You will get differing opinions on this. I work in clay, and it is much easier to work with in autumn. In spring, it is mud. Therefore, I do all of my planting and transplanting in fall. I rarely lose plants over winter. Besides which, some people argue that planting in fall gives the plant time to develop its root system unencumbered by having to grow a top. I don't know about that. Others prefer to plant in the spring, believing, perhaps having experienced, losses through winter. My take on this is that if you find the roses you want to plant now on sale or in good shape, by all means buy them. I would plant them where I want to grow them unless it is too late in the fall, in which case I might hill them in. It happens that I have 20 odd cuttings growing in gallon pots that I will probably plant pot and all becuse the root balls are not as large as I would like them yet, but there is no reason not to plant an established rose growing in a pot.
Steve.

It depends... on the variety and the condition of the plants. My experience is that most HTs have x number of winters in them. Fall planting makes that x-1. It's usually a small enough number that subtracting 1 matters.

For roses that are expected to be tip hardy, it doesn't matter. However, finding those locally is often very, very difficult.

I wouldn't plant them in a pot. The pot will create drainage issues unless you have extremely sandy soil. A lot of the wintering advice on this forums comes from areas that are really quite dry during the winter. We are not. This looks very much like one of those classic years when the hurricane season leaves us soaking wet, and it doesn't take a lot of rain/snowmelt for things to stay soaking wet all winter. Once the deciduous trees stop pulling water out of the ground, it doesn't go anywhere.

Bareroots are quite easy so long as you get them early enough. I've planted a lot of them with little snowflakes drifting down.

There was a thread here a while back where someone had just laid their roses in pots on their sides in a drainage ditch and covered them with leaves, and they did very well. Maybe another forum member will remember who this was and post a link to that thread? I can't find it, but it's an option..Donna

Thanks all for your thoughts.
Planting them in their pot doesn't sound like a good idea. Planting them in their permenant home isn't possible. Therefore, i guess i'll put them in the ground and move them come spring. orrrr...i can just wait.
I've never done roses before and am definitely getting myself worked up over the whole thing.
Maybe i should stick to Dahlias:)

I over wintered Grahamn Thomas in his pot last winter. Put him in a sheltered part of the yard. I placed a tall collar around the pot with some leaves. I was worried it might not make it. If your not sure what to do just wait till spring.
I plant depending on the spring 1st 3 weeks of april here. Its always dry enough here anyway. Its always nice to have a few roses growing. I've never done Dahlias always wanted to try a few........mark

It depends... on the variety and the condition of the plants. My experience is that most HTs have x number of winters in them. Fall planting makes that x-1. It's usually a small enough number that subtracting 1 matters.

I used to feel this way too, until I learned through trial & error exactly how deep to plant the roses. For me, it was visually about 2 inches under, then you have the plant settling (we did at the old house, not as much here). By the time it was covered with mulch, it was a few inches under.

My roses ended up own rooting. It took about 3 years for every rose, they would die down, end up with 2 canes sometimes but year 3 they took off. I haven't lost a rose in years.

I have a very small garden and would like to get it up and running by early summer. Question is...am i better off buying mature potted plants and heeling (sp?) them in or am i better off getting them in the spring?
Also, if i do heel them in is it just a matter of digging a hole that will contain the pot?

You're in zone 5, I was in zone 6. We had mild winters the last 2 years while mine were in pots (dug them out to sell the house). What I did was put them along the back fence in the corner or between our 2 sheds. In the back and along the sides plus the ground, I took hay and made a blanket out of it. I then added the roses, adding more hay between them. We then added some to the top. I then lined it with perennials. Worked pretty well. I lost a few in the end but it wasn't over the winter, it was after between spring & summer but mine were in pots for 2 winters.

If you do find bargains it might be worth it. You could do a combination of what I did but put them in the ground on their side or at an angle, then insulate with straw.

If you are nervous about it, then wait until spring. Why put yourself through the stress? Your roses are going to take a few years to mature in any case. You can order plants now and request spring delivery. If you order now, then your plants will be reserved for you. If you wait until spring to order, you could find varieties that are out of stock.

Most of us started with bare roots, BTW, and we didn't have the benefit of an internet with a lot of helpful folks.

OK...thank you everyone for your thoughts. What i'd like to do at this point is to tell anyone who's willing to listen, what i'm trying to accomplish here and if you do want to tune in it would be great if you could direct me as rose growing will be new to me.

I have, at this time and many times before a lovely cottage garden. The focal point of my very small space, 15' x 3'-4' are 4 Dahlias...pink, pink, white and yellow. Also in this bed I have wispy, daisy like perennials. I have annuals that are also pink, white and yellow and dainty. I just need a change. OK...you've got the idea. What i'd like to do now is go for a totally new look. IÂm thinking more structure and uniformity. I'm thinking contrasting roses/rose colors and ornamental grasses. Because of my small space i need to make things happen as i can't really hide non performers.

Sooo if i plant roses either now or in the spring is there anyway i can make the garden 'happen' in a short period of time? I don't mean that they have to reach their full potential right away but what i do need is color and substance.
OK, thank you to anyone who read/reads this! All thoughts and advice welcome

Thanks so much!
Dale

oops. i forgot to put in the most important detail that affects my rose planting choice. The Dahlias take up most of my garden space and i can't dig them up until they have gone through the 1st 2 frosts of the winter season. So that's my story...what do you think? It's lookin' like spring is the way to go. Question is...will they, the roses, get established in their first season?

Thanks (again)!

Dale

No.

Depending on the variety and the size of the plant, you will get blooms the first season (unless they are once-bloomers, then you won't get any blooms the first year), but you won't get the impact that you desire until year 3. More vigorous varieties might be good in year 2. You really need to concentrate on varieties that are hardy, and probably those that are cane hardy, but I'll leave that to the zone 5'ers to help with those choices.

But, roses in their first (and second) year in the ground need to grow roots more than anything else. Blooming is secondary. More roots, more subatantial plants, better blooms. All of which take time.

Have you see roses *locally* that have the look you want? Because, to be perfectly honest, every time I see something that I think is a rose that is putting on a notable show for most of the summer, closer inspection proves it's a dahlia.

Around here, roses give a very reliable June show. After that, between the Japanese beetles and genetic tendencies inherent in hardy roses, the show isn't that great. Even in June, there is what Gertrude Jekyll called 'a spotty effect'. For a larger space, some of the once-bloomers have good enough foliage to serve as an effective backdrop to later blooming perennials.

Dear rose helper friends

I Âm going to look locally to see if I find something that appeals/works for me. Everything looks kind of beat up. If I donÂt find something locally, i'm thinking of ordering Magic Meidland for pink and Red Drift for a red. Both of these seem to be fairly prolific. If i order them now will the vendor ship now? I'm thinking of letting some Dahlia go in order to give my roses a head start.

Dale