Are cheap roses any good?

[calcit]

I'm new to gardening and last year (after drooling over their website for months, choosing) I brought three bare root Dave Austin roses bushes. They are fantastic and I love them.

But yesterday I saw bare root roses in Pound Stretcher for £3.49!!

Does anyone have any experience of these cheap ones? Am I best sticking with the Dave Austen ones? I don't want to waste my time/compost on something that's going to be a disappointment.

Thank you!

My late Mum was a keen gardener and she used to plant early and put bubble wrap around bottom of bushes. She always had spectacular roses but she spent hours gardening.

I used to buy bare root DA roses online from Lottum roses, Neverlands, they were much cheaper even with delivery charges but not sure if they are still delivering to UK now.
I have a mix of all kinds of roses, all different prices some cheap,.l prefer my shrub roses and climbers the most, l find they all perform well if you take care of them.

Cheap roses (unless they are climbers) will probably be hybrid teas. If you like hybrid teas then that's fine. I don't want HTs. I only grow shrub or historic roses and a few David Austin or Peter Beales roses. Yeah, I know: ridiculous elitist garden snobbery, but it's my job and being picky and precious is part of it. The other thing is I need to know the names of the roses I grow and the cheap tend to be 'HT Pink' or the like. But yes, to answer your question. Cheap roses are just fine. Cheap climbing roses are even better. Go for it.

@toppkatz I'm down in the south and it's been very mild. Frosty mornings not properly winter. My roses haven't even lost all their leaves yet and there's loads of new growth.

Maybe I should have cut them back ages ago.

I'd do it asap then. Chances are the new growth you already have will get wind scorch or be damaged by frost anyway.

@Bideshi I agree. I don’t like the look of hybrid teas either, which tend to be the one that come cheap. They seem to be all thorny stems and not nice foliage. I much prefer shrub roses. Doesn’t have to be David Austin, I’ve got some lovely old shrub roses.