My very own 1st rose was Ingrid Bergman and it is in a home we sold but I have since purchased another one because we love the color and it's very sentimental to me.

Then I went through a time where I worked for Harry and David and Jackson and Perkins and we sold Jackson and Perkins roses there so I was buying roses all the time . I killed off a lot of roses in those early days . And some I just plain didn't like and I switched them out. There was lots of rose switching in those early days now we've settled in fairly well to the roses that I do well with and enjoy

My very first rose was a gift from my grandma. Lynn Anderson. I put it in a pot but it never did really well. I must admit it had sentimental value but overall I wasn’t a fan.

The color wasn’t really my thing and it had no fragrance to speak of. It probably petered out after about six years

...circa 1986.... 'Frensham' along with about 20 others.... I don't have this rose now but I still think 'Frensham' is the best red floribunda, at least early in the season...

1970-ish.. grocery store budded , body bag, Lemon Spice, followed by a Mirandy from the same store. Those were followed by something pink my mother rooted from a friend's yard. They lasted for quite a few years at my parent's home, and are long gone. Those were followed by own root, one gallon Camieaux, Cardinal de Richelieu and Charles de Mills from Greenmantle in 1983 and a ton of more moderns from mail order and local sources; then two Silver Moon from Greenmantle; two Grey Pearl ordered from Marissa at Greenmantle; and, fairly quickly, imports from LeGrice, Harkness and Gandy in Britain.

roseseek, is it hard to import roses? I've always been tempted but intimidated by whether it is complicated or not. I know that if you import 12 or less roses you don't need a permit, right?

Mid 1970's. 5 roses at one time. Big Ben, Peace, Tropicana, Angle Face and The Fairy. This was in S.E. FL. (Hollywood). They were all grafted onto Fortuniana rootstock. I was hooked.

Hi Mas, no, you need an import permit for as few as one plant. Difficult? Not as difficult as open heart surgery, but you are required to apply to the state dept of agriculture in your state and provide them with your identification to prove who you are so you can be cleared to apply to the USDA to APPLY for a permit. An inspector from your state's dept of agriculture has to inspect your site to insure you can accommodate the material for up to two years (perhaps longer if something appears wrong with it) a minimum of ten feet from all other plants in the genus Rosa, to prevent any pests or diseases from infecting potential host plants during their quarantine period. Plus, you are liable for the cost of inspector visits, including mileage (here in California) to inspect your material during quarantine. You must control the land you wish to use to house the quarantine material, meaning if your friend or relative intends to hold the material for you because you don't own land or haven't room for the material on your land, the person holding the material must apply for and receive the permit and is then legally liable for it while in quarantine.

In the good old days, you imported lovely budded plants. Not now. Due to our attempts to prevent importing the Asian Long Snout Beetle, which is wide spread across Europe and damaging many ornamental and food crops, no rose material thicker than 10mm may be brought in. Measure 10mm and imagine that being the THICKEST part of the "rose bush". That limits what you can bring in to rooted cuttings, which most European nurseries don't make. That means you need to orchestrate obtaining what you want from the nursery which buds it, to be sent to the nursery which agrees to root pieces for you, or hope they will obtain what you want then generate the rooted plants you desire. IF all works as it should, imagine receiving bare rooted, own root, rooted cuttings no thicker than 10mm and then trying to keep them alive after their having spent up to several weeks in the mail. Also, in the good old days, the sending nursery mailed your packages which were received at the USDA inspection station, inspected, treated them forwarded to you. That worked well over the several times I did it years ago. Now, there is a new cottage industry where, instead of someone receiving the package, dealing with it then simply dropping it into the mail to come to you, you must pay over time wages to a USDA employee to go down, pick up your package, bring it back, walk it through the inspection and treatment process, then repackage it and mail it off to you. Those charges can vary as much as the charges levied by your state dept of ag to inspect your land and imports. I have heard horror stories of them ranging as high as $600 for a single shipment of several boxes, JUST for someone to walk them through the process. Not to actually inspect and treat them, just to move them through then box and mail them.

