I have ordered several times and there are videos on YouTube of unboxings. I LOVE Roses Unlimited! They ship in May and by the end of the season, most roses are 3' tall.

I think they're great! I've ordered from them three years now and I've gotten great quality roses. I live in NC so shipping is very reasonable; if you buy six roses (to get the best value out of the shipping fee) the prices are really good. Have you checked how much it would be to ship to your house?

The website is just a list of varieties that might be in stock; you have to call or email to find out for sure. I just go back and forth by email. If you pick fewer than six roses she'll let you add more later.

Some time ago. But I do remember that the plants were in very good condition.

Hi Irigrid

I have ordered from them several times, most recently this spring around May

They send terrific plants (see above), often with blooms if the time is right. However, the plants come six to a box , and shipping/handling was $73 to California. (You don’t save much on shipping if you order less than 6).. I’m trying to cobble together another group of 6 roses that I want for spring!

I’ve also ordered from them multiple times and they were good quality but being in Washington St shipping is high.

You should try to get 6 to maximize your dollar

Unfortunately for me in Oregon the shipping is unaffordable but. they have wonderful roses and a fabulous selection..

I really want more Dave Bang roses from K&M but the shipping for 4 is $60.

Shipping cost is so often the deciding factor for us, isn't it? On the east coast, we want roses from west coast nurseries, and those of you on the west coast want roses from the east, lol.

In any case, shipping $$ aside, RU has been a wonderful resource for me. Her inventory does vary, but by waiting patiently, I've managed to get nearly every rose I wanted from there, over time. The roses are always high quality.

Pat also has a great Summer sale that I've benefited from (if you don't count the hit to my wallet). This year it was June 11 – June 17, and the available plants (easily a couple of hundred varieties) were $15 each. BUT...I don't think she will ship out west in June due to the heat. Sorry I mentioned it, lol. But in cooler weather, I think you'd be pleased with any rose you get from Pat.

Thank you so much for all this really useful information. Am I to understand that if I order now the roses will not ship until May of the next year? Good to know that I can e-mail to find out what's available. Ben, your photo makes me want to order immediately! I would have no trouble whatsoever finding six roses from their list!

Yes, I ordered two plants this spring, and they shipped after Mothers' Day as indicated. They were very well packaged and in great health when they arrived. They are own root, so they may have been smaller than a grafted plant. But I am pleased with them for sure. I would certainly order from Roses Unlimited again.

I too have been very happy ordering from RU. I did get 6. Not shipping in heat does not mean now so maybe Pat would ship now. I got my La France there and my Jesse Hildreth among others.

I keep hearing someone bought a rose that isn't listed on the RU site - are we to email and ask if she has one that we want even though it isn't on her list ?

yes or phone.

I have ordered many dozens of roses from RU for over 20 years, and they are divine! Ingrid, being in Calif, they will ship your roses the last week of March. I have received roses from them in Sept/Oct, but it's too late for that now. Last year, I made my order via email with Pat in Nov or Dec. and she sent me my invoice the week before they shipped. Their roses tend to be $22, but being in Calif, figure another $8 each for shipping. Several years ago, I looked at the postal mailing label on my box, and it was exactly what I paid for shipping. You'll get the most bang for your buck on shipping if you order six, but even though they say minimum order six, you can order fewer. I've never had a single problem with their roses or customer service. But they're old-school, and phone or email is best. I cannot praise them enough :-D

I have been ordering from Roses Unlimited yearly since 2011. Below pics. showing the gallon-size summer sale (received end of June) from Roses Unlimited, compared to the band-size (received mid-May from High Country Roses).

RU summer sale ranged from $10 per gallon years ago to $15 each in recent years.

1/2 of the band sizes from HCR died in their 1st winter in my zone 5a. Rabbits here devour the band-size, but less so with taller & thicker-stem gallons from RU.

