for a long time and have been out probably due to problems identifying or finding. It is a wonderful place to wander around but organization is not what strikes you first. Other nurseries send out woody plants but the woody roots aren't sticking out the bottom as much as RVR. Patience is a virtue. :)

Thanks for confirming what has long been my mental picture of RVR, Anne. I love them and regularly buy from them and have infinite appreciation for the extent of varieties offered, what they are doing, and how difficult that is, but "tight ship" is not the first adjective that comes to mind when thinking of RVR!

However, looking at the big picture, I am more than happy to simply be able to get my hands on a variety that is not available anywhere else and quibbles about quality are a side issue. Yes, patience is a virtue for those bands that aren't so top-notch and however they start, the plants come out all right in the end -- assuming you've gotten the correct one, of course ;-).

Thanks everyone for your responses! I was going to pot them up next week regardless, so I will baby baron to try and get him to send up some new canes.

Chris, you are always so knowledgeable on old roses and have loved learning from you and seeing your collection :) I think we have similar tastes in roses.

Buford, that's good to know, I guess it's just a waiting game. Thanks for your reassuracne lol.

Anne, thanks for your insight. That's really disheartening. Like catspa, I really appreciate the varieties on offer, but I have recieved much better bands with healthier canes from other people such as Linda or Pam. I will leave them in their pots like you and see what happens in the coming year.

For what it's worth, I was at RVR recently to pick up "Orfeo", and they had just gotten something like 20,000 new plants from their "supplier/grower" and they looked really good and fresher than some of their older stock. I do feel it is a joy to rescue a rose just like an animal rescue when they could get to their "forever home" finally. I know they have a lot of treasures with no sure buyers for rare roses that aren't appreciated by mass audiences.

We are so "down" now, in the numbers of nurseries left to us that offer anything uncommon . . . I know that RVR keeps going out of love and dedication. May not be a tight ship, but it would still be a d*mned shame to lose them.

Jeri and sheila, I completely agree! I watched an amazing documentary on YouTube from BBC about old garden roses that really made me feel a connection to saving these plants! I really recommend you all check it out if you have time it was unbelievably beautiful and informative.. "roses and climbers & creepers", I must have watched it at least 40 times. It really made me want to seek out these old roses and I LOVE supporting small businesses such as RVR.. I was just expecting a more healthy looking band especially since they just resrocked Baron, I'd think it would be a newer, fresher looking plant.. I'm going to keep what I received and pot them up, but I'm not sure Rogue Valley would be the first place I'd buy a rose considering Baron could've been purchased elsewhere..

I feel that way about Florentina I got grafted on Multiflora from Palatine, when Northland Rosarium had it own root. So far so good though, and who knows it could do well and go own root eventually because I planted it low. Someone said gophers don't like multiflora so that also could be a positive.

we'll see Shelia, I'm still on the fence about own root but I literally just started gardening seriously last year! I'll have to make a post about my yard and it's progression as I live in New York (brooklyn) where a yard is quite a rarity even one as small as mine!

Michael, I really like the longevity of own root roses. They are slower to start, which can be too hard for some people. I realize some rose types are too weak to grow own root, and that would be different. I had roses 30 plus years old I grew in Alaska from Heirloom Roses and Antique Rose Emporium, Northland Rosarium, and High Country Roses. I moved to Oregon a year and a half ago, and the possibilities opened up for me. Here, I probably could grow anything gophers don't get. Hybrid Teas are not what I grow, but they would probably need a grafting boost in northern areas of course.

Here is Orfeo from RVR, April 23, 2016 and today. Welcome Orfeo! Hope yours are doing well Michael.

Sheila's garden. · More Info

Sheila's garden. · More Info

Oh wow sheila, a night and day difference! My comice de tarn-et-garonne is sending out new shoots from the base and looks great but my baron girod d'laine is slow to start, just putting out new leaves off that old cane. I placed a huge order with Angel Gardens in Florida and I'm thrilled with the plants Pam sent, I will be posting about it soon!

