I had the same thing happen from my first order with Chamblees. I called a few times and finally spoke to the owner. Thery immediately replaced as they have insurance with FedX for such things. Your pictures tell the story. However, these plants are salvageable and if you give a good clean cut on the broken part should soon put out new growth.

Thanks so much for your reply and help

Wow, I've had a few packages arrive in bad shape but I can't say I've ever seen anything like yours. Did UPS just jump up and down on them, or what? Geez. Rose Petals usually staples the pots to the box so that they don't move around also. It doesn't look like they did that in your box. Definitely reach out to them. Your roses may recover just fine, but keep an eye on them for sure.

My entire bulk order of 66 roses from Roses Unlimited this year was TOTALLY mangled by UPS this year. Turns out the drivers must have left the 11 huge packages out in the rain at some waystation along the way, since the boxes were soaked inside and out and lost their integrity. Most of the 66 roses and their pots were mangled in the way yours were and many lost half or more of their canes. It wasn't RU's fault since they'd stapled their boxes in as usually Rose Petals does as well.

I emailed Pat at RU and she immediately offered to contact UPS for damages. Turns out all of them survived just fine, so I emailed her back a few weeks later and said not to bother. My husband used to have his own business and he said it's next to impossible to get damages back from UPS in situations like that.

You're not alone - here was the worst of the 11 mangled boxes that someone at UPS then packed up in another box:

Here are the canes I had to prune off just one rose from the damage, along with a side shot of another mangled box:

Bottom line is that UPS screwed up somewhere in your order, but your roses should be fine. They're tough. Just prune off the clearly snapped off bits and ease them gently out of the mangled pots to plant them. You might make sure to give them a couple of days at least to recover in a protected spots before planting. Do let Rose Petals know about the shipping damage ASAP though in case something needs replacing from the treatment after all.

Cynthia

In my area FedEx is terrible and rough with the packages and UPS is very careful and proper in dealing with their packages. It may just be the drivers for my location though. The fedex guy looks drunk half the time which worries me because there are a lot of children playing in the neighborhood including mine. His face is beet red and just tosses the packages at my door and rushes off chewing his gum.

Oh no! Horrible. That's like a horror movie to rose lovers like us! Every photo I looked at, I was sitting here gasping (out loud). Yikes! There's one thing I can say about Heirloom Roses is that their packaging is outstanding. I guess I've been lucky in receiving my roses in good shape from some of these vendors especially since the UPS guy doesn't like me much after I yelled at him for something -- (bad day). I've been trying to make it up to him so he doesn't squash my roses when they come. lol

Not good!

Please contact Rose Petals Nursery Deanna, thank you, Cydney Wade

For all who don't know, Cydney Wade is the owner of Rose Petals Nursery. I've bought roses from them for years and have always been satisfied.

I had roses arrive (2 plants) that looked very similar to the condition of yours. They were from Roses Unlimited.

Yes, the pots had been stapled to the box, but they had also been shoved into the tiniest box possible, to the point where the black nursery pots were completely misshapen. Also, they pots were barely half filled with soil. There was hardly anything in there for the plant to hold onto! The plants were incredibly loose, and the foliage on both was a sickly yellow color. The roses did manage to survive despite all this, but they were very much set back in their growth and had to have a serious recovery time :)

Heirloom's packaging and shipping are STELLAR! I am willing to pay more in order to receive such healthy, robust, well packaged plants.

To be fair for comparison, Heirloom is in the PNW where I live, and Roses Unlimited is in SC, so that is a very long distance for the plants to travel. But there is no excuse to ship plants shoved into tiny boxes with hardly any soil in flimsy pots.

I feel your pain Deanna :)

What a sorry mess. My two roses from them were both wrong. Now 2 years later one of their roses is finally blooming and it isn't the Rose I ordered.

I have had boxes look stomped on by ups and fedex. I once had a driver dig through stuff on my porch. I had video of him. His boss had the nerve to tell me it was normal, instead of just saying sorry. However, an internal investigator contacted me after I posted the video online. (I felt forced to do so, because they had no interest in dealing with the possible thief) 99% are good guys imo. One box stomper can ruin a lot of packages.

My roses always came in good condition from Cydney at RPN.

Once those drivers take over the shipment it is the chain of people in transportation that can cause most of the problems. The root of the problem is making sure the nursery uses good shipping facilities and hopefully packs them in cast iron.

Lou B.

