I'm surprised that no one has started a thread on Palatine, but I will! I ordered 4 roses from them and they should be arriving some time in April (around the 12th). That's a safe time for me to plant (hopefully). They sell bareroot roses and I ordered from them based 100% on the positive raving reviews that others here gave them! The shipping for the four was ridiculous in my personal opinion, $25+ for 4 bareroots, plus the price of the bareroots themselves. However, they've got roses that I would not be able to find anywhere locally, so I'm sincerely hoping it's worth it! I ordered: Stephen's Big Purple, Kordes Brilliant, Laguna Freelander, & Blue Bayou.

http://www.palatineroses.com/

i havnt ordered from them yet only because their shipping is so high but they have a really good reputation

Oh, you silly people: Palatine will send you up to 9 roses at that $25.75 shipping charge -- all the way from the eastern coast of Canada. Heirloom would charge me that much for shipping 2 or 3 of their toothpicks from Oregon, which is practically right up the road from me, and Roses Unlimited would charge me $77 for shipping 9 roses ($8 per rose + $5 handling charge).

This is a great nursery, and it used to be my favorite for bare-root roses, but I've pretty much already bought everything they offer. This year I ordered only four roses from Palatine, and two of those were actually duplicates of ones I already have.

Their roses are grafted on Multiflora rootstock, which means that the gophers don't want them -- always a good thing in my garden.

It's hard to compare them to nurseries in the United States because bare-root multiflora-grafted roses look so different from roses grafted onto Dr. Huey, but Palatine sends out bare-root roses that make Hortico look very bad by comparison and even Pickering look fairly bad by comparison. The roses usually have 5, 6, or more thick canes and roots twice as long as the ones on anyone else's roses.

lol i guess i should have specified,, i only wanted 3 and for 3 it made my order more than i could spend. so i decided to wait.

I think that my trepidation comes from the fact that I haven't had hardly any good luck with bare root roses. Granted, most of mine came from second hand big boxes (Big Lots), but last year I put in 8 bare root J&P roses from Costco & only 3 made it. So I'm still leery about it. You know, once bitten, twice shy type thing.

I love, love, love Palatine! They are the best bare roots I've ever purchased. The root structure, as well as the number and thickness of canes, is unmatched in my experience. My former favorite was Edmunds' before I discovered Palatine (and besides, Edmonds was sold and moved to Wisconsin, which made it a different company in my book).

mike, didnt you get pom pon flower circus http://www.helpmefind.com/rose... from them .. i remember lusting after that one for a long time after seeing your post.. AND pompon blanc parfait ! i got mixed up, i meant to get that one but i got bouquet parfait on accident luckily i love it too.. but those photos really drove a rose newbie(me) crazy! my mind is a steal trap when it comes to roses i lust after. and it seems like they are the hard ones to find! welcome back or welcome here. i cant wait for the rose parades.

Dana,

Your memory is extraordinary - I think you and Zuzu must have that in common. Yes, I did in fact order my pom-poms from them - two years ago - how did you remember that? They looked great last year, and last forever on the cane. Takes them forever to wilt or dry up, and they are shatter-proof.

ooh that why i love eden so much,, they take for ever to open be fully open and fade..
on the memory.. mom says i have a photographic memory.. but when it comes to remembering to where i put my keys or appointments or anything having to do with time forget about it lol i think the pompons are called pompon veranda now in case any one wants to buy one..

I've had good luck with the roses that I've bought from Palatine. Yes, they're a bit expensive but I think that I get my money's worth. Last year, I added 18 roses from Palatine (mostly hybrid teas). Most of them did much better than I expected. One passed away but that was due to poor placement and lack of water. I planted it under my home's eaves and forgot to water. Two of the climbers that I bought from them last year grew to be about 8' tall in their first year (Zephrine Drouhin and Lavender Lassie).

I've always been pleased with my orders from them.

This is a picture of one of the roses that they sent me last year. It wasn't the largest or the smallest of my order. It was somewhere in the middle. The two-liter soda bottle is for size comparison.

holy guacamole, that's HUGE!!! Did you do the volcanoing hole with the big hole & a mound of dirt in a cone in the middle w/the roots scattered along the cone?

Yes, my hubby takes care of the roses for me (I just buy and enjoy). He double-dug the beds and amends them well. Then he makes the hole like you describe. He gives them nice-sized holes. Then he soaks it down well. Re-forms the cone and plants the roses. Then waters well again. We're in zone 5/6 so we have to bury the graft.

I really have liked the roses from Palatine. They are a bit more expensive but I really don't mind paying. So far, Palatine hasn't shipped me any roses that I haven't been happy with. Of course I've only ordered from them twice. I think that 22 of my roses came from them.

Bare roots from Costco or any of the box stores is WAY different than bare roots from reputable nurseries like Palantine. There are threads and forums all over the web attesting to that. Too bad because having a bad experience like you did Skie can make you leery. But Palantine will quickly change your perception of bare root roses!

Cali-Sue - That's why I'm taking the chance on them. I'm basing on the gorgeousness of y'all's roses and my hope, desire, want, & greed of having some of the same beauty that you enjoy. :D

I bought Jasmina and Laguna and Sheila's Perfume from Palatine last year and all did wonderfully. It was my second year of ordering from them. They have a great little company going,IMO. ---Roseprose (Tom)

Just wanted to thank everyone for their comments so far.

Most of my experience with roses on multiflora rootstock is with Hortico, so I've been viewing Palatine with a completely unwarranted prejudice! Zuzu, it's useful to know that gophers don't like multiflora rootstock (though my above ground furry nibblers definitely prefer multiflora hybrids). And Val, thanks a bajillion for the photo. My reaction was identical to Skiekitty's.

Steve - If you look here:

http://cubits.org/roses/thread...

It shows the exact roses I got in from Palatine & Green Valley. I'm DEFINITELY going to order from them in the future!!!

I look forward to seeing photos of their blooms.

As you do, Toni, I wish I had nice photos of roses already this year as do some of our friends in sunny(sometimes rainy) California, but some of my roses have just started to leaf out. And we have one more light frost scheduled (not by me, of course) for early Saturday.

Maybe four or six weeks after that some of the roses I planted last spring will start blooming.

I'm actually expecting one rose I got from RU to blossom in the next couple of weeks. It's fully leaved out and looking beautiful. Which would be nice as I didn't get to see it bloom in my yard (it's a one-time bloomer). And it snowed this morning, with more snow tonight w/a chance of snow all weekend. HOPEFULLY this will be the last hurrah.

HOPEFULLY.

I'm so tired of weather where I can't plant my annuals... yesterday it was nearly 80 degs. As I type this, it's 42 degs.

bleh.

I LOVE Palatine Roses... if you look at my Parade of roses you will see my gorgeous Palatine roses... this year it's the only roses I got... next year will be the same...

Really wonderful bare roots...