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msjam2

Best time to order miniature roses?

msjam2
18 years ago

Hi everyone,

I want to order some miniature roses but I am worried about the heat, I live in Melbourne, Fl zone 9B. I have very little experience with roses. Is it okay to order miniatures now or is it too late? How do I handle them with care once they arrive?

Would you recommend buying from John's miniature or Bridges?

Thanks a lot

msjam2

Comments (14)

  • msjam2
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Also, please recommend some good disease resistant climbing miniatures, I have my eye on Work of Art or Jeane Lajoie, will they do okay in my zone?

  • diane_nj 6b/7a
    18 years ago

    Jeanne Lajoie is not disease resistant by any means. I haven't ordered from John's, but I order from Bridges all of the time, and their product is excellent, as is Nor'East. As for the time of year, I'll leave that with others. Most vendors include care instructions with the packing materials.

  • Ahri
    18 years ago

    After a particularly hard time dealing with John's Miniatures, I'd suggest shopping elsewhere for your minis. Sad to say, but I was not at all pleased with their customer service and constant delays... without telling me about them and leaving me to wonder why the roses didn't come yet again, despite their saying they would for sure send them THIS time. In fact, I'm STILL waiting on one of the roses even after the supposed shipping date. Who knows when it will arrive! Hopefully this time they'll let me know.

    I do know that shipping to a hot climate right now might be iffy, so you might want to check the information on the website or call the nursery and ask them if they will ship. I suppose at the very least you can put in your order for shipping in the fall. Good luck!

  • msjam2
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I am so weak, I went ahead and ordered from Johns Miniature Roses, I paid extra for shipping, it should be here by Wednesday. I'll let you know when my babies arrive.

  • pete41
    18 years ago

    If your looking for tough yard plants that are low maint.you can get some good ones at Walmarts,Lowes and H.D..

  • brcko
    18 years ago

    I ordered from both vendors you mentioned. Get your roses from Bridges - they are much, much, much better than John's Miniature. Better customer services, better roses.

    good luck -

    Brcko

  • oregoncrafter
    18 years ago

    I just received my first order yesterday from Bridges and I was very impressed. They traveled all the way cross country and arrived in very good shape. I even called them today and asked about pot size for transplanting and fertilizer. Great customer service.

  • msjam2
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I am very pleased with my order from John's Miniature, the Work of Art and Rise n' Shine are about 12 inches tall but the Beauty Secret and Hombre are very small, they shouldn't be selling those for 6.95! I am upset about how long it took to get here, I ordered my minis on 6-16 and only recieved them 6-23 and I paid $10 extra for priority shipping.

    Next time, I will try Bridges since they are a little closer to me and they have excellent reports from gardenwatchdog.

  • garden2garden
    18 years ago

    I've never ordered from John's or Bridges, but I did order from the Uncommon Rose a few weeks ago. I was also concerned about how long they would be in transit because it has been so hot here. I ordered them on a Thursday or Friday, but, they plainly state on their website they only ship on Mondays. And they don't charge your card until it's shipped.
    So my order was shipped out Monday afternoon from Oregon and arrived at my P.O. in Florida 6am Wednesday (you can track it) and by 10am they were at my house. I thought that was pretty good.

  • desertratrose
    18 years ago

    John's Miniatures is Heirloom Roses and I have never had anything but excellent service and on-time shipping. I'm really sad to hear of other reports. The roses can be very tiny but they grow up very well.

    The Bridges roses I ordered were fabulous and are growing strong.

    The Nor'East roses I ordered are excellent, though I lost one to my own neglect (missed one watering before replant to a larger pot argggggh! the others all survived it.)

    And, yes, I have met vendors I don't like ;P

    Suz

  • msjam2
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    My roses are doing well except for the Work of Art, it has some yellow leaves and are falling off. I still have them in their original containers they came with.

    How big of a hole should I dig for the very small roses? What kind of preparation should I do first before planting? I lost the intruction they sent with the plants, please help!

  • Kathy
    18 years ago

    I've probably ordered the most from Nor'East, followed by Bridges and Rosemania -- all three deal in quality product. Just Joey's sent quality plants, too, as did Almost Heaven. I'll deal with all of those suppliers in the future.

    Nor'East is taking over Tiny Petals, and will have their plants up on the website at the end of July. They won't be included in the catalog until next year.

  • jpw_chi
    18 years ago

    I've been pleased with both Nor'East and John's Miniature Roses (a.k.a. Heirloom Roses).

    Michael's Miniature roses were a disaster and required much TLC -- but he was going out of business at the time.

  • windowboxgrower
    17 years ago

    I bought 3 miniature roses from John's (Sautee, chasin rainbow & Lavender Jewel. I paid $10 extra for express delivery. They delivered very quickly, but when I sent them several emails concerning questions I had about these plants, I never got a response. I got the impression, once they got my money, they were done with me.

    On the other hand, I emailed Nor'East with the same questions, even though I never bought a thing from them, they not only answered but answered my questions quickly.

    I will never buy another thing from John's Miniature roses again. I figure you are not only buying a product but also customer support.

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