I have very mixed feelings about it all now.
Notification and delivery were very good .. packaging and condition of roses excellent.
BUT .. they substituted Zephirine Drouhin (a rose I have and LOVE) with Louise Odier, a similar rose BUT NOT the rose I wanted !
They had from the end of January on, to tell me if ZD was not available and they did NOT ..
I am very disappointed I was not even given a chance to select another rose.
OK .. I am off my soap box now .. here is a picture of how I start off bare root roses.
I soak them in some nice warm water first : ) them plant them with bonemeal and good compost .. I use mushroom compost that is weedless .. so far ?
You might remember how I worked hard to get a butterfly caterpillar to go to its cocoon stage.
Then when I finally did .. it was so late in the year I wanted to safeguard Curly Joe ll ...
So I put him in the fridge for the winter(how he/she survived all the banging and slamming of our fridge door is amazing) ... now that it is warming up and I have read more information on sites .. I have set him out side to get used to the outside of my fridge and more "wild" like conditions.
I so hope he/she will break through and be able to live its tiny life naturally !
I have been amazed at how many butterflies I have been seeing in the garden in the last few days as it is .. so this has to be the right timing to set Curly Joe ll FREE !!
One more thing I would like to mention is that Rebecca of "Prefer to be In the Garden" is back blogging .
So hello girl ! welcome back : )
8 comments:
So cute, Joy! I remember when you wrote about keeping 'Curly Joe ' safe (I love that you gave him/her a name :). I hope that little critter does well and lives its life wild and free! I gave in and watered my entire garden yesterday. It was so dry that is was scary. The plants that have started growing looked like they were begging for some moisture. Let's hope for some rain. According to the weather forecast, we should be getting some tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
And I'd be really upset about the order. You are right about them having had enough time to inform you that they didn't have the specific plant you wanted and to give you a chance to select what YOU want as a replacement. And if you'd want a replacement at all. Did you notify (complain to) them? Not a good way to start with a new customer.
It is aggravating when you don't receive the plant you were expecting. Why do you use bonemeal? I am confused with the bonemeal and bloodmeal stuff. Haven't ever used either. Fingers crossed on your emerging critter....
Why on earth don't they allow you to choose subs or not. That would be the most simple thing ever...I don't understand small or large companies. It's a jungle out there, do what is simple, and nice and you will have customers flocking to you.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
That's too bad about your roses; you would think the company would have let you know that 'Zephirine' wasn't available and let you choose a replacement yourself. When I couldn't get 'Zephirine' last year, I picked 'Don Juan' which had some gorgeous deep red blooms. But I still want a 'Zephirine', too!
I've never tried to bring a butterfly inside; amazing that he survived in the fridge all this time. I hope he emerges safely and finds some companions...maybe Larry and Moe?:)
It is as exciting to see the insects come back as it is to see the flowers emerging. We want all of those pollinators out there. Good luck with your roses. That is too bad they didn't let you choose a rose you would have liked better.
Sorry about your rose. I hate it when that happens, too. I will bet they ran out while filling orders.
Did you read how to winer over the cocoon, or was that your own idea? Please let me know if it works.
Hello Martha girl : )
I also spent a lot of time watering my gardens yesterday .. it is so damn dry this is ridiculous .. and I wonder how much rain we will really get from that forecast !
Yes I have had e-mails going back and forth with the company .. end result is that they didn't have enough to fill all the orders .. but to watch in August when they try to restock.
Hey there Darla girl !
Bonemeal is like a very weak fertilizer .. it does not burn the roots at all .. it just helps the plant with a little boost .. like a vitamin ? LOL
I don't use bloodmeal .. I prefer plain old bonemeal .. but I trick I learned a couple of years ago .. for roses .. is Epsom salts starting May to August .. a half a cup in a circle away from the stalk but with in the plant root area .. it really works to keep it healthy and strong !
Jen girl that gal I was e-mailing says I "said they could substitute with something as close as possible" .. honestly ? I do NOT remember adding those comments .. because it was ZD that I wanted !!
Thanks Rose girl : )
I have one ZD and I love it so much I really wanted another one .. I guess I will find out what this Louise Odier will be like .. it is an old Bourbon rose (French .. late 1800's) with scent thankfully !
LOL .. Larry and Moe would be happy to see Curly I just know it .. I won't know if this experiment worked for this tiny lovely creature or not for a while yet .. fingers crossed because I do love butterflies so much !
Thanks Lisa girl .. I planted them with lots of love and fingers crossed they will look gorgeous!
Yes !! we can never have enough pollinators and I try my best with so many plants in the garden for them to feed and rest : )
Sandy girl I am sure that is what happened too .. but I will try again late summer and see if I can catch her ? haha
YES ! I found it on a site .. about having them stay in the fridge over winter .. but the true test is to see if he/she will emerge .. I so hope it will !!
Wow a butterfly in the fridge...that is something I never tried before! I hope he/she excapes from its cocoon and spreds its wings. Speaking of cocoons did you ever see that movie...Invasion of the Body Snatchers? (-:
O.K. so the rose...we won't even talk about how many times things like this have happened to me...)-: Just one word....Grrrrrrrr
Hope your rose grows nice and strong and you get a lot of pretty flowers from it(-: That will make it all worth while...although I think when they do that they should notify you and or give you a free plant(-:
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