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K&M Roses Rare Austin Report!

3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago

Hi friends! I took a trip to K&M Roses this past Friday 3/29. I felt an essential need to report back to you regarding all of the hard-to-find Austins they have in stock OWN ROOT and grafted on fort. I hope this helps some of you find special varieties you had hoped to receive this year.

Since the Garden Roses LLC shadow fell on the community, K&M Roses has had an influx of orders. I'm very excited to support this business, and I know that it is run by honest individuals. Mr. Jim, Mrs. Liz, and Mrs. Megan are all in charge of running operations. Between the three of them, they do their best to fill and ship orders according to the date they are received. You may visit their Facebook page, which Megan uses to keep their customers in the loop as far as availability, delays, shipment, etc. All that to say, email them your rose order. And be patient, please. I saw the roses firsthand and can tell you THEY ARE REAL!!

* by the plants I saw in one-gallon pots during my trip Friday

+ by the plants that jumped into my minivan

Please remember they fill orders according to the date received. So just because I saw it, doesn't mean it's still available. But they certainly had THOUSANDS! I hope you are able to receive your dream Austin rose.

K&M only lists the Registration name on their website/FB Page, so I added the Exhibition names to this list to help you scan more quickly!

AUSap – Queen Nefertiti

*+AUSblush – Heritage

*+AUSbloom – The Dark Lady

*+AUSbord – Gertrude Jekyll

*+AUSbuff – English Garden

*+AUScat – Winchester Cathedral

*+AUScer – Chaucer

*+AUScot – Abraham Darby

*AUScrim – L.D. Braithwaite

*AUSdrawn – The Generous Gardener

AUSelle – Belle Story

AUSencart – Benjamin Britten

*AUSgold – Golden Celebration

*+AUShouse – Harlow Carr

*AUShunter – Jubilee Celebration

*+AUSire – The Squire

*+AUSjess – Pretty Jessica

*AUSjo – Jude the Obscure

AUSkeppy – Grace

*AUSland – Scepter’d Isle

*+AUSli – Lilian Austin

*AUSlot – Sophie’s Rose

*AUSmary – Mary Rose

*AUSmas – Graham Thomas

*AUSmit – St. Cecilia

*AUSmol – Molineux

*+AUSmound – Lilian Austin

*AUSmove – Tess of the d’Urbervilles

*AUSmum – Pat Austin

*+AUSnyson – Lady of Shalott

AUSoil – Troilus

*AUSpero – Prospero

*AUSpoly – Charlotte

*AUSquest – Crocus Rose

*+AUSreef – Sharifa Asma

AUSsal – Radio Times

*+AUSsaucer – Evelyn

*+AUStamora – Tamora

*AUSvelvet – The Prince

*AUSwalker – The Pilgrim

*+AUSwinter – Crown Princess Margareta

Just because I didn't see it in person (doesn't have an *), doesn't mean they don't have it. There were thousands of roses, so it's very likely they might have the roses in stock I didn't see.

According to their FB post, they have both own-root and grafted options available.

These are sold as 1 gal. pots.

$23 grafted

$20 own root

(prices are subject to change)

*I did see Jubilee Celebration, someone on the forum was looking for that one?







Comments (59)

  • 3 months ago

    Hey @sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish) they do allow customers to visit the nursery. There were ladies from Georgia shopping at the nursery when I arrived. I usually call about a week in advance to double-check they will be at the nursery the day I plan to visit. Their hours are listed on the website.

    @judijunebugarizonazn8 K&M listed a more extensive Austin list on their FB page. I hope you get all that you listed in your order. If you don't see an email back from them within a week, send a follow-up email and try to call in the morning.

    @strawchicago z5 I was shocked to see Chandos Beauty there! You really never know what they will have, because there is always sooo much more in the greenhouses than what is listed on their website and FB page. The Rouge Royal they had smelled heavenly! It was in my hand but somehow didn't make it to the checkout? Just a reason to go back in a year! They also have a gorgeous Wild Blue Yonder.