Time out of the ground in plastic bags can be quite difficult on a larger, budded plant. On a 10mm or thinner rooted cutting, it can be fatal. So, "difficult"? Much more so than it was years ago, and must more expensive, for a much more sensitive, questionable product. I applied for and received a new import permit, then I learned what is now involved and decided there are no roses nor plants of any kind, worth the kind of monetary, time and energy costs importing would be. And, these will vary depending upon where you are and which point of entry into the US your package arrives at. If you live in a less populated area with an agricultural inspection point and the airport doesn't have as severe security restrictions as LAX did when I lived in the LA area, you MAY be permitted to retrieve your package from the inspection station after inspection and treatment. I wouldn't have been able to do that because security at LAX is too high and no non-employees would be permitted in those areas, so I would have had to hire the USDA employee at time and a half. Contrast that with the last time I imported, back in the mid eighties. The British nurseries ignored my request for November delivery. Forty or so bare root rose bushes arrived at LAX in MID MAY, when the temperature in Northridge, CA (where I attended graduation from Cal State Northridge for my younger sisters that day) was 107 F! I left their graduation, drove to the USDA inspection station at LAX and literally treated my own imports with the inspector. She looked at the plants then had me put on chemical resistant gloves, a chemical resistant apron and googles and help her dip my plants into the toxic chemical stew required to insure nothing hitched rides in on the bare roots. I took them home from there afterwards, soaked them in several 40 gal trash cans of water in the shade and potted every one of them into ten gallon cans of potting soil, which were also mounded up with cardboard cylinders full of potting soil in an attempt to keep them damp, dark and cool in triple digit, desert heat. Every plant died. Had they been small rooted twigs...

Kim, how tragic.

That's really hard to say. I've been in this house since I was two and Mom planted the first roses here when we moved in in 1954. Those were two Pinocchios one of which is still here and alive and growing.

Latter, like maybe the 80s, I remember sitting on the sofa with Mom pouring over the David Austin catalog and drooling. We picked out a pretty peach rose but when we got it they had substituted Golden Celebration because they were out of the other one. Turned out we loved GC anyway!

First ones I got after Mom passed were Mom's Rose (for her) and Sunny Delight at my local K Mart in peat pots. Then I got Reine des Violettes and Rose de Rescht in body bags from Home Depot. And the addiction went from there!

Around the year 1985 I ordered several roses from Jackson and Perkins, Among them were Proud Land, Love and Pristine. These all did good, but Proud Land really stood out because of the velvety red blooms with the beautiful dark edges, I was hooked! Back in those days I thought Love was a great rose, the Bush was very prolific, and my Pristine was gorgeous, fragrant and thorny. It would die back to the ground every year, but would come back. I think I had just enough Beginner’s Luck to know that I really loved roses. Those roses are long gone, I planted another Proud Land that I had for several years, got it at Wal-Mart, it was an okay bloomer, also had RMV, the blooms were never as gorgeous as the original.

Holy Cow, Kim, that is some ordeal! I don’t think I’m going to attempt importing roses anytime soon.

My first roses were Scentimental and Tamora. I just loved their scent. I don’t have them anymore since we have moved several times since then.

My first was a beautiful rose from the sears hardware garden center . It was Madame Pierre Oger . I had never smelled a rose so beautiful or looked so beautiful either!! I was in my very early 20s , just moved in with my now husband. That’s the year I joined Gardenweb to ask about it and have been hooked ever since ! I loved that rose, it always got black spot and rebloom wasn’t much but smelled amazing !

Early 2014. Went to Home Depot and bought Granada, Gold Medal, Mr. Lincoln, and Double Delight. DD died after two gorgeous blooms -? I had to leave the others when we moved, but Granada will always have a place in my heart.

Not long afterwards, my first Austins arrived: Tamara, Munstead Wood, and Darcey Bussell. I still have MW and DB, and they are huge - easily 5’ spread.

Gee, Kim from your description I think open heart surgery sounds easier in the long run! At least the people doing it are actively trained to do so, and the policies that are established exist to maximize the success rather than interfere with the success of the process. A 100% death rate from open heart surgery wouldn't be tolerated I think.

