Toward the end of last month I got one of those garden/rose/flower/greenthing catalogs. They offered a ‘deal’ on five assorted roses for a good price and stated that they would be shipped at the proper planting time for ‘your area’. So - I ordered them. We have lost several roses to winters past - it’s too early to see if we lost any more this past winter - so I figured this was a cheap, er, I mean cost effective way to replace some of them.
Knowing the weather here I know we cannot safely plant anything that could be damaged by frost until at least mid May, but to be safe it’s really Memorial Day and after. If you check on line for the average date of last frost in this area you find it is May 10 to May 20. So it was a bit of a shock to be notified that they had shipped my order on March 26. FedEx delivered them on March 28.
The roses are well packaged and look very healthy. They are potted and in foliage and enclosed in a cardboard carton with a window. I would be extremely happy with this order if it had arrived in mid May. However..
I am now faced with the task of keeping these really healthy looking roses alive for another month and a half minimum until I can safely plant them outdoors. I already know from past experience that at least two of our felines will think they have been given a salad if I open the cartons to give the roses needed light and water.
I sent the nursery customer service people a friendly email expressing my displeasure at such an early shipment and inquired whether they would replace the roses when (not if) the inevitable demise occurs.
It’s like the nursery intentionally sent these roses off to the killing fields.