yeah, you can keep them damp and cool for ages - practically all winter. They are still hibernating. What I do when I have a biggish delivery is to lay them down in an old crate or box, unwrap them and loosely cover the roots with damp soil - any mix will do. Just try to make sure enough soil falls between the roots to fully enclose. I know people will keep them in a bucket of water for some time but I have only done this for a few hours so wouldn't like to state unequivocally that this would be a good method. I actually had to keep a delivery wrapped about with damp newspaper and old sheets as I was out of spare soil mix - I left them under the greenhouse bench for 2 weeks. If your garage is really nice and cold, it won't be a problem keeping them in the dark but once the temperature starts to rise, new shoots will start to emerge so best to keep them in some natural light if you can as the emerging shoots will stop getting leggy and pallid. Don't worry, they will be OK as long as they do not dry out.

Ok you made me feel much more secure about this *wipes brow* :D

The garage is cold enough, there's a window in it which is in poor condition and lets in a draft lol. There is a small amount of natural light in there from that window, the garage doors and the entry door. Not much, but some. I can easily put them into a box until I'm ready to plant them and they'll be safe there.

I knew keeping them in water for more than a day wouldn't be a smart thing to do. I've left them in water overnight in the past, but that was to get them ready for planting; not to hold them over.

Thanks so much!

I have kept new deliveries in the garage for 5 days (keeping whatever is coving the roots moist), and I have soaked roses for over 3 weeks with little problem. Change the water every 5 - 7 days to keep it clean, and put them in a cool place. Should be fine.

The other option would be to pot them up.

I have no time to pot up. See original post.

I would leave them in the plastic bags that they arrive in, making sure that they stay wrapped and don't dry out. Store them in a cool dark place, try to avoid direct sunlight. Sometimes I can't get to planting dormant roses right when they arrive, I just leave them in their wrappers, and leave them in the cardboard box that they arrive in.

I'll not give you advice on storage of roses. Others have done that. I will offer this though, most reputable nurseries ship on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid the shipments sitting in shipping facilities over a weekend. This means you'll most likely receive them later in the week.
They don't do this to be nice to you, it's more to avoid excessive warranty and replacement expenses. Roses sitting on a dock or in a truck can be damaged by hot or cold weather.

Thanks for that info Karl, that and everything else written has assured me a lot. I'm not going to worry about it any longer. Sounds like I'll be just fine.

I've kept bare roots in buckets of water for as long as a month before because I couldn't get to planting them yet. The did just fine. I used kitty liter buckets, because they're deep, and filled them with water and added a couple of drops of SuperThrive. When I finally had a chance to plant them they took right off!

Just trying to provide options.

What Karl says has always been my experience dealing with David Austin roses. I never receive the roses before Weds. (usually more like Thursday)--which means they send them early in the week to get from Texas to St. Louis.

You can either just keep them in the box or I often (on Thursday-Friday) start soaking so they can be planted on Saturday AM. They are pretty good about sending when they say they will and if you have concerns you can usually get a person on the phone easily to check for you or change weeks as needed.

Glad this thread is still going, as you reminded me that I need to do two things today.

1. Buy more buckets!
2. Buy a wheel barrow. Not for the roses. To move the firewood on my porch to another location. We're having the house painted in 3 weeks and need to get rid of it before the painters begin!

here we are 2015 ....Would love to know how those roses are doing !!! I'm here to see how long they are able to be kept b4 planting too. Good luck everyone. Roses are worth it all xxx

Fantastic Laurie !! Really nice surprise to hear this update. Hope ye recovered well. Enjoy yur garden .....theres bliss out there . xxx

I have a friend who has one sitting in water since mid-June! She said it keeps putting out new growth and she didn't want the Japanese beetles to get it. I am very curious to see how it does once she pots or plants it!