When purchasing roses, or any other plant, look for specimens that are: 1 - have moist soil (dig in a little), 2 - leaves are turgid and dark green, 3 - their are no broken branches/stems and 4 - they are the newest arrivals. Following these simple rules will get you started off on the right foot. Next, once home care: 1- place plant in a shaded area in-order to acclimate, 2 - place pot in a bucket/container of water and let soak for 2-3 hours (insures totally moist root ball, 3 - remove and allow to drain, 4 - prepare hole adding any amendments needed, and 5 - plant following instructions and water frequently (every two days for the first week or two and twice a week for the first growing season).

For detail instructions on planting and care you should google 'rose planting instructions and care'. Roses are pretty hardy plants but need proper care in-order to do their best.

Avoid purchasing roses that seem to be coated with wax. These usually do not survive in our climate because they burn in the sun. Local private nurseries may be the best source.

Here's a link to rose care from the University of Arizona you can download and another you can copy and paste. http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1305.pdf

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rose Selection and Care

There is a rose forum here for your pleasure. They don't all live under our HOT HOT HOT circumstances, but you can glean a lot there.

I live where it's HOT HOT HOT. Day and night. I have purchased many fine roses at Home Depot. Body bags. I just soak em per instructions. Put a lot of nice nutrients in their hole, and they all do well. I never had one die!

I do have a bargain I just purchased and it has only 2 green canes. The rest are brown and ugly. BUT, I'm going to give it a try. It's name is Our Lady Of Guadalupe. Such a pretty rose!!

I do love to rescue the battered and broken from Walmart, etc.

Good luck on your quest!

I got few bareroot roses from home depot. Got them late, mid/end of feb they were 50% off...so iam thinking it was end of season for bareroot sale. Got few with green canes but no leaves yet. Does it take a while for the leaves to comeout? The other bareroot i got 2-3 weeks prior to it has lot of leaves and flower buds on them.

Yes. Late Feb. is fine. Remember there a NO feeder roots on bare rooters so it takes time for the to form in the ground.

Berridge's and Baker's in Phoenix.
They can advise you which ones do best here.
This time of year you need to buy them in pots and get them planted as soon as possible.

Bakers and Berridges are where I buy many of my roses. I also get several through the local rose societies, especially the annual Mesa RS auction held in February. Picked up a couple of roses for as little as $5.00 each. Many of the roses I like to grow are classed as Old Garden Roses which are rarely sold in local nurseries so I get those from Ashdown. With my rose society membership, some of the local nurseries offer anywhere from 10-20% discount on my purchases. I can save my $20.00 dues before the end of February, lol.

If you are in the Phoenix area, I agree with Berridges. They are knowledgeable and extremely helpful. They sell their bare roots a short time only. But every one I have is big and beautiful.

I planted 2 small rose bushes 4 weeks ago in the ground. the leaves at the bottom are turning yellow. Any idea whats causing this, is it over watering ? I had also added bit super triplephosphate rose fertilizer 2 weeks ago.

Lower leave general turn yellow for one of the following reasons: 1) lack of water - when watering add 2-3 gallons/plant every 3 days, 2) planting shock - a new environment like more sun, 3) fertilizer burn - I don't fertilize or prune may new plants until the second or third year ( if anything a light application of N around 4 July). The first year you want the roots to develop/grow into the native soil so they have a good start for your pleasure for years to come.

I am originally from NEngland (Mass), and have been an avid gardener for years, able to grow just about anything. Moving to Tucson AZ in 2004 I became a "serial killer of plants". Everything I bought, brought home, planted, loved, watered, etc...promptly died from the hot hot sun. Then I discovered growing roses in Tucson! WOW. They love it here and I have not had one go belly-up on me yet. Watering is the key and I have found that the best winter care is to NOT cut them back. This spring my roses are so beautiful. I have many plants of all varities and the most beautiful are some long stemmed of all colors. They are doing so great! I was so heartbroken to think I would never garden again living in Tucson AZ since I couldn't keep anything alive for too long. Then...ROSES saved my green-thumb! You can't go wrong with Roses in Arizona.

Greenlust, the triple super phosphate needs to be added into the root zone if added after planting. If it sits on top of the soil, it won't help your rose at all. Adding a little organic fertilizer to the planting hole feeds the compost that hasn't broken down but we usually wait to add higher nitrogen rose foods until the rose has been in the ground for a few months. We don't feed roses from June through mid-September. Sprinkle a tblsp of Osmacote, a slow-release fertilizer, around each large bush at about Memorial Day. Water is a key need but roses planted in the ground should be watered about once a week in winter and 3-4 times a week in summer. Watering every day can compact the soil, reducing the amount of oxygen and CO2 available to the roots.

Lower leaves turning yellow can signal many things but as we move into hot weather, it is most likely spider mites. Instead of using a chemical control, hose off the leaves 3 times a week with a strong spray of water. Most of us use a multi-port water wand and set it to 'jet' or remove the sprayer and replace it with a brass hose nozzle that we can adjust for a stronger spray.

thanks for the info. the yellow leaf problem went away after i gave it good watering. Now i have mildew on another rose bush and cutter bees cutting away leaves, just watched one bee in action. I bought 2 striped roses, scentimental and purple tiger. I forgot to do my homework before buying ie will it take the heat/full sun etc. Planted scentimental in full sun. Anyone has these roses...does it take full sun?

Yes, Scentimental takes full sun. Purple Tiger not so much but our environment is sun so they'll have to learn to like it, lol. I've got two Scentimental in morning sun but the bed at Mesa Community College is in full-day sun and they still look great except in mid-summer. No rose looks goods in a Phoenix July/August.

Powdery mildew can be a year-round problem but is most prevalent in spring due to warm days and cool nights. You can hose the spores off the leaves to keep it in control then wait for the heat to make it disappear. Cutter bees are a cosmetic pest. They don't ingest the leaf and only go for the softer leaves as they're nesting. While pesticides will have some effect, they aren't recommended because they'll do far more damage to other insects than to the bees and should never be used when temperatures are over 85F, 75F if containing oil.

Have to checkout Mesa community college rose garden after summer. Do they have David Austin (DA) Roses ? Which DA roses do well in Phoenix? Are they available at local nurseries ? (dont know about DA so asking beginner questions)

There are some David Austin English roses in most of the local public rose gardens. Bakers Nursery, 40th Str north of Osborn in Phx, had the largest selection this winter but that still only amounted to about 20 of them. The website and catalogue features many, many more.... all bred for form and fragrance. Depending on your sniffer, some will have more scent than others.

When Austins became more widely available in the US, Phoenix rosarians poo-poohed the idea that cool-weather roses wouldn't like our heat and they were proved right on many of them. In particular, Prospero, Golden Celebration and Molineax do very well in my garden. Several others shut down in summer. Fair Bianca has the grayish brown blooms of other whites. Due to our warm weather, several Austins grown as shrubs in other climates can be grown as short climbers in ours. I cage my floppers in large tomato cages until the canes are strong enough to support the blooms. The cages are strong enough to hold them up but cheap enough to take wire snips to when no longer needed.

Try www.davidaustinroses.com for the online catalogue. Check with Bakers to see what they still have available. They'll be several dollars cheaper than ordering online plus you don't want to be ordering roses in 100F temps.