Moonlight romantica is one i gave away to my mom because it got so tall. I love the red tinges it gets on the outside :) so excited about their new exclusive roses also—many tantaus!

Holy moly Ben! What a bounty of riches. I guess that the pot ghetto is expanding.

Thats awesome Ben ! Id say you got your monies worth . i noticed on social media the folks that did rose pick up were given goodies from her candle / fragrance collection as well . for as long as i followed her which has seen the evolution of her business theyve alwsys been so generous .

im interested to see how classic woman does for you . mine had mildew something fierce and i couldnt shake it .

i do kinda wish i didnt give up on it so soon though .

Thanks everyone for the responses. I suppose I give some of the extras to neighbors.

Kristine,

I better go out and get more big pots. Costco has them on sale right now.

Aaron

I somehow resisted those 30+ new introductions, too, I’d love to hear how they do for others.

Librarian

Yes, I agree, they accidentally shipped my order twice, a free rose in each order. And I was initially bummed that I missed out on the free rose offer!

Magpie

I think the last thing I won was a can opener from a Fried Chicken place, many years ago.

Diane

Hopefully no one receives just 2 roses when they ordered six, via snail mail, no less!

Sultry

Lol, i had a good laugh with your answer.

@BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14) Lol, a can opener is practical, I guess? The only thing I've ever won is a mug from the library 😅

BenT - Thanks for posting the photo!! I have 2 Distant Drums Coming from Grace Rose Farms. After seeing the size of the roses they sent you, I am really excited to get them. I might have to put the heating pad on the snow bank to melt the snow so I can get planting. I'm just to excited to wait! :)

Rebecca

They're yours now. Congratulations. I doubt they could legally accept returns even if they wanted to. Horticultural restrictions.

Score! Wow, those look great. I was very tempted to order from GRF but already had a couple of the varieties I was interested in on order elsewhere already. I agree with Aaron, the newest offerings were so tempting but I already have to shed some inventory to make room for what’s arriving this spring.

Ben, congratulations on your free roses, you might have received a double order because of your immense contribution to the rose gardening community! Based on your experience with Grace farm, I was anxiously awaiting mine to arrive, and yes they arrived today, and I was surprised to find one extra rose (Leonardo Da Vinci) in the bag since I bought 2 and opted for the discount code instead of the buy2 get 1 free, to cut down the spending on the "expensive annuals" like Aaron Rosarian stated perfectly. This really reignited my "rose itch" after I lost a few precious rootings over the winter and was quite disappointed with my gardening skills. Now I better get the shovel out to find a place to dig another hole for the free rose before the rain comes. The bare roots were huge, I'd definitely order from Grace farm again!

Call them and tell them what happened. Then, the ball's in their court. There are no free lunches in life. Someone has to pay if a mistake was made.

BTW, is the soil washed off those roots?...can't tell for sure from the photo you provided. If so, how on earth are you expected to getget soil in between all those feeder rootsroots? You need to getget good soil contact way in there.

Moses

Moses - Good advice.

As far as getting soil between the roots... Here is what I do during planting. I get Roses Unlimited roses all the time. I soak all of the soil off of the roots in a big bin by swishing them around, soak and swish, until they are all bare like the photo. THEN I put them in the hole and add soil a little at a time, holding them up with my left hand so they don't collapse in a heap. I add water as I go to create a slurry in the hole, and plunge the rose up and down just a little while I'm doing this to get rid of any air bubbles. I bury the canes by about 2--3 inches because I'm in zone 4. This technique works every time. My roses are growing in my soil all the way through and they do great. I have never lost a rose except my Evelyn to a spring thaw.

I will plant my 2 Distant Drums from Grace Rose Farm the same way. And next year I will be ordering more roses from them.

Rebecca

Rebecca, I may be missing something, but why in the world would you wash the soil off of a one gallon well-rooted rose from Roses Unlimited?

Someone might have to pay but it wouldn't be BenT. Legally if you get a package with your name and address, even if you didn't order it, its yours. This of course probably doesn't include any illegal substances lol.

Magpie

I have a whole cupboard full of mugs, they were sort of the prized freebie at trade shows, much more sought after than pens and bookmarks.

