Hi Barry Kate's advice covers some basic principles of winter protection for cold zones. David Austin sells both grafted and own-root versions of both of those roses, and if you just ordered these I would presume they were own-root, since it's too late in the season to be planting bare-root grafted varieties that DA usually sends. Either way, the best insurance you can do for the time being in the rest of the summer/fall is to ensure a healthy root system going into the winter. Keep it watered but not soaked, and if you can stand it pinch off any buds before they bloom to encourage the plant to send down stronger roots. Don't fertilize other than maybe a weak diluted fish emulsion or alfalfa, and I'd stop even that by August to avoid having weak spindly growth that won't be as hardy over the winters. If you do have a grafted plant and haven't buried the graft at least 2 inches below the soil line, you should consider either gently lifting the plant slightly to dig some of the soil underneath and burying it deeper, or mounding soil around the graft and a few inches above it (and sloping it off gently so it doesn't wash off with rains). Don't prune it heavily or even at all in the fall (except dead wood), since you want as much healthy cane as possible to have something to protect, and allow the inevitable winter kill to leave some cane behind. In general, I've found in my zone 5 that Austin roses are pretty hardy in general, and those two Austins have survived well for me without much protection. The basic principle of winter protection is to have an organic material that buffers the plant a little from the winter extremes but doesn't hold excess moisture against the plant canes (except of course for snow, nature's best insulator). You only have to protect the roots (in an own-root plant) or an inch or two above the graft (for grafted plants) for the rose to survive and grow again next spring. Roses that die to the ground but regrow are considered "root hardy" and all they'd need (if anything) for winter protection is a little insulation on the ground, like a few inches of dry pine straw, bark mulch, or non-matting leaves (like oak leaves). Most of my Austins would survive zone 5 without even that, but if you're in zone 4 it's liable to help a new rose through the winter with a little help its first year. Once you see how the previous year's canes survive the winter, you can judge how much you do or don't want to protect next time, since most roses become better able to survive the winter as they mature. You'll hear as many methods of winter protection as there are northern rose gardeners, so pick what works for you. You don't really have to protect at all if you've picked roses that are at least root hardy in your zone (and I suspect these are) or if you have consistent snow cover during the coldest months. Don't worry about temperatures or any winter protection until it's consistently cold even in the days - my rule of thumb is to wait till the highs average in the 20's. Protecting any earlier runs the risk of mice and other critters invading the cozy next you've built, and encouraging canker and other fungus diseases in the trapped warm air. My idea is to keep the roses acceptably cold, not really to try to keep them warm. It's not like you're going to be able to keep the ground in Wisconsin from freezing, and if you tried it would create conditions conducive to fungus diseases you don't want. Hope this helps for the time being! I plan to post something on general principles of winter protection as we move into fall, since I've been mulling over ways to describe the idea of what we do in winter zones that doesn't dictate exactly HOW to accomplish those purposes in the multiple equally-correct methods we might individually use. Cynthia

I too agree that these don't look in good shape. Maybe something is wrong with the pot substrata. I would unpot them and take a look. Maybe they become too dry or too wet. I also don't like mulching pots, one never knows what's happening underneath the mulch. I somehow feel they have not developed a proper root system.

I can comment on Lady of Shalott. I am in Z6, at least on paper. Realistically here we have seasons that occur in random order. Fortunately, Lady of Shalott is for the most part rather impervious to the weird weather that we get. Same goes for Crocus Rose. Lady of Shalott gets quite large, so be prepared to give it some room. It blooms all growing season on and off without too much fuss. The flowers are not as large or as intense in color in summer heat, but that is typical for roses anyway. It does not have the fragrance quality that Lady Emma Hamilton has. If I were limited to only 5 or 6 of the Austins, this one would be one of them. Disease resistance is reasonably okay for this rose. I find that all my roses need spraying no matter what. It just goes with this climate. Redwolfdoc, thanks for the pictures of your Pastelegance peony. I have been curious about it. I have also ordered a few plants from Adelman's and have gotten nice plants from them. Pastelegance looks to be quite beautiful. Maybe if the price comes down from almost $300 each at the places I have seen it listed I might get one. I have been putting in peonies of various kinds including herbaceous, tree, and intersectionals where I have had to take out a rose that had rose rosette disease or some other problems. Marauding neighborhood deer are also a factor, and deer don't eat peonies. The herbaceous ones are toxic, but the trees are not, and I don't know about the intersectionals.

Sorry, Sara-Ann! I have a few grafted Austins (most I own are own root) and a few have RMV. I lost more than half of the canes on one of my Claire Austin shrubs this winter that has RMV. It looks ugly, lopsided, and is not bouncing back. I bought it from a local nursery and so it could not be replaced by DA and the nursery has no guarantee on their roses. I ripped out 5 A Shropshire Lad last year that all had RMV and failed to grow much at all. DA offered to replace them but couldn't guarantee I could get own root ones (what I had originally ordered) and I just dropped it. My Gertrude Gekyll with RMV is just as vigorous as the other two I have and so no plans on taking it out at this time - interesting the difference. How long have you had LOS? Did you get it directly from DA? I wouldn't hesitate to call them and get it replaced. I was told they rogue infected roses in their field during the season but, as you know, it only may show itself intermittently and so I'm sure many go undetected. At least they have a guarantee. LOS is beautiful and I hope you can continue to have her in your garden.