I think they're equivalent in terms of the health of the roses and the long term vigor. HCR does have somewhat smaller containers but they're well rooted and in my yard take off as well as any other own root plants like those from RU. I do have to be careful in my zone 5 (now 6a apparently) that hybrid teas need the extra boost from a graft most of the time to survive my winters till established, but that is equivalent for any own root company.

Your decision is more likely to come down to who has what you want that you can bundle together for economical shipping. RU shipping is most efficient if you buy 6 roses that can all be packed in the same box.

Frankly you can't go wrong from either company. They're run by people who understand and love roses and they're committed to helping you do the same.

Cynthia

HAven't ordered from HC yet, but RU has always been fabulous except for the having to call to order vs using HCs website. Depending on the winter RU can be late in shipping due to weather, but the quality has always been great.

I don't see a difference either. Both great companies.

Thanks all for your comments! Nippstress/Sheila - given the roses from HCR are smaller, do I need to pot them first before putting them in the ground or will they do fine being planted right away? Relatedly, I'm also purchasing some bare root roses from David Austin. Will the roses from HCR take significant more time to catch up to the DA roses or will they more or less be equivalent after a year or two of growth?

After a year or two they will be equivalent, I think, 518.

I have done it both ways with HCR plants potting or planting in the ground right away. If you have a rougher area, the pots might allow more protection the first season as they size up. If you aren't dealing with animal damage or risk of stepping on the baby etc going right in the ground will be one and done.

Perfect; thank you, Sheila!

Our experience is with HCR. We like the small bands as they are easier to plant than larger roses.

Delaware Rose Lover,

Have you considered Heirloom Roses and Antique Rose Emporium? My ranking puts Heirloom Roses first (1), Antique Rose Emporium second (2), Roses Unlimited third (3), and High Country Roses (4).

Heirloom Roses - great selection, excellent quality true gallon size roses in gallon pots, packaged very professionally, and NO POSTAGE on orders $100.00 and up. Postage can add 50% to an order very easily.

Antique Rose Emporium - 2 gallon size roses in 2 gallon size pots at very reasonable prices. They are well grown, but the selection is not extensive and out of stock roses are encountered a bit too frequently.

Roses Unlimited - gallon size bushes in gallon size pots, incredible selection, but with very many not in stock roses. Reasonable price, but shipping is about 50% added to the total cost of your order. Packaging is not up to top standards, certainly not the level of Heirloom Roses.

High Country Roses - frequently less than quart sized roses in quart sized pots are shipped. The soil mass falls apart upon unpotting...not a good thing...shocks the little bushes. HCR does have a great selection, but out of stock roses are encountered a bit too frequently. Packing is substandard. Price is a bit high for what you get. A quart rose, especially one that is not even quart size yet, can be problematic to unpot, plant inground, and expect it to over winter in colder climates its first year, particularly a slow grower or one borderline hardy where you garden.

Please accept my evaluations as those of one man, no more, no less.

Moses

Moses - Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments and evaluations. I have purchased previously from ARE, though that was several years ago and I could have sworn I was reading some posts on here that they were under new ownership and folks were worrying about the quality declining (if memory serves, that is, which I find it often doesn't).

I was originally planning on purchasing from Roses Unlimited, but they didn't have the variety I wanted in stock. Which leaves Heirloom vs HCR - the price difference between these two was significant, which I imagine is largely reflected in the size of the roses and the packaging. I guess there were enough good reviews of HCR that it didn't seem worth it to spring for the more expensive versions, but I guess we will see...

I agree with Moses. Heirloom Roses has the best size plants from places I have ordered. Their 1 gallon roses are oftentimes bigger than Antique Rose Emporium's 2 gallon roses. No kidding. I have not yet bought from Roses Unlimited. My last order from High Country Roses was extremely disappointing, all I received were mere rooted cuttings.

last year I purchaed roses from High Country and Heirrloom. The roses from Heirloom were much bigger allowing them to he planted in the ground by fall, High Country are still potted waiting for them to get some size.

Hmm...I'm now second-guessing whether I should cancel my order and purchase through Heirloom or ARE instead? I plan on planting in the spring and we have a fairly long/warm season here, but my preference would be to plant them in the ground and not have them spend a year in a pot. Matt did mention that the bands can go directly in the ground, but I've been reading others' posts about how they prefer to pot them up first.

I bought from High Country Roses 3 times since October 2022, none of those roses are bigger than about a foot or so now. I bought from Heirloom Roses 8 times since October 2021. I would describe Heirloom's roses like this: Last year the 1 gallon roses I bought from Heirloom Roses were within a few months of growth the same size or larger than grade 1 bareroot David Austin roses that were planted a few months before my Heirloom roses arrived.

I can also tell you that Heirloom Roses stands by their warranty, which I only had to use one time.

That is very important context for me to have, Sharon, especially given you're in a warmer zone than I am. The comparison with the bareroot David Austin roses is equally as helpful, as I'd like them all to be relatively the same size within a season or two, since I'll be planting them simultaneously.

