I can't say for sure, but I can say that this happened to me for the first time ever this summer and from all the various rose groups I participate in, it seems to be a bigger problem than in the past. I have seen a lot of unhappy customers. In my case they had a glitch in their system that sent my order months too early, so it came in the heat of the summer, and on top of that they were trialing new shipping packaging which failed so the roses were really beat up and all the dirt was loose in the box. I tried planting them but 7/8 died and ruined my excellent track record with them. They did catch their error and make it right and I gave them feedback on the new packaging.

I suspect they are trying new methods in their shipping department to try to make things cheaper and more efficient and have some issues to work out. I also have stopped ordering without the plastic pots. I hate to add to the cost but I don't really feel comfortable with the biodegradable packaging and having to rush when they arrive. I feel like especially in my climate they need some time to get acclimated to the local conditions and start to leaf out again before planting.

Which Jalberts did you get? I have a few and love them all, except William PJ McCarthy which hasn't impressed me yet.

Yes , that happens to me when I plant small roses like a gallon or less directly in the ground . I lost many roses this way . I think they have tender roots and the ground might have high Nitrogen or humus in it so those tender roots might burn .

These days , I pot the roses in 2 or 3 gallon pot . I water them daily & fertilize them every week half strength until they put on new growth which might be a couple of weeks to a month before I plant them in the ground .

How is your temperature these days ? I had big 3 gallon roses burn when I planted them in early or late summer .

I think Heirloom should replace them though .

I would be contacting the seller.

I have had a couple of plant die when they were newly planted and put on irrigation only, Dianela. I have found they need to be hand watered until they get established if it is not rainy season. This is referring to summer warm/hot weather.

Sheila we get over 50 inches of rain naturally every year. I have overhead sprinklers and the soil has been moist every day. It really is surprising.

pink rose I know many people use the potting up method and thats great, but I have never used it.

I have purchased roses from Heirloom every single year since 2016 and they have all gone straight in the ground. This is the first time I have lost any. My temperatures are high pretty similar to what Florida gets, but we have gotten rain. I guess my concern is that they do not look regular burn, do they? they look rotten black from the ground out?

Claudia I got 3 caramel Kiss which I was sooo looking forward to having in my garden and my first Jalbert. I will start paying for the plastic container. I am not blaming heirloom I chose not to pay the extra money. I just do not think this method will work for me.

Maybe the root ball had broken during shipping because there was nothing to support it ? so the rose was compromised before even planting .

Year ago I bought a rose from HR and it did the same thing as yours but my other roses from HR did well... So? I'd have em planted before the UPS truck drove away...lol...

@dianela7analabama Caramel Kiss is one of my favorites and a star performer, so much so that I bought a second one even though I tend to be the kind of rose collector that wants to try every variety available. I think you will love it too. I'm fairly certain Heirloom will reship for you right away because those are very clearly dying. It does look to me like the roots have failed. Mine did the same thing, just turned black from the bottom of the cane up. One of them tried to put out a little basal break but it was just too weakened to survive in the end.

I had a rose plant sit there and fade to yellow and brown that I figured was too wet and slightly over potted and hence rotted I think. This was in cool weather. This had not happened before to me. I over watered it I guess.

I definitely agree we have very different climates, Dianela, and your plants should not need hand watering I see now.

Dianela,

ROOT ROT, due to root shock. No matter how carefully from a container a young rose bush is removed, the limited root system gets shocked, especially if the container sides that supported the growing medium are gone. In its place is a plastic bag which allows the roots to become disarranged. Then the jostling that occurs during shipping causes the entire root system to be further disturbed. The fine feeder roots are broken. What comes next is when planted, such a stressed root mass is destroyed by simple good old watering. It cannot take up moisture properly, root rot starts immediately, and the rose dies from its roots up.

Sorry for this happening to your roses, Dianela.

I just cannot figure Heirloom Roses out. The same thing happened to me last year with my Madame Anisette. The rose came in a bag with a zip tie loosely fastened, enough to be able to put two fingers through, and the poor thing was just about separated from its rooting medium. However, it did not die, fortunately, but lost a whole year recovering. It died to the ground over winter but a couple little shoots emerged at ground level in May. At this time it is about 20" tall, essentially the same size it was at the same time last year, although now growing nicely. It even bloomed with two adjacent small blooms earlier. I hope it takes off next year.

Contact Heirloom, and stand your ground. I'm with you!

Moses.

They were probably cooked in shipment and went into shock and died. That's why I will not order any roses during the summer. Heirloom will sell anyone any rose during the summer. They know at least 75% of the costumors will not complane. That is easy$$$ in their pocket. The other 25%, they will tell them it was their fault. Another 75% of them will give up. More easy $$$ in their pockets. The few that are left, will either get new roses (that will probably die), or a refund. Heirloom has made their $$$.

Thank you everyone for your repplies. I do feel like something went wrong with the actual product, because it happened too suddenly with good sun, water and no fertilizer. I emailed heirloom and asked them to please replace them. I wrote that I am willing to pay for the expense that sending them in real container would create since I feel the new method did not work for me. I hope replace them for me, I was looking forward to those.

I am glad to hear Heirloom is going to make this right!

Good news, Dianela. I hope their replacements, even though still in the pots that they have been growing in, have minimal jostling about during shipping, and that their packing by Heirloom was done as carefully as possible. Keep us posted.

Moses.

“Root rot” ”from its roots up” vs. “cooked” (heat/desiccation)

Does each feature a typical pattern (centrifugal vs centripetal) of dieback?

We have seen your photos, dianela. Do you know any good pathologists?

Good title for this discussion.

Dianela is a good pathologist, as well you know, rifis. But she's not a plant pathologist, which is much different. I dislike your snide comments. Diane

Great news dianela7analabama!

Thanks Diane! When roses start dying of ”cancer” I may be able to impress rifis more 😁

I admit I have never had a rose die of root rot before with our hot summers and sharply slopped land roses just love getting water. There is more than a 4 feet slope from the top of that flower bed to the bottom, and that plant is somewhere in the middle. I guess they just suffered too much in the shipping. Lesson learned.

Rifis acts like a troll for fun. I don't love it either.

I've seen this kind of behavior before, with roses that suffered an overheating event in transit.

Thank you very much Paul! Will skip the summer ordering from now on to avoid that happening again.

This happened to me twice this year. One with a bare root rose that never broke dormancy until early summer, once it finally did send up one little green shoot that did nothing. The canes finally turned black and died. I did contact the seller regarding the rose not breaking dormancy, but since it was still green nothing could be done. By the time it finally died their warranty period was over.

The second time this season was a rose from J&P that arrived dead and moldy, this was due to the heat and I did receive a refund. Its hard not to take advantage of the summer sales.

Dianela, Lakeview Roses may be offering Caramel Kisses for 2027. Ordering opens up Oct. 15th and should be on multiflora rootstock. You can check their website.

I agree with Moses that the roots could have been damaged from removing the plant from a pot. Add in shipping during a "hot" month doesn't help. I suggest only shipping plants when you are comfortable being outside yourself. Being in a box only makes things worse and being in bag which traps in moisture so their is no breathing of the roots. I would only buy online when temps don't go over 80 degrees and over 45 degrees. For the money paid for plants online, why take chances unless they are dormant? I'll buy plants locally first before ordering online.