If you're new to roses, I would plant them in 5 gallon black plastic nursery pots with a good potting soil such as Supersoil, after soaking them for at least a day in water, and then watering them frequently. This way, you can keep the plants well watered and not have to worry about digging up hard soil in the winter, or stressing out the roots with inhospitable conditions. I leave the new growth on the plants, it shows that the plant is healthy and moving up nutrition from the roots to the new shoots. Being in plastic bags mean the roots are small enough to be happy in a pot for at least a season, or when the ground is softer and the plant bigger. If you plant in pots, make sure the potting soil is watered well before putting the rose in the pot, and firm the soil around the roots so there are no air pockets. I have pretty good luck with "body bag" roses this way.

The folded paper design I posted earlier, I use only for temporary storage or for mailing seeds. If you are having trouble folding it, it is usually because you do not turn it over as directed in picture #3. For long time storage I use the plastic air tight containers used for diabetic test strip storage. They are a little smaller than the old 35MM film shipping cases. Dr. Norman Deno in his many years of seed experimenting found very little difference in life expectancy between seed at a constant room temperature and that at refrigerator temperature for most seed. Al

Mike, One of my hobbies is breeding zinnias, and I use "hairnets" that I make from mesh fabric that I bought in the fabric department of Wal-Mart. The material is inexpensive and has an open mesh that allows easy air circulation and sun exposure, while keeping bees from getting at the flower. The nets don't harm the flowers or plants at all. Interestingly, I have seen butterflies sipping nectar from the zinnias through the mesh, but they don't go after the zinnia pollen, so I am glad that the butterflies can feed through the mesh. The nets are basically approximately square "sacks". I fold over a rectangular piece of the mesh and secure the top seam and side seem by weaving a piece of black yarn through the mesh. I alternate sides with the yarn about every ½" to ¾". The seam doesn't need to be really closely stitched. Obviously I leave the bottom open to allow the "hairnet" to fit down over the flower. I use black mesh and yarn because the black nets are less conspicuous in the garden. I just started using these nets last year and they have revolutionized my zinnia breeding. I used to have to race the bees to get at the pollen on my selected breeder zinnias, but now I can relax and get the pollen over a period of half a day, and have an abundant supply of good pollen. The bees are amazingly aggressive at grabbing any available zinnia pollen. The nets also keep the bees from randomly pollinating my selected breeder flowers. Here is a picture of one of the nets on a zinnia. This zinnia was in rather poor shape because it is one that I grew from a cutting this fall and I just used it as a "model" to wear a net for this picture which I just now made. My breeder zinnias typically look much better than this one, as you can see for yourself by looking at their pictures in the It can be fun to breed your own zinnias message thread in the Annuals forum. I make the nets in several sizes to accommodate different sized flowers. You shouldn't have any trouble making these nets to your own specifications from needles, yarn, and mesh fabric from a local fabric store. MM

Often I remember to put the bags in the car, but forget to take them in the store to recycle -- But, when I open the hatch to put the groceries in the car, I then see the bags I forgot. Sometimes I just put the bags in the shopping cart before returning to coral. I keep my fingers crossed that the next person to use the cart (or the store attendant) will bring them to their proper place. Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Ways to Use Plastic Grocery Bags