When you think about it, bare roots are traditionally harvested in Wasco in late December, perhaps very early January, depending upon the weather that year. They are stored in coolers, processed and sent out to whomever purchases them. I know Otto & Sons one year bought bare root Icebergs from J&P as late as early April as they ran through their entire stock of the variety and J&P still had 'dormant' plants in their coolers. That means those plants can be stored for three, four, perhaps more, months before actually being put into soil. They are 'dormant', but that does not mean they are not using resources...stored nutrients and water. It's at a significantly reduced rate, but their cells continue processing those nutrients to remain alive. The best storage is as close to, but above freezing, as possible with high humidity to prevent the plants from either being triggered into growth or drying out. Compare that to sitting on a store's shelf in body bags of drying out saw dust, under bright lights; or, as I have seen many times, sitting on tables under shade cloth in warm sun; warm, dry wind, being handled, scraped and bumped until either dumped or "rescued". By that time, many have leafed out and some even attempted to flower. Once they are exposed to warmer temps and bright light, the auxins and hormones begin to form, stimulating them to increase their cellular activity, grow leaves, use resources faster, trying to grow. I'm sure many of us have experienced cuttings exploding into growth, leaves and even flowering, only to collapse because they have no roots. The same thing happens to bare roots very easily. Warm and bright generates leaves and flowers. Cool, damp and dark stimulates root growth. I'm more surprised as many bare roots are planted the way many are and they GROW, instead of dying back or outright failing. Heeling them in or giving them a good soak to replace the water they have used, or lost from being held in too dry conditions is obviously the best procedure to follow. Mounding the canes after planting to reduce the amount of green canes exposed to warm, dry air and bright, hot sun until there are leaves being pushed; keeping the bud union damp, dark and cool until the plant is actively growing, produces some of the finest results. Now, add those which hate being dried out such as Peace, Angel Face, Sterling Silver and many others with strong Foetida back grounds. Is there much wonder why so many of those types are such rotten plants? Kim

If (?) this is the zip code (42223) the roses are planted in it's coming up zone 7a on two different hardiness maps. I'm in zone 5b-6a right on the line so conditions are different here. You could contact a Rose Society in your area and ask them how deep to plant the bud union in your exact area. I can only guess... This post was edited by jim1961 on Sun, Apr 7, 13 at 20:49

Alina, that makes me feel a little bit better - I had not heard of covering them after planting. I thought the ones that were covering with lawnchairs and laundry baskets were doing so to protect from sunburn. I missed the part about covering the canes to hold moisture... I'm going to move my pots to the shade when I go home at lunch break, and cover them with white garbage bags with holes poked in them. I hope that won't bake them. Yes these are the Parks roses. I have one Iceberg with a sprig of new growth, and one Climbing Crimson Sky that is budding out. The others are still dormant. I've had them a couple of weeks. When I scratch at the bark on the canes, they are still green, so maybe I haven't killed them yet... Jeri in Texas

Katy, I don't want to hijack your thread but this is a question I have wondered about myself but for different reasons. michaelg, I am in a cold zone and winter protection is quite the challenge at times. I have wondered about trying to "bare root" in very late fall, say end of Oct. and store over winter to re-plant in spring. Might make the 6 month window. Do you think they would have a chance?? Might you have any recommendations on how to store?? I have a website bookmarked from a fellow in Alaska that grows tons of roses, many way out of zone. It is where I first got the idea. However, after digging them up he buries them underground for the winter in a huge deep pit. I don't have the space for that but do have a few cool-ish spaces in the house/garage. If I could get a handle on the procedure I might have to select one to sacrifice for the purposes of experimenting. Gee there all doing pretty good though it will be a tough call. Cathy