Go ahead and grab them. There's a trick to planting non fortuniana roses in FL. I have yard work to start in a few and will get back to this evening. (a little warm today?? :) )

Thanks Ken. Looking forward to your reply.

I have s friend in Tampa that grows Kordes First Crush and it is stunning and healthy

Hi DVS, I can't help you with those particular Kordes rose varieties, but I do grow others that I can testify are vigorous on my amended sandy soil. I grow Westerland , Rosarium Uetersen, Lion's Fairy Tale and Innocencia Vigorosa , all are own root plants.

Root knot nematodes can be controlled by add organics and mulching. My native soil is like beach sand, devoid of organic material, and I would guess full of root knot nematodes. When I start a new bed, I apply 4" of potting soil (not topsoil), which I buy in bulk at local nurseries for around $40 per yard, 1 yard will cover about 100 square feet. I don't mix it in. I top the soil with 4 inches of mulch. This creates a good environment for the many natural enemies of root knot nematodes. Theses enemies include fungi, bacteria and other kinds of nematodes.

If you would like to try some "tried and true" roses for Florida that are not Kordes, I would recommend Mrs BR Cant, Rosette Delizy, Louis Phillipe, Belindas Dream, Dames de Couer for a start but I can name many others.

Good luck with your new Kordes.

Nifty little trick to growing own root and other grafted roses in soil full of Root Knot Nematodes. Dig your hole about 36" wide and about 20" deep. Make all that stuff go away. Buy a large bag of Pink Bark Nuggets (large), a large bag of potting soil. Put a good layer of nuggets in the bottom of the hole and start to pack nuggets up the side of the hole while adding the potting soil. Half way up the hole, water the soil in pretty good. Let it settle for a little bit, then resume pine bark along the sides and potting soil to the top. Water everything in real good. let sit for a few hrs. then plant your rose. Put a good layer of nuggets around your bush and water in again. Nematodes HATE the acid from the pine bark nuggets and will stay away from your rose. Doing this method of planting, I was able to grow a lot of own root and Dr Huey grafted roses in both Central and S.E. FL. Every year I would take out the layer of old mulch and throw down a good layer of fresh pine needles and pine bark nuggets on top of the needles. Worked like a charm.

Dark Desire and two from the Sunbelt series-- Savannah and South Africa-- have been fabulous here in 8A SE Virginia. Savannah is so far the most fragrant of the three, and very generous bloomer.

Thanks for all the very informative replies. I truly appreciate the spreading of knowledge. This is a great forum for newbies to roses.

Another lesson learned this weekend. I had no clue the "Kordes" brand of roses are hot commodities on the shelves of Lowe's. I hesitated a bit given I was in Atlanta and worried about the longevity (or the lack thereof) of roses purchased in Atlanta but planted in FL. Today, not a sign of a single Kordes rose. Gone, vanished, not to be seen or found in the garden center. Had I known better, I would have bought both Dark Desire and Summer Romance when I seen it back on Thursday. The staff at the stores couldn't say when or if they'd get more in stock. No worries. I guess it wasn't meant to be for Kordes roses this time. But I did find another gem...Belinda's Dream. Cell phone research showed a lot of positives and not much for negatives. It's a teeny little thing stuck in a 2 gallon container, very healthy with plenty of new growth on the way. Something about the plant caught my eye, likely the lush green foliage with so little blackspot present. And to be honest, the reviews on the plant convinced me to take this bushy little thing with me.

Valrose...can you tell me more about the amended soil you wrote about and tell me more about the Dames de Couer rose? I looked up each rose you mentioned and became star struck this this one. Is it prone to black spot or susceptible to other disease? Does it do well in the FL summer heat? This rose on first appearance seems awesome, or at least it does to my eyes. A quick search reveals this rose was released in 1958 and faded away from popularity and production except for a few rose growers. Where did you buy yours? Antique Rose Emporium?

Ken...a personal thanks for your wonderful help. Thank you. All the rose plants were bare root (body bag specials from Sam's). The hole dug was no where near as large as the one in your directions but then again I had no clue what I was doing either. I'll follow your direction to plant Belinda's Dream.

barbarag_happy...Savannah looks impressive. I have one yellow rose...Golden Masterpiece. I'm not so impressed with the duration of the yellow...a few days and then it fades. And no scent. But my rose plant was placed into the ground only 6 months ago. I'll definitely consider Savannah for the front yard redo.

Dewar Nurseries in Apopka FL grows & supplies Kordes' roses to Lowe's here in Virginia & the Southeast & West to the Mississippi. You might contact them to ask where to buy in your area. They also grew the Austin roses Lowe's sells here, along with other roses. Wanting to know if a particular Kordes rose variety at my local Lowe's was grafted or own root in Spring of 2016, used the "Contact Us" email form on their website to ask. Within 24 hours, received email responses from 2 different reps with the answer to my question. You'll find the Contact at the bottom right of their homepage. http://www.dewarnurseries.com/

Valrose, didn't realize Dame de Coeur could be grown no spray in hot & humid conditions. Yours is stunning! Thanks! Sue

This is what ARE has to say about Dame de Couer

‘Peace’ crossed with ‘Independence’ produced this cherry red rose with the old-fashioned name. We are not sure why it dropped out of commerce, as it is healthy and free-blooming with large, double, very fragrant flowers that last well on the bush and in vases'

Vasue, I wish Dewar would send Kordes to my local Lowes

Thanks Vasue!

Valrose...if you feel like taking a road trip to Atlanta, the Lowe's on Peachtree Industrial has a lot of David Austin roses. Can't remember their funky long French names but there's red ones, and yellow ones. The white ones were called Cathedral something or other. Honestly, most of the DA plants looked great but some not so. But they're $30 each. No sale pricing on those roses. BTW, your Dames de Clouer are strikingly beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing the pictures.