The scoop on 'Sequoia Nursery Miniature Roses'

As they wind down operations, the customer service has taken a nose dive. I ordered 7 rose trees in February. I got them last week, and one has opened - definitely NOT Magic Carousel! It took 4 hours to get a call through, and the woman who answered was rude. All I wanted was a replacement - I'd even pay the shipping. She was unwilling to have the stock checked in person (there is obviously a labeling problem), and she told me there would be a credit issued. So I emailed and requested to use my credit toward rose trees that they told me on Saturday were available. Just got an email and they are all gone. I am now very concerned that the rest of the roses will not be the ones I ordered, and I will have no recourse. I would not order anything from them, even if they were staying in business.

I have ordered from their supplemental list twice now after first confirming availability. Rose bands arrived within 2 days of ordering, well packed and it great shape with good sized roots and branches. Very pleased!

The mini roses received from Sequoia and Nor'East in the same week couldn't compare. Sequoia's were much smaller, much more ragged, and most likely grown in the great out of doors. The roses from Nor'East in August were huge, most all had blooms, and were all picture-perfect, probably greenhouse grown and probably not "organic." Nevertheless, I am grateful for both vendors for better variety. Some of the Sequoia roses *should* have been held a few weeks to grow root systems. Hopefully, my losses will be small.

I also ordered old garden roses from Sequoia. They were all exceptionally small. I could have paid the same price and received much more mature and larger specimens from Chamblee's. That's what I will do next time, if possible.

This company is great! Fine, healthy plants and super customer service. I will definitely continue to do business with them!

I ordered 3 slips by pnoe a couple of weeks ago. It is really nice that they asked when I wanted the order shipped and then asked for clarification whan I indicated the first week in May (the week starting April 30 or the week starting May 7?).

They arrived at the end of last week (the week that I wanted) and were very healthy looking. I have since potted them up, and they seem to be enjoying life.

I am pleased with the customer service and the condition of the roses. The only thing that could be improved would be making it possible for me to order straight from the website (however, the phone ordering was easy, fast and pleasant).

I bought about 20 different mini roses and shrub roses directly from this vendor. I have had very good luck growing the roses even though I have provided very little care, except regular watering. Many other sites are offering Moore roses at higher prices. Besides, I like knowing I support the breeders directly.

I recieved my order from Sequoia a couple of days ago. The packing was good, plants were in great shape, all very healthy! They have a huge selection to choose from other than minis. They plants are small but the prices are so reasonable I think they are worth it. I will order from them again!
Sincerely,
Casey

This season I became interested in miniatures, and began to research varieties. I quickly realized that Ralph Moore was THE number one hybridizer of miniatures for the past several decades, having bred more than 400 varieties, and that Mr. Moore was STILL hybridizing at the age of 99 1/2 at Sequoia Nursery, the 'mom & pop' operation surrounding his home in Visalia, CA. I began to peruse the Sequoia Website, and also that of the Uncommon Rose, which features many Sequoia-Moore varieties. It was hard to choose--there are so many Moore minis offered in all different colors and habits. Mr. Moore is very inventive with his crosses, especially at this stage in his life when he has 'done it all' (well, at least a heckuva lot!), and he is experimenting with a wide variety of parent stock to produce never-before-seen types of miniatures and mini-floras such as the Halo Series and Persian Light, a yellow/red Hulthemia hybrid.

Long story short, I ended up ordering about 30 miniatures, and a half-dozen full-sized varieties, in two shipments. The minis were small, but all immediately took off once potted up into gallon containers. The non-minis were potted into 2 gallon sizes and they took off too. It is fascinating to see the different colors, habits and varieties. All of these roses are destined to find places in the garden, but I wanted to see what they looked like first in pots prior to planting. Some favorites so far are: Splish-Splash, Kayla, Antique Rose, Ralph Moore, Candleflame, Pinstripe, Doris Bennett, Twilight Skies, Rose Gilardi & Jessica Rose. I also really like Morey's Pink, a little-known rose rescued from obscurity by California-based Rosarian-Hybridizer Kim Rupert.

All through the ordering and selection process I was aided by Carolyn, Sequoia's manager, who was extremely helpful and friendly. She not only answered questions about the roses, but conversed freely about Mr. Moore's accomplishments and anecdotes about the nursery. All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience to deal with Sequoia during this pre-Centennial period of Mr. Moore's life, and I will always treasure my Moore-bred roses here in the Midwest.

