Mail Order Rose Suppliers

Mail Order Miniature Rose Suppliers

Mail Order Rose and Nursery Supplies and Pesticides

Recommended How-To Rose Books

Rosenut Mix Recipe

Why I Don't Recommend Discount Store Roses

Mail Order Rose Suppliers

Most of these companies have on-line catalog and you can order roses on-line. Comments are based on my experience.

Arena Rose Co.
P.O. Box 3096
Paso Robles, CA 93447
805-227-4094
www.arenaroses.com
#1 grade roses. Good quality large size bareroot roses.

Edmunds’ Roses
6235 SW Kahle Road
Wilsonville, OR 97070-9727
888-481-7673
www.edmundsroses.com e-mail: greatroses@aol.com
Large #1 grade quality bareroot roses. 

Jackson & Perkins
1 Rose Lane
Medford, OR 97501
800-292-4796
www.jacksonandperkins.com
Large #1 grade quality bareroot roses.

Witherspoon Rose Culture
Box 52489
Durham, NC 27717-2489
800-643-0315
www.witherspoonrose.com
Large #1 grade quality bareroot roses from Weeks.

Springhill Select Roses
6523 N. Galena Rd.
Peoria, IL 61658-1758
309-691-4616, orders only 800-582-8527 ( Make sure you ask for The Select Rose Catalog.)
www.springhillnursery.com
Roses are sometimes #1 quality and sometimes not. You take your chance. Many folks give them good reviews. Other won’t buy from them again. All I’ve ever received were good quality large bareroot roses. They ship Weeks or Conard Pyle roses.

Wayside Gardens 
1 Garden Lane
Hodges, SC 29695-0001
800-845-1124
www.waysidegardens.com
No place in their catalog do they mention #1 grade roses. They do say First Quality, but that’s not the same as #1 grade. I stopped buying from them when all I received was damaged #1 ½ or #2 grade. They do carry many varieties not available elsewhere.

Hortico
723 Robson Road, R.R. 1
Waterdown, Ontario LOR 2H1, Canada
905-689-6984
http://www.hortico.com  e-mail: hortico@bigwave.ca
Big selection of roses. Many hard to find or not available in U.S. Bareroot roses tend to be small.

Roses Unlimited
Rt 1, Box 587, North Deerwood Dr.
Laurens, SC 29360
864-682-7673
e-mail: rosesunlmt@aol.com
www.rosesunlimitedownroot.com/rosesunlimited001.htm
Excellent selection of Own Root container grown roses, shipped growing in one gallon containers. Own Root roses are smaller than bareroot roses and will not reach full size until the 2nd year.

Pickering Nurseries
670 Kingston Rd.
Pickering, Ontario L1V 1A6, Canada
905-839-4807
http://www.pickeringnurseries.com/roses1/Web_store/web_store.cgi
I’ve not done business with this company but have only heard good reports about their roses.

Heirloom Old Garden Roses
24062 Riverside Drive N.E.
St. Paul, OR 97137
503-538-1576
www.heirloomroses.com
Own Root Roses shipped growing in small containers. Will not reach full size until the 2nd year. They carry many hard to find Old Garden Roses. 

The Antique Rose Emporium 
9300 Lueckemeyer Rd.
Brenham, TX 77833-6453
http://www.antiqueroseemporium.com
A big selection of Old garden Own Root container grown roses. Will not reach full size until 2nd year.

Ashdown Roses
2220 S. Blackstock Road
P.O. Box 308
Landrum, SC 29356
864-468-4900
www.ashdownroses.com
I’ve not done business with Ashdown but have heard nothing but good things. Their catalog lists many older and hard to find roses.

Muncy’s Rose Emporium
11207 Celestine Pass
Sartasota, Florida 34241
866-476-7673
www.muncyrose.com
I’ve visited Ken Muncy’s nursery in Sarasota. He offers good sized own-root roses in pots for the North and roses budded on Fortuniana for Florida growers. He is an authorized David Austin grower and offers many hard to find and unusual hybrid teas, floribundas, antique, and old garden roses. He also carries a complete line of rose supplies and chemicals.

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Mail Order Miniature Roses

Bridges Roses
2734 Toney Road
Lawndale, NC 28090
704-538-9412
www.bridgesroses.com e-mail: briroses@shelby.net
They hybridize many miniatures and have won many ARS Awards. Bridges carries many of the newest varieties along with their own. 

