This spring I got Dark Night and White Meidiland own root, bare root from Regan. They were very substantial plants and I'd say yes, they were about the same size as the grafted ones in the same order. They are bigger plants than most potted own root roses that I've purchased via mail order. They are growing well, but a bit more slowly than grafted bare roots.

One thing to keep in mind about 'Edgar Degas' not being available until 2018 is that if its patent began when it was introduced in 1997 -- and it lasts 20 years -- that may be why Linda won't be making it available until then, since she can't begin to propagate it without paying royalties until 2017. I don't have much to add, since all the nurseries I've used have been mentioned. I will say that I do have them ranked in terms of whom I ask first when seeking particular roses: Long Ago Roses and Burlington Roses get asked first, because of high quality and very reasonable prices. If they don't have what I want, then I check Rose Petals Nursery or Angel Gardens. These two are also top-notch, but cost including shipping is a bit higher, though not much. These two also tend to specialize in what grows well for them in Florida, so don't expect much in the way of once-blooming old Europeans, though there are a few tucked in. For those cold-hardy oldies, I check High Country Roses. They also have a few hard-to-find species. If there's still something I can't find, I check Rogue Valley Roses or Roses Unlimited. RVR has an amazing selection, but their bands are at the higher end of the spectrum. Also expect about 10% or so to come mislabeled, but my experience is that 1) it's usually nearby alphabetically, so you sometimes end up with something you didn't know you wanted, and 2) if you do need a replacement, emailing some pics and calling the office will get the mistake corrected. RU also has a great selection, but they lean more toward the moderns than does RVR. But they also send hefty 1gal plants. This also means shipping is a bit more if you're not on the east coast, but it's not that bad since I'm in NJ. If I need something with faster impact, I go with RU. If I don't mind nursing something along, I go with RVR. I haven't mentioned Heirloom because I haven't ordered from them since the company changed hands. I will say that they're going more in the direction of modern roses, and the few remaining oldies I can easily find elsewhere. So it's not that I ever had a problem with their roses -- it's just that there isn't as much that they have which catches my eye. But I wouldn't hesitate to order from them should that change. :-) ~Christopher

Perma: Yes, an antique rose is much more than just a rose. It's history, it's romance, it's beauty, it's fragrance, it's science, it's life, it's culture, it's poetry, it's magic. It's a reason to get out of bed in the morning--to look around excitedly to see what bloomed. Like you this is basically my only indulgence. I've been frugal by necessity for decades. This is really the only thing I've done for myself and I don't feel guilty for spending the money. What's stopping me now is I have no sunny space left to put them and I am really pushing it on shade tolerance with many of them already. Ingrid: I agree. I think the future will be worse than those forecasts. Jin: Yes, with money just about anything in the garden is possible. I could spend thousands easily in the garden. Every year! I want to fix my paths and get some flowering plants that are shade tolerant. Maybe a bunch of encore azaleas for starters. I'm eventually going to have to shift my focus to shade gardening because for every square foot of sun I have about 200 square feet in shade. I really wish I could get as worked up over shade plants as I am for antique roses. As an aside, my crape myrtles are all blooming now and they are really beautiful but they do not make my heart go pitter patter like my roses do.

R. Multiflora is hardy to zone 4b, and Dr.Huey-rootstock is hardy to zone 6b. Dr.Huey-roostock can live forever in my zone 5 since its roots is at the end of a long-stick (1 foot deep), so it can survive deep underground while the upper-own-root dies. The temp. at DEEP underground is 32 F, while the above temp. is -20 F in my zone 5a. The secret of Dr.Huey's living forever is its roots are at the end of a long stick to be at 32 F underground. I saw only one multiflora shoot appearing at local library, versus countless Dr.Huey-taking over. Leaves are acidic when not fully decomposed, so I consider that peat (Peat forms when dead plants are not fully decomposed). Once time I buried a bunch of leaves underground when I fixed the planting hole of Wise Portia. IT GOT WORSE !! I dug that up and the leaves turned into pitch-black & acidic peat. Wise Portia as own-root hates it (it likes alkaline with dark-green leaves). Multiflora-roostock can take acidic leaves on top better than grafted-on-Dr.Huey or own-roots. Multiflora-species thrive in high-rain & acidic soil. But Dr.Huey was bred in dry & alkaline CA. Back in 1998 I winter-protected a dozen hybrid-teas (grafted on Dr.Huey) with acidic maple leaves (not decomposed to neutral pH). They all got black canker & died through the winter. But my neighbor's dozen hybrid-teas (grafted-on-Dr.Huey) were winterized with dry & alkaline wood-chips and they survived winter great. Own-roots absolutely hate acidic leaves on top when their roots mature to be chunky & woody like Dr.Huey. When I winterized 10th-year-own-root Golden Celebration with leaves, it was only 4" tall in spring & gave me 4 lousy blooms for spring flush. So this 11th-year winter, I switched to DRY & ALKALINE wood-chips, and Golden Celebration had over 1 foot of green cane, with 20+ blooms for spring flush (in only 4 hrs. of sun). Multiflora-rootstock prefers loamy soil since it's a cluster root (spaghetti strands), versus big-fat & woody chunky Dr.Huey for dense & thick clay. Multiflora-rootstock declines in my salty & dense & alkaline clay. Dense clay need a thicker-stick like Dr.Huey to push through. Here in rock-hard & dense alkaline clay (similar to CA), Dr.Huey-rootstock is the choice but folks plant it so deep that Dr. Huey lives forever.