... and here's the follow up blog post with photos of the bagged roses compared to bare root roses from Palatine Nursery. The difference is quite striking.

Here is a link that might be useful: Roses in Bags, The Sequel.

Ok, Ok. Yes, I knew better than to buy roses in body bags. I've never bought them that way before and I think I just got excited when I saw roses. I moved last April and had to leave all my roses behind and now I have an empty bed just waiting for roses! I will be buying all of my other roses at Northhaven gardens in March, which has always been the plan. I'm still ok with giving a $3 rose a shot though. Time will tell how they turn out.

Virused roses with the roots chopped to nubs, and for only $2.99! Been there, watched them all die after tragic under-performance. Never again.

I tried these roses from the same company when I first started growing roses. Not one single rose was what it was labeled to be, and they all died within months.

Aggierose, if you are going to be at North Haven's Rose Weekend, be sure and stop by the Dallas Rose Society's table! We would love to have you as a new member, if you aren't already (don't know your real name!)

I believe the roses you mentiopned are no longer patented so they can be had at lower prices. Since the OP bought some of the bag roses, would be interested to know what the root structures look like. Over the years I have purchased bare rooted bushes that came with their roots in peat and wrapped in plastic. The plant is maybe 8", but the roots are a good foot. By and large these have been patented roses in the $10-$15 range. I really don't like container grown roses.

My largest most prolific rose came from aldi's the other 2 died 3 years later from black spot under a willow tree. The ones I bought have been labeled correctly. I really pick thru the big delapidated box being very selective. I lost a red chrysler from drought and heat this past summer it had 1 huge bloom and died!

I bought a Mr. Lincoln and a Tropicana from them this week. regular price 5.99, on clearance for .99. I figured why not give it a shot. They look really fresh and healthy. The roots are aout 6 inches. I've gotten bare roots from the .99cent only stores and they are still blooming in my moms garden 10+ years later. Most of those where mislabeled though! Still pretty.

6 inches of roots? Doesn't sound promising to me. Good luck!

Lol, Thanks Diane. The roots do look a little pitiful. I'll need all the luck i can get!

Actually 6" roots are long for bagged roses. Most are more like 2-3"
Soak for 24 hours and add a B1 starter mix or fish emulsion to the water. Get them planted right away.

I have purchased roses at Aldi every year for the last 5 years they have all survived and they were not mislabled. I do not know if any that feel they are as bad as you think have purchase them and seen first hand what you get. Big Lots is not a good example of what Aldi is selling. I have seen Big Lots roses they are horrible.

I start all of them in pots for a year in good compost and the following Spring I put them in the garden. Maybe I have been very lucky. I have never had 2" of root. When I open the bag the roots are growing through the sawdust and there is at least 6-10" of root.

I have a budget so I buy according to the funds. The price is right for me. If I had ordered the roses I have I would have had to pay a lot more plus the high cost of shipping. That would limit other plants I want to purchase that are available locally.

I also have a very restrictive budget and buy according to funds. I have 3 weeks roses, and 50 others where 95% are from Lowes, body bags and potted, priced $1 -> $7.98. I'm very picky about the quality of the plants I scavenge through, and have yet to lose a single one. And interesting, the only one that seems to have reverted to its rootstock is the Weeks cl. Aloha (entire 6' bush is red with no fragrance except one cane with fragrant pinks. Not one was mismarked (although I did pick one "surprise", big healthy with no label that turned out to be Blue Moon). I was going to try to kick this lower end rose habit, but just have too much positive reinforcement from the results. So - just bought a $5 Tropicanna, Broadway and Fragrant Cloud last week! I guess I'm hopeless!

I've had good luck with the roses from Aldi over the years. They seem to be higher in quality than other body bag roses.
The key is to buy them as soon as they come in.

That is definitely the key, Linda! I do buy bagged roses and yes a lot of them are mislabeled and they aren't the best quality but there are some varieties you can't get any other way. And they are cheap! But buying them as soon as they hit the stores is a must. In all of these stores they are not watered or cared for in any way. You have to get them home quick and keep them watered or they're toast. If they've been sitting in the store for any length of time don't waste your money because even if they look green they won't recover.

I once totaled up all the body bagged roses I had bought, and found out, once I accounted for deaths, virus and mislabels, that I had lost money!

The body bags showed up in March this year, while snow was still on the ground, does no one at corporate headquarters ever listen to weather reports, and decided I didn't want to take the trouble to pot them up and pamper them during spring planting season.