    They also had OWN-ROOT KORDES for anyone who is interested!

  • 3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    Sunny Mississippi 8a Rouge Royal has the strongest pure rasberry scent versus Sonia Rykiel is both raspberry and old rose. Rouge Royal loves the heat for Pakistan rosarian, but it's wimpy in my cold zone. K&M showed a few pics. of Bronze Star .. that's super fragrant & big bloom. Bronze star blooms well when with tons of rain. I like Bronze Star's scent more than Sutter's Gold. Bronze Star last 5+ days in the vase, versus Sutter's Gold blows fast. Below orange is Bronze Star (own-root) with bigger bloom than Austins behind it.


    Below Rouge Royal loves the heat plus tons of rain. It's the strongest rasberry scent I know of.


  • 3 months ago

    I've never seen a pink Rouge Royale before. My two plants produce dark red blooms. Diane

  • 3 months ago

    I have tried to put in an additional order by email but have yet to hear back. I want Sharifa Asma and St. Cecilia. I’m sure they’re busy! My Evelyn and Tamora both came in maybe two months ago and were shipped promptly and with care after payment was received. Pleasant people to work with!

  • 3 months ago

    Since this is my first time trying to order from K and M roses, I’m not quite sure what to expect. It’s 16 days since I first emailed them with an order. I sent a follow up email about a week after the first order. This week I tried three times to call. First time James answered and said the nursery was closed for a storm, please call back tomorrow. So I called back the next day and got voicemail. I left a message but they didn’t return my call. Yesterday I got ahold of James again and he informed me that the girl who answers the emails informed him she has 650 emails to answer, so please be patient and they will get to me. He couldn’t tell me whether they had the roses I wanted or not. I’m trying to be patient! ;)

  • 3 months ago

    Judi,

    I’m afraid your experience with K&M isn’t too out of the ordinary, there are times when one must try many times to place an order, and other times one suceeds right away. Patience and persistence may both be necessary. They are very trustworthy people and always send out very nice plants once that order is placed. I have probably ordered from them a dozen times over the years, so I obviously feel it’s worth the effort, but I understand that others may not want to go through the hassle.

  • 3 months ago

    Thanks, Ben. A little reassurance is helpful right now. I’m ok with waiting as long as I eventually get the roses I’m waiting for. I am a bit nervous they will be out of the two Pretty Jessica’s I’m most wanting… in that case I’ll need to rethink. I haven’t come up with a good substitute yet.

  • 3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    What Ben said. They are the ultimate low tech small mom'n'pop operation, even more so than RU, but now that they got mentioned as a source in the recent discussions, I'm sure they're completely overwhelmed. They've always required patience, and even more so now :-D

  • 3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    Oh Susan, I’d say K&M and RU jointly win the gold medal when it comes to Low Tech Roses! RU’s website, where you have to keep hitting ’older posts’ to see additional offerings should probably win some ’ least intuitive user interface’ award, too. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to explain to folks how to view all their offereings. (And this is their reveamped and ’improved’ website!) But they are my two favorite vendors for hard-to-get roses!

  • 3 months ago

    Ben, exactly! And when I get a RU paper catalog (a roll of the dice from year to year), it's never quite the same as the website. I remember back way before RU's website, I'd call in my order and they'd send the roses before I could send my check :-D

  • 3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    Susan, K&M used to do the same thing…send out the roses before collecting the money! A few years ago, Mr Mills wrote a rather apologetic letter saying that going forward, he had to collect money first, before sending out plants (imagine that!).. And I remember RUs pictureless paper catalog that would randomly show up on some years, sometimes not until late summer. In my mind I imagined that poor Pat was typing out each catalog individually on her manual typewriter, that’s why it took so long. And by the time she finished typing a catalog, her inventory had changed. They both get the gold medal for ’Best Relics of a Bygone Era’, too!

  • 3 months ago

    Cool Roses too in West Palm Beach, FL shipped me roses before charging me maybe a month later .

