TNY, you don't say what direction each of those places faces. I keep mine on the south side of the house. They get good sun and less wind there in the winter because our prevailing winds are out of the northwest and some times the northeast in winter. Under that deck looks best to me depending on which direction it faces and where your prevailing winds come from. The bushes around the deck, even without leaves, will also help with wind protection. I wouldn't use plastic to cover them. Use burlap or canvas so they can breath. And leave the top open so they will get moisture. Just group them all together and wrap them with the burlap or canvas as a whole unit. If they're outside and will get some snow and rain on them that will be sufficient moisture and you shouldn't have to water them. I don't sit mine on anything because they're on dirt but the one I keep in the shed I put up on wood so it isn't sitting on the cement. Cement is very porous and will suck moisture out of the pots quickly.

I protect all my potted roses regardless of their zone recommendations. Being in pots their root systems are not insulated enough to protect them from the freeze and thaw that they would have in the ground. So they need that added protection.

As for the new ones, plant them if you can. No matter how small they are they're always better off in the ground. Even if you just sink them in the pots they're in it will be the best way to go. The ground and snow cover are the best insulation for the roots. Otherwise put them in with the other potted roses. I usually put my small ones in the spaces between the bigger pots and the big pots help to protect the little ones.

Thank you so much for detailed response! The house faces southeast. The subdivision is between two mountain ridges and the wind blows very strong west to east (so it hits the side of the deck where the stairs are)...not sure if that changes anything....Also, do you have any suggestions for where I can buy burlap? I don't recall seeing it anywhere that I've been lately :)

~Tammy

All of my potted roses go to the SE side of my house from Thanks Giving till early March. I use 4 ft tall chicken wire to enclose them and fill up the area with leafs'. Haven't lost ANY potted roses with this protection. Under that deck looks like a perfect place for that kind of protection. Easy working area and easy spring clean up. I wish I had something like that. :)

I store mine in an unheated unattached garage. Since I live in a colder zone, I would think yours would do fine in yours. I put my pots in styrofoam cones (with mulch at the bottom so they have solid ground to sit on) I water occasionally. I rarely lose any....

The soil or paving slabs are sources of ground heat that will be much warmer than the air on the coldest nights. Raising the pots above the ground would be completely stupid and counter-productive. You want to use the ground heat to keep the roses warmer than the air. People make this mistake over and over because concrete at 35 degrees feels really cold to their hands. Well, 35 degrees feels really warm to a plant that won't be injured at 5 degrees air temperature or 20 degrees soil temperature.

For zone 6, I recommend putting the pots on the ground or slab, protected from the NW wind if that is convenient, with leaves piled around and over the pots to keep the root ball above 20 degrees, and then if zero temperatures threaten, protect the canes temporarily with more leaves. Don't leave the cover over the canes for a long time as some varieties might get canker when they don't need to.

ok....so I think what I'm looking at is putting them all under the deck, directly on the pavers, surrounded by chickenwire, filled in with leaves, and then wrapping the whole thing in burlap...I think I can do that!

I guess in my zone, from what I'm reading, I should put them under there in late November and then remove them sometime in March...I can also do that!

One question I do have is this: I don't have any large trees on my property since its a newer house. I can probably get leaves from someone else who rakes and bags theirs....but just in case I can't...is there an alternative to the leaves?

As for the 2qt containers that should be coming from J&P, Seil I think I'll do what you suggested and get them in the ground before winter. I have some space avaiable on the east side of the house where they will be protected from the wind & get morning sun. I'll just be sure to mulch heavily :)

This has been very helpful & I feel much better about what I am planning to do! Thanks for all your advice!

No leafs???? Maybe news paper. A LOT. Take each page and wad it into a loose ball and start placing. News paper is a great blanket.

I'm in zone 7, but I've lost potted plants if they get frozen. Any temps below freezing for extended times can kill a plant. What I usually do is leave them out and if the temps are going to be that low, I bring them in the garage (if I remember). I don't think gas fumes from a mower will bother them. But if you can do the burlap and leaves thing, that would probably be best.

You have good wind blocks under that deck so that will help, Tammy. I get my burlap at Home Depot or Lowes usually but I think most garden centers carry it. You may have to ask them for it though. I literally beg, borrow and steal bags of leaves from all my neighbors in the fall! We have 5 big trees and I still need extra. I go out early on trash day and drag the bags over from my neighbor's lawns. Two of my neighbors now just bag their leaves and put them on my lawn instead of theirs, lol! But if leaves aren't available you can also use bagged bark mulch. It's way more expensive though. If you go that route make sure you bag it back up next spring to reuse. You could also use straw or hay. One of them has seeds, and I don't remember which, so you may get more weeds in the spring but they do work well as insulation. You want to wait until they are completely dormant before you put them in storage. And the ideal is to keep them completely dormant until you are past any freezing temps at night in the spring. The worst thing is for them to go through repeated freeze and thaws during the winter and especially the spring. The most roses I ever lost, 37, was during the big Easter freeze in April of 2007. I had just taken all the pots out of winter storage and they were all leafing out when the temps fell drastically for a weekend. Thankfully, Alan came up with a plan for the pots. He wheeled his tractor out of the shed and we put as many pots as we could in and he set up a couple of lamps with 100 watt bulbs in them for added warmth. I only lost 3 or 4 potted roses that we couldn't fit in the shed. All the rest of my losses were roses planted in the ground even though I had NOT yet taken off their winter protection!

I don't recommend the cones for a couple of reasons. First, you have to really cut the rose back severely in the fall to get them on and I don't prune in the fall. You are going to get winter die back no matter what. If you cut them to 12 inches in October by April you'll be cutting them to 6 or less. Second, unless you cut the tops off for air circulation (which sort of destroys their integrity) they create the perfect breeding ground for fungus to grow. Particularly in the spring when conditions are very damp, the sun is getting higher up and days are longer and the temps are warming up.

I understand that you disagree with me about raising up the pots, Michaelg. But I will stand by my opinion. It's not to protect them from freezing. I want them to freeze and STAY dormant until the temps will stay consistently above freezing. The freeze and thaw yo-yoing is deadly. It's for moisture retention. Desiccation kills them quickly too. That's why I water during the winter. They're asleep, not dead, and still require some water. How many of you have a glass of water on the table beside your bed because you get thirsty during the night? When I didn't put them up off the cement the pots would be bone dry with nice damp rings in the cement under them. And I lost roses. I do not raise them up where they are on the dirt. The dirt retains it's own moisture and does not pull water from the pots so it isn't a problem.

BTW, I do winter my tree rose inside the shed, with the tractor, every year and have had no problems with the gasoline fumes affecting the rose.