Lyn,
Three years in a row now, I have been at Kniffing's the day the boxes of bare root roses were delivered. I was able to buy at the bare root price each time!
This year, the Austin rose shipment arrived very late, and I had to rely on my daughter to go out there to buy for me. She didn't understand that I needed them when they were dormant, so she shipped me roses that had already started to leaf out. I potted them and put them in the garage, and so far, they are okay. The price goes up considerably once they pot them, and this year I think they raised their prices. I think the Austins were 26.95. Last time, I'm pretty sure it was 22.95.
Yesterday I found a Traviata rose and another Sally Holmes. I passed up a Wedgwood climber and Colette, so I may drive back out there for those if I don't get too much at Walter Andersen, Mission Hills nursery, or Hunter's Nursery.
We did stop by the rose garden at Balboa. We're about a month early for most, but I did take pictures of the few that were blooming. If those were the only Austins I had ever seen, I would never buy one. I don't know what happened to their Austin collection but they looked awful. Hopefully they look better for the rose convention in May.
