My SdlM was killed to the ground one year here in zone 6b. It had 1 green eye just at or below mulch level. I even knocked that little spark of life off while cleaning around it. I gave it the coffee mug of my great organic fertilizer and 7 weeks later it was blooming. The two dormant sublateral buds apparently took over. You may also want to choose a protective microclimate near you house. I once sucessfully grew Mermaid in a SW alcove of my house here as well. Think microclimate and you can sometimes fool mother nature a zone or two. Best, Nick

Well, thanks Nick, it seems there's a glimmer of hope for me yet! Close to my house, I only have cement pavers, and in front, a giant Norway Maple (!), so I would have to find a corner in my yard in partial shade (morning sun). You are a lot warmer than I am, but maybe if I mounded, mulched and burlapped, the whole kit and kaboodle, it could be done.
Any zone 5ers out there with a success story, and the urge to enable someone?

Judith

I had mine for about 10 years with no special attention, apart from deeper planting of the bud union. I treated it just the same as I would any hybrid tea & it seems to have had a similar lifespan as the hybrid teas around it. Mine was from Pickering & seemed to be lacking in scent. It certainly lacked the heady scent mentioned by southern posters. I still have Souvenir de St. Anne's, it's sport. It has a slight musky scent to my nose. This one is still going strong. My roses are out in the sun. Since SDLM has a very full flower, I don't think it's a good rose for a limited sun position. If you can grow hybrid teas, you should be able to grow SDLM with the same care.
Lydia

There's one in my old garden (parent's house) in zone 4 Minnesota that does fine over the winter with standard HT/modern protection (a hill of mulch, or soil and mulch). It was an own-root from the beginning. It's really in more shade than it would prefer to be in, but it's relatively healthy.

Probably this rose doesn't like a lot of temp swings aroung freezing point, but my experience is the same as Nick's. I am in a much warmer zone, but in most cases my SDLM is starting season with just one or no canes higher then 10". Several times it was killed to the ground.
I tried own root from two different vendors and grafted and saw no difference in winter survival. Overall, Pickering clone blooms much more for me.
Olga

The Mills Rose Garden in Syracuse grows SDLM. I think it's about 18-24 inches tall, like the Hybrid Teas.

I'm growing Mystic Beauty, a sport of SDLM. It is similarly sized, short like a Hybrid Tea. I'm growing it as a small bedding rose.

Thanks so much, everyone, for your replies. I guess it will be a matter of trying it out here, protecting well over winter (and planting deep - 4" instead of the 2" I have done in the past) and taking a chance that it will be happy in my backyard. I hope I get the wonderfully fragrant one that's out there. Since it appears to be a low-growing rose, according to Pickering, I should be able to squeeze it in somewhere. Thanks again.
Judith

I grow it here in a pot. This works well because SDLM stays small and can be easily moved to suit the weather. I can move her into the garage in December to avoid cold. She can also be moved to the covered patio during rainy weather since she really doesn't like her blooms wet.

Harryshoe, I've got a few in pots (lost a bunch last spring with the freeze), but I'm trying my darndest to avoid planting many more in pots. I have trouble with the timing of taking them out in the spring, and I really, really hate the in and out dance when the temps are fluctuating so much (also, my shed is small, and packed solid, where everything is strategically placed to fit, so in and out doesn't work too well for me). I would like to try in ground first, and maybe if that doesn't work, then I'll try another in a pot. Thanks,
Judith

Oh! I was gonna tell you I had success growing SDLM in a pot up in Green Bay, WI and overwintered it in our unheated attached garage. That variety is the first one I planted when we moved here! :-D

Hey Tenor Peggy, maybe I should grow two at the same time - sort of an experiment - to see which one does better! Surely one will survive - think of all the beautiful bouquets! I'm salivating just thinking about it.....

Judith