They usually staple the pots to the side of the box with huge copper staples. On a few occasions they have forgotten a pot. I had one order where the one rose that wasnt stapled was literally upside down in the box with the stem broke off. It regrew quickly though. I usually have quite a bit of dirt loose in the boxes as well. Good thing the roses are really healthy and well started.

Mail order plants is not easy business, there aren't many out there who would do it. We want to be easy so they remain in business for us, better more nurseries will get into this. My complaints, do people ever get anything from Rogue Valley waiting list? For me, it's never ever. Also like you ordered six starting from the only one you initially want, you end up getting everything except the one on top of your list. Mail order is not easy for buyer and seller.

I have gotten something from RVRs waiting list. It was "Marianne" (Paul Barden).

I just received my first order from Rose Petal Nursery yesterday late afternoon- FedEx delivery. I was not thrilled with how the plants looked. I got 4 and all 4 have very pale, light yellowish green foliage all over. All 4 also have blackspot-yellow leaves with fungal spots.

I am torn between knowing I should not fertilize newly arrived shipped plants and I should not fertilize plants in extreme heat - but they seem to need some emergency medical care immediately.

As for the shipping. All 4 plants were stapled to the sides of the box with big, heavy staples. I had a dickens of a time getting them out. They were shy on soil and stuffed with newspaper and wrapped in dark/black plastic bags.

There were no broken stems. Nothing was jostled out of place. I do think this is the worst method of packaging plants I have seen yet from any nursery. There are much better ways where you don't suffocate the plants with black plastic.

The prices were less than other nurseries I buy from. I can see why. I doubt I will be ordering from them again.

Traveling in heat can be difficult. Set them in dappled shade and water them. They will look great in 3 weeks. All my plants from them have done great. Good luck with yours.

I recommend very weak fertilizer, as in barely flavor the water and shade under tree for at least a week. I like Monty’s (liquid, orange label on Amazon) or Miracle Gro. Please keep us updated and what babies did you get?

I got Darwin's Enigma rambling hybrid musk rose, Cornelia hybrid musk rose, Cherokee Rose, and Saluda pure musk rose. I also have a Penelope musk rose and Dancing in the Wind musk rose from another nursery. I intend to add some Gallica and Damask roses as well. I also have hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifolias, china rose, and I have Poet's, Carolina, Confederate, and Pink Jasmine, Snow-n-Summer Jasmines, and 1 Arabian Jasmine in my garden. I have 6 Belmont gardenias and 1 Veitchii gardenia. I am redoing the landscaping so all of my plants are still babies.

You are gems to reach putputout! This level of service is why so many return year after year! Thank you from us all!

Thank you for your kind words!

I received Darlow's Enigma and Purple Skyliner from Rose Petals Nursery in June and they were both in very good shape. You might want to remove the leaves that are diseased. as I think I see small green leaves and healthy green cane to go on with. I'd keep the roses in a shady spot in their pots for a while until they show more new growth, as Sheila mentions. Rose Petals Nursery carries an interesting assortment of roses that I find very appealing.

Thank you for your kinds words!

I've always gotten wonderful plants from RP. The one time there was a problem, they were completely gracious and honorable about replacing the plant. All my RP roses are doing great! (Cornelia has gotten so big she's going to need her own zip code soon!) I do think most of the country is enduring super-hot weather right now, so it would be a pretty stressful journey for your roses; I don't think, given those circumstances, that it's at all suprising that they have yellow leaves and some BS. I'd put them in a dappled-shade spot, keep them well watered, and give them time to recover. And definitely ask Cydney for her advice (I'm not sure, maybe you should defoliate them and let them put on new leaves? But ask). I'd never hesitate to order from RP (Cydney - any chance John Hopper will be back in stock soon?)

Anyway, best of luck with your roses, I'm sure they'll be fine!

Thank you Frances for the kind words! Yes, how many John Hopper would you like? We should probably do this part on our website contact page or call me at 352-215-6399.

Thanks Cydney, I'll go to the website contact page!

Thank everyone for your kind assistance. I did as suggested. I put them in dappled shade and they seemed to perk up a bit but then the black slot got worse, despite my best efforts. I tour my harden at daybreak and sunset everyday to inspect my plants. Every day at each tour I cut off the diseased material. Each day at each tour there is more black spot and I cut off more material. There is little left. I keep the area clean, and I spray, and in spite of this it keeps getting worse.

I have applied a systemic fungicide to the soil and stepped up my regular spraying which includes castor oil, essential oils, baking soda, and copper fungicide. I rotate applications.

The climate here is hot, very hot and very humid, and it rains almost every day; often 2-3 times a day and all night. I just started spraying after every rain - which is every day at least once and usually twice.