  • 3 months ago

    I wonder if it will be possible for anyone to get their hands on Lady Emma Hamilton ever again?... :(

  • 3 months ago

    Judi I emailed K&M when I heard about them on the Garden Roses LLc thread when I realized I wouldn’t get my Abraham Darby. K&M did email me back and said they think they still have it and will tag it for me and email me back about shipping. Have you heard from K&M yet?


    I had also emailed Mindy at Hummingbird roses when she said she had a couple left on her FB post but she was already out of it.

  • 3 months ago

    Echo, I still have not heard back from K and M. It seems strange to me. It has been two and a half weeks since my first email. I sent a second email six days later. In the second week I made three phone calls but all I accomplished was being told I was one of 650 emails waiting to be answered. My hopes were that since I had emailed quite a while before I was told that, that I might be near the top of the list. But I’m still waiting (patiently?).

  • 3 months ago

    is crown princess margarita out of circulation in the US?

  • 3 months ago

    @EnglishRoseBud CPM is still available in the US.

  • 3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    KrystalW 9b SoCal Thank you for answering, my mom sent me a list from a greenhouse near her home and I was trying to decide what she should purchase from that list while they were in stock near her. I decided it was better for her to get actual plants from a nursery after everything I've seen recently. I may order a few of these the above ones as birthday gift. I see a couple that she would probably like.


    I just sent off an order for 6 for my mother and hopefully they answer her soon :)

  • 3 months ago

    Echo and Judi the waiting patiently part is tough for sure, but the positive note is they have gigantic mother plants. Rows and rows of mother plants. I didn't take pics of those because I didn't catch the first bloom. The blooming roses were all the potted babies in the greenhouses. I arrived a few weeks too early to see the mother plants' first flush. And there were thousands of roses. It is a small-staffed operation, but their methods for rooting and grafting are well-tuned. And they had thousands of roses in their greenhouses. Multiple greenhouses were basically Austins-only. I do hope you get a response soon and some confirmation that you will receive what you wish.

  • 3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    Artist-FKA-Novice Zone 7B GA is it growing well in the us — if so then your safe in the uk it looked like a twig — this is the sad state of it currently in two I acquired via alternate means — mine died this winter and it literally looked horrid after i cut it back cause it was full of blackspot — dead one that was grafted I will be acquiring at least 6 to ve safe now



  • 3 months ago

    It’s three weeks today since I first emailed K and M. I still have received no response, so I sent them another email this morning. I always cringe inside when I hound someone like that… goes against my grain, somehow. It feels like I’m nagging them. But calling them by phone makes me cringe far worse, so I sent another email.

  • 3 months ago

    Judi, have you tried calling them?

  • 3 months ago

    Hi Judi, you and I emailed them on the same day I believe and I just heard back from them yesterday. They said they were going to ship out my roses by the end of the day when they go to the post office and she would then call me for payment. I still haven’t heard back for payment yet, so we’ll see if the roses got shipped out or not before payment…

  • 3 months ago

    Thanks, ocbrian1. That gives me hope that I might be next on the list. Yes, Elestrial, I called them three times. I have gotten nowhere.

  • 3 months ago

    My husband plans to drive there next week to pick up about thirty old Austins to replace the damage done by RRD and voles and moles.

    I've called and left a message and no response.


    IF ANYONE TALKS TO THEM, would you ask if they plan to be closed any days next week and if drive in buyers are still welcome? Thank you so much.

  • 3 months ago

    @stillanntn6b I'm not sure which number you called, but I have had the most luck calling Mr. James's cell phone number first thing in the morning. The number is listed on their website if you go to the About tab, scroll down to Contact, then scroll down on that page and you will see an office number and a James Mills number. I don't know if they will be open or not, but they are pretty consistently open even on holidays when I have visited such as President's Day and Columbus Day. I wish you luck and hope you are able to grab all that is on your wishlist. Please share pics with us!

  • 3 months ago

    The main phone doesn't seem to be working, the other allowed me to leave a message. I worry that my husband will drive all that way and be turned away at the gate. Suggestions?