Below band-sizes from High Country Roses are the short plants next to the white gallons from Roses Unlimited:

Below were 2nd year Austin roses Radio Times & Mary Magdalene & Pat Austin purchased from Roses Unlimited Summer Sale back in 2011 (I planted them smack into my rock-hard clay):

RU is one of the best. I agree with Straw that rabbits don't like the thicker stems as well as they like thinner, band sized plants. I never worry about rabbits eating mature plants but sometimes I protect young plants with a circle of sticks . A wire fence cage might be even better.

Best to order from ANY nursery as early as possible. RU starts taking order in November. I root older Austins to donate to charities (Mother Teresa's nuns in Chicago and Carmelites nuns in NY), and the first ones who buy roses from me always get the biggest rooting.

It's the same way with any nursery, the first ones to order get the best roses.

Last year I paid for 6 roses EARLY in Nov. from RU, and I received THE BIGGEST and best roses in my 12 years of ordering from RU. See below Firefighter at 2 feet tall with 2 blooms, received in May from RU:

Firefighter died three times as own-root through my zone 5a winter, so I need the largest Firefighter to survive -20 F below zero in winter.

I'm so grateful for all of your comments! It seems that I should order already even if the roses don't arrive until next year. However, with the heat here I've found that the sooner I plant the better because the heat can begin early and the roses do best if they've been acclimated as long as possible before then. I'm in a quandary because I'm already seeing evidence that the ground squirrels have begun nibbling on the roses, and also the three dianthus that were planted. I was in such a funk last night and questioned whether I was crazy to think this could even work given the present circumstances. My wonderful husband has already begun to put wire enclosures around the plants, although this did not stop the critters before. This is all very much an (expensive) gamble.

I know you don't like pots, Ingrid. Rose Petals Nursery ships now. I put some baby plants in 5 gal black pots to grow them up before planting in the ground. You could protect the baby plants easier while they grow up in the plant "nursery". I realize the ground is so much more appealing, but the babies do so awfully well in pots in the "nursery" while they get going. I know warfare is not the soothing gardening experience you are looking for, but these critters can be ruthless.

I agree that it's a good idea to email Pat at RU to see what they have and reserve it now. She asks for a small deposit to secure it. Sometimes there are hidden gems not on the current list, but on their old lists. I was stunned that they had a rose that was unavailable for awhile, so I ordered one for me, and another for one of my trading partners, because I'd been having a devil of a time rooting it for him.

I strongly agree with Sheila about putting the 1 gallons in pots for awhile to get up to speed before putting them in the ground.

Critters eating your plants already - that's no fun. Hungry animals are relentless (yet, who can blame them?). Deer and squirrels are very hard to keep out. For squirrels, I think you might need a wire fence about 2 feet below and above ground ... and I would try adding electrification to stop them climbing it. That's a big hassle and expense, so if I wasn't geared up for that, I would try potting the roses and keeping them somewhere safe until they grew tall enough to be out of danger from squirrels. Deer are another whole thing, because they are tall and can jump like crazy. But at least they dont climb. If you can't fence the entire yard, you can at least put the plants in tall cages so they can't eat the whole thing.

Ground squirrels in CA can dig holes down to 30 feet.

In my zone 5a, TREE squirrels can jump from 6 feet from trees onto roof, then chew through the roof of the house to nest inside the attic for warmth in winter. They also chew through electrical wires, and chew on the wood of my previous house.

I don't have ground squirrels here, but I have tree squirrels that climb up to my tall air-pots to dig holes in fluffy potting soil. I solved the problem by placing thorny branches across the pots.

I prefer placing Basil and mint leaves into the pots to repel squirrels, this works better than thorny branches (a nuisance to remove when I add more soil to pots).

Squirrels hate peppermint. They also hate the smell of vinegar, here's a recipe from below link: 10 Quick and Easy Ways to Repel Squirrels (tipsbulletin.com)

Garlic and Vinegar Squirrel Deterrent: 1 cup of water 1 cup of white vinegar 1 clove of garlic Jar Strainer Spray bottle

The mesh fencing helps to keep squirrels out, if there's a strong base of bricks or hard plastic to prevent pests from digging to get inside.