Because it is so often I am diluting the fungicide, but really. It has overtaken the roses that were already in the ground and three are dead now.

I have put in considerable hours treating the soil, raplacing mulch, pruning, keeping everything clean and I just do not know what else to do. It occurs to me now that I should have built cages and put rain cover over each rose. Sorry to put this on the RPN thread, but it is a continuance. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thank you.

Where are you located, Alchemymuse? Climate is everything regarding growing roses. Details of your location can help people help you.

Are those roses known to be prone to black spot? I’ve had some “black spot magnets” in my rose garden.

Rose Petals Nursery is still hoping you will reach out to us. Our roses are completely grown without fungicides or insecticides. Using all of those while they are so young is not advised. Black spot will not kill your babies. New leaves form where the others have fallen off. We do not grow in greenhouses and they are very well set up to live in the direct sunshine. Set them out where they can receive the rain and dry off in between. Art and Cydney Wade

Sheila - I am in Marietta, GA - Its a red clay nightmare with constant rain and humidity.

Kentucky-As far as I know none of these are particularly susceptible, I have tried to choose varieties with "good disease resistance" although I don't know of any rose that is impervious to black spot.

Lady-I know another grower who also says Black Spot will not kill and in fact will not harm, that it just looks bad. I cannot say that I agree based on my experience. Perhaps it is that the conditions that cause black spot to get so out of control are also the same conditions that cause root rot.

That is a big reason I am overhauling the whole landscaping the root rot from rain over the past few years has killed or ruined a majority of my garden.

The sunshine is not a problem your any of my roses including RPN roses. It is the rain and fungus.

The problem is that the plants are not getting dry in the sun. It rains again before they can even dry out. A typical rain schedule: 3am-7am heavy rain. 8am-2pm-hot, humid, stifling, 2pm-4pm rain, 4pm-2am no rain, 2am-6am rain, 6am-8pm no rain (whoopie! maybe we can recover!) then overnight rain again.

I am originally from Savannah, GA and it rains much, much harder there, but only for an hour or two or three then the sun comes out hot and bright and dries everything. Here the sun does not dry. The wet stays.

In some parts of Georgia I keep hearing about drought, but here it is nothing but rain.

My potted plants (including RPN-still in pots" are doing so much better than the in-ground roses and other plants. They are simply dying- black leaves, no leaves, black stems. Pathetic.

I had the black spot under control for the most part but then with everyday rain it is just impossible. I am back to hauling all of the potted plants to shelter - back and forth even if a few times a day. Hard when there are about 50 heavy pots.

I have only 1 or 2 roses in-ground that may survive. I am thinking of digging them out, potting them, and perhaps they will have a chance. I have already potted two of the in-ground roses - they aren't going to make it.

The Azaleas, hydrangeas, jasmine, laurels, and hollies are fine. I couple of years ago I did have to cut back a mountain laurel, an azalea, and a hydrangea to the ground because of the rain rot. They are all doing great now- even in this rain.

Maybe I will have to turn my basement into a rose garden with grow lights.

It does sound like your drainage in your yard might be your biggest problem Alchemymuse.

Yes, it is terrible. I have worn myself out digging to amend soil and in addition to that digging wide and deep holes to make nice, well-draining planting holes. When I check the soil around the plants, even deep with a pitchfork it is loose enough and mobile. I can only guess that with so much rain there is too much water sitting on the clay layer. That soil is lose enough, but too wet. I can see it drain, but only up to the point of so much water. I think it's just too much water. I have gone back to hauling potted plants back and forth and they seem to be recovering now. Black spot not coming back. Those in the ground are not doing so well. We have a very lush, heavily wooded lot. Plenty grows but trees fall a lot and big branches dropping on the house. Arborist told me the fallen trees were rotted with fungal infections. We live in a nice subdivision with well maintained gardens in the yards.. Of course, the landscape crews and arborists are working in the neighborhood every day. I have to do everything myself - we cannot yet afford the luxury of paying people to do the work for us. :(

Pots do sound safer for you at the moment, Alchemymuse. Best wishes for your baby plants and you.

Do you have any raised beds?

Similar situation here... We used to pull digger to dig very deep Holes into the clay and fill those witPebblesh . This help tremendously since the water fills those holes 1st before The soil surrounding the roses. It's a sort of French drain. The The holes are easily dug deeply with The pole digger. Well easier than digging a Hold that deep and also wide. The end product looks like a funnel.