Michael

I’m glad you got big healthy roots and a freebie, too! I discovered my problem with cuttings was that I always overwatered and they rotted. The last two years I leave them on the dry side and have had good results.

Rebecca

I bet those DIstant Drums will be huge as well. From what I understand many of these roses were used for their florist trade and are more than 2 years old.

Dave

I agree those new offerings were so tempting, over 30 varieties that no one else had offered before.

Moses

The roots are washed of soil, but very dense and fibrous. I’m not worried, but I’ll try to not leave air pockets as best I can. I suppose I could cut off some of the smaller fiber off, too. I’ve got them soaking in pure California atmospheric river water right now.

Sultry and kidhorn, I do agree, if something is sent to you , it’s yours. But I will email Grace and ask if they want them back. I doubt they will, every time I received a wrong or extra plant, the vendor has said to just keep it. Roses are perishable goods.

Susan - I got in the habit of rinsing off soil years ago. I received a potted rose from a vendor and ended up with ROSE MIDGE. I ripped it out, along with all the dirt around it, but not before the midge had spread. It took me 2 years to rid my garden of that pest. I did it with the Blue Light on my 1 acre DynaTrap mosquito trap, which has a very big blue light and a powerful fan. It worked like a charm. Anyway, now I remove the soil with every potted rose I get. I usually only order potted roses from High Country Roses and Roses Unlimited because of their excellent quality.

Roses Unlimited takes excellent care to make sure that their roses leave their garden pest free, so I trust their potting soil. However, it is totally opposite from my "dirt" which is a sandy loam. So, I rinse it off and the roses thrive in my dirt all the way through. It's never hurt the rose. They usually get buds immediately and keep right on blooming. I am very careful with how much fertilizer I use that first year, though. I don't want to burn those baby roots.

Rebecca

I got extra stuff when I ordered my Art of Tea around Christmas -- finally emailed and asked if they sent those as a gift, and they said YES! So I got two extra tins of loose leaf tea just because! And then I could fully enjoy them because I knew it was legit! My hunch is that even if they made a mistake, they would never ask you to send them back.So, might as well call/email. p.s. I then gifted those fabulous teas to friends for Christmas! win/win/win!

p.p.s. when I finally decided to order a rose from GRF, they said they were out (even though I could order on website). I feel like I had a supernatural rose intervention!

p.p.p.s. Aaron -- you crack me up. Diane -- your laugh is just a bit too...diabolical...

Diabolical?? You mean it actually wafts through the ether to you? Diane

Diabolical would be a great name for a rose. A smoldering red one, with wicked thorns and monstrous growth. Oh wait, that’s Dark Desire. I grow an iris named Diabolique

Ben, I think the Diabolical Rose should be a smoldering purple, one that takes Twilight Zone to another level, and as you put it so well, has wicked thorns and a monstrous growth. Heheh. Diane

A rose that will eat Augusta Luise for breakfast--Diabolical.

Oh, Diane. I see these photos and just...bow to your superior rose growing...

Seriously. 😍

Someone local also got an unsolicited 'Peace' from Grace Farms and yesterday was offering it gratis on NextDoor to whoever wanted it.

Ben, the way that you grow roses (incredibly, btw) your new roses (what a score!) will be gifting you with blooms galore! Any rose growing in your yard is very, very lucky. :)

Diane - oh GASP and SWOON!!!! And I love how your Julia Child is trying to get in the picture. :)

Carol, thanks, and in my small front yard, Julia is always in the picture. How to restrain this rude rose? Diane

Julia Child always said "with enough butter, anything is good." Maybe your JC is just searching for butter? Okay...I'm being ridiculous. LOL

Catspa

I find it interesting that Grace has so many extra plants of Peace, since it really isn’t a florist rose. I plan to give my extras away too, I’ll only keep 1 each of Yves and Cream Yves, plus I’ll try out Moonlight Romantica in a pot. I have a neighbor across the court that is planning to turn his front yard into a rose garden…maybe these extra roses will kickstart that effort.

Carol

I think the roses are lucky that I moved to California, where their care is so much easier. I figure if they don’t bloom like gangbusters in such a great location, they’ll get the shovel!

