Hortico burned me by sending really pathetic little starts that had some disease I had never seen. A black crusty stem. Nahema survived whatever it was, but Auguste Renoir didn't even grow a leaf, just DOA. The 2 Austins I ordered from them did grow well. It's just that Auguste was the 1 I really wanted, and was the only reason I even put in the order.
My two orders from A Reverence For Roses, on the other hand, are tremendous. The price and the shipping were half what Hortico charged, and the plants were twice as big to start with, but in same 4" pots. Just a world of difference.
In the next month, I'll need to dig 19 big holes for the Palatine roses.
I'm slowly bringing home bags of compost to add to each plant. Lifting those heavy wet bags is a chore, so I only do a few at a time!
We've had 2 mornings now with low temps of 37 degrees, and daytime temps in 80s, so the roses have vibrant saturated color. The scents even seem more complex.
Our biggest cottonwood tree died from a lightning strike, and my husband removed it yesterday, roots and all. It opened up a huge sunny area!
If I drink enough coffee tomorrow morning, I may move some plants around, dig some out entirely, and eliminate some screeching color clashes.