Heirloom Roses:

My Red Eden climber from High Country Roses, planted last year, is literally 3 inches tall from ground level. I will make one correction though: as of today, the biggest rose from my High Country Roses orders is 20 inches tall, planted October 2022. Even if the tallest point is 20 inches from ground level, the canes are nowhere close to the caliper of Heirloom's roses.

WOW. Those are some nice looking roses!

Heirloom's quality and size is what keeps me coming back. I had one order from them that was damaged in transit, the roses bounced back like nothing ever happened. Every rose I have received from Heirloom had an exceptionally good, dense root system.

Most of my roses are feom high country since i get to pick them up and love walking the greenhouses. i always plant them straight in the ground and have good luck with them. Matt has happily let me grab a new plant when i have reported that one didnt make it. my heirlom roses havent done any better for me than the bands from high country. i got a mislabeled rose from heirloom that they insisted was the correct rose, and it took multiple emails and photos over a couple months for them to finally refund my money, and they wouldnt send a new rose. so if i wanted to try again, i wouldnt get the free shipping again unless i ordered to $100. I likely wont order from them again, unless its something i cant get elsewhere. In all fairness, My expectations for how quickly roses get going are probably lower than those with climates where roses typically grow more quickly. they all just seem to take longer to settle in here, regardless of size when i plant them. i hope you get great plants wherever you decide to order!

They are both great companies. Heirloom sells larger older plants and naturally they are more expensive.

Both do so well in the long run.

With any newly planted rose, you need to give it some time to grow to its full size. Grafted roses will get there faster than most own root roses, which matters for us in cold zones. In zone 7, you don't have to worry about that. Your larger gallon roses will probably beat the growth of an HCR band in its first year, but by the 2nd or 3rd year when roses are finally reaching their stride, I don't find that I can tell any difference. If you pot up any new own root rose and mix in the soil some yummy organic fertilizer like Mills Magic or Rootone (NOT anything synthetic), they can take off a little faster.

Sorry to the folks who've had mislabeled roses or other problems. I order from virtually all the available companies most years and except for the grafted vs. own root distinctions, I don't see any particular differences by the 2nd year. I have had roses fail or be misidentified from every company I've ever ordered from, and they're generally good about making up for any errors.

For instance, some years ago I let Matt at HCR know that the Reine des Violettes I'd ordered from him turned out to be a very common error of a thorny and not recurrent NOT RdV rose. He not only refunded that purchase, he took the time to hunt out the real RdV, replace his stock, then email me that he was saving a copy of the real one for me. Can't ask for better than that! Pat at RU is similarly committed to doing right for customers.

I'd order based on where they have what you want. YMMV of course, but I wouldn't worry

Cynthia

I am partial to Roses Unlimited plants. They are usually big, branched, and beautiful right out of the box..often blooming. The soil in the pots sometimes fills about half the pot. But it's obviously enough for the great top growth. If the soil was higher in the pot the entire plant would be four inches taller and they'd probably have trouble fitting them in the box without cutting them back. So the way they do it works.

I appreciate High Country Roses and have bought some roses I like from them. Can't wait to see my John Cabot from High Country this year. They have added to their offerings of Austins quite a bit in the last year or so.

Erasmus - after reading through comments here and elsewhere, Roses Unlimited was my first choice, but they ended up not having the variety I wanted to be able to make it to six (to save on shipping), so I ordered through HCR instead. Though now I am second-guessing based on feedback (not that the HCR roses would be of inferior quality, but that it would take them significantly more time to catch up with the others I've ordered from DA)...my space is unfortunately limited, otherwise, I would just find another beautiful specimen to round out the group of six and be done with it :)

Love the one you are with, lbd518. The HCRs will be great.

I do think sometimes that the "must get six to save on shipping" from RU is a bit over stated. It's not that big of a difference if you get fewer than six. But as Sheila said, I'm sure your HCRs will be great!

I ordered crazy love for this spring from matt. I can't wait for mine to look like yours! Fantastic pairing with those hollyhocks! What variety variety are they?

@Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley thank you! I don't know what variety 😅 they are volunteers. 10 years ago I planted some seeds from Baker Creek and ever since, they've popped up all over. Some are this lovely peachy pink, some are cream and some are a fantastic dark maroon as seen here

I agree with librarian_gardner_8b_pnw. I get almost all my roses from HCR so can't compare between suppliers. However, I have noticed that where the rose was bred matters. I have good luck with Canadian roses, Buck roses (Idaho), and Weeks roses (when I want something to stay small - they generally don't gain alot of size for me). I bought one bred in Ireland and it never got beyond a twig. My neighbor bought some very expensive David Austins from DA and they came a good size but I've never seen them get big, they have stayed small over the years. I think the English climate is too different from CO for the roses to do well here.

Also like Sam CO z5 we put ours straight in the ground after a few days to acclimate to being outside. In the green house the roses aren't exposed to wind or direct sun so we start them in the shade and move them into the sun over the course of a few days to acclimate them. Then when planted in the ground where they get full sun we cover them with a window screen to not scorch them until they get used to more direct sun.

I've also learned that it isn't worth babying a rose that isn't going to thrive here. We take a tough love stance. It is survival of the fittest.