Well, Last May I bought my first 2 bare root roses from Walmart. For $3.00 I bought Christopher Marlowe, a David Austin rose, which is about 3 feet tall and bushy right now developing the most fragrant and gorgeous blooms! (J&P sells them) The other bare root rose bush I bought was a Big Red rose bush with the most perfect large red flowers you have ever seen. I paid all of $4.00 for Big Red. I still have both of them now. They are both developing buds. I went to a Nursery and fell in love with a J&P rose bush called "Rainbow Sorbet" last week. I paid $20.00 for that one. Gorgeous rose! Non stop blooms! My son just ordered Pope John Paul II tonight for mom's day, but I won't receive it til the 20th. I had to have that rose bush, they had PJP II also at the nursery, but I didn't want to spend that much on the 2 of them at that time. The nursery is now sold out of all of their J&P roses. I didn't buy a rose from Walmart this year only because I didn't really like the looks of them. Home Depo had Chicago Peace, a yellow climber, for $6.95, but I went with a rose in a pot called Climbing Westerland rose, apricot-orange color, hoping it would grow in faster this summer. The key I found is to soak the bare root plants in a bucket of water for an hour B4 you plant them. I think buying the roses in the pots is still a wise move and if it costs a little more, it's worth it. The new PJPII I will receive later this month will be bareroot, and I am soaking it good. The old fashioned big red rose bush I bought at Walmart is my absolute favorite. Reminds me of the roses I remember when I was a little girl. Happy Gardening!

I decided to check out 'Cheyenne Spirit', as afterall, it did get Fleuroselect & AAS, award... Produced by Kieft, the germination rate was rated at about 70%. Also, with a 'Utilty Patent', whatever that means...Rights to its production name, for the next 20 years, for the years of time, work, efforts, care & money, that went into it? It appears the producer had originally started it, as a cross between 'Magnus' & 'Knee High' & then more complex breeding after that, over quite a few years (over ten?), to come up with stable uniform plants in a variety of about 7 different colors. At a cost of about $5. for 15 seeds (not to mention shipping costs), it may be easier to buy another pot of your favorite colors, if you really like it ! I did not see if it is actually an F1 hybrid, but if so, then any seeds you collect, may not be quite like the named variety, in the size & series of colors of what you have now. If I liked it that much, I'd buy another pot full, as opposed to trying to chill (vernalize the sown seeds in the fridge) & then have to wait, until next year, to see which colors you get. For those reasons, I would be opposed to buying & sowing seeds, not knowing what colors appear. Instead, since they are locally available, I would go back, selecting a pot of four more, in colors more to your liking & preference, separately plant them & have fairly nice sized plants,& a great looking collection, next year...

They were NOT EA plants! They were in 4" square pots and they were lush and full and gorgeous! They totally covered their little bamboo loops and were in prime condition. The soil was moist but well drained and no bird poop on them! Truthfully I picked one up and examined it closely but didn"t make it a point to remember the suppliers name. I was so crushed they were all KQ I couldn't get past that. I'll go back Monday and get the details. This was the Walmart in Dexter, Missouri BTW. They were just putting their stuff out and only had 1/4 of their total area stocked. Maybe I'll go back and find a dozen curtsii! I didn't even pay any attention to their price ( I have KQ ) but I bet they're CHEAP! If they don't turn up for yall locally I will be happy to buy and ship. I was almost tempted to get one for myself.

I have a very hard time thinking that 70% of people over 65 have had the first shot The last that I read is that around 75% of seniors have had the first shot & over 50% are fully vaccinated. FWIW, DH & I got our first vax on January 30 & the second one on February 20. I waited two weeks & flew to AZ where my friend got her second dose while I was there (early March). (Walmart is) on a bus route, and a lot of seniors frequent that store. Our small WalMart closed several years ago when a larger one was built to replace it. What happened was the bus routes were expanded/ changed. Not long after, two different health care facilities were built near that WMT along with a lot of other retail outlets & a large new Goodwill. Cities/ town expand & change. Bus routes are easily altered & expanded. Similarly, a grocery that served old mid-town closed & moved. This was a store that served a lot of seniors & pedestrian shoppers (across the street from a large mobile home village.) What happened was that another grocery located within 4 blocks of the closed grocery to fill the vacuum. This new one is a discount grocery which, when all is said & done, is a better fit for people on fixed incomes. Vs the old store which is part of a 'highest prices in town' chain operation. Part of the old grocery's parking lot is now filled with a KwikTrip. KT is a thriving quick shop chain that has very competitive pricing on staples like bread, milk, eggs, bananas. Plus a nice selection of bakery products.