Sounds great, Michael. I know it will feel good when Baron Girod really gets those roots going and puts out growth from the base, too.

Michael - one thing which is necessary to grow old roses is PATIENCE. Some grow faster than others. Some of the climbers take up to 4 years to bloom! It is totally irrelevant what they look like when they are babies, or whether a particular rose grows as fast as another. Own root roses are not grown from seed, but from bits and pieces of older bushes, so they many times look like a bit of an older bush in the beginning instead of "newer and fresher", until their roots get big enough to start pushing up new growth.

What is important is that your Baron Girod is evidently alive and growing. What size pot is it in? If you keep it watered and in the sun (or - I checked with HMF, perhaps partial sun at this point), it will grow. Right now, as Sheila said, it is growing roots - you cannot see that. Once it has enough roots, it will start to put out more top growth.

Please post pictures of it on here when it is say, a year old. That is when you can begin to look at its growth.

Jackie

Also early blooms can very often be greatly inferior to what they'll be eventually when the plant is more mature. I give a plant a couple of years before I get upset about blooms.

I have a young Orfeo plant that put out one bloom this spring. A very pretty bloom. But the plant is busy putting out long canes. It might be preparing for a grand performance sometime in the future.

Michael, any 2017 photos? Do you have an update?

Michael, any 2018 photos or update?

Sheila I believe he left, or doesn't check in as often. He made a thread this spring, wanting to do trades, and afterward, came on and said he wouldn't be able to due to some of his Rose's getting too much winter damage, maybe losing some too. I can't recall. And hasn't been back on since that I've seen.

Thanks for that info Alana. I always wish I could find out what happened.

Hey Alana and Sheila! I've been reading more than posting.. just have had some personal things going on and haven't even been in my garden unfortunatly.. but I will post an update later today! Thanks for remembering Sheila and hope everyone is well

Ok, so I will post pictures of comice de tarn-et-garonne soon but my baron girod d'laine died the same year I received it! Comice pulls through my zone 6b winters wonderful and has become a small sized bush. The blooms are pretty but look like every other bourbon rose I grow! What else would you like to know Sheila?

Nice to see you on here Micheal, I was afraid you left with everyone else. I'm actually doing a lot of what you said, exactly. Reading more than posting, personal things going on the whole nine yards. I hope all goes well, and your back to posting soon!

Thank you for the update, Michael. I have had some wonderful roses from RVRs including from woody bands. I was hoping both of yours had made it. Glad Comice pulled through.

Sheila, these Comice photos are for you and Ingrid who enabled me to get this beautiful rose!

Last year's blooms and plant

This years blooms and plant!

How absolutely lovely, Michael! I am thrilled to see such a beauty I was unfamiliar with. Your bouquet is wonderful too. It really is great to see how well this rose is doing for you.

Micheal, your Comice is beautiful and so is your bouquet with lovely colours. I absolutely love it :)

Jin

Your Comice de Tarn-et -garonne is gorgeous, Micheal! Thank you for posting these pictures. I like seeing what Comice can do. I received a mature Comice from someone this past January, and we had to cut it WAY back to dig it up and transport it home. It’s finally starting to recover from the move. My Comice is sending up new growth and a random bloom here and there. I can’t wait for my Comice to bloom as much as yours! Isn’t the fragrance wonderful?

Here’s a picture of one of Comice’s blooms, 4 days ago. I hope to see as many blooms as you have! Lisa

Lisa, the colour..wow, I love the color and I totally forgot you have the same rose as Micheal's. I was googling it last night to learn more about it's habits / growth and who sells it. I absolutely love it :)

Micheal, thank you for putting multiple pics of the rose :)

Jin

Micheal if you can post your pics as a bush shots on HMF that would be awesome. I noticed there is any and you have 4 beautiful rose bush pictures.

Rose petals is out of stock so I will try to order it next time around.

Thanks :)

Jin