Depends on the season. Early on I prefer bareroot but as the season progresses I'd rather get container. My early bare root roses are first potted to be planted in my garden at a later date. Potted own root roses are re-potted into larger pots to mature before planting outside.
That's one advantage to having a greenhouse. Even being unheated, I get a two month jump on outdoor grown roses.
Rooted cuttings from Great Lakes Roses picked up in early March are blooming now. Bare roots received at the same time are also blooming.
This may seem late by warmer zone standards but I'm 4-6 weeks ahead of the season in my zone 5a.

It depends. My vendor of choice is Palatine roses which are bareroot because their roses are so big and do very well for me. But if it is something that they don't have, then my next choices are Ashdown, Roses Unlimited, and Heirloom - all of which are potted own root roses. If I'm looking for something that is commonly available, then I'll wait to find it locally and I'm usually better off waiting for a potted bush rather than a bareroot. But I get impatient, so I bought Dream Come True as a bareroot a few weeks ago. I could kick myself yesterday when I found it as a large, healthy bush at one of my favorite local nurseries (the bareroot has a few leaves, but isn't anything near the size of the potted plant).

I don't think bareroots are any more work. Well, Palatine's require a bigger hole, but they're a bigger bush too so the extra work is worth it. Potted roses that are grafted are actually the most work for me as I like to bury the graft several inches deep which means a big hole and trying to get soil over canes that have leaves and thorns that are harder to see.

If you're thinking about buying them now, then skip the bareroots. They don't do as well when planted this late and require a lot more babying. If you plant bareroots earlier in spring then they don't need much. I've had so much rain that I didn't even bother to mound them this year.

redsox, that is a really good question. I'm curious to hear what the real rosarians have to say.

This year I did a lot of experimenting I planted cheap $3 bodybag roses, expensive nursery bareroots, lowe's container roses, and then some $20 container roses.

So far the results have been mixed. Though 3 of the $3 bodybag roses did not make it. Almost has convinced me to never go that route again. But by golly 2 of those cheap bodybag roses have just taken off and look terrific. So for spending $15 dollars (5 x $3). Did get 2 really good plants that look great.

As for the others it's too soon to tell.
thanks for a good question!
gbebeh

If I'm planting in a well prepared bed then I prefer bareoots since baroots tend to have much larger roots. If I'm digging a new hole, I prefer pots since bareroots typically require a much bigger hole. Having said that, my roses tend to do better if I prepare a large bed ahead of time, but sometimes I don't have the time and/or don't feel like expending the effort to do this.

Also, as stated above, bareroots can dry out if planted when it's too hot. They're best planted in early spring.

In addition, many times I've bought a potted plant and when I took it out of the pot, all the dirt fell out so I was left with a bareroot anyway. I guess many potted plants are bareroots stuck in a pot of dirt and immediately shipped away. Some would say I need to be more carefull removing the rose. My response is it's still a bareroot. Better to know in advance so I can treat it as such.

Bare roots in the Spring, potted later on.
That being said most of the vendors I buy from only ship potted so I don't have a choice.

At least in my zone it hasn't made any difference. I plant band roses and bareroot roses into the ground right away (forgot to soak the bareroots and they did just fine), and they both grow well. The bands take longer of course, and the locally bought 5-gallon plants develop faster but in the final analysis it's not a critical choice in my area. My sole criterion is which rose I want and I'll take it any way I can get it.

Ingrid

Given that the rose is available in any form my preference (in order) is:
1. Bareroot on R. multiflora rootstock.
2. Own root.
3. Everything else (including bareroot on Dr. Huey or potted on Dr. Huey).

But, this is usually not the case, so for a rose that I really want, I will buy it in whatever form that is available. I am buying a lot less on Dr. Huey these days, only 1 last year (and it promptly croaked), 2 this year.

I almost exclusively buy grafted (bare root) because they do best for me. The advantage of a grafted rose is that the rootstock used is almost invariably more vigorous than the variety growing on it. A common rootstock is Rosa Multiflora which is an invasive pest here. Actually declared that in our area.

Some roses do very poorly as own roots when conditions are less than ideal. And a grafted rose will usualy go own root if planted with the bud union several inches down.

The predominance of own root suppliers has less to do with which is better than with the fact that a nursery supplying grafted roses requires a much bigger investment. Hence the many small nurseries here.

After winter, when I prune all the roses and remove all of the leaves, basically I have a garden full of bare root roses... and every little bud and leaf is met with joy...

That being said... I HATE bare roots... I hate soaking them with the cats trying to drink the water... I hate trying to find a pot to fit the roots... I hate checking them everyday hoping they aren't going to die... (higher risk with Hortico than J&P etc...) and once they are all leafed out and blooming then they are officially a container rose, and then I like em... :)

I prefer quality bareroots from good vendors as opposed to potted roses. I buy potted roses only when I cannot find them bareroots. They are least expensive not to mention the shipping +boxes+ handling fees etc. With bareroots I pay the price of the roses and the shipping cost, no extra fees added.
Shipping from Canada is less expensive than buying potted roses from states close to me.
And I get my plants when I need them. I pay fro them when they shipped or, as in case of palatine, they request deposits but the entire amount is not charges when I place the order. Finally they will grow better and bigger and I don't have to wait years for them to mature.

But, I must say, I got absolutely wonderful plants from Chamblee's although shipping price was a murder. Not as bad as getting a few bands or 3 potless ownroots from the west cost, but still it was high. Cost of bareroots shipping has been always more sensible.

In an ideal world, I would say I would prefer container, because the roots have a medium in which to put on some growth, getting a head start, and they can be planted any time. They can also be held indefinitely, none of that pressure like when the UPS guy arrives with your bareroot box on a sunny day.

That said, I rarely buy any container roses any more. That is because every single nursery around here, from the big box stores down to the expensive snooty plant places, all carry roses on inferior root systems. I think they are #1 1/2 grade roses or less. They look fine on the outside, but once planted it takes them around 3 years to catch up to the size of a rose ordered from Pickering or DA. And also, all these places carry many roses that do not do well around here. What they stock is dictated by their vendors. There are not any "rose people" on staff to put any interest in their selection.

If shipping was cheap I would always order my roses in containers. But of course that is not the case. I ordered from Ashdown last year and again this year. Both times had them shipped via their "pot-less" method. Both times with great results. The pot-less shipping ships the rose with rootball intact so they recommend to start the rose in a continer for about 2 weeks or so. Also, some of the roses show up with blooms and buds.
Ashdown only grows own root which I also perfer because it doen't matter how deep your plant the rose. All my roses from last year have done very well and all are blooming with multiple blooms.

my preference for my zone (5 illinois), is always bareroot, own root roses.
the reason for the bareroots is to prevent roses struggling from transplant shock. bareroots, when put in the ground early spring, "wake up" to their new location and spend energy promoting root growth, not recovering from transplant shock.