Kentucky - I have been trying to figure out how to make some raised beds- or raised pots for the front yard landscaping. I don't want the look of basic garden vegetable beds for around the front of the house though. I thought maybe I could dig 2 ft hole and put a 2 ft raised planter on top of it, that night work. I iam also thinking about making very big planters (they are ridiculously expensive to buy.

I am not sure about the aestetic for my front landscaping, but after considering many materials and my craftsmanship capabilities I have a plan. I will just have to try it and see how it looks. It could sit above ground, part in ground or in ground.

My design is 2"x2" wood frame cube (or taller) dark cedar stained (ECO friendly and plant safe). Side and bottom panels of 1" hardware cloth. Inner lining of natural burlap. It would sit on 8" concrete blocks (in ground) with the hole side up foradditional drainage. Inside bottom filled with river rocks then another lining of burlap to contain the soil and the plant and finally mulch on top, of course.

It would have to be big enough to allow 3'x3' space for the roots to grow in the soil area. Again, the aestetic is the probelm (aside form all the hard work and digging). I think it wold look descent but odd. To build a retaining wall for the space under the front window of the house would not look right eiterh at the height I need it to be. I think the real solution is to pay for a backhoe to come in here and excavate the clay and then have new soil put in - way too expensive for me right now.

I do have one narrow strip on the west side of the front yard that I am lining with concrete blocks to build up that soil area. I plan on very tall trellises lining that hill (all my land is hilly) and covering them with rose and jasmine vines as a privacy fence. The probelm is the area is part shade - never sunny and that is not goo for any of the plants I like.

I bought the Charles Darrow Hybrid Musk for that location as it is reported by others to grow and bloom very well in shade. I also have some varieties of Jasmine that might do in that spot. I am also thinking of Camelias and Sky Pencil Holly. My Hollies are about 1ft tall now. It will be years before they grow big enough.

Vaporvac- Thank you for the French Drain suggestion. I have also read about horizontal trenches filled with pebbles. I was not convinced that would work. Now, with your vote of confidence I am going to try your vertical French drains.

Maybe I'll also put a horizontal trench along the endge of the driveway running parallel to the front window of the house (the driveway cuts across the front of the house). Both drains would simply look like peeble edging or landscape decor. I can work with that.

I could do that on the other side of the driveway too - there is a 2ft wide strip of land in front of a stone retaining wall - between that and the drivway. That is one of my rose planting areas - that I have not been able to plant yet. (If I had, they would probably be dead too).

If I raise a 2ft wall on that side of the driveway, it will obscure the lovely retaining wall I already have. If I raise a 2ft wall on the house side of the driveway, it would look bizarre -wall and soil 2ft higher than the front porch it is attached to.

I really appreciate everyone's help with this problem. Thank you..

Whatever you do, I would suggest to start small in case it doesn’t work.

I just wanted to post an update on this. Just got my birthday roses from RP. They are beautiful, and arrived in great shape! (In spite of the fact that the Fed Ex person left them in front of my gate facing the wrong side up - never mind the HUGE red arrows on the box saying "this side up". Sigh.) Barbara's Pasture Rose and Meteor are bruisers - every bit as big as what you'd get from Heirloom (which would cost 2 or even 3 times more). Roserie de l'Hay and the longed-for John Hopper are smaller, but very robust looking and multi-branched. I'm delighted with them, and almost wish I'd added a few more to my order (not that I have much room for any more roses!) Oh well, there's always next spring!

Wonderful, Happy Birthday Frances !

It's fun to order roses on my birthday and celebrate again the day they come.

Hopefully the Fed Ex driver does better reading road signs than he does package arrows.

That's how I felt about my Roses Unlimited order, I wished that I had bought a few more at the time.

Rose Petals is a nursery I have wanted to order some rare roses from , but kept prioritizing other nurseries. The way the economy is going I thought it's now or never to get a few scarce varieties. I 'll take another look at what they have.

Thank you Frances for the kind words!

You are so welcome, Cydney! I feel like it's really important to acknowledge our really good rose nurseries - places like RP, RU, ARE, Rogue (even though they mis-identify sometimes, their hearts are in the right place and they've always made it right for me), High Country, Angel, and Northland. (I'm sure there are lots of others, but these are the main ones I order from). Just as we need to call out awful crooks like the people who took over Chamblees ripping off innocent rose lovers, we equally need to sing the praises of the good people who really do love roses and want to do right by their customers and help us grow our beautiful flowers! And preserve rare roses for future generations!

Happy Birthday, Frances. Live roses for your birthday - that is a wonderful idea!