Got this in today's email (the availability list was a double column... didn't transfer well)
--
Remember "The Little Engine That Could?" This classic children's story dates back over a hundred years, when a brief version first appeared in 1906 as "Thinking One Can." From there it went on to be one of the most popular children's stories ever, translated into countless languages around the world and has been used for generations to convey the important message of optimism. (If you want to read or reread a popular version of the story, click here: The Little Engine That Could.) Well, together we're certainly that Little Engine That Could! Of the 125 hybrid perpetuals that grew in my garden, only 10 now remain, thanks to your enthusiastic responses! For those who might still wish to order one of our hybrid perpetuals, those still available are:

Bossuet
Caroline de Sansal
Dembrowski
Mme Louise Piron
Mme Scipion Cochet
Monsieur le Capitaine Louis Frere
Maurice Bernardin
Robert Duncan
Souv de la Reine d'Angleterre
Vicomtesse de Vezins

My sincere gratitude to all of you who have provided good homes to a group of roses that's been near and dear to my heart. I hope and trust that you'll derive as much enjoyment from them as I have.

Cliff Orent

EuroDesert Roses

Spotlight on Polyanthas

Charles Metroz, polyantha Blanche Neige, polyantha Princesse Josephine-Charlotte, polyantha

A second area of focus in the EuroDesert Rose Garden has been polyanthas, those under-appreciated, low maintenance landscape shrubs that give so much and require so little.
Polyanthas are among the most versatile of all roses. With very few exceptions, they are as comfortable in pots as they are in the ground. And with minimal care and maintenance, they'll reward you with great shows of bloom throughout the season, right up until the first frost (or in frost free areas, throughout the year, depending upon your pruning preferences). I'll go so far as to say that virtually every garden (not just every rose garden) would benefit from the inclusion of polyanthas, with the possible exception of xeriscape and a few other types of specialized gardens.

This is an unprecedented chance to choose from 135 plants of 121 different varieties of polyanthas still available from the EuroDesert Roses garden.

Polyanthas from the garden are $24 each plus the actual cost of shipping, with the exception of a few particularly large plants, which are $29 each. Many of our polyanthas in the garden are the Mother Plants which from which EuroDesert Roses nursery plants were propagated. To order, just send an email message with "Polyantha Order" in the subject line to cliff.eurodesertroses@yahoo.com. Be sure to include your complete shipping address. We'll send invoices (along with payment options) after your plants have been shipped and we know the actual shipping costs.

Here are the polyanthas that are available. For further information and photos, I again refer you to the Queen of rose resources without which many of us would be lost - HelpMeFind - at:
Help Me Find Rose Search

Unless otherwise noted, we have only one plant of each variety in the garden:

"Aunt Margy's Rose"
Marie Daly
Belmont Yellow
Marie-Jeanne
Lindee"
Mary Guthrie
Orange Hearts
Marytje Cazant
Mountain Mignonette
Merveille des Rouges
Pink Gate" (Cl. Poly)
Mignonette
Pink Hearts"
Miss Edith Cavell
Alice 2
Mme. Taft
Anda 2
Morsdag Alba
Anne-Marie de Montreval
(White Mothersday)
Baby Bath
Mothersday
Baby Faurax
Mrs. Alston's Rose
Blanche Neige
Mrs. R. M. Finch
Britannia 2
Mrs. W.H. Cutbush
Charles Métroz 2
Mrs. Wm. Koning
Clothilde Soupert 2
Natalie
Coral Cluster
Nypels Perfection
Deutsches Danzig
Orange Miss Edith Cavell 2
Dick Koster
Orange Triumph
Dorothy Howarth
Orange Triumph, Cl.
Ebloussant
Orleans Rose
Eglantine
Paquerette
Ellen Poulsen
Paul Crampel
Emmeloord 2
Perle d'Or
Etoile de Mai
Petite Francoise
Excellenz von Schubert 2
Phyllis Bide
Fairy Damsel
Pinafore
Fairy Dance
Pink Koster
Fairy Frolic
Pink Soupert
Father's Day (Vatertag)
Pink Sweetie
Fireglow 2
Pinkie
Fluffy Cloud
Red Fairy
Gabrielle Privat
Rita Sammons
German Fairy
Rosenprinzessin
Gloria Mundi
Rosenwunder von Schloss Hexenagger
Golden Salmon
Greet Koster
Rote Gabrielle Privat
Heinrich Karsch
Rottkäppchen 2
Ideal
Schöne von Holstein
Jeanny Soupert
Souv. D'Adolphe Turc
Karine
Sparkler
Katharina Zeimet
Spray Cecile Brunner
Kleine Eva
Sweet Pea
Lauren
Sylvie Vartan
Leonie Lamesch
Too Cute
Little White Star
Triomphe Angevin
Lovely Fairy
Vincent van Gogh
Lullaby
Weeping China Doll (Cl. Polyantha)
Mädi
Magenta
White Cecile Brunner
Maman Turbat
White Pet
Marechal Foch
Wing-Ding 4
Margo Koster
Yesterday
Margo's Baby
Yvonne Rabier
Margo's Sister
Zenaitta

The following plants are significantly larger and are $29 each, plus actual shipping costs:

Coral Beauty
Denise Cassegrain
Fortissima (Cl. Poly)
Geschwister Scholl
Lady Ann Kidwell
Lady Reading
Mevrouw Nathalie Nypels
Open Arms (Cl. Poly)
Poéma (Cl. Poly)
Princesse Joséphine-Charlotte
Snow Showers
The Fairy (1 on fortuniana rootstock) 2
The Gift


Is it too Late to Place New Orders and Plant Roses?

