Just got word that Heirloom will be bringing "Star of the Nile" back next spring. Yeah!!!

Alan

Tell us a little about it, I saw your lovely database entry.

I had one, and lost it, because my Solenoid went out on my drip irrigation system in the back yard. So I sent them an email and asked if I could get one, or if they were not carrying it any more. They said they do plan to restock it this spring, but had sold out, that is why they don't have it on the website right now. I looked at that other site, can't remember which one zulu recommended, but they say you have to order three roses, and I thought there prices were a bit much for a rooted cutting compared to Heirlooms. So I'm going to wait til heirloom puts it out this spring.

Wonderful fragrance, probably the most beautiful, fruity fragrance I've ever smelled on a rose. Very, very fruity flavored...like a candy whose name eludes me right now. Had wonderful repeat bloom. It did stay small and bush like a shrub rose. Mine was about 2 feet tall by 2 feet in diameter when it died. Not sure how much bigger it would have gotten if the Solenoid hadn't gone out. I must have another, maybe two, replace the one I've lost. Maybe I should do three in a cluster somewhere... the fragrance of those three would be divine, like a bowl of fresh raspberries sprinkled with sugary, topped with cream.

Alan

Yum, it sounds wonderful, will have to check it out.

Who's ulu?

*sigh* Why oh why do you do this to me? Just called RU to have them add that to my spring order.

Dammit.

I recommended Roses Unlimited, Alan. Their roses cost about the same as Heirloom's (actually a little less, in fact), but that's where any comparison has to stop. Roses from RU are not tiny twigs, which is all I ever received from Heirloom. They're one-gallon roses, and they're much bigger than Chamblee's one-gallon roses. They're about the same size as ARE's two-gallon roses.

I personally would pay three times as much for a rose from RU as from Heirloom, but RU actually charges less for their roses: This year you could buy a whopping one-gallon rose from RU for $16 or pay $16.95 for a little twig from Heirloom.

Yes, but I have to buy three roses. I don't have room for three roses, and right at this moment, cannot afford three roses, with a new med they just put me on costing $155 per month. ;)

alan

Ouch! That's a hefty addition to your monthly budget.

I'm not trying to force you to buy roses from RU. I was just clearing up a misunderstanding. You said their prices were "a bit much for a rooted cutting compared to Heirloom's," so I wanted to let people know that their prices actually are lower than Heirloom's and their roses are at least 5 times the size of Heirloom's.

Besides, Alan, you said you might do a cluster of three. If you ordered the three from RU, you'd pay a little less and have a much more impressive cluster right away, and that would solve the problem of having to buy a minimum of three.

When I looked at there prices, they were between $12.95 and $16.95. I could have swore RU's started at $16.95. Maybe things have changed since then? But I will keep your info in mind. If I get a nice bonus in January, I will go for the bigger rose.

Yes, big chunk out of my budget for the meds. The worst thing about the cost, is this is the first med that has brought my blood sugar down into the good range!!! So I'm kind of forced to pay for it if I don't want to loose eye sight or limbs down the road...

alan

I think Heirloom does have occasional sales when they offer their roses (but not all of them) for $12.95 and even for $8.95, but otherwise all the roses are $16.95.

I'm glad the med works. It would be doubly horrible to pay that much for something that may or may not work. Maybe there eventually will be a less expensive, generic brand of it. Have you had diabetes since childhood or did it start later?

I started almost immediately after I had my heart attack. That was about 5 years ago. Something changed things. The Drs couldn't believe it when they looked at my bloodwork history, before and after the heart attack. Weird science I guess.

Alan

Maybe one of your heart meds triggered it. My sister had to take 17 different heart meds after her bypass, and one of them knocked out her kidneys. She died before they could figure out which one it was.

I was reading about its intense and unusual fragrance at this site: http://www.rdrop.com/~paul/mod...

It does sound irresistible. Excuse me now, while I go get lost on Paul Barden's site for the hundredth time. I love his photos and descriptions.

I think Paul is a lot like myself in that he has just got too busy to manage a website. I miss owning my website, but all the work....well, I don't miss that. When it was fun, I kept it up. Once it became a chore I had to let go of it to go for the things I enjoy most. My site no more compared to Paul's. But I did enjoy sharing the knowledge I had.

The thing I miss most is his monthly newsletter articles. I hovered over his site waiting for him to posts those every month. He's an excellent writer, photographer, and website designer.

alan

I also love his roses, but I do wish they were available from sources other than Rogue Valley. I like Rogue Valley and I have many, many wonderful roses from Rogue Valley, but they just don't have the knack or whatever it takes to grow Barden roses. All of the big and healthy Barden roses in my garden came from The Uncommon Rose, and every Barden rose I've bought from Rogue Valley has been a great disappointment.

I loved and miss Uncommon Rose. They were one of my all time favorites. I was sad to hear when they closed. But I've got rooted cuttings from them that were as small as Heirlooms.

Alan

Alan - if you'd like, I'll just tag an extra Star of the Nile on my order, and when I get it, I'll just bippybop it over to ya. I'm already ordering 12 from them, so 1 more won't make much difference.

That's what Zuzu and I plan to do, combine orders and share the shipping. We did it last year with Palatine, I only wanted one, Summer Song, so she added it to her order and I made the 95 mile drive up to pick it up.

95 mile? Heck, that's just a hop down the road!