What's the latest update on "Sudden Oak Death and restrictions on the sale of roses shipment from California to Florida" ?

This vendor has a specific rose I have been wanting for a long time, and their prices are very reasonable. I went to order this rose, along with several others when I noticed they do not ship to my state. I have seen many websites that don't ship to certain states such as Arizona or Oregon but this is the first vendor I have come across that won't ship to Alabama.

On March 11 2004 I ordered 3 roses to be shipped to me the week of May 3rd. The roses did arrive when promised, although they were loosely packed and very tiny.
I planted all the roses on the same day, two of the three roses are doing okay. The third rose,also the smallest of the three has failed to grow. I e-mailed the company and sent a copy of my invoice to which they promptly replied and will be issuing a credit.

I have placed two orders. Both received quickly. All roses planted in pots and doing fine. They are tiny.

Tom Thumb turned out to be Elfinglo - they offered replacement, I declined.

Every single rose they have sent me had multiple cuttings in the same pot, and all are going very well here...

Will order from again...

DECOBUG

I ordered three roses from Sequoia last year, at the same time I ordered six roses in two inch pots from another vendor. Sequoia's website states that their roses are in four inch pots or six inch bands, so understandably, I expected these roses to be a bit bigger than the two inch potted roses from the other vendor. When they arrived, Sequoia's roses were little sticks swimming in their four inch pots, in loose soil. They fell out of their pots to reveal the root systems of newly rooted cuttings, straight off the prop table, and not nearly as big as advertised. A call to the nursery yeilded nothing, as the receptionist was rude and talked to me as if I was someone expecting a big grafted rose. This was not the case, being someone who roots roses myself, I simply expected four inch pots of healthy roses. I took pictures of these roses and shared them with other rosarians, who agreed that this entire order was not up to Sequoia's (usually higher) standards, and it was obvious to them that someone just packed these into a box to fill an order, not caring that the roses were not ready to ship. These roses were not hardened off yet and had to spend two months in partial shade to get them used to the out-of-doors. Even with this treatment, one rose died and the other two still remain slower in growth than the two-inch potted counterparts from the other vendor.

I purchased two Renae climbing thornless roses (bred by the ownder of Sequoia back in the 1950s), and they arrived a few days later in very good condition. They were only coming downstate, but I'm sure they could have survived a much longer journey. Both roses are growing well now, even though they only came in small 4" pots. The price was quite reasonable too. Altogether, a positive experience.

Home of the Rosarian's Rosarian, Ralph Moore. I've visited in person and mail ordered and both times have been very pleased.

I ordered 2 roses (not miniatures) from Sequoia. They were in 4 inch pots and very nice, healthy specimens, complete with heavy buds. The plants are great! I was unable to plant them for several months so kept them in a large pot with no problems. Very strong plants.

Sequoia Nursery has been a pleasure to deal with. They have replaced plants for me, even when it was my fault that they did not thrive. I have been doing business with them for 6 years now and they are the most wonderful, friendly bunch. Have given me great information on all kinds of roses and care and Mr. Moore is the most inspirational rosarian I have met!

I have purchased several Miniature Roses from Sequoia Nursery over the last 15 years. They have always arrived safely, in beautiful condition and many times with several buds ready to open. Most have been healthy since receiving them, although some have needed frequent mists of water during the adjustment to their new climate. The people there have always been friendly, helpful and willing to replace any rose that wasn't healthy. I highly recommend this nursery.

I just purchased Miniature Rose bushes from Sequoia Nursery. The plants were packed beautifully and were wrapped so that the Roses could take quite a beating without being hurt. I recommend this nursery highly. I have really been happy with their product.

Plants are small but not expensive - everything I have ordered from them has been in good shape on arrival and grown quickly and well.

I had a very negative experience with this nursery. The roses I ordered did not arrive for 3 to 4 weeks. They were pathetic tiny bare little sticks that had lost almost all their leaves. Shipping damage? Hardly. They were shipped in tiny little pots with only a loose thimbleful of soil in each pot. It took an entire season to nurse them back to health. For some one with a very short season (Zone 4), this was extremely upsetting, a waste of time and money. Both quality and service were very very poor.