Nor’East Miniature Roses
P.O. Box 307
Rowley, MA 01969
800-426-6485
www.noreast-miniroses.com e-mail: nemr@shore.net
One of the best miniature roses grower. They also hybridize their own roses and carry a very complete inventory of the more popular miniature roses.

Justice Miniature Roses
5947 S.W. Kahle Rd.
Wilsonville, OR 97070
503-682-2370
www.nurseryguide.com/members/11309/
e-mail: justrose@gte.net
Justice carries many unusual and difference varieties not found at most other miniature rose suppliers.

Sequoia Nursery, Moore Miniature Roses
2519 East Noble Ave.
Visalia, CA 93292
209-732-0190
www.sequoianursery.biz/
www.miniatureroses.com/sequoia-nursery/
Ralph Moore is recognized as the father of the miniature rose. Sequoia carries Ralph Moore and old and unusual miniature roses.

Michigan Miniature Roses
45951 Hull Road
Belleville, MI 48111
313-699-6698
www.michiganminiroses.com/homepage.htm
Good selection of new and older varieties of miniature roses.

Taylor’s Roses
P.O. Box 677
Fairhope, AL 36533-0677
334-928-5008
plantsbymail.net
Hybridizes and carries many varieties of miniature roses.

Tiny Petals Nursery
489 Minot Ave.
Chula Vista, CA 91810-4833
619-498-4755
www.tinypetalsnursery.com e-mail: tinypetals@juno.com

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Mail Order Rose and Nursery Supplies and Pesticides

Muncy’s Rose Emporium
11207 Celestine Pass
Sarasota, FL 34240
941 377-6156 
www.flsuncoast.com/muncyrose
e-mail: MuncyRose@FLSuncoast.com
Ken Muncy says” IF YOU NEED IT, I'VE GOT IT, IF NOT, I'LL GET IT!!” He has one of the best selections of rose pesticides, pruners, irrigation supplies and fertilizers I’ve seen at prices that are hard to beat. He ships at his actual shipping cost. He’s going to start shipping ownroot roses this year.

Kimbrew-Walter Roses
Route 2, Box 172
Grand Saline, TX 75140
903-829-2968
e-mail: kwroses@hotmail.com

Mellinger’s Inc.
2310 W. South Range Road
North Lima, OH 44452-9731
800-321-7444
www.mellingers.com 
Tons of gardening supplies including pots, irrigations, pesticides, markers, you name it. Over 4000 items.

A. M. Leonard
241 Fox Drive
P.O. Box 816
Piqua, OH 45356
800-543-8955
www.amleo.com
Sensible tools for the serious gardener. Gardening clothing, carts, greenhouses, pruners, tools, etc.

Rosemania
4020 Trailridge Drive 
Franklin TN 37067
615-790-2728
www.rosemania.com
Good selection of the newer chemicals and rose growing supplies at good prices. They also carry their own hybridized miniature and mini-flora roses

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Recommended Hot-To Rose Books

These are readily available from most nurseries, garden centers and bookstores.

Ortho's "All About Roses"

"Roses for Dummies"

Black & Decker's "Landscaping with Roses"

"A Year of Roses" by Stephen Scanniello. This is a hard cover which is available from book stores or online.

Time Life Gardener's Guide "Roses"

The Time Life Encyclopedia of Gardening "Roses"

"Miniature Roses, Their Care and Cultivation" by Sean McCann, another hardcover. 

"Growing Roses in Cold Climates" Olsen, Whitman

"Hardy Roses" Osborne/Powning 

Two good books with pictures and comments;
"The Ultimate Rose" by The American Rose Society.

"Botanica's Roses" The Encyclopedia of Roses forwarded by David Austin

The following are research books.

"Modern Roses II" a complete list of roses in the world now and extinct.

"The Combined Rose List" by Beverly Dobson and Peter Schneider. This is a comprehensive list of roses in commerce and where to buy them. Stop fertilizing about the middle of August.

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Rosenut Mix Recipe

I have sandy soil that needs lots of organics to be amended. I also water from a well I had installed for my roses. Due to my soil conditions I sometimes have to water frequently especially in the hot, dry summer months. This causes extensive leaching of most chemical fertilizers which means I have to fertilize more frequently than someone with a loam, loamy clay or clay soil.

