Dormant, they should be able to handle freezing easily. I'd expect them to be fine until the temperature was below about 20F.

The problem now is whether or not they have the stored reserves necessary to regrow the new growth after it is killed off. They might, but given the size it isn't a certainty.

If they were mine, I'd put them outside and keep them there unless the forecast was for lows in the low 20's - crossing fingers that there isn't much of that for the rest of the winter.

I would pick off the new growth to stop it from wasting more stored nutrients.

I would leave them outside and cover the pots, not necessarily the canes, with leaves. Roots are more tender than tops because they are normally warmed by the earth, so roses in small exposed pots can be killed. I would cover the canes temporarily if more severe lows (

Good. So they will probably still live. I'll pick off the NEW growth. And continue to keep a close eye on the lows. I've noticed on clear nights the lows are frequently lower than predicted. *sigh*

All of the above, it's good advice. Leave them outside. Besides the fact that roses hate indoor conditions you want them to go dormant and stay dormant until temps are consistently above freezing every night. Bringing them in and out just mimics the freeze and thaw yo-yoing temperatures of spring that often saps all the stored energy and kills a lot of roses in cold climates. Make sure they're well watered put them in a protected area and like Michael said, insulate the pots with some mulch. If you can still sink them in the ground that would be even better! If you protect the canes in anyway do not use any thing plastic. Crop cloth (row cover) is best but sheeting and even newspaper will work for frost protection.

Yes, clear nights are colder than cloudy ones. Heat rises. If there is no cloud cover to hold the ground heat from the daytime down it just keeps rising and the temps keep dropping.

I think I'll bury these three in the garden. Can I bury them so that only an inch of the stick is above ground? (They hardly qualify as canes!) That would be just as easy as covering their skinny little necks with a row cover. I have bright pink plant markers so I can find them in, what, mid March? When would I dig them up? May 15 is the day I use for the last frost. Although last Spring our last frost was more like April 15.

You could bury them but if you have a really wet spring you run the risk of them rotting or getting cankers. I'd just bury the cups and then put some mulch around the canes. Mulch allows for better drainage and air circulation than soil. Like I said, watch the weather. I take out all my potted roses when night time temps stay consistently above freezing for at least a week or more. For me that is usually the first week of April or (old wives tale here) when the forsythias bloom!

Frost is a meaningless term when dealing with roses. The temperature you are more concerned with is around 28. The USDA has several frost maps, each dealing with a different temperature, and that is about the coldest of them.

When do people typically start planting hardy perennials in your area? Here, that is at least a month before the last frost date, when the tomatoes go out. Roses are a lot more like hardy perennials than tender annuals.

Don't even think of burying them. They will rot. Be very, very careful if you think of covering them with anything. If you are getting this snowstorm, get them out in it. Snow is one of the few things that can cover roses without causing canker and rot issues because it melts instead of becoming a problem.

I start moving potted roses out around mid-March. They don't stay out for good, but they do see some sun.

I pinched off the new growth, much as that pained me. Yes, I did get about 1/2 inch of sleety snowy stuff last night, and it is just about gone. Once my garden dries out a bit I'll plant just the pot and not cover the stems. So, Mad Gallica, if you put potted roses out for a bit of sun in mid March, I should be in good shape if I keep these little guys going until March 1. I usually plant things late, so I really don't know what the earliest time to plant perennials is here. Early March is usually good pea planting time, though. How about that for a reference?

Well, I sure destroyed enough cuttings to get 8 to this point. I'll continue experimenting, but, darnit, it thought the hard part was already done . . . I have newspapers and Wal-Mart bags and roses that need trimming, so I'll try again to root some cuttings in late Feb/early March.

It just perculated through my brain to ask, what happens at 28 degrees? Does the new growth on little sticks die?

No. Usually nothing happens at 28F. Mostly it's a matter that if the forecast predicts a certain low, and it's wrong, how much wiggle room should be built in. The real danger temperatures seem to be below 25F.

We plant peas around April 15th here. I'd always been told that St. Patrick's Day is pea planting time, but here that is much too early. The peas just rot sitting waiting for things to warm up.

For me, growing the cuttings to mature size is by far the hardest part of the whole activity. Rooting is the easy part.

From what I understand temperatures below around 25 degrees causes cell structure damage in the roses. But every rose is different and I always get temps below that in the winter here. And I still often have roses that have green and viable cane on them come spring. Of course these are healthy mature plants. Tender rootlings may not survive severe cold spells without protection of some kind.

And thus we see that persistance after failure is what makes a one a master of her rose garden . . .