Major sadness.

That's a terrible shame as Pickering was a fantastic source of roses. We could see this end coming when the owner died, and the son has my sympathies for trying to carry it on, though his heart wasn't in it. We'll mourn the passing of another great rose company though, as well as its founder.

Cynthia

What Cynthia and Diane said.

Sad news!

Used to work there for the owner when l was a teenager. Loved the business. Loved the people. Eventually attended the NPC School of Horticulture when l was 21. Did not finish course due to health problems. Still love roses.

Houzz user, I would love to hear your recollections.

Me too.

Losing a rose nursery is a sad loss

As sad as it is for us it must be even harder for Joel. I'm sure this was not an easy decision.

Best wishes on your future endeavors Joel.

Thank you and your family for the many years of beautiful roses

I am here because of a recommendation in the book, "Tasha Tudor's Garden". So sorry to see this fine business gone. For Tasha, an American, to recommend this business, it must have been amazing. All the best to the family as they move on in their lives to other ventures. The excellence of this business goes with you.

Joel Schraven was a remarkable nurseryman, and a kind, thoughtful person. He ran Pickering with the utmost care and integrity, and the plants the company produced set a standard that nobody currently comes close to (Yes, I am looking at you, David Austin Texas).

From what I remember, they were one of the few sources of multiflora rootstock. Which does better than dr huey in much of the eastern US.

Tough call, but Pickering was maybe my favorite mail order rose nursery. I ordered many dozens of them over the years from 1998 until they closed. I still have quite a few of them, many rare. Just top notch in every regard. For me, losing Pickering was the worst loss of a vendor, with Vintage a close second.

Indeed, losing a beloved nursery is always so sad. In the east of England, the tradition of wild roses (and 'old-fashioned' roses) is still carried by Trevor White, but we had the miserable experience of seeing the slow decline of the much loved Beales nursery when Peter and his daughter, Amanda, both died over the space of 2-3 years. Although the nursery still remains, it carries a reduced inventory but for me, the greatest loss was the diminished collection of species roses. The display beds of wildlings were miserably depleted and unloved, on my last visit. For a few years, there was even an active rose forum, which also closed around 2016.

It is somewhat shocking to realise how the loss of just one or two dynamic and motivated people can lead to a cascade of unwelcome changes.