It's a nuisance to place mesh fence around hybrid teas, so I lean toward roses full of prickles which are both drought-tolerant and repel rabbits & squirrels.

Some older Austins are full of prickles and pests don't come near: Evelyn, Christopher Marlowe, Scepter d'Isle, Carding Mill, Radio Times, Lilian Austin, Mary Magdalene, the Squire, the Dark Lady, the Prince, Gertrude Jekyll, Wise Portia, Queen Nefertiti, Tradescant, Tamora, Fisherman's friend.

The thorny roses are more drought-tolerant than the low-thorn.

Rabbits eat my Abraham Darby so I have to put chicken wire around it. Abraham Darby has much less thorns than Evelyn.

I appreciate John in CA who send older Austin cuttings to prevent older Austins from being extinct. He sells older Austins at his church to benefit charities. In the same way, I root and sell older Austins to benefit nuns who run homeless shelters.

Below is my mesh fence for baby roses, which keeps out both tree squirrels and chipmunks (can dig deeper holes). The green mesh fence is sold for $30 at Menards. I should had bought the more expensive stiffer plastic fence since the wind here is too strong. Tall purple rose is Lavender Crush, red is Veteran's Honor, and orangish is Carding Mill.

Carding Mill and Lavender Crush are NOT fenced, pests don't eat these.

I appreciate your suggestions and willingness to help more than I can say. We must have more energized and persistent ground squirrels here since they ate EVERY rose, thorny or not and every other plant, including those that were said to be squirrel-repellent. We're limited energy-wise now from doing as much as we'd like, but we will put wire fencing around each rose and anything else we plant along the way. Perhaps it's just not meant to be for me to have roses again, but I still have a strong hope and desire that it will happen.

Squirrels do more damage than rabbits. In my last house, despite many walnut trees, squirrels climbed up to chew on the wooden roof.

In my present house, I have many trees plus a large compost heap of kitchen scraps. We ate about 10+ mangoes per week, and they like to chew on the hard pits of mango.

When mango season was over, squirrels climb into my pots to uproot band-size roses. I'm going to buy peppermint seeds to put into my pots. Peppermint is less invasive than spearmint. I used to have lots of peppermint plants, but spring flood killed them.

Fabulous Roses Unlimited! Great rose selections, rare roses, tons of Kordes and Meilland roses! And many more breeders!

I'd like the main focus to be on the old roses but am also tempted by some of the modern ones on offer like Bolero, Bliss (Kordes), Princess Charlene de Monaco, Yves Piaget and Cloud 10,

@ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

I may have a solution for your squirrels. I have 120 roses and they ate 2 rose buds last year and then never ate another one. I have hundreds of strawberries on my hill and an apple tree, squash, peppers, and tomatoes. They ate 12 apples last year, too, but not one apple of 50 apples this year, either. They don’t eat the strawberries either. But we have large black walnut trees in a couple yards away from me -they eat them. They run around my property all the time and bury their eaten shells. I would think my apples and strawberries would appetize them? Maybe you need to grow some food for them to eat…. or enco your neighbors to grow it? Lol!

Bliss, Yves Piaget, Bolero, PCdMonaco are fabulous roses! I highly recommend rhem-I have them and they are heavenly!

That's such a cute idea Kitty , that made my night.

Ingrid, did you have any of the roses you mentioned before? If not I would highly recommend Princess Charlene if you want to cut and bring inside but the plant itself has not grace. She’s a beast. A glorious beast but a beast nonetheless.

Yves Piaget also has a terrible plant shape but still makes me feel it is more old than new. If you could surround it with fluffy blue perennials I think it would fit into your romantic style nicely.

Bolero is very much at home with my old garden roses and while Bliss is a bit stiffer she still looks good too.

If you already knew all this, sorry to bug you and good luck with all your choices

I am enjoying Princess Charlene d M & Yves Piaget. PChdM , a classic hybrid tea, grow bushy & 5ft tall for me…. Yves Piaget had a classic HT shape when I had her-I ordered a new one! They both seem classic HT shapes for me, and bloom a lot!

