Hi Carla, Yes, regular potting soil should be fine. I bought mine from Southern States, their brand of organic potting soil. The primary ingredient is peat moss and perlite.There is no added fertilizer which could burn the roots. I stayed away from Miracle Gro and Peters because of the added fertilizer. Have heard bad things and experienced them myself with starting seeds and potting up plants. Don't know if it was the added fertilizer or the mix. Some of these mixes are almost just shredded bark which seems to be too water retentive and heavy and invites rot. Since the roots are so long, a little pruning shouldn't hurt to fit the pot. Good luck, Jim

I was very pleased with my Pickering order this year. Mine arrived around 2 months ago and were soaked for several days in water before planting although the roots were still moist. Although the canes do not have the girth of the California grown roses that I have received from other companies, they are growing very vigorously-some have 18 inches of growth already. I would think that you are on the right path. If it is hot and sunny, I don't think that I would have put the bag over the roses, as it could get too hot. I have planted many bare root roses this spring, including many from mid April to mid May. I did not mound up any soil around any of them this year, as we have had a relatively cool and rainy spring. IF it is hot and dry and/or you have drying winds, then I would mound up some soil or mulch around the canes, checking them perhaps twice a week. In all I planted around 50 bare root roses. (new house on 1 acre, little landscaping). Of the 10 I ordered from Pickering, all are doing well except for one, an undersized one which finally died despite all my efforts-they have agreed to replace it when I submit my next order this fall. Most are thriving and some are larger than the ones I got from David Austin Rose Nursery. A few began blooming 2 weeks ago and most will be in bloom shortly. Best of luck in getting your new roses to grow! John

It's just personal preference, Susan. You can use a three for a band, but here, they seem to generate better root balls if put up in gallons instead. As the fill that size, push them into the next larger. I've started bare roots in fives for many years. I make cylinders of either cardboard or many layers of newspaper to line the inside and extend the height to about the height of the canes so I can fill the can over the bud union and cover much of the canes to prevent them from drying out until roots develop. If you have enough rain, you may not need to, but we can't count on rain. Our "average" is just under 15" for the year. Last year, we received 5". We also had many periods of high seventies to high eighties in "winter", so mounding the bare roots had a definite advantage here. It may not there. Kim

I got 'Cherry Frost', 'The Pilgrim' (to replace one I lost to RRD), and 'Good Day Sunshine'. Can't find GDS anywhere else (yet) - thanks for the warning to get these ordered, Bayarea_girl! I'm confident 'Cherry Frost' will show up at own-root vendors like Northland, High Country, and Roses Unlimited in the next few years, but a 2-year old bareroot is a good jumpstart for climbers. GDS is grafted - I'd prefer own-root like the other two, but I don't know if/when we'll see this one hit other vendors. May the roses you want be in stock, and good luck with your bare-roots Gardenweb!