I am especially wary of common HTs, like Tropicana, a rose I love, that are known to be virused. I would far rather pay for the virus indexed version and support a reputable speciality nursery.

Always room for all opinions here!
I would agree that beginners are likely to be disappointed with body bag roses.
They must be carefully chosen and do require babying. You sometimes get a "surprise" rose. Virus does appear occasionally, but I haven't seen much of it.
My husband holds the purse strings in the family. He is very frugal and would have a cow if I filled my garden with expensive roses. I have to do the best I can with what my life gives me.
I think there are many people out there in the same spot. Is it better to have no roses or body bag roses?
My losses in body bag roses are equal to those of potted roses, due mostly to winter kill here in Wisconsin.
The last time I ordered from a reputable speciality nursery, I was charged $50.00 for shipping 8 bands. I ship daily in my business, and that is highway robbery!
Two years later those roses are not as large as the body bag roses put in at the same time.
Yes, you can order great big roses and pay a fortune for them. They will be perfect in every way.
I have seen the rants about body bag roses on this forum every year for nine years now. It doesn't seem to have changed the offerings in the stores or peoples' buying habits.
Some of us are willing and able to grow these roses. For me, their faults pale in comparison to their price. In these recessive times, price is important to many people.

I am glad that many of you can afford to buy the very best in roses. That is a wonderful thing.

I just bought 6 bagged roses from the same Tyler, TX company at Menards for $1.99 each. I checked them out this morning after planting them earlier this week and they are all budding out and putting out nice growth so far. My only concern is that they are mislabeled but oh well. Those bagged roses tend to carry the same varieties.

I picked up:
Just Joey
Medallion
Europeana
Double Delight
Pascali
Peace

There were about 20 varieties though. I might go back and pick up a few more if they are still there on clearance. I should of picked up Heirloom.

Go back and get Heirloom - it has ended up one of my best!!!

Karl I understand why you might not want to buy roses that have been bagged and dipped in wax and other atrocities but please refrain from lambasting Tyler and our roses. Anyone anywhere knows YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!! If you buy a cheap rose, it may not be anything but that, cheap. We have many rose growers here who are trying to make a living and work really hard not to sell diseased plants. All I ask is that you be considerate of others here. Also, here are a few links of some great nurserys for everyone to check out.

http://www.harrisnursery.com/index.htm

http://www.chambleeroses.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: David Austin Roses

I think you've summed it up perfectly, Portia! If you buy a $3.00 rose you, for heaven's sake, better know going in that you're getting a CHEAP, in all aspects, rose. But most nurseries sell different grades of roses at different price points. So because they sell a $3.00 rose that isn't the best grade doesn't mean that the $25.00 one they sell isn't good quality. You get what you pay for!

Portia74, The growers in your area may be working hard not to sell diseased plants, but eliminating and avoiding the various kinds of rose mosaic virus does not seem to have become a priority for many large scale rose growers, despite at least 30years now of complaints from rose buyers.

Me, at retirement age, I do not only consider price, but also how much time and effort I have to spend on a particular plant. A plant grown in hot Texas has to become acclimated to my cool and wet climate, and if it is ALSO virused, the chances it might last the winter, even with winter protection, are not good. That means I have lost a lot more than just a few bucks.

It does not seem to have occurred to some of the Texas mass growers that Dr. Heuy is NOT an appropriate rootstock for every part of the country.

I also have to ask myself, if this company can afford to sell me body bags for cheap, how much are they paying the people who work for them? There are some kinds of business practices I simply don't want to support.

I went back and got Heirloom. At the prices they sell for, I can live with them if they don't make it or whatnot. I don't really care how poor the grafting is because I bury them anyways to make them own root over time, so it doesn't really matter. The 5 I planted last week from Lowe's last week all are budding out and growing great. The Heirloom I just purchased wasn't in as good of shape, but still has some buds in it and for $2.50 if it doesn't make it, then I can live with that.

As a side note, all of the roses I pulled out of the bags had great roots. They were sprawled out through the bottom of the bag and working their way back up the bag.

I did buy some roses at Aldi this year. They were marked down to $2.99 - yellow Knockouts. I have to say the roots looked great. I didn't measure them but I'd estimate they were more than 6 inches. They had broken dormancy (hey, they were markdowns). For some reason body bag roses from Aldi have always done well for me. Soaked them 24 hours, dug the ten dollar hole, added some compost and watered them in well.
These are for the driveway garden away from the house. I've been putting roses in there to repel the neighbors offspring.
They like to have fires and drinking parties there. I figure a few thorns will at least keep them off my property!
However given the chance of utter mayhem in the garden there, I am not willing to invest much in the roses I put there.
These roses will do fine.

