Although Heirloom Roses is more expensive than some other nurseries, there are some things I like about them, including:
- Orders can be placed almost any time of year for roses that are in-stock.
- Their roses are shipped in soil, not as bareroot dormant plants. Some are purposefully defoliated, while others are fully leafed out.
- Roses are grown on their own roots, which in my cold zone 6b (where temperatures can drop to -5 degrees Fahrenheit or -21 Celsius), it's nice to know that winter die-back after harsh winters won't result in bud union damage.
- You can earn discounts through a point system for purchases, for your birthday, and for liking or following Heirloom on certain social media channels (I got $20 off today's order).
- They provide free shipping on orders of $65 or more.
With that in mind, I placed a mid-summer order for the following roses:
Pretty in Pink Eden (climbing rose, not to be confused with Red Eden)
It exhibits all the same great qualities of the Eden Rose, but is deep pink in color. It has slightly more petals than Eden and is more fragrant. I ordered two of them for south-facing walls of the house.
Distant Drums (Buck shrub rose)
A hardy rose with one of the more unique colorings in rosedom. Bred from 'September Song' x 'The Yeoman'. Large, cupped, fully double 4" blooms with ruffled petals that are bronze-brown in the center shading to lavender toward the edges. Heady, myrrh fragrance.
Ebb Tide (floribunda)
When fully mature and in warmer weather conditions, Ebb Tide offers dusky deep purple buds with a swirling center which open into very double, old fashioned 3 1/2" flowers (petals 35+) that settle to a haze of sultry smoke. Intensely clove-scented. This will be my second one.
Mme Isaac Pereire (Bourbon)
Who doesn't enjoy a little bourbon & water while watering their Bourbons? (Actually, I prefer Rye; however, that's another matter.) Anyway, Mme Isaac Pereire is one of my favorite Bourbon roses because of its intense fragrance (I already have one, but wanted another). An "old rose" fragrance exudes from the 4" old-fashioned blooms (100+ petals) of dark, raspberry-pink coloration. All this on a vigorous bush that can be grown as a short climber. If there were a class in rose shows for fragrance, Mme Isaac Pereire would be the star performer.
Souvenir President du Lincoln (Bourbon)
Bred by the famous French rose breeders, Moreau-Robert, and named to honor Abraham Lincoln in the year of his death, Souvenir du President Lincoln produces attractive, fully double, old-fashioned blooms of 80+ petals with a powerful perfume to rival that of Mme Isaac Pereire.
