Comments regarding Vintage Gardens Antique Roses

Ordered rose. Was informed that the rose I wanted was out of stock, however they could substitute a smaller rose if I wanted. I said sure. Rose struggled for months while I babied it, until it finally perished... It was not happy no what I tried to do.

Have ordered the same rose from another company, and it is vigorous and doing well...

DECOBUG

Ordered four roses. Two were in good shape and were of good size. A third was half their size, with less root development. The fourth, which seems to be dying, was tiny, just over 3" tall. It had almost no top or side growth, and very little root development.

I don't think the smaller two roses are going to survive.

I know they are struggling, so don't want to be too harsh. And I do genuinely appreciate their philosphy, etc. But I'm not working, and cannot afford the loss of plants that aren't up to size, don't grow, etc.

Granted this is a harsh climate. Bottom line - I won't order from them again.

I ordered from Vintage Gardens last year. I ordered 2 roses of the same type, these roses I ordered were hard to find. I ordered online and the roses arrived perfect! Shipping was great, no problems with anything. I highly recommend them!

Plants arrived in great shape. very innovative packaging kept everything from bouncing around and very nice plants.

ordered two 1 gal roses (Pink Pet)and 8 plants in bands (2 roses and 6 hydrangeas). all arrived in great shape and am planting them tomorrow.

Great selection, very friendly emails,they keep you updated on shipping. I ordered four roses they were a little smaller than I expected, and had some black-spot present. However I would definately order from them again.

Vintage Gardens is the finest Vendor i order from.

I love thier bands, which are sometimes the same size, and once or twice, larger than 'regular' roses i have recieved from other vendors. Healthiest plants i have ever recieved.

I also must say that their catalouge is better than most books i have read. Especially as they deal with American weather and sizes. Reading about how big roses get in England does me no good at all, lol.

Vintage Gardens is Number 1 in my book!!

Great selection of roses,great service,excellent quality.The people take time to advise you if the rose you selected may not best for your area and offer other choices more suitable.My orders arrived on schedule and was well packaged.I'll continue ordering from them again.

I would like to praise this co. for its effort to distinguish the growth habits of the varieties it offers. I really appreciate those little drawings.

Made my first order to this company on 2/23/03 asking for delivery this week (of 4/21). Delivery on time and very well-packed. Got 1 gallon and 3 band sizes--all in one carton--survived cross-country shipping very well. NO damage to carton or plants. All four plants alive and well-leafed out, even buds on two of them. Potting up the bands now for outdoor planting very soon--waiting a bit on late frosts. No apprarent disease or bugs. Looking good.

I have ordered about 20 roses from them. I like the fact that they grow and ship in the band size. I think the bands take off and adapt much better than larger sized roses. Several of the ones I received at the end of January are already blooming. A few looked like the veriest sticks when they arrived, but in a week or so leafed out nicely. I get mainly teas, chinas and old hts from them and cold is no issue here so I tend to ignore their advise to pot them up to one gallons. I just plonk them in the ground and stand back.

The selection is fabulous. One thing I have noticed is that sometimes I make an order and when I look at the website next that rose is now a special order. Mrs. B.R. Cant came this year as a bare green stick and when I looked at the site it was now a special order. I guess I got the last one. She looks great now.

They are packed extremely securely. Its nice to be able to get 8 roses in one package. All the roses are on own roots, which is another reason I prefer the bands. Many studies have shown that smaller, younger plants are larger and more vigorous after a few years in the ground than are ones that are older and in larger containers that were planted at the same time. Some think smaller plants are able to establish a more extensive network of mycorrhiza within the soil than older plants can.

I must comment on how much I like this company and want to reccommend it to people. They come in bands so are smaller then what you would get in a gallon container but the savings in shipping makes it worthwhile. I have received 2 orders from them already and have 4 more orders coming this spring from them. the web site is helpful in seeing at a glance and comparing the different roses.