  • 3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    stillanntn6b Perhaps customers who post comments in K and M nursery Facebook page can answer your question about their hours. Tagging people's names (including the owners of K and M) in Facebook page of K and M nursery will prompt them to answer your question about the hours.

  • 3 months ago
    last modified: 3 months ago

    Hey @stillanntn6b I just called Mr. Mills's number from the website (1:20pm). He didn't pick up, then called me back almost immediately. He said they will not be there today or tomorrow, but should be there Wednesday-Friday of this week. He said to be sure and call before you come just to confirm. Make sure to call his number directly. I hope this helps!

  • 3 months ago

    Ann - can you weigh in on whether this is RRD? Artist is really struggling to identify whether or not her roses have RRD. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6440795/here-we-go-again-is-this-rrd#n=27

  • 3 months ago

    Thanks, Sunny, that helps immensely.

    Rosecanadian, I hadn't seen that thread, so I answered some of her questions. Let me know if there are more.

    Ann

  • 3 months ago

    Thanks, Ann. :)

  • 3 months ago

    Contact was made and my husband will go pick out roses. Now this is going to be interesting. He will not (cannot) equal my buy at a Park Seed summer day of 110 bareroot roses. (a dollar a plant). But we have spaces for thirty or forty. He really wants to reestablish the hedge of Graham Stewart Thomases that we had (and that were the flowers carried at one niece's wedding by eight brides maids). He says he's even willing to spray them. And so many others that we have loved. Tamora Again! Belle Story didn't make it through winter. We miss her. James Galway is the perfect rose for one spot, but I lost it to RRD. I may, make that will, grow it there again and surround it with compositae flowers and the beneficials that like them. Heck, maybe we expand my three plants of Tess of the durberville to a hedle because they are so magnificent in fall backlit by sunlight. So he'll be getting a list from me and we'll see how many he decides we need to fill in.

    Now to order replacements for the irrigation system.

  • 3 months ago

    Well, this has been an interesting ordeal for me for sure, this ordering with K and M Roses… so I tried on Friday to call Megan, who handles the orders, and wasn’t able to reach her. Tried again on Monday. Ditto. I thought, ok, I’m just about done trying. An hour later, Megan calls me back. I’ll spare you the details, but I’ll say this, in the end, she has bent over backward to help me. I can tell she felt bad for all the difficulty I’ve had trying to order with them. Pretty Jessica was my biggest reason for ordering from them and I really needed two. She could only find one, but she was determined and eventually found a very small second one that she is going to pamper and baby for me a few weeks before she sends them along with my Prospero and Tamora. Obviously, I don’t have my plants yet, so I can’t give a review on them, but I do feel very happy so far, even though it took three and a half weeks to get here!

  • 3 months ago

    Yay Judi!! cant wait for you to get them!!

  • 3 months ago

    @stillanntn6b im so happy you made contact! I hope he is able to find everything on your wishlist and more! I would suggest taking a pair of short rainboots and some gardening gloves. The rows in the greenhouses can get muddy. And the gloves with help protect his hands from any chemicals if he is sorting through hundreds of treated potted roses. Both of those tips helped me zipthrough my last visit. And if you have any unicorn roses that are not listed on the K&M page, add them tothe list anyway. There are so many surprises to be found in their rows of roses. Please keep us posted!

    @judijunebugarizonazn8 Im so happy you were able to get in touch! And yay for her spotting another Pretty Jessica! Please keep us posted when you receive your babies.

  • 2 months ago

    Hey Ann! Any update on your trip? Was your husband able to go? Which plants did you get?


    Judi, are you still waiting on your Pretty Jessica to put on size?


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltFdL0NLkoI


    I found this video from doing a Google search and thought it was an AMAZING video and wanted to share!