My first two roses were back in 1995 when we bought our first house and the landscaper I consulted recommended Champlain and Hansa as foundation shrubs. Champlain I loved and I consider it my "gateway drug" to rose obsession. Trouble free cherry red blooms all over all summer. I still have two plants of it, though not the same house.

Hansa was a rose that blackspotted spectacularly and was a totally defoliated one-cane wonder for most of the year. Even though I have a very high tolerance for blackspot and don't notice it on most roses, I simply can't fathom planting Hansa again. The three blooms it put out per year in the 5 years I had it weren't worth the ghastly bush it was the rest of the year.

Cynthia

Hansa? Really, Hansa? That surprises me Cynthia. It has always seemed so reliable. I guess I must always have been in rugosa country.

When we bought our ffifirfirsfirst house in 2004, I came on the garden web forums looking for advice, bought a bunch of DA'S including Pretty Jessica, Brother Cadfael etc. All died!! I dont know how...I think I saw a couple of blooms on pretty Jessica. I then bought a body bag of don Juan from walmart. It took off and bloomed all the time. Cant recollect any disease. Sigh. I planted another in the new house, its it's a wimp. I'd like to consider that my first rather than all the ones I killed.

Note: This post really belongs earlier in the thread. I had to move it in order to edit it.

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Yes, I remember my first rose--one of thirteen red Eutins forming a border across the front of my small property.

Eutin is a Kordes floribunda/polyantha--very showy in bloom. https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.2672.0

I have moved three times since then--no longer have the original plants from 50 years ago, but after each move, I always bought 1-3 Eutins for my new place of abode.

It was considered very bs resistant back in those carefree days when breeders didn't concern themselves much with disease resistance because the mark of a devoted rose aficionado back then was the religious devotion with which they sprayed every 2 or 3 weeks all growing season.

Today, with more disease-resistant options available, we would probably rate Eutin as above average in bs resistance (it has a slight attack after each blooming cycle)--but that was so good back then that it was viewed as nearly a miracle!

Still very showy.

Kate

Oh, I wanted to add, when we sold our old house, the new owner promptly took out the huge, everblooming Don Juan. We live very close by, so we often drive by. They must have had good reasons, but its it's still bit .upsetting.

The first rose I grew was ‘Tiffany’. When I was 10 years old in 1978, I saved money from mowing lawns and bought this plant from an Italian produce & meat market a mile and a half from where we lived. Once the decision was made to pick ‘Tiffany’ from the dozens of potted roses, I paid and proudly held onto ‘Tiffany’ in a trash bag for the ride home on my bike. It was a Mother’s Day gift to my Mom and we planted it on Mother’s Day. It still grows in my Mom’s garden today. Although I live far from my Mom, she calls to tell me each year when the first blooms arrive.

I sure wish I have been growing roses as long as many of you!! I have been gardening since childhood but bought a house with a dozen or so hybrid teas a few years ago and they were my first roses. I have identified Fragrant Cloud, Maria Callas, Garden Party, Bewitched, and the rest I'm not sure about. The first rose I purchased was then Grandmothers Hat and over shortly after Charles Darwin and Compassion. Now just a year and a half later I have rremoved the entire ront lawn and planted a rose garden.

The house my husband and I lived in when we first got married had an old Harison's Yellow bush in the back yard...eight feet high and over fourteen feet wide. It made me realize that roses could grow in the high desert, so I got a white climbing rose (which I can't remember seeing the name and the squirrels and rabbits promptly ate the same day I planted it!) for the side of the house and my rose habit snowballed from there.

Two Blaze climbers that covered a trellis at the entrance to the backyard. When I say covered, I mean really covered as I gave them a ton of fertilizer.

I had discovered a bunch of big boulders in a nearby field that was soon to become part of a highway. So I collected them and formed two ‘raised’ beds. I then filled each bed up with soil about halfway. Next I emptied a 50 lb bag of 20-20-20 fertilizer on top of the dirt (do you get the impression that I didn’t know what I was doing) and finished filling with more dirt. Planted the roses and a few miniature marigolds. Note: miniature…… Watered everything in and stood back.

Within a month things really took off as the marigolds grew and grew and grew, hanging over the sides of the bed. They must have been 3 feet in diameter. My neighbor asked if she could have cutting from them. I said sure and wondered what brought that on… oh well.

The Blaze climbers consumed the trellis I had built to the point I thought it was going to topple over.

Yepper, I remember my first rose……

Oops, almost forgot… one bed had an area of about 2x2 feet while the other was 2x10 feet. Not very large for 50 lbs of fertilizer…. lol

The first one I grew was Miss All American Beauty. It was a great, shrubby plant and covered itself in the most beautiful , fragrant blooms. Eventually it got botrytis and never got over that. I was gardening in a vacant lot beside my house and the owner eventually decided he didn't want my garden there. I never replaced the plant because of the botrytis but have thought about it many times because it was excellent for awhile there. Some other roses in that old garden were Camelot, Duchesse de Brabant....a big beautiful plant of it, and Wild Ginger.

These stories are so beautiful. Sabalmatt, I love that your mom calls every year reporting on Tiffany. Erasmus, I wonder why your neighbor changed their mind. I'd love it if someone decided to garden on my lower levels and save me the trouble. It must have been gorgeous with DdB and WG. I have to look up Camelot. It's mentioned from time to time, but I've never seen one.

My mom always grew some fragrant HTs and while living in Belgium we became familiar with other sorts including weeping standards. The love started there, but it took a while to have something to garden. My first roses came with my house and actually have determined all other rose decisions as I couldn't have picked them better. They are New Dawn and various polyanthas including Mme. Norbert LeVavasseur. There was one gorgeous red once bloomer (not Dr. Huey), that I managed to kill through neglect. I still wish I knew what it was. It wasn't a climber and had a deep red colour. I suppose it could have been The Dr., but that never dies and throws long canes in my experience. The flowers were fairly full.

Anyway, the first rose I bought was Othello, which promptly sported a striping which led to a love affair with roses like R. Mundi. It was shortly thereafter moved for a renovation and never recuperated. : (( Not until just a few years ago did I decide to try again with roses and it's become the obsession I was always afraid it could become! : ) (OK, thinking back I have to amend this mis-remembrance! My first rose purchase was a hedge of Simplicity rose to plant in front of the New Dawn. They all died before ever being planted and it a while before I tried again with Othello) I guess most of my rose growing has been a sad tale, but this time it seems to be sticking. : ))

I agree with you! LOVE reading these stories about how each of us got started.

The man who owns the vacant lot next to us said I could garden there but I think he expected vegetables. Roses look more permanent. He thought I was laying claim to his property I think, as I mowed over there too. I think our state has a law that if you maintain a property for a certain length of time you can claim it. I told him I would never do something like that but understood his position.

I loved my garden over there, it was near some big trees and the other side of my house , which was the largest part of my yard, was bare except for some small trees I'd planted and it was blaringly sunny. This forced me to move my garden to that side, and I'm glad now that I did. However the trees grew and grew and grew, and now much of my rose garden is too shady.

Beware of planting too many trees...they are, you probably know, very expensive to remove or even to prune. You get attached to them and have a hard choice...tree or roses. Sometimes the tree prunes itself...here is my red maple letting in more light:

I think I'm going to have to get rid of the rest of this red maple, though I love it and the red budding leaves in earliest spring.

Here's Thomasville Old Gold in a pot, which was pretty well smashed by the maple. The pot remains, still broken , and Thomasville Old Gold still lives.

Your rose is like a phoenix. Sorry about the tree limb. I posted about ours in the spring, but at least in was down the hill. Yes, I imagine you neighbor thought vegetables. : (( Here, it's the opposite in that someone has to use your porperty for 17 years without your permission. If you gave your permission it's still your land. I guess one has to fight squatters. Many states have these laws and people confuse them thinking as your neighbor did, although that could be the law in your state.