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About Spring Valley Roses

Spring Valley Roses is located in Spring Valley, Wisconsin. We've been in business since 1990 and specialize in winter hardy roses and plants for birds.

We started as a mail-order nursery, then added on-farm retail in 1995. The spring of 2006 was our last year for on-farm retail. We've gone back to our original roots and are now we're a mailorder-only nursery. Spring Valley Roses is located in rural Spring Valley, Wisconsin.

Plants can be ordered online through this Web site from January through early May. Plants are shipped bareroot and dormant from early April to mid May.

At Spring Valley Roses, we offer high-quality plants all grown on their own roots that can survive in cold climates and can tolerate or show resistance to common diseases. For our roses, we use the American Nursery Standards as our guide to provide our customers with grade #1 plants. We also believe that roses are best on their own roots -- especially in northern climates. Own-root roses are more true to size for each variety and can survive severe winters better than budded roses.

About Our Plants

Spring Valley Roses specializes in winter hardy roses and plants for birds. All of our plants have to be tough to handle our climate -- particularly our cold winters. We're located in hardiness Zone 4, which can experience winter temperatures of -30 degrees F or colder.

Our roses are large, grade #1, two-year old, field-grown plants that are healthy and ready to grow in your garden! All of the roses are grown on their own roots (unless noted) and are not grafted to rootstock of a different variety. We have found that own-root roses tend to be more winter hardy and truer to size.

What's grade #1? Grade #1 is a standard size defined in the American Nursery Standards and established by the American Nursery and Landscape Association. Grade #1 requires that roses in this grade have a well-developed root system and that canes have proportionate weight and caliper according to variety. Learn more about the American Standard for Nursery Stock.

Our flowering shrubs are generously sized and are some of the largest available through mailorder. Our shrubs are also graded according to American Nursery Standards, which specifies stem length, girth and a well-developed root system.

Your plants will arrive with their roots dipped in a moist gel, placed in a plastic bag that is inside a sturdy cardboard box. We include planting instructions with each order.

How Long Before They Bloom? Our roses are two-year old plants and have the potential to bloom the first year. HOWEVER!! Please note that it takes up to three years for a rose to reach its mature size when it's grown properly. The first year, the roots grow. The second year, the top grows. And the third year, it will reach its mature size. Please note that it can take some flowering shrubs much longer to reach their mature size, depending on the species and variety.

Plant Guarantee: We guarantee that our plants are true to name and will arrive alive (although dormant) and in good condition when they are shipped to you. If a dormant plant fails to grow, please contact us within one month after receiving the plant and we will refund the purchase price of your plants. Please note that sometimes it can take a few weeks for a plant to emerge from dormancy. We can't guarantee against weather related problems, soil, insect or disease problems, or gardening problems. We have grown all the plants that we sell, so we know that they will survive our climate in average gardening conditions that provide for basic soil and moisture needs and disease and pest protection. We provide good planting instructions with each order and have lots of information on this Web site to help you grow your plants. Please treat your plants like you would your pets by providing at least for their basic needs.

Take a Tour

If you'd like, you can take a virtual tour of our display gardens. This includes photos from various spots in our gardens and nursery taken in June, when most roses are in full bloom. We can't transmit fragrance over the Web just yet, so you'll have to use your imagination!

If you have any questions about our nursery or about hardy roses, check out our Questions and Answers section, or send us an note.

More About Our Roses

• Winter hardy
• Own-root plants
• Disease tolerant
• Large plants

Winter Hardy

The roses we offer to you have been trialed in our gardens-- without winter protection--for at least 2, and more likely, 3 winters. This gives us a chance to see how well they can survive our climate. We've been "taken in" by claims of hardiness before, only to be very disappointed. So we won't offer anything to you that we haven't proven to survive winter temperatures of -30 below.

With that in mind, however, sometimes harsh winter conditions can test the limits of a rose' hardiness -- even in warmer climates. A sudden drop in temperature can severely stress a rose that hasn't been acclimated to cold just yet, causing winter injury.

We have found that winter hardiness can mean three things:

• Hardy to the ground level. The top growth dies completely to the ground (like a perennial), but the roots survive and sprout new growth in the spring.
• Hardy to the "snowline." The top growth dies back to about 1 foot above the ground or the snowline.
• Hardy to the tip. No cane dieback at all. This is our personal favorite.

In any hardiness zone, weather is the all-powerful factor that determines how a rose plant will survive through each winter. In addition, where you plant your rose, how you take care of it, and the plant's condition as it enters winter will all affect how it survives your winters.

Own-root Plants

Next to winter hardiness, our biggest "claim to fame" is that all of our roses are grown on their own roots. Now, we can argue 'til the cows come home, about whether own-root roses are better than budded roses. Instead, I'll just quote a statement from the famous English gardener and author, Gertrude Jekyll, who wrote in her book, Roses for English Gardens, the following:

"[Own-root roses] are much longer lived, they give more bloom, they bloom more continuously, and they throw up no troublesome suckers."

She also continues to write,

"...own root Roses...fulfil their best purpose as true garden plants."

And, one last quote,

"There is also a satisfaction in knowing just what one is growing. If a Rose is on its own roots there is no doubt about its identity."

In our experience, I will also add that own-root roses appear to be much more winter hardy than their grafted counterparts. But in the final analysis, it's up to you, the rose gardener, to make your own choices and opinions about own-root vs. grafted. The debate rages on...

Disease Tolerant

Most of the varieties we offer are very tolerant of common rose foliar diseases; specifically, blackspot and powdery mildew. These days it's important to minimize our use of chemicals, and the best way to do that is to grow roses that don't need to be sprayed to control disease.

Generally, roses are very resilient plants and you may never notice disease problems on your plants. However, when disease does occur, it's best to treat it before it gets worse. It also helps to understand what can cause disease problems in order to help prevent them from occuring. For more information on disease prevention and control, including organic techniques, visit our dealing with bugs and disease pages.

Large Plants

All of our roses are sold when they are two-years old and are grade #1 size. Selling larger plants costs us more and takes more time to grow, but it really helps ensure their survival in your garden and your satisfaction with the roses you order from us.