Maybe I shouldn't care, but...

Yes, it's October, but Edmunds lost my business this year with that pathetic twig they sent me.

I wonder if they will get their site up and running in October. Seems like it shouldn't take much more than flipping a few virtual switches.

I ordered two years ago and it took a lot of intense nursing, but finally at the end of this summer some of the roses that survived for the first two months have grown big and healthy. Leanne Rimes reached seven feet tall before blooming. Talk about long cutting stems. Firefighter is making its first full flush of bloom, and it is glorious. Grande Dame is starting to look grand. Paradise Found is up to where I'd have expected it to be in May of 2010. The rest are pretty much dead. I think perhaps another plan is called for.

I ordered Koko Loko, Royal Amethyst, & Purple Splash from Edmunds in 2011 for the 2012 year. Royal Amethyst was DOA, Koko Loko is about to be expected, and Purple Splash grew to be about 4' (it's a climber). Used the credit for Royal Amethyst towards my order of Twilight Zone, Sparkle & Shine, & Music Box. S&S and TZ were out of stock, they sent me a disgusting little twig for Music Box, and they had no idea when they were going to get in the other two. And I put in my order early!

My Purple Splash from Feb 2012 order died in April. Music Box thrived and is still full of blooms. Whimsy never broke dormancy, as with one other one. I really should have notified them about that. I kept waiting, thinking it was just slow. Sheila's Perfume and Big Momma were the other two I ordered. Each had maybe 2 blossoms this summer. Twilight Zone is hanging in there with 1 good cane.
Oops hold on...Purple Splash was from Chamblees. So really, I just lost 1/5 from Edmunds. Not too bad, considering the year we had.
I was on Edmunds' site early this morn and for a brief moment, all the new roses came up with "purchase" instead of "unavailable". Just a cool subliminal trick, maybe.

Get in touch w/Edmunds. They have a 1 year warranty on their roses. They'll give you credit for the following year.

Perhaps they all sold out and I missed it. All the pages I go to and all the roses I click on, including the new ones say "unavailable." I guess one could interpret it as a message from another dimension meant to focus my attention on roses from Pickering, Heirloom, Greenmantle, ARE, RU, and a host of other places much too long to list. I guess if they don't have it fixed by mid January I'll skip them for another year.

I did want to try Twilight Zone. Colorific and Drop-Dead red are on my long to-buy list. And I'm still looking for that fragrant, white-flowered rose that magically combines the best of Mme Hardy, Iceberg, and Claire Austin, so Milwaukee's Calatrava is on the list, even though I know my hopes for it are impossible to realize. Maybe there's a space for Kardinal, too.

Steve - I did find Colorific locally here. Do you want me to look for one locally & let you know next spring? I'm betting dollars to donuts I can get one in a 3gal bucket. I paid $25 for mine when I got it.

The ones I get from Edmunds' Roses always live, but they're mostly inferior. Some have devolved into one-cane wonders and others are just plain sad. On the other hand, Koko Loco and Music Box are superb specimens, and the former was bought during their half-price sale, which is when I would expect to get an inferior rose bush.

I won't order from them again, but I am curious to see what they'll be offering next season. The ones on their "new" pages now are from last year. I expect them to offer a couple of new Eyeconic roses.

Regan Nursery has two new ones -- Eyeconic Pomegranate Lemonade and Eyeconic Melon Lemonade. Regan is also offering two from a new line of "Look-A-Likes": Hydrangealicious and Phloxy Baby. Some of their new intros are "old" to us, but here's the page:

http://www.regannursery.com/in...

I really like that Eyeconic Pomegranate & Love Song... never ordered from Regan's before. I should look into them. But their pictures are a bit to be desired.. talk about a 'shop job on Wild Blue Yonder.

Steve, I have 2 of Milwaukee's Calatrava. A local lumberyard, Menards, which really is a chain based in Wisconsin, features that rose. It did grow well in our horrible heat, but I wasn't so impressed by the blossoms. I need to go outside and take another look, and take a photo.
Stay tuned on that one.

Thank you all for the generous help!

Toni, I would be delighted to have a Colorific. Three gallons of floribunda delivered in late spring: good chance even I can get that to grow.

Cindi, I very much look forward to a photo of Milwaukee Calatrava. And maybe a word on fragrance? What a great luxury it is to have eyes and noses far afield!

Zuzu, thanks for softening the blow. When one gets addicted to buying roses from a particular supplier, the withdrawal can be painful. Same thing happened to me with Wayside and J&P. Fortunately there remain a number of good ones out there. I'm having fun rediscovering Pickering, for example. And I think places like Regan and RosesTulsaInc will help. My rose list for next year is already three times the size I can deal with, so I need to do some fall pruning.

Thanks for the link.. Love Diamond Eyes and Whimsy Mini's And Lady Shalott id Beautiful
Eyeconic Pomegranate says Only available @ garden center..

Think Im going to save up for the mini's

How is it I missed out on Regan? They have a terrific selection of Austin roses, and they are much cheaper than what I pay elsewhere.
What size roses does Regan send? Did I read it right? They start taking orders on Nov. 1 for the roses that are listed now, and start shipping in January?
I was trying to break my addiction and prune my wish list also, but i confess to major relapse after looking through Regan's list.

The bare-root roses will be the same size as anyone else's. The Austins, for example, will be the same size as the bare-root plants sent out by David Austin because Regan orders its Austins from David Austin. It's exciting that they're offering Lady of Shallott. I'm retiring in a few weeks, so my rose budget will be virtually nonexistent from now on. Otherwise, I'd order Lady of Shallott. I've resolved to buy only Palatine roses from now on.

I thought Regan was already accepting on-line orders. Where did you see the November 1st info?

It is too bad Eyeconic Pomegranate Lemonade isn't available by mail. They probably have only a few of them. Next year it should be more readily available. It isn't even listed on HelpMeFind.com yet.

This page:
http://www.regannursery.com/in...
go down to where it says "our season".
On the home page, it says they open in July. Hmmm.
So maybe we can order now, because they do have the 2013 roses listed. Ok...i just added 3 to a cart, so it's up and running. oh boy.
This is gonna cost some money.
Zuzu, I don't know whether to say I'm sorry or congratulations on your retirement. I hope it's a move that gives you more time to enjoy your gardening.
Lady of Shalott is a stunning rose. I bought it last year from Palatine?
Tonight our Rose Society has experts on RRD. (other than myself, haha).
I'll miss DWTS, and i may come home so bummed about RRD that I won't want to order any more roses.
The meeting is held at the Botanical garden and my daughter is driving me so I'll trick her into looking at flowers!

I don't think Palatine offered Lady of Shallott last year. Did you order it from David Austin? I think it has only been available from David Austin until now.

I could have sworn that the home page said something different, something about taking orders now for next season, a month ago. Odd that it has now reverted to the message that was on the home page several months ago. Someone screwed up. July was a long time ago.

Congratulations are the correct response. I'll have to cut many things out of my budget, but I've been working for 54 years now, so I'm more than ready to retire.

Zuzu, Congratulations on retirement! Now you will be able to play in the garden when it pleases you to do so.

Thanks, Steve. I always loved my job, but now that I know it's almost over, the next few weeks are going to be horrible. The prospect of freedom is so delicious that I want it right now!

I remember feeling that way about the last few weeks of school each year. Hang in there!