Adjust your timing accordingly. If you have one of the latter types of soil I suggest you cut back some on the 46-0-0 urea which is fast acting. It will be available in your soil for a longer time which means it could have the potential to burn. The rest of the ingredients will do nothing more than greatly improve your soil.

Organic fertilizers stay in the soil longer and help clay soil by adding organic material to it. This helps with drainage. It also aids the water holding capacity of sandy soil.

Basically this is nothing more than the ingredients contained in Mill's Magic Rose Mix plus a fast acting nitrogen for instant gratification and Epsom salts for basil breaks.  The latter two are my ideas but they are contained in Mills E-Z-Feed which is a supplement to Mill's Magic Rose Mix. However, an organic mix does the same job better and it adds value to your soil. 

I use it when I prune in the spring and apply it 3 more times before August 15th. I have more blooms and taller roses than I  had for 4 years. I'm also getting lots of basel breaks.

I use 50 lb bags and one batch of 50 lbs of each item covers all my 500 bushes with one application of 2 cups each average size bush. You can adjust accordingly. Apply to the drip line of each bush and scratch it in good as you go. The fish meal will smell for a day or two after it gets wet unless it's scratched in. Results should be noticeable in about two weeks, and if you do it regularly you'll see results that will surprise you.

I also add fish emulsion and a water soluble fertilizer at half strength to my weekly spray as a foliar feed.  WOW.

Now for the recipe:

Equal amount of the following:

Bloodmeal
Cottonseed meal
Alfalfa meal
Fish meal
Mil-organite
46-0-0 Urea- This works fast while the other stuff breaks down.
Epsom salts
0-46-0 (triple super phosphate)

A typical 20 lb bag of organic fertilizer sells for $15-$20. Mixing it myself runs less than $2 for 20 lbs.

All these Items can be purchased at feed and grain stores, farm co-ops and stock feed supply elevators.

Epsom salts are used as hog feed

Alfalfa meal as horse, rabbit, feed

Fishmeal - beats me but it 's available where I get my stuff thank God so I don't have to look far for it.

Mil-organite is a commercial fertilizer available at most nurseries. It's packaged  Milwalkee sewage sludge.

46-0-0 ( urea) is farm fertilizer generally sold in bulk but also available in 50 lb bags at farm co-ops. It's also a hog feed. 

0-46-0 is a mined and processed phosphate rock.

Cottonseed meal was readily available where I bought everything except the Mil-organite and I could have gotten that except I didn't order in advance.

Let your fingers do the walking. Call around until you find a supplier. Some will order for you if they don't ordinarily stock an item and have it if you give them a week or so. Plan ahead.

I believe that a weekly application of a very dilute water soluble fertilizer and fish emulsion contributes to the over all success of this concoction. I add it to my fungicide when I spray each week.

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Why I Don't Recommend Discount Store Roses

Last year while working at a discount store garden center I gave a talk on roses at the  Home and Garden show at the county fairgrounds in early March.  The store  encouraged my involvement in these activities.

As I left work on my way to the fairgrounds I purchased two inexpensive  packaged roses to use for demonstration purposes. These had just arrived that morning. I wanted to show why one should not purchase cheap packaged discount store roses and why I suggested buying good quality roses from reputable suppliers. I had no prior knowledge of the condition of the part of the rosebush hidden by the package but enough confidence that it would serve as a good example. 

When I opened the packages during the program in front of some 25 people I exposed almost non-existent root systems that had been severely chopped so they would fit in the package.

This is the reason many home gardeners have bad luck with roses. The top can be very healthy  with lots of strong canes and viable buds but if there is no root system to support those canes and any new growth the bush will dry up and die. I often hear people say they can't get roses to grow. No, not when they have 3 strikes against them to begin with.

For beginners I recommend ordering from reputable mail order suppliers or purchasing healthy potted roses from local garden centers. Remember, you get what you pay for. A good healthy bare root rose from a reputable supplier will cost upwards to $20 but you will have a much better chance of being successful with it. Better to buy one $20 bush and get roses than 10 $2.00 bushes and have them all die.

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discount store rose #1

discount store rose #2