Mehearty, I may have come up with a a lazy-but-effective compromise. Borrowing berndoodle's cardboard collar idea, I made a collar out of two sections of newspaper (taped together). I fitted it around the canes and turned down the top so that it would sit underneath a laundry basket with an inch or so of space to spare. I did not fill it with mulch. My theory is that the collar breaks the wind while allowing air to circulate through the opening above, and the wet newspaper (I watered often) provides some added moisture. Only time will tell if this was indeed a good idea, butI can report that the one rose I treated this way has lots of leaves sprouting. I removed the collar, and hope I didn't do it too soon. Susan

Are they small green bugs? Probably aphids, as Lance said. If you aren't up to squishing them, just gently brush them off. Some people hose them off. Before long, some ladybugs will show up and gobble up any that are left, so you will probably need to do aphid patrol for a week or two until then. I've never used Immunox, but my understanding is that it is not an insecticide and therefore will do nothing to control aphids. This time of year aphids are common, so don't worry about it. I'm not sure what is the problem with the smaller bareroots, but often they need a good month in the ground (growing roots) before they start taking off. Good luck, Kate

Pinching off the buds seems to matter more for those of us in cold zones, since we need more than anything to have a strong root system established before winter. Second to that is a strong cane or two, and blooms are not necessary in the first year except to establish that you have the right rose. People in warmer zones don't necessarily have to pinch off buds since they have a much longer growing season and a less harsh winter, unless they want to pinch buds to build strength to survive the hot periods. In zone 6, it will help your roses build strong roots if you pinch off the buds, but for stronger cultivars well suited to your zone it may not matter as much. Basically my philosophy has become to pinch off buds of anything that looks weak or is less than knee high with several branches, even if it's a year or two old. I can stand to do that because I have a lot of roses. Once the rose wants to bloom faster than I can pinch off the blooms (like Southern Peach or most of the Easy Elegance roses this year), I don't bother pinching and figure it's already strong enough. Bottom line is it's not necessary but it can make a difference in relatively marginal or small roses in your climate. Cynthia

I actually wanted some responses to this too. It happened to my Yves Piaget last winter in a big way. I did cut the damaged cane ends to the healthy green part and ended up by having almost no canes at all. I don't know if it was the right thing to do but the rose came back eventually even though it only gave me a good flush in the fall. In the spring and summer most flowers refused to open even though the weather was far from cold and wet. In the end I thought it was because I didn't give it enough water in the winter. Again, I don't know if I am right or wrong. Sorry it doesn't seem to help much :-(. Masha