Maria

I've done business with Vintage Gardens for several years. They remain one of my favorite rose sources, and one I'm always happy to recommend to others. The breadth of their selection is matched only by the breadth of their knowledge and enthusiasm. Jeri Jennings, Ventura Co., California

Bands arrived today. No e-mail was sent to me telling me they had shipped. Packaging was OK and the plants arrived in good shape. I wish they had included a catalog in the box. No real complaints, but other growers (Heirloom, ARE, and Muncy's) impressed me more.

Very pleasant to order from and very knowledgeable. Plants were well started and growing strongly. They had roses I had searched for for years, some I'll have to wait to be rooted but the ones I received this year were wonderful. Very timely responses and very good about keeping the customer informed about shortages and late shipment. One of the best nurseries I have ever dealt with.

I agree that looking through their catalog is the proverbial kid-in-a-candystore experience and I use that and their website as ready-references. The 'bands' seem to work out all right if you are willing to wait a year or two for them to develop.

They're helpful over the phone, but I think they should check a bit more about the context in giving advice. They deal with so many hard-core rose maniacs that I think they assumed I knew that I was doing and suggested roses a bit 'advanced' for a beginner.

I have ordered many roses over the past five years. The plants come in good shape and do well in the garden. The selection is FANTASTIC. The staff is friendly and helpful on phone and in person. I just wish I had more space for their roses.

Overall, I like this firm and continue to do business with them. I would, however, add one small word of caution. They used to claim of their gallon roses that when you received them they were ready to plant out. Well, this may be true if you live in California or the Pacific Northwest, but for those of us living inland with greater temperature extremes I strongly recommend that you exercise caution and commonsense. When I started out, I really didn't know any better, so I planted out many of their small and relatively expensive roses around April and May. Unfortunately, things heat up quickly here in Arkansas and the root systems of these small plants simply couldn't cope. All the diligent watering on earth can't compensate for moisture loss (and probably climate shock) when the roots are still slight. Now that they sell the smaller 'band' size of rooted cuttings, they forthrightly say to grow them on before planting. Sound advice, which you should consider for larger sizes as well.Apart from that caveat, I have found them courteous, patient, and remarkably efficient: unlike most dealers in old roses they ship when they say they aregoing to and they know what they have in stock and when they are sold out. Their selection, it hardly needs to be said, is hard to match in NorthAmerica.

I love this nursery. The roses that I have bought directly from them were all fabulous, with the possible exception of a slightly wimpy and pot-bound Mrs. Oakley Fisher last September (she perked up once planted), and a Baronne Edmond de Rothschild that seems to have forgotten to grow. They had several roses on hold for me that I declined to take, because they were really quite small, but the roses I have picked out myself have been wonderful. They may wait to ship out plants until they are bigger. In general, though, the plants are very robust, healthy and disease-free. All the customer service people are helpful and knowledgeable. Their selection is amazing, and changes yearly. Don't hesitate to buy their roses!

Last year I ordered a climbing New Dawn from Vintage Gardens. It arrived in full bloom and continued to bloom all summer, even with only 4-5 hours of sun per day. This was my first time planting a rose, so I appreciated the detailed planting instructions included with my plant. I would use them again in the future.

Just received orders from Vintage Rose and Nor'East Miniature roses. They arrived on time and both were in excellent shape. The Vintage Roses were in bud (this is April) and plants were healthy, even after a lengthy stay in their boxes due to the Easter holiday (which made them caught en route for a day). I planted them and they are blooming and look very healthy. Vintage sells own root roses and they are very hardy. Their selection is extensive, even though their catalog is not full of photos of the roses or drawings either. I will definitely order from them again…Two very good plant sellers.

Don't forget the FREE yearly updates to the "big" catalogue. AND, if you're around in the spring, they have an open-house back at their own garden at home. A lot of fun & you can see the glory of roses in both formal and cottage settings!!

Catalog for Vintage Gardens is still worth the price.