:( :( :(

To everything there is a season, turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together....

(from Pete Seeger's adaptation of the Bibical verse)

It's been an incredible adventure, building up as we have for the past ten years, but now the time has come to break down much of what we've built. Words are inadequate to express my deepest appreciation to my friends and colleagues across the country and around the world who have offered steadfast support and encouragement. And very special thanks to our loyal customers who time and again have taken leaps of faith, ordering roses with strange names, often with precious little information available about them.

Although we might not go down in history for winning an award for longevity, I'll settle for the intensity award. I'm very proud of what we've managed to accomplish together, having introduced or reintroduced well over 200 roses into commerce in this country. I firmly believe that many of these incredible roses will be around for future generations to enjoy, and that after all was the overriding goal we set out to achieve.

But unless blessed with extremely deep pockets, a rose nursery must ultimately pay its way if it is to survive. And despite our best efforts, the challenges we faced proved to be too great, at least at this point in time.

Over the coming weeks we will provide details concerning the ongoing availability of our remaining nursery plants and the new varieties coming available for the fall. We will also provide information concerning the disposition of the roses in our garden.

Meanwhile, we have added a few new varieties to our website, and everything on the site is available for immediate shipping. We will continue to accept and ship orders until we have concluded an agreement with others to take our remaining inventory of nursery plants. We will not have another sale before closing and we regret that we are not able to hold new orders for later shipping.

Again, to all of you who have supported us over the past years, my profound thanks and every good wish for success, happiness and contentment in the future. And please continue to support your remaining independent rose nurseries; they need you now more than ever before.

Sincerely,
Cliff Orent
EuroDesert Roses

Such a shame. He really was bringing back some wonderful roses.

I am so very sad.

So many of these wonderful small rose nurseries have closed these past few years. So sad.

He was the only one selling Paul Ecke, Jr., which I've wanted for a long time. He wasn't able to root enough of them successfully this year, but I had high hopes for next season.

Look at this amazing rose!

http://www.helpmefind.com/gard...

I remember seeing that one on HMF before with the cool darker edges on the petals

Armstrong used to carry it, but they don't anymore. In spite of that, they've been very stingy with the selling rights. They've done that to a bunch of great roses. Tootsie's another one I've always wanted, but Armstrong has a lock on it and yet is not offering it for sale.

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose...

Nice one, and great parents too, Angel Face × Old Master.

Yes, it's intriguing because it's a non-McGredy handpainted rose. Judging by Champagne Cocktail and some others, that's a good combination in my climate. I find that many of my McGredy roses produce beautiful blooms, but the bushes themselves are unsightly.

My baby Champagne Cocktail (from Heirloom) is growing nicely on its own roots during this, its first year. But so far my blossoms haven't shown any of the champagne "bubbles" - they've just been a strong pink with a little bit of streaking in them. I want the bubbles!

Mike - went to HMF, what bubbles are you talking about? The freckling?

Yes, I think that's why they named it Champagne Cocktail, because it looks like the bubbles in champagne.