Ben - I don't buy that. LOL Your roses were fabulous in your old place too. :) :)

Carol, I think Julia has enough butter already and needs a little less. I like you being ridiculous--it makes the forum more fun.

Ben, I agree with Carol about your wonderful Texas rose garden, but I'm sure California is a better place to grow roses. I would grow them in San Jose, if I had the choice of any place in the US, though I don't know if I'd want to live there again. The traffic in that area makes me want to head straight up the freeway to the middle of the Nevada desert. Diane

Diane,

I think warm and hot Mediteranean climates (like San Jose) are terrific for growing roses. I looked at a world map and only a few places are considered Mediterranean…just small slices of Western Australia, Chile, California and of course Europe. San Jose is considered ’Warm Summer Mediterranean’, while where I’m at is considered ’Hot Summer Mediterranean’. Rose blooms burn in the summer here, but the plants grow really huge and healthy. I noticed most all the major growers grow in hot desert/mediterranean climates. Weeks and Star grow in Wasco CA, David Austin and Certified in Litchfield AZ. I don’t believe any actually has their main growing fields in Tyler , TX anymore.

Carol

You are too kind.

And for those who didn't look at a map, Litchfield Az is on the outskirts of Phoenix Az. Think hot and dry and tons of sun.

Yes, as Librarian noted , Litchfield is a suburb of Phoenix , one of the hottest areas in the country. I bet they chose that area because roses grow big and fast, and they’re selling the plant, not the flowers.

Diane,

Boise must be a terrific place for roses as well, I see several of our members grow in that area. There’s even another Dianne in Boise (two N’s) that grows over 1400 roses.

Just came in from doing awful cleanup outside, and I saw your post pop up, Ben. I think the Dianne that grows all those roses lives in the next county over, a big farm county. My friend Elaine said it was more like a rose farm in looks, but I'm not going to comment until I've actually seen the place. I've always considered our climate to be a Mediterranean wannabee with coldish winters. Yes, it is a good place to grow roses--no fungal diseases, no RRD, no midge, no chili thrips, no Japanese beetles. The bad bug population is quite low. They don't wanna live in the desert. Our short growing season, because we're so far north, is partially compensated for by the long northern days with lots of sunlight. The farther north, the longer the summer days at the height of summer. The farther south you go, the shorter the summer days, until you hit the equator when days and nights are always the same length. Blah. Blah. Stop me when I go off on a tangent. The fact that Idaho is a major farm and dairy state says something about the soil and ease of growing things with proper irrigation. My stepdad had huge farms, with electric water pumps and concrete ditches for irrigation. He pumped water out of the Snake River and had first water rights, probably because he was the first to farm in that particular area. It was the site of a dry, prehistoric lake. The land is so valuable that specialty crops are grown, like seed for hybrid corn. There are no potatoes being grown in that area. Potato growing has moved to Eastern Washington and central Idaho. Stepdad used his massive potato cellar to store farm equipment. Diane

Diane,

That makes sense about the long summer days in northern climates, I think everyone has seen the giant veggies they grow in Alaska. I agree you have a Mediterranean summer, but more of a nothern winter. A lake bed must have been an amazing place to garden, imagine how rich the soil would be. My yard was formerly a wannable suburban redwood forest, roots are just everywhere!

I can’t imagine taking care of 1400 roses, that might be overload, even for me. And even if Dianne lives in a great climate and doesn’t have to spary, it must take weeks to do spring cleaning and fertilization, and she must have to dead head all day, every day.

Diane - we're the same way...we're not as arid as you are...but there are no rose diseases or unwanted bugs. :) :) Makes up for having such short summers.

Talking about what used to be in our backyards...ancient lakes, redwood forests...we have glacial till all over our backyard. The guy with his machine came to dig posts for our decks...he had a heck of a time. Almost couldn't do it. Glacial till: the unsorted mix of sand, silt, clay and gravel that was deposited by melting glaciers, developed into impermeable soils that cannot properly drain water. The unsorted material has no spaces between particles, leaving nowhere for water to drain.

That's why I grow my roses in pots.