Jeffcat - I'm so glad you went back for Heirloom. I got mine, and four of the others you mentioned: Just Joey, Medallion, Europeana and Double Delight also from Lowes, last year. Of all, Heirloom is my favorite, and all are doing superbly, except perhaps for Medallion, which for me just blooms one or two blooms at a time. Europeana is EXPLODING with blooms now, and Just Joey is unbelievably beautiful. Aren't roses amazing!

I made the mistake of buying 6 of the bag roses from Big Lots. All of them died except one, a small climber with suposedly white roses. I forget the name and it's yet to bloom (6 months in the ground). Meanwhile I purchased one rose from Aldi at $3. It has been the biggest and healthiest rose in my garden. It is extremely healthy doing even better than a Dick Clark rose I bought at home depot (potted for$15). It's had three flushes of blooms in the 6 months since I got it. Even my $18 roses from Heirloom Roses can't compare (plus I paid a fortune in shipping). The catch is that it's not the rose it was labeled as. It was supposed to be a mr Lincoln, but it's magenta in color. No where near red. But guess what? I love it just the same.
Bag roses are a gamble. You try your luck each season and you might get lucky. It can be fun to see if it works out. But if you have your heart set on a specific rose, you're much better off paying the extra $$$ to get what you really want. Especially if you have limited space in our garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: Askdenisa.com

I am an amatuer garderner that love to plant rose bushes. I order from Jackson Perkin roses on two occasions spent several hundred dollars and all of the rose bushes died both times. This time I'm buying from Aldi and if they died I haven't lost much!

My hubby bought me a Japanese Maple tree (Bloodgood) from Aldi for $14 last spring. This year it has grown up beautifully. Compared that to the over $100 large Japanese Maple tree, which I drove 1 hour to a nearby nursery, but ended up dead since I put mushroom compost in the planting hole. Thereafter, I invest more money in soil than the plant itself.

Now I have lost a lot of roses over the years (I spoke to proffesionals a couple of years and they said to not lose some roses those winters would have to be a miracle) but the only ones I almost knew I would lose were potted roses from Jackson-Perkins (This was during their good years.)

I have several Menards bareroot roses now that are doing very, very well.

For disease I dip the whole rose and and then let them sit in damp material soaked in Serenade.
Black spot or diseases have not been a problem.

My one unexpected major black spot out break came from a rose I bought at a bucks-up nursery, not from budget ones.

I have seen roses in Aldi but never really checked them out. I'm going to take a look this wknd!

I have a garden full of Aldi roses. They are good. All were labeled correct. This argument started years ago and I do not know why. Maybe years back it was a problem.

Like many I have paid a lot through online order, nursery in the pot roses and lost them all. For a little investment from Aldi I do not get why there is so many negative comments.

Buy your rose, soak it for 24 hours and plant it in good compost and you will be happy.

In my humble opinion, if you have had luck with inexpensive, bagged roses from Aldi, Walmart, Home Depot or wherever, that's awesome. :)
If you prefer to purchase roses from local nurseries, online vendors, garden centers etc, that's great also.

I think it's a personal preference; it could also be a budget thing for some people.

I mostly buy from local nurseries and on-line vendors but have once or twice bought bagged roses from discount stores. It just so happened that all of my nursery roses fared much better.

Whatever works for you, I say!
Happy gardening all! :)

I think you really shouldn't be commenting on Aldi roses unless you've actually tried them! I purchased a Mr. Lincoln from Aldi last year and it has been one of my TOP PERFORMERS in my garden. So much so that I purchased 4 more Aldi roses this year and all are currently budding (within 2 weeks of planting). I think like all bare root bargain roses, you should be careful when choosing them. Be sure stems are green and disease free and that buds have not starting sprouting shoots (although its ok if they're just a little formed and you plan on planting it right away). Maybe its luck, maybe its the South Florida weather, but I have had excellent excellent results with my Aldi roses. And for the price you absolutely cant beat it. Like most plants it has more to do with how well you care for it than what you paid for it.
But I will say I did NOT have the same luck with roses from Big Lots. Those all died within months with absolutely no flowers so not all bare root roses are created equal (those were marked 1.5 quality while aldi ones are #1 quality).
I had good luck with Costco roses too but they come two to a pack (of the same rose, poo) for $15 so not quite as good a bargain.

