I think even in a normal year, an own root plant coming out of a greenhouse would be risky to have delivered to Michigan in mid-March. Bare roots at this time of year are slightly less problematic but, it's already on its way so what can you do...certainly, you can't put the poor thing outdoors yet. What options might you have? I used to have a 3 season glassed in porch where the plants were sheltered from wind, the sun warmed it up considerably in the daytime and I could easily slip the pots into the house for the night when the temps dropped. They weren't totally happy, but it kept them going OK until spring arrived. Another option would be to put them under lights (a regular shop light fluorescent fixture would do) and I would also recommend a shower at least once a week to prevent spider mites and over-drying from the indoor heated air. Then you would have to do the gradual acclimation to the outdoors, just a few hours a day in a sheltered spot at first. It's a pain and it might all set your plant back a bit, but it will probably survive. Good luck!
(Where are you in Michigan, BTW?)

Anne has given you good advice. For future reference, if you want a rose delivered in March, order it BAREROOT only (that would be grafted, also). And tell them not to send it before late March (or even early April).

OWNROOT (not grafted) potted plants should be delivered in early May.

Don't worry--you'll get it all straight with a bit of practice. In the meantime, just follow Anne's directions, and this mess will probably get fixed up --but you will need to do a lot of babysitting of it until you can plant it in the ground in early May.

(I'm assuming you are Zone 6 in Michigan.)

Kate

Thanx for the help. I'm in the lansing area. I believe I'm zone 5b.

Anne's advice is very good and should help you keep it going until you can get it outside. Don't over water it and make sure it's not sitting in a tray but do try and keep the humidity up around it. A dish of water beside it can help bring up the humidity if your house is dry. With any luck at all you'll be able to get it outside by April sometime...I hope!

After a glance at the Lansing weather forecast, it isn't much of a problem.

When you get the thing, check to make sure it isn't potbound. Spring deliveries often aren't yet, but you don't know when the cuttings were started. If it is potbound, give it a day or two to recover from the trip, then pot it up. Give it a day or two to recover from that, then you can start bunging the thing outside. From the forecast, it looks like most days it can easily be put outside in the morning, and brought back in before you go to bed. Some days, it can be left out. The critical temperature is *NOT* 32, but more like 27. If it does get cold again, it shouldn't be for more than a day or two, and the rose can spend that time inside. How much hardening off it is going to need depends on the conditions under which it was grown.

Now looking at the forecast, what does look worrying is the forecast lows for Saturday and Sunday nights. Hopefully, it will arrive Saturday, and those temperatures will be non-issues. I have issues with people who ship live plants so they get held over the weekend.

MadGallica's post prompted me to check your weather, too. I see you're due to be consistently a bit warmer than I, up here at the top of the mitten. So certainly, by Tuesday you could introduce your rose to some daytime exposure. The only problem I always ran into with the 'put it out in the morning, bring it in at dusk' is that I must leave early to get to work - long before the overnight lows have had a chance to rebound. If that is you, better to keep it indoors totally than to chance putting it out at 7 or 8 degrees!
I am surprised the vendor didn't question your choice of dates, nor take precautions to make sure it was delivered before the weekend, as MG said. Shame on them, and if it arrives frozen I would complain to them at once!!

Thanx for all the help.

Good luck, Bman! I had a great aunt who lived in Bay City, MI. The climate sure is interesting up there. Never a dull winter but the big summer garden flush sure is pretty. Let us know how your roses progress. Carol in OR

In Lansing it's still way too cold to be taking out a growing potted plant. I'm in Metro Detroit which is warmer and less snowy than Lansing. They get hammered with lake effect snow off of Lake Michigan all the time that we don't get because of the prevailing wind patterns. There's still snow cover everywhere here and temps are just barely above freezing during the day and way below at night. The long range forecast I'm seeing is for a roller coaster of up and down days for at least the next couple of weeks. Any new green growth will get frosted and die. Keep it inside for now. I never start doing anything with my roses until April 1st here and this year it's going to be much later than that.

If you get lucky and it is leafless and dormant, place the potted plant in the garage, potting it up yourself if it is bare root. If dormant, you will not even need to worry about keeping it in light. When the weather warms and it leafs out put it outside in the shade near as much masonry as you can. The masonry will retain daytime heat and release it slowly during the colder night, ameliorating sharp swings in temperature and allowing it to remain outside as long as there are no hard frosts.

Cath