Wow! I learned something new! So now that I've had my fill, I can go to bed! :-D

Ben, the thing about 1400 roses is the water bill would kill you normally, though I'm sure Dianne has wells to supply her water--or maybe she has ditches and just irrigates by running water through ditches with the roses in long rows like a crop....My step dad had beautiful flower beds and yes, the soil was great out there on the dry lake (that's what it was called). In the 1980s, his yard/garden was featured in a Sunset Magazine article--the old Sunset when it was published. How do you deal with those redwood roots, anyway? It must be really difficult to dig planting holes for roses. We have caliche here is spots. It's like a hard as rock layer of clay, almost pottery like. Luckily it's just in a few spots, but you can't dig in it.

Carol, it sounds like your whole back yard is caliche. Actually, it's different from your glacial till, and I can't believe you grow lovely perennials in the stuff. We all have our challenges. Diane

Diane...my challenge turned into a win...I love growing roses in pots. :) :)

As to the perennials...I did a lasagna method bed and every year I use a string mulching contraption that puts all of their growth back into the soil. Closed system. :) :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otciqN2N51c

Carol, it's too dry here to use the lasagne system--newspaper doesn't break down, nor do leaves and plant material. The first time I tried the system, everything was still in place in layers with zero break down. Diane

Diane, when I lived in Arizona, i had to do my compost by digging a hole, covering the compost with dirt and watering it regularly. Lack of water really does mean that things don't decompose!

I ordered my two roses, Fun in the Sun and Princess Charlene of Monaco well before the free rose giveaway so I was not expecting to open mine and see a third rose, Life of the Party. I am removing a rose for each of these. I got rid of Star of the Republic (underperforming) and Lyda Rose (I had two). I think I’ll replace James Galway with Life of the Party, which is still in a bucket of water because I got a terrible cold and hadn’t removed JG yet. JG is a once bloomer for me and only had 11 roses last Spring after it’s 3rd year in the ground.

I have planted all my Grace Rose bounty. Yves and Cream Yves went into the ground. Moonlight Romantic is in a pot, on trial (If you really want her, Diane, I will send her to you, along with some rooting cuttings if you want to try them). The extras of Yves , Cream Yves and Peace are in 5gals, I will raise them to bud ’n bloom stage so they’ll be welcome gifts to neighbors.

Carol

I didn’t realize your ground was so difficult to work, along with the subzero winters, pots really do seem like a great solution. Does anyone else in your neighborhood garage large numbers of plants? Your roses must be the talk of the neighborhood!

Librarian

That’s terrific you’re able to make your own compost. I think about it, but I’m always too lazy and just recycle yard trimmings to the city and buy it back as compost. My area has extensive and impressive composting facilities and they make it good and cheap (they sell it to all the farms nearby, too).

Stephanie

Lucky you, Life of the Party is a great freebie! I also ordered well before the giveaway, so nice of Grace to include us anyway. I bet Fun in the Sun will be terrific for you, it loves our hot/dry weather. I’m having a really hard time finding roses I want to get rid of to make space, I want to keep them all!

Diane,

I also assumed Dianne had access to well water. When I moved here I considered buying acreage with well access but then decided it was more than I wanted to take on. Plus groundwater is getting harder to access and laws may be changing.

Do you have that Sunset issue of your step-dad’s garden? What extraordinary beauty he must have created, it’d be a great family keepsake.

i use a reciprocating saw, a root slayer shovel and a hori-hori knife to get through those tree roots. I really need those tools or I couldn’t do it at all.

BenT, yes nice of Grace to include us in the freebie rose give-away. I choose Fun in the Sun because you previously said it loves hot and dry :-) They have a whole bed of Huntington’s 100th (aka. Life of the Party) at Huntington Gardens and it has great fragrance. I am pretty sure it will boom more than James Galway too.

Diane - and you have water restrictions, right? Whereas, I would water it every day because we don't have water restrictions.

