If there's any full sized independent garden centers in your area you can probably get same or similar kinds from them, which you can inspect in person before purchase. And where you can go talk to somebody in person about them after planting, should the need arise.

Contact your credit card company and see if there is anything they can do to refund your money.

No reputable company would tell you to use Epsom salts. "Grey and yellow" isn't green. Terrible service.

Hanna, I'm sorry about your experience. A few years ago I also bought Black Magic bare roots from them and they didn't come out of dormant state. All the canes turned black. The rep that I emailed to was pretty nice asking for pics and after that issued a refund with no need to apply Epson treatment. Later I learned that the reason the rose canes turned black was because they had rose canker, and the way to quickly help the roses is to cut the canes down below the black part to stop the canker from spreading down more and eventually kill the roses (Remember to disinfect your pruner with Clorox solution to avoid spreading the disease.)

The followed year, I needed to use the refund credit so I ordered bare roots from them again and all of the roses came out of dormant with no problem. Buying at J&P is kind of like buying at your own risks. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's bad, so I stop ordering bare root roses from them unless they have something that I couldn't find anywhere else but know ahead of time there is a risk that some of their bare roots won't wake up from dormant state. Helen

The Myth of Cloroxed Clippers

https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/cloroxed-clippers.pdf

Thank you all for comments. I will go to local garden center next year. Does anybody know garden roses center around Chicago?

Hanna,

Diana's advice is excellent. If your purchase from J&P was made on a credit card, they will go to bat for you big time. Contact them. Just be persistent.

Moses

Sunrise Greenhouse Inc. in Grant Park Illinois. It’s a little bit south of the city. They ship roses to nurseries in Chicago so they have some better prices.

Chalet Landscape and Garden - very up scale so pricey - but they have a ton of stuff

The Growing Place in Naperville really enjoyed visiting this place.

Then for prices more in line with JP there’s are Lowes Home Centers in various places.

Then there are some very reputable on line nurseries.

Hi, Moses and Diana, seems after refund season, they figured out how to delay the refund process and make it impossible to go through credit card, cause they don't do current year delivery, all orders were put in the previous year. By the time customer realize it, credit card time limit expires. Anyway, I will try, but have to pay to learn..

Patty, thanks for the info. I will stop by next year.

I learned the credit card time limit the hard way as well.

Hana, to find nurseries near you, one of the quick ways is go to Google map then type in something like "plant nursery near 95111". You can replace "95111" with your own zip code. You will see a list of nurseries and reviews. Hope that help. Helen

Hanna,

Patty made a good point. Since you did not come to the end of the line, with your communications with J&P, until just the other day, explain that to your card company. If your card company digs in their heels, tell them to cancel your card, and that you will cut it up just as soon as you're off the phone. Then, tell them that you will get 10 friends to cancel and tear up their cards with that company. The loss in revenues from those actions will get their attention.

Moses

Houzz poster “Jackson and Perkins” recently posted on a roses discussion here. You (Hanna) may be able to contact this poster, a JP representative, via Houzz - and report back to us the response. The poster‘s last post was very upbeat.

Correction: “Jackson & Perkins”

This was the post rifis mentioned. Read it and perhaps comment on it. I can't remember if she gives some to call or write. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-about-jackson-and-perkins-dsvw-vd~1710466?n=25

I had really good experience with JP for many years. I collect rose trees from their the end of season sale all the time. This year I purchased 75 rose trees from them, one of them didn’t make it. Just one phone call I got a refund credit. I used the credit ordered 2 Kiss Me Kate, just received yesterday. 2 very healthy big plants compare to the two bands I ordered from a nursery last year. Here are a few JP trees in front of garages. They were $12.95 ( or $13.95?) each! :-)

I also have good experience with Palatine and Hortico. Palatine just started their ordering season last Monday 9/10, check on their site. Many of us here order from these two nurseries . Hortico will start their ordering season in the fall.

Thank you Rifis and vaporvach. Here is the latest comments from Jackson & Perkins. He doesn't have post, only comments. I already left a comment on that thread. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/lapark-rose-pictures-dsvw-vd~5462223

I just received my first purchase from Jackson & Perkins. I was worried after reading this thread, but my experience was excellent.

I ordered Earth Angel and Savannah in late August. Received them first week in October. They arrived well packed, extremely healthy, and with good size.

I would buy again.

My first (and so far only) bare root rose experiences came from Jackson & Perkins. In 2019 I purchased 30 bare root roses from them. They did have a double credit processing snafu, but cleared it up in a few days. I made a few mistakes. (1) I purchased too many roses, (2) I did not prepare the site beforehand, and it was already late in the season (end of May, Zone 6/7). (3) I did not realize how big bare root roses' roots were.

All these culminated into rose abuse. The problem is I lived with my exbf at the time so after soaking I had to squeeze the roses' roots awkwardly in nursery pots until I could transport them to my house. Because they were so big, some of the roots were not fully covered with soil since they barely fit in the pots and I had a finite amount of soil to distribute between 30 roses, I had a few 5 gallon pots but tried to use 3 gallon pots if possible since the 5 gallon pots ate up the soil.

After finally getting the roses to my house a week later I urgently wanted to plant them, but instead encountered heavy clay soil which made digging laborious and time consuming - luckily my exbf grumpily dug a ton of holes in the ground for me, as well as wheelbarrowed a couple yards top soil in (I wanted compost but the place I went to ran out) - which would have taken me days or weeks, and by that time the roses would have surely died.

Several did die - 5 of 30, but I never contacted J & P because I felt like it wasn't their fault since I abused the roses, and because they had a great sale then. But this means 25 survived, and the ones that initially survived survived thru 2 winters. And several are crazy bloomers.

Anyway I just got more bareroot roses from them, this time properly planting them soon after arrival, learning from my mistakes. If any die from this batch, I will surely contact them esp bc they were full price.

But here is Cherry Parfait from the first May 2019 batch, this is 2 years later in May 2021.