I have a 2-3 year old own-root Gruss an Aachen and a grafted David Austin Evelyn rose to trade or share with someone in the Chicago area. I am getting rid of them because for some reason last year I decided I wanted to plant ONLY pale roses, and now I crave more variety; also I prefer roses that need no protection whatsoever, and these guys need a winter mulch. They are both beginning to leaf out now, so they should find a new home quick!

Evelyn is a David Austin rose that I bought as a 3 gallon container from Gethsemane Gardens nursery in Chicago last summer. She has several green healthy canes and some canes that I'm not sure will leaf out or not - she turned out to be pickier about winter than most of my other roses. Her root system appears to be good. She was largely disease free all summer, and she bloomed like crazy. Her blooms smell just heavenly (it was developed to be the rose behind Crabtree and Evelyn perfumes) and they look wonderful too. The repeat is great. Here's what Evelyn's blooms look like:

Gruss is an own-root rose that is 2 or 3 years old. I bought it from High Country Roses (a great company) last spring. She has a good root system also, but her canes had to be cut back to just a couple of inches after the winter - she also turned out to be a tad more cold sensitive than any of my other plants. She's just beginning to sprout new leaves, however, and by summer I expect that she'll have a few nice new canes. She was slightly prone to blackspot but bloomed like mad without a break. Gruss is also, blessedly, tolerant of partial shade. Here's what Gruss looks like:

If you would like to trade them for some modest plants from your own garden (which certainly don't have to be other roses), please let me know. I'd like to trade this locally. I'm interested in anything that will bloom THIS YEAR (I'm craving immediate gratification.) Perennials, herbs, ornamental grass, shade garden selections, sedums & sempervirums, clematis, other cool vines, ...tempt me. I'm especially interested in stuff on my list but I'm open to just about anything before it becomes too late to move them!

Thanks in advance - hope someone will find a good home for these beautiful plants. :)