Absolutely Not!


Since we continue to receive inquiries asking whether it's now too late to receive and plant our roses, I'll repeat what I wrote in the last update. The answer is a resounding, "No, it isn't!" These are not the type of bare root roses you might have ordered and received in the past. They are not dormant plants that were dug weeks or months ago and stored at cool temperatures. These are actively growing mature rose bushes that are dug from the garden, cut back, soaked and packed for shipping, and they arrive at your home full of life and ready to burst forth with new growth.

As many of you know, in 2006 we moved all 5,000 roses from the Palm Springs area in the low desert to the current location in the high desert. We started the move in August, 2006 with daily high temperatures in the low desert above 110 degrees F (and often above 115 F). Roses were dug from the ground in those temperatures in the worst part of the low desert summer, and out of 5,000 roses we lost no more than a dozen.

If you have questions about how to plant your new roses, Paul Zimmerman has kindly offered to host a discussion in the forum on the Paul Zimmerman Roses website, and I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of his offer. He has a terrific new website, well worth a visit even if you don't have any questions for the forum:

Included is the "Roses are Plants, Too" Forum. Go to the "Caring for Roses" section and feel free to ask any questions you might have. Thank you again, Paul!

What Customers are Saying

About half of the orders we're now receiving are repeat orders from customers who have received our roses and want to order additional varieties, and half are from customers placing their first order for roses from the garden.

A few comments received over the past week or so:

"(The latest shipment) arrived yesterday with the usual huge rootballs, and they look great. Thank you! I know some people fret when they receive bare root roses that have been cut back before shipping, but seeing the huge and healthy root balls on Amazing Grace, History, and Ginger Hill, I knew they'd be fine. It's been about three weeks since they got here and were placed in pots, and they're putting out new growth like crazy! Thanks so much for the wonderful roses that were dug up and shipped so well that they haven't skipped a beat!"

"People love receiving roses of such size and health. This is a chance of a lifetime. Thanks!"

"Hello and good morning Cliff. I am most pleased to report that the outstandingly awesome rosebush you sent me has arrived! When I opened the box I swear I heard a grand tune announcing the arrival of the Queen! She is truly one of the largest healthy looking roses I have ever received through the mail!"

Missing Persons -- er Roses -- Alert
As mentioned in our last update, there have been a few hiccups along the way in terms of roses shipped to the wrong customer, and we're very grateful to those of you who have received roses intended for others who have repacked the plants and sent them to their intended homes. Since nearly all of these are varieties of which only one plant grew in the garden, we're simply not able to replace plants that don't reach the customers who ordered them. Unfortunately, there are a few roses that now have to be reported as missing and their new owners are saddened that they've gone astray. If by chance you have received any of these roses in error, please let me know so that we can make arrangements to have them shipped to the customers who ordered them. A few were likely just lost in transit, but we're aware of shipping errors for others. If you ordered one of these varieties and received your plant, there's no need to do anything (we had multiple plants and multiple orders for Tina Turner, for example).

R nutkana
Maria Renaissance
Tina Turner
Dupuy Jamain
Comtesse Cecile de Chabriallant
Deprez a Fleur Jaune

Adjustment in the Price of Miniatures and Minifloras
When we started the sale of roses from the garden in March, roses were initially priced at $29 for everything except minis and minifloras, which were $19. As some of you undoubtedly noticed, before we sent out the first invoice for roses shipped we quietly lowered the price from $29 to $24, and lowered the price of minis from $19 to $14. Now that we've sold about 20% of the roses from the garden (over 1000 plants), we've been able to better analyze our costs (both labor as well as packing and shipping materials). What we've found is that due to higher than anticipated labor and packaging costs, we're losing money at $14 for the minis and minifloras. Our costs (both labor and materials) are basically the same for the minis and minifloras as they are for the "large" roses. Those of you who have received plants of miniature roses and minifloras from us have seen that the plants are by no means miniature -- only the blooms you'll soon see qualify these varieties as minis! So while we're leaving the price of the larger roses at $24, the price for minis and minifloras will go back to $19, effective today. For any minis or minifloras already ordered, we will honor the lower prices. But for any new orders going forward, the price per plant will be $19. Thanks for your understanding.