Navigating the Rose Garden: A Guide to Choosing Reliable Sellers and Avoiding Mislabeling Pitfalls

Rose rootlings, October 2021

Since the most common question I receive about roses is where to buy a good rose plant, and I understand why this question is so popular, as an honest and reputable seller is a gardener's best ally.

Of course, from the moment you plant the rose in your garden and onwards, the majority of the responsibility for its growth, lush flowering, and wintering lies with you. However, for successful establishment and the start of growth, especially in the first few months, the quality of the rose rootling is highly dependent on the seller, who often is also the producer of the rootling. Many factors influence whether your rose will be large, beautiful, and flourish or even survive, such as:

• The quality and strength of the rootstock.
• Care during the seedling's development in the nursery.
• When the seedling was dug up before being shipped to you and how long it has been stored.
• How it was packaged.

Rose rootlings of a poor quality, October 2021

I am pretty sure that many gardeners have encountered a withered seedling, or a plant that seemed of good quality but wilted immediately after planting. Some may have experienced rose plants that, for some reason, remain stagnant for years and do not grow at all, while others may have seen them shoot with wild rose shoots so intensely a year after planting, making it challenging to keep up with pruning. There are many other unpleasant surprises, among which is also the issue of mislabeling.

Seedling with bacterial cancer, 2021

It's one thing when you simply choose beautiful roses, plant them in your garden in a free spot, and think that they will beautify your garden without worrying too much about their variety. And it's an entirely different situation when you specifically search for a certain variety that you need, whether to plant on a pergola, or if you plan an entire garden with a specific rose variety and color palette. You spend a long time selecting the variety, planting them, and caring for them. Then, it turns out that your climbing rose is a spray rose, or your miniature rose intended for a flowerbed grows to be 3 meters tall.

Every person makes mistakes, and even the best, most precise seller can make a mistake. From my experience, for over 15 years of buying roses from over 40, maybe even 50 sellers, mislabeling has occurred with almost every seller. The only exception is sellers where, for various reasons, I bought 5-10 seedlings and did not make additional purchases. The only thing you can do in such a situation is to ask for a refund or a replacement.

Rose labled 'Tabasco', a variety I'm not sure even ever existed

Therefore, in my opinion, the first thing to pay attention to when choosing a new seller is reviews, preferably from people you know. Social media reviews do not always guarantee quality, as sellers often artificially boost their ratings using fake profiles to promote their shops. So, it's better to listen to the advice of someone you know well or at least check reviews on Google under the seller's page - they won't give a 100% quality guarantee, but they will help you get an idea.

So, there are only two rules to follow when choosing a new rose seller, and they are very simple:

1.Look for reviews, preferably from people you trust.

2.Don't chase after cheap prices. However, expensive seedlings do not guarantee quality; therefore, rule #1 is more important.