You can tell the quality of the rose plants you're shopping for by understanding the grade they've been assigned. The grading relates to the thickness of the canes and number of them per plant. Thickness is very important as you need good, heavy canes to support lots of blooms. Here's what the grades tell you:

• Grade 1 (Best): Plants have 3 or 4 thick, heavy canes, all of which should support lots of blooms. Grade 1 roses are the most developed plants, giving them the bast chance to grow into healthy, hearty bushes.
• Grade 1½ (Good): Plants have 2 or more canes, 1 of which may be a thick, heavy cane ready to support lots of blooms.
• Grade 2 (Budget): We don't recommend buying Grade 2 roses as they don't have much chance of growing into a healthy bush with canes strong enough to support lots of blooms.