  • 2 months ago

    They had emailed me back before Judi got ahold of them and they never responded to me after that. So I am also curious if anyone else made headway

  • 2 months ago
    last modified: 2 months ago

    my husband made the trip and got 33 good looking roses (all but three were Austins) I am delighted to have own root Pope John Paul II and Dolly Parton. He also got a R. x fortuniana to replace our fifteen year old that caught RRD out one cane, survived that and then three or four years later the juglones from the walnut it was growing up may have been the source of its demise.

    My Graham Stuart Thomas hedge of ten roses is re established, Two Tess of the D'Urbs is now joined by three more, and a large number of Austin's early deep reds are going to extend the Tess bed westward. Three Tamoras will go back into the bed that first had a Tamora sixteen years ago. This time the roots will be protected from the wretched rodents and the edges filled with daffodils which seem to work repulsing the damned eating machines.

    And at long last, my Jeri Jennings that had lived in a good spot but didn't like red clay, something changed. Maybe the roots got deep enough to encounter the old topsoil buried under fill from the excavation for our garage, anyway., it's magnificent and climbing and just what I wanted it to be, and was willing to wait for.

  • 2 months ago

    Your Jeri Jennings is climbing, stillann? I’m glad to hear that it really does climb. Mine is two years old and forming such a lovely mounded shape. This year I noticed it putting out some longer canes and I was hoping to be able to train it along the wall it’s planted next to, but I didn’t know if it really could climb. I would be so happy to see pictures of yours, if you would post some.

  • 2 months ago

    Excited to see someone growing it in a colder zone as I've long wondered how it would fare in Z6 SWOhio. Looking forward to updates and (hopefully) pics!😉

  • last month

    I got Chandos Beauty from K&M on Friday along with some other roses. Thanks for posting that they have it. Based on the positive comments about Chandos Beauty on this rose forum, I really wanted it!

  • last month

    Judi, did you ever get your roses from K&M?

  • last month

    Not yet, Susan… still waiting. Megan found the last two Pretty Jessica plants in stock, but one needed a few more weeks of growing before shipping. I’m hoping to soon hear from them.

  • last month

    I never heard from them again

  • last month

    I shipped K%M cuttings from my The Prince, LD Breathwaite and Molineux. If you are interested in any of these, it would be a good idea to get ahold of them and put you name on a bush.

    The Prince.

    LD Braithwaite

    Molineux

  • last month

    Hey Ken! I alsotook some cuttings to K&M. When I went on my trip in March I took Spirit of Freedom cuttings with me. I hope they were able to get these babies going! Im planning to make another trip down there maybe later this fall to bring more cuttings of Spirit of Freedom. Love this rose! Im so happy K&M has chosen to offer so many Austins Own-root as well as grafted. Thank you for sharing your cuttings with them.

  • 17 days ago

    I’m happy to report that I finally received my four roses from K and M. They arrived during my trip to California, just one of the MANY frustrating things about my experience with them. I won’t go into it all here, but it has been very complex and frustrating to order from them. In the end, four healthy plants arrived and thankfully, my daughter was home to unpack and care for them. Unfortunately, one of the roses that was supposed to be Pretty Jessica is labeled Belle Story! It was almost the last straw for me, but I contacted them and they replied saying they will be promptly sending my Pretty Jessica…. I can only hope so. I don’t mind getting Belle Story out of the deal. :) I kinda think a bonus rose is in order after all the chaos.

  • 16 days ago
    last modified: 16 days ago

    Sorry to hear of your troubles with K&M I would not be mad at all to get a Belle Story lol ♡♡ I do wish K&M had a website that one could order from. It seems easier (even for them) than all the emailing back and forth. Every time Ive tried to order from them via email they just end up saying they dont have what I wanted in stock. I tried a few times and gave up. It would be easier just to see it on a webpage whether its in stock or sign up for a notification.

    I do hear good things about their roses though.

    Does anyone know if they will be carrying Emma Hamilton in the future? I think it would be really cool to have that one on Fortuniana.

  • 15 days ago

    Judi which four roses did you get (other than Belle Story?) I’m amazed anyone has had an email or call back