When you think about it, bare roots are traditionally harvested in Wasco in late December, perhaps very early January, depending upon the weather that year. They are stored in coolers, processed and sent out to whomever purchases them. I know Otto & Sons one year bought bare root Icebergs from J&P as late as early April as they ran through their entire stock of the variety and J&P still had 'dormant' plants in their coolers. That means those plants can be stored for three, four, perhaps more, months before actually being put into soil. They are 'dