Do these bare root Olivia from Burpee look normal?

8 years ago

Being in Zone 5b, I finally received my DA rose order from Burpee. The 2 Queen of Sweden look pretty normal, but the 2 Olivia roses concern me a lot.

First, the bud union are completely sideways. To make it worse, there are also deep cracks around the graft area. The cracks are not new; they look like healed cracks from poor sloppy grafting job. It makes me feel that some day, with additional growth, the graft might break off completely.

Second, they look very dehydrated. The branches are still green, but a dry dull green, with wrinkled appearance and vertical fine lines. It reminds me of the look of a branch that has been cut off and left there for a week without water. Of course the packing material around the root are fairly dry when they arrived.

There are also quite a few broken branches and roots; looks like the damages were done when they were tied pretty tightly for shipping preparation.

What do you think of these? Should I contact Burpee for replacement? Digging 2 big holes and planting them with well-prepared soil can be quite an effort if there is only a slim chance that they would grow into good healthy roses.

Thanks, Claire

Featured Answer

Jennifer (7b)

8 years ago

My roses came about three weeks ago with the same problems. One of them even smaller than your. I planted them anyway. The dull, wrinkles green turned brown and I thought it was dead. I keep on trimming off the dead woods almost to the bud union but finally they all came to life. Burpees told me they had one year guarantee on their roses.

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Comments (6)

Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
8 years ago
I bet soaking overnight or 24 hrs , trimming the broken parts off, and planting well they will do fine. I too hate when there is damage like this. They do seem to do well anyway, in my experience.
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Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Mine from them have been the slowest to show life. Just now seeing life on molineux and I also have dull wrinkled canes mixed with brown. I hope they pull through, for all of us . I definitely feel like they were " seconds" but for the price I'm not too disappointed. Glad they have a warranty! Take photos just in case

glad to hear yours did ok Sheila even with the rough start!
Claire Z5 IL
Original Author
8 years ago
Sheila, thank you for the comment. Now I feel better about digging the holes. I have always received grade 1 bare root roses in the past and was really concerned when in saw these 2 Olivia....I Need to maintain my 100% bare root planting success record:)
Claire Z5 IL
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Lilyfinch, you are right, I honestly can’t complain for the price we paid as long as they survive:) I have been so busy these days that the thought of planning roses only to find them dead a few months later bothers me. But I guess it is worth a shot. Plus, I have been wanting Olivia for a couple of years!
Claire Z5 IL
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanh, I am more hopeful now after seeing your experience! Thank you!