Great info, folks! I actually started out with a dozen or so own-roots from Roses Unlimited this year--Mr. Lincoln, Teasing Georgia, Double Delight, William Shakespeare 2000, Crown Princess Margarite. And about 6 own-roots from J&P--Aromatherapy, Pope John Paul II. The Roses Unlimited own-roots grew like gangbusters. At the end of the season, Teasing Georgia and Crown Princess were both over 6' tall and well branched. Double Delight was 4' tall and full. Mr. Lincoln didn't have too many canes, but they were all 3-5' tall. The only one that stayed small was William Shakespeare. It ended the season at about 2-3' tall. In contrast, the own-roots from J&P did not do nearly as well. 2/3 of them died, and the replacements languished. A couple of them did get to 5' tall, but most of them stayed around 2' and didn't even bloom till close to frost. We practice organic gardening exclusively and I never sprayed. None of the roses got any disease until October, and then only a tad of mildew that I washed off successfully with water. However, I have wondered about the difference in performance b/t these two sets of own-roots. If I had only grown the J&P own-roots, I would have come to the conclusion that own-roots lack vigor too. I've grown J&P grafted before and they definitely perform better. But the Roses Unlimited own-roots performed beautifully, so what was different? I've narrowed it down to two probable causes: J&P came bareroot and Roses Unlimited came in soil. The J&P own-roots were actually bigger by probably at least a year's growth. But they didn't do nearly as well as the small own-roots that came in pots from RU. The RU roses didn't experience any transplant shock, unlike the J&P roses, which didn't leaf out for months after planting. In addition, I arranged for the RU roses to arrive by the first of April so I could plant them early. The J&P folks wouldn't ship until May for my zone, so their roses went in a month later. Other than that, both sets were heavily mulched and grown organically in identical soil conditions. They were even watered at the same time. Too bad the patented roses are not yet available own-root. Thanks for reading.

Cynthia I actually saved the post in a document for future reference. For some strange reason it won't let me post the pics though. per Nippstress zone 5 Nebraska "Jen, I have yews in the front of our house that were there when we moved in that I use as backdrop for that bed of roses. Mine faces north so these have to be the very cold hardy and shade tolerant roses in my case. I like the look of the trimmed yews contrasting the dark green behind the roses, and during the summer/fall you don't notice the yews much at all. In winter and early spring, the yews make a much-needed green foundation for the picture window and at that point, you don't notice the roses at all. I also have a cottage-style garden, so during rose/perennial season it's the usual color chaos in front of the yews to calm down during the quiet seasons with just the yews. Here's a huge Jack's Wish rose in front of two of the bushes during prime time: Explorer roses, at least in my case, and quite a few Austins and Meilland roses are doing fine in those locations too. They're both also part shade locations, particularly the east side, so they might not bloom as much as elsewhere. So, since I have my location list open here, I'll list what's on the north side of my house, some of which you can see in the yew photos. This also happens to be one of the few beds I try to limit the colors, so there's an emphasis on white, apricot and burgundy (go figure - the latter two colors of course are harder to find in hardy roses): Easy Elegance (many of these are planted in multiples): All the Rage, Calypso, Coral Cove, Snowdrift, Sweet Fragrance - these are totally reliable bloomers in this spot all summer Kordes: Coco, Floral Fairy Tale, LavaGlut, Mandarin Ice, Mango Veranda, Queen of Hearts Freelander, Summer Memories,- also all very reliable bloomers except maybe Coco who's only occasional Austins: Carding Mill, Lady of Shalott, Queen Nefertiti, Susan Williams-Ellis, Tamora Meilland: Abbaye de Cluny, Alba Meidiland, Bolero, Coral Drift, Coral Meidiland, Passionate Kisses, Peach Drift, Canadians/Explorers: Campfire, Quadra (a lot more Explorers on the East side) - trouble free and easy bloomers all season both Other shrubs: Carefree Celebration (Radler), Elizabeth Stuart (Massad), Gentle Persuasion (Buck), Imagine (Clements), Lady Elsie May (Noack), Marylene (Interplant), Milwaukee's Calatrava (Tadler), OSO Easy Mango Salsa (Warner), Paloma Blanca (Buck), Prairie Sunrise (Buck) - except for GP, MC and OSO Easy all of these have been in this spot for 6-8 years and are reliable round the season Other: Jack's Wish (a Kirkham HT rose that's in my top 10 roses of all time - Long Ago roses is propagating from my cuttings - you NEED this rose), Peach Delight (miniflora, only OK here), Pink Abundance (Harkness - by far the weakest in this location), White Gold (Cocker floribunda that does rather nicely) Hope that helps. Cynthia" sharon

I received my plant from Durham, and got it potted. I decided on a rectangular pot (against recommendations), and went up a pot size to 12X9.5 inch, which turned out to be unnecessary. Durham had sold the plant as having been grown, selected and root pruned for bonsai and it was not off the mark. The root system was healthy and shallow, and i had to pad the bottom of the 12 inch pot quite a bit to get the height I was looking for, which is about a quarter inch shallower than the original soil line. The roots were well over an an inch from the walls of the container on the narrow side. The plant has quite a bit of leg room in its new home. I used Al's gritty mix for soil and gave it a small spray bottle shower to make it a bit moister. I plan to let it rest a couple weeks in a section of my patio that gets only indirect light.

We've had a lot of Forum conversations about the lack of newer Tantau roses in the US. Only a few are sold by Palatine. The patented newer ones are out of our reach currently. You can send for Tantau's gorgeous free catalog which they quickly send out in English at your request. Just check Tantau's website. You can't, however, order from the catalog. So keep some tissues handy for the drool! Diane