Parfuma Bliss, a Floribunda, has strong canes, groes tall 5ft., as they all seem to to me. She has a bushy tall shape!

I love the 3 above, they are full bushy, tall, and have thick canes end of second year.

Bolero is very round and bushy-a nice round shape on my front yard. I saw her in a friend’s garden 5 ft, huge bushy, too! My new Bolero is a sm round bush grown for a few months only. Love her prolific blooms… she’s on a third flush in 3 months. Wow!

Maybe I like beasts? I just like to see them happy, healthy, thriving and blooming! I need big roses to fill up my yard and big canes are more winter hardy for me.

All fabulous bouquet roses!

You know, if your climate is amenable to it, maybe one of the reblooming climbers, grown on a trellis or pergola, would be more or less immune to both ground squirrel and deer damage. You would only have to get it through a few smaller years until the blooms were out reach of ground squirrels. A few years more, and the upper blooms would be out of deer range too. Now, as for tree squirrels, I don't know.

It's good to consider annual rainfall and the height & drought-tolerance of each own-root. CA regions where Ingrid lives have annual rainfall of 12 inch in Costa Mesa, CA to 16 inch of rain per year in Fremont, CA.

NY regions where Kitty is: annual rainfall from 40 inch. to 50 inch. per short summer, plus tons of snow in winter.

My annual rainfall is 38" per short zone 5a summer, plus 23" of snow. I also have seven rain barrels (each holds 50 gallon) for TALL roses like own-root Princess Charlene de Monaco, which towered 6 feet after 1st flush, to 10 feet now as of 11/5/22.

It takes tons of rain to pump up water to such tall canes. Below is Dee-lish blooming with PcDM (bleached out to white in full sun), and the 2 rain-barrels behind them to support such tall growth:

The other option is to buy roses grafted on Dr.Huey-rootstock which is more aggressive in dry climate.

According to Frank Gatto, owner of high-rain nursery in PNW, each Dr.Huey-rootstock rose needs at least 5 gallons of water per week, plus a handful lof both inorganic NPK 10-10-10 and organic fertilizers every 3 weeks.

It's possible for fertile and soaking wet clay, but NOT possible for dry & fluffy soil to support such high demand in water and nutrients.

Per week, I give tiny W.S. 2000 (1.5' x 2') a gallon of water, but I give Princess Charlene de Monaco (10 times bigger) at least 5 gallons of rain-water from my rain barrels for it to pump out blooms.

I have soaking wet & sticky & heavy clay that holds water very well, compared to Ingrid's loamy and much drier soil. The suitability of each own root depends on one's soil and climate.

Straw, That is very interesting! I am sure those big roses like lots of water. I am not too concerned with watering. I water in summer, but by August it rains so much into fall that I pray for it to stop driwning my roses. Maybe that is why they grow so tall for me! The tain! However, in zoct up to now it stopped raining except a tiny bit and roses are more healthy w/ nice sun and drier beds now. Yay!

I've cast caution to the winds and ordered these six roses from Roses Unlimited. They will however not arrive until April 23, 2023.

Triomphe de Luxembourg

Celine Forestiere

Spice

La France

Etoile de Lyon

Lady Hillingdon

None on my list of possible modern roses made the grade as I couldn't envision eliminating any of the above beauties to make way for a "mere" modern rose. I know many of you grow some of the modern roses beautifully and I don't mean to denigrate them in the slightest, but in my dry garden with rather poor soil I think these stalwart oldies will have a better chance, and to me they are of course so absolutely beautiful. Most of them are not outstandingly fragrant but one can't have it all. It will still be more than enough!

There were some I wanted that are no longer available such as Mlle. Franziska Kruger, William R. Smith, Snowbird, Capitaine Dyel de Graville and Mrs. Dudley Cross, but there's always a next time.......

Now you are really back, Ingrid. These sound wonderful. Here, my Rhodologue is much larger and stronger than my Triomphe for some reason.

Congrats on your order, Ingrid! Your OGRs sound heavenly! Sumptous!