Ben - yes, LOL I live in a cul-de-sac and everyone knows spring is here when my roses start coming out/in. We get together and talk about them and other things. It's a real crowd drawer and brings us together. :) :) And no one else grows roses in my neighborhood. Very few people even grow perennials here. When I was part of the rose society here, no one else could overwinter roses in pots in the garage. Their roses always died. I'm not sure if any of them ever had success...I did explain my method...but they didn't seem to buy that it could be done. And it's not the whole part of my city...just a certain part that has glacial till. The south part of the city has wonderful soil AND is a zone higher...zone 4!!! No fair. LOL

Carol, we have no water restrictions, and never have had any. We have a world class statewide irrigation system, and I can water every day if I want, though we use city water rather than the irrigation water the farmers use. In fact, I water a lot, running the drip system for an hour at a time and that includes the little sprinklers, too. This part of the state was settled because the irrigation water enticed a whole lot farmers to come out West. The northern part of Idaho had an economy based on mining precious metals, particularly silver. There was some silver mining in southern Idaho, too, and we aren't that far from a well known ghost town, hard to get to because of bad roads, though. Guess its name. Silver City.... That's interesting about all the attention your roses attract. People here in Hidden Springs don't do much gardening, having mostly landscaping and lots of the same old shrubs. That's too bad about your poor soil. I'm sure the sellers didn't mention that to you when you bought your house. Were you gardening then?

Ben, no, I don't think I have a copy of that magazine. I did at one time, though. All the family memorabilia I have is packed away in the basement storage, and I haven't seen any of this stuff in years. My stepdad did water his flower beds the farmers' way, though. He made small ditches between rows of plants and ran irrigation water down the ditches. The plants quickly grew and covered up the ditches and you couldn't tell he used this method. His huge lawn was watered with overhead sprinklers that used well water. I think Dianne uses the ditches method because Elaine said her roses looked like a rose farm. But, as I said, I need to see her place....I have had my son in law use a reciprocating saw on some of my roses' huge old canes. This year there are several roses that have canes that need sawing off. Ugh. Diane

Diane - well something's gotta make up for the deer pressure you get...unlimited water is a pretty good perk! Yes, I was gardening when we bought our house...and the realtor knew that was a big thing for me. But it worked out for the best...I love having my rose bushes in pots. :)

Diane,

Unlimited water, wowsers! If a rose garden pops up next to your house you can just assume I’m your new next door neighbor. Where does that water come from, given that your surroundings are arid?

Stephanie,

I first saw Life of the Party when it was very newly planted at the Huntington, without any label. I took a sniff and was amazed , and put it at the top of my wish list.

Carol

I had guessed your roses are quite a sight for the neighbors. I love living in a cul-de-sac, it’s peaceful and secluded from traffic. I spent quite a bit of time finding my current house, only the cul-de-sacs have big pie shaped lots around here, the rest are tiny postage stamp lots. At one point I mapped out all the cul-de-sac homes in the area I was interested in, just to see if my odds of getting such a lot was even realistic.

Well, Ben, of course, you have to pay for that unlimited water, and city water doesn't come cheap. Two of the cities around here I live(d) in have artesian wells for town water. Irrigation water for farmers' fields starts with a good snow pack in the mountains which melts and eventually becomes a river that is dammed partially. Some river water is stored in a reservoir behind the dam. We have these in many areas. Water is released from the reservoirs and in the process runs through the turbines in the dams to generate hydroelectric power, as well as becoming irrigation water. The water continues to flow as a river and water is diverted into big canals, which run into large irrigation ditches, which run into smaller ditches that flow through the farmer's fields. Some farmers can have electric motorized pumps to help the process. And as I've mentioned before, most farmers and others living in the country have wells for house water and some gardening. Elaine has a well for her huge garden and house, since she lives in the country.....And I grew up on a cul-de-sac. We were in the big pie shaped lot. My very busy dad did like to garden, and he had a traditional rose garden (nothing large) where all the roses grew together in one special bed away from other plants. Of course, he grew "The Peace Rose", as it was called. I thought it was the most beautiful of roses and really different with shading and such fat blooms. This was around 1955 before dad passed away, and my mom remarried. Diane

Ben - so true!! Our backyard borders 5 yards...so it's quite big...we have the biggest lot in the area...yay for me!!! :)

Diane - yes, Peace was a good rose to get you interested in our beautiful overlords. :) :)