Here is a link that might be useful: AskDenisa

This is years later from the original post however in 2013 I purchased at least 20 roses from Aldi. I lost two to my own stupidity the rest have all bloomed. They are the variety as described on the package, no disease. I only buy roses that are described as fragrant, so far I have not been disappointed. When planting a rose, make sure to help the stress by watering with Epsom salt water. I have saved many a sad rose. Google for info on Epsom and plants.

I support my locally nursery on all other plants, he doesn't carry roses.

i started out with walmart body bags. hit and miss- rio samba, queen Elizabeth, tiffany now 2ft tall and blooms continously - 5th year. I started ordering own roots from nurseries last year and thus is the first year so jury's out on them . I got the following from Aldi and they look very healthy $6 each. Sunsprite, red chef and canary were $3 roses from local grocery. They are still alive, healthy and blooming well. There have been some that were total duds but at $3 -$5 not a loss. Also, they start blooming right away..but I have had some that are just weak and don't do well.

I buy an Heirloom body bag every year. It doesn’t overwinter well here, but it looks great all summer in a pot. I would do the same with Just Joey if I could find it.

deborah, I saw one of those (Heritage), but didn't know if it was a good one. Purilisa, you should check out Menard's if you have one. They had some of those you pictured, but a lot of older classics such as Cecile Brunner, Pink Pet, Icecap, Belinda's Dream, Robin Hood, Nearly Wild, Chuckles and Heirloom.

We finally got an Aldis here. I was there the other day but they had no roses.

Sultry, they came into Aldi around February this year. We get them in Florida before anyone else. I picked up an intrigue for giggles. Doing okay so far.

We've had Aldis in Jax and Orange Park for about 6 mos now..Ive never seen roses there. I go there because they had a lot of organic stuff at ours.

Sultry, welcome to the world of Aldi, lol.

You need to check out their weekly specials that come out every Wednesday to see what's coming in. If you look at the specials for April 18 that are posted right now, you'll see that they have the roses listed as being in this week, but if you look closely you'll note that it says Not Available In All Locations. This is because this special is for the northern states. They had an identical ad around January/February that was directed at our southern markets.

When they do put out the roses they have them in these huge boxes with the top cut out.

-Adrian.

Bummer! I'm still mad that the Whole Foods by us didn't have the potted David Austin roses back a few years ago when other Whole Foods did lol! Oh well, its not like I neeed more plants :D

I went to Aldi last night, didn’t see any body bag roses. Will check Whole Food tonight.

Deborah, I am in zone 6a, and have a potted Just Joey, I was going to plant it in the garden this weekend. Is Just Joey not cold hardy for you? You’re in the same zone.

Summersrhythm, I hope this isn’t a duplicate message as I thought I responded earlier, but the Just Joey (body bag) I planted at the end of last summer does have a couple of tiny green nubs. When I cut it back to a little brown stub a couple of weeks ago I assumed it was dead, but perhaps not. Of course it could be the root stock budding?? I guess time will tell. If it survives it will be a first.

Thanks for the info. I’d better to keep it in a pot. Good luck to yours. Please keep us updated.

@vaporvac Those varieties sound cool, we don't have Menards in Richmond yet. Southern States gets some interesting potted roses.

The wally world roses are now $3 from $6.44. I planted one called Love last year, that sitting out in the sun, in the middle of summer, in a body bag-but still alive! Figured a rose that survives that much mistreatment deserves a chance:) It was $2- that is the only rose so far (after Canary, sugarmoon, First crush, lemon fizz, alcymist) that was not affected by our intermittent freeze and warm ups. For its first year putting out many new growth and no fried up leaves. Wicked Thorns on it though. Duchess Brabant might have died-looks dead. I covered her with straw for insulation- but the tops all gone. still, I will leave her alone and see if she lives.

Aldi-Also saw st josephs coat, elizabeth, gold medal, olympiad, easy red rose, some kordes hardy shrub rose (can't remember name)pink peace, peace, Heirloom, sunsprite (my favorite yellow so far), don juan, america, iceberg, jfk, westerland, love(hard to kill rose), pinata (i think). and more..

home depot- had the usual same ol same variety.

Christmas tree shop-lily pons (potted) @7$. Other varities were sub zero ones bred by dr. brownell.

Sultry- Aldi's started selling roses early in Florida. They might run out of them by now. we just got ours in va.

Yes, I believe Aldi just has one shipment. They also have a few clematis and bulbs. Now roses yet. I need to try the Xmas tree shop to see if they have Curly Pink. I'll eventually get her from an online vendor, but wouldn't mind trying a grafted version just to see how she likes my conditions. She's SO PRETTY at the Columbus Park of Roses.