Maybe the squirrels need some nuts…. or bird seed…..they need a better food supply than your gardens! Nuts would be more filling than all the vegetation they are eating…. looks like their food supply is not adequate.

Wow Ingrid , you will have oldies and goodies !

I looked all over the RU website and don't see where those are...

I sure hope you will find a good solution to the naughty varmints. My neighbors have a growing vole population. i can't figure out why they don't bother with my yard even when there is great dining on compost - my cooking isn't that bad. Amara my American Bully regularly waters the yard , it must be the secret weapon.

Maybe we can both get M Franziska next year from Antique Rose Emporium.

That M Fran is one of the best ones for sure. RU does have Dr. Grill and Remembering Cochet. I wonder if their William R. Smith is the "real" one. The one I got elsewhere really looks more like Marie van Houtte in it's turning pink and being huge.

Berry put Teas in the Search window at the bottom of the page.

Uh oh, my total is going to go up...

Sheila, if Triomphe is the smaller of the two that's all to the good as my goal is to have all the roses in front of the house. No more Tea Rose Row, alas! I may decide to have one or two roses in the back since that's my view when I sit in my customary chair in the living room. I used to have the genuine Wm. R. Smith and I'd love to have it again some time. I'm not very fond of teas that turn red although many people love them. Kitty, I used to feed the squirrels and their population exploded. It's difficult to know what to do, for sure. I think having a dog might be a deterrent but we're not up to caring for one any more. berrypie, if you look under Classes and then under Tea Roses you'll see most of the ones I ordered.

Silly me, I thought the Collections was all they had.

Oh dear, there is a TON of roses to go through.

Ingrid, I was pretty sure that RU still carried Snowbird. When I made my order of six last year, it was still available, and I debated hard about getting it after losing mine several years ago. Maybe next year!

Susan, what is your opinion about Snowbird? Did you feel that it had an old rose look about it? I can't help it, that's always where my soul wants to go with roses.

berrypie, I'm so glad you found it! Such an agony to go through all those wonderful roses, right?

Ingrid, I had two Snowbirds, both from RU from 2002. I gave one away in my great rose giveaway in 2006-07, when I realized that having 375 roses and working 60 hours a week had to get some relief. While I admit to being more of a modern rose savage, I also love many old roses. Snowbird has a very old rose feel, even though it stays small. There is just something about Snowbird that always made my heart smile... hard to describe. As with several of my other roses I gave the second one away of, my remaining Snowbird died some years later. Kicking myself over many of them, some now out of commerce. I'm currently on a new rose diet, but Snowbird is in my top ten of roses I'd buy to replace my old one.

Enough said, Susan, it's going on my short list!

Snowbird must be remarkable Susan. Do you have an idea of the other 9 of your top ten list , or a few very favorites ?

I have 9 roses so my top ten is pretty easy if Abe Darby gets 2 votes. My top 5 this year are Abe Darby, Evelyn, Earth Angel, Strawberry Hill, and Vick's Caprice - even though he isn't striped.

Judging from photos, I have a feeling Versigny and Heaven on Earth just ordered from RU might move into my top 5 by next year.

Berrypie, when I said Snowbird was on my top ten of roses I'd buy to replace my old one, I was specifically referring to replacing roses I've lost in the past, not my all-time top ten rose list. I'm pretty much a basket case when it comes to choosing an overall top ten rose list. As I said to Carol in another thread a month or so ago, I have 50 songs on my top ten song list. My favorite rose list is something like that! I don't believe in astrology at all, but I always default to claiming being a Libra in these things :-D

Certain hard-to-root roses are sold out fast at any nursery. Like 99% of Austin roses were sold out the 1st few minutes of LongAgoRoses' taking orders this past April 1 at 9 am.

Betty White was sold out at Roses Unlimited early this Nov. (Roses Unlimited starts taking order Nov. 1).

Betty White survived 6+ winters in my zone 5a, but it died through a dry winter. If I want Betty White or certain roses from Roses Unlimited next year, I will set my alarm to order the first minute RU opens on Nov. 1.