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Hummingbird Roses experience

I know Hummingbird is new and very northern. She is not opening until June...that is very late for me, about when our drought starts. I missed all the Austins that I want to try, and she has a number of them. Anyone had any experience with her? Anyone had a bareroot band shipped to you in summer?

Comments (19)

  • 3 years ago

    Ann, It was two years ago, or possibly three I ordered Sidonie, Duchesse de Rohan, and Gruss an Aachen from Hummingbird roses. Mindy the owner is so excellent at communicating by email, I don't know how she does it all.

    PERFECT HEALTHY little bands arrived late Spring or early Summer, can't quite remember. I was so delighted ! My only wish is that I could shop at her nursery in person.

    I was late too for some Austins , not knowing they were available. I researched her rose list all day, so I'm done rose shopping 'til tomorrow.


  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I'm on her waitlist for several older Austins and just got an email that Charlotte will be available in spring. My spring is also very late so her shipping dates are fine for my garden. I'm excited!

    I got a HCR order of baby bands in the middle of last summer...kept them all in the shade for a few weeks and they did great.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Great, she sounds wonderful!


    Now the big question: have you ever had bare root baby band roses arrive in summer and live? I am in one of those ag restrictive states and she has to send them bareroot. I just don't see how those tiny babies will live, so I am hoping someone has gotten them that way. Anyone?

  • 3 years ago

    I ordered several roses from her in 2019. I do believe they were bareroot, however I can't be certain of that. I do know they were itty bitty little things when they arrived, but perfectly healthy and grew into beautiful roses. I would order from her without hesitation if I only had more room!

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    John (PNW zone 8)...Thank you thank you!!!!! After being told to baby tiny cuttings, I just could not imagine how a bare root band would make it! It makes me so much more comfortable knowing you got some and they did well. My problem is that I am so late getting into the Austin Roses that many I want to try here are long gone from the DA US site and Mindy seems to be one of the few options that ships to PNW. I'm frustrated that Summer Song isn't available anywhere here and I see people in England raving over it and there is a sport too! Maybe, maybe we will get it one day! Do you have Austins that do well for you?


    MyGardenCart, what state are you? She has to bare root for most western states.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Ann, I suffered over Summer Song not being within reach, " sour grapes " , especially after I saw it offered in the handbook only once years back. I thought to wait for reviews, then it vanished. Summer Song will be one hot seller if it ever comes our way again.

    I don't know that any of the old or new Austins can beat the fragrance of Abraham Darby, just my opinion. Evelyn I would say is still in the top handfull for beauty and , although I have yet to experience Young Lycidas. PNW zone 5.

  • 3 years ago

    You guys probably already know this, but DA removed Summer Song from being introduced in the US because of many reports that it did very poorly here. There was a thread about it several months ago, and John in CA gave an excellent accounting of what happened with it.

  • 3 years ago

    berrypie7 Summer Song is still sold in England, it does very well there and there is even a sport. The big problem is that it only likes English climates, which means it will do very well for me with summer watering. But we are such a small area compared to the rest of the US and even WA and OR and BC that it isn't economically viable for DA to use the space to grow it for us.


    susan9santabarbara thanks to you and John, I started looking at DA's UK website to see what would do well for me. Note: Dark Lady is a no go in PNW wet climate.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Thanks Ann for helping me loosen my grip of holding on to a faint hope Summer Song might come back. There are more than enough other phenomenal roses .

    Mindy at Hummingbird is holding a Carding Mill for me. It will be wonderful to get an own root, I love those own root babies, that is an aspect she has over the other nurseries. It will be interesting to see how Hummingbird Roses does in the coming years, i hope she will get lots of support.

    Sidonie buds from Hummingbird.


  • 3 years ago

    I echo that!!! I think small regional specialty growers that ship are going to be extremely valuable to us. I read that roses that are tough enough for cold climates also do well for hot desert climates, so I am hoping people from those climates check her out too!

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I'm checking her website more often since Mindy added more older Austins recently. I'm planning ahead for next year 2023's order.

  • 3 years ago

    My dear Straw , I still love to read your posts but am fading in health from old injuries so will not be very active on the forum. I did feel it necessary to answer this one.

    After many hours spent wading through all the descriptions and cross referencing Hummingbird's old Austins, when I finally came to a decision nearly all were sold out . I believe that was late Fall. Do place a request or get on a waiting list for any roses you want if you haven't already . I waited for her newsletter of available roses and went to the end of the line.

    I'm on a looong waiting list for Versigny.


  • 3 years ago

    Thank you, berrypie for the tip, I hope that your old injuries are healed fast, since I love your company and kind words.

    Yes, I e-mailed Mindy yesterday April 26 about Austin roses that I want for 2023.

  • 3 years ago

    Hows does one order from Hummingbird Roses? The website states orders will begin in June, but it sounds like people are already placing orders (for 2023)?

  • 3 years ago

    On the same page as Place An Order, under Contact Us you can fill out the information for an inquiry. Mindy's Email and phone number is also at the right of the page.

  • last year

    Does anyone know if Hummingbird Roses is still operating?

  • last year

    Dave, I had heard (was it on this forum?) that Mindy was no longer shipping roses, just selling in person. But I, too, would love to know if that is in fact the case -- all of the roses I got from her have done very well. Does anybody have reliable information about this?

  • last year

    It looks like Mindy posted this on Facebook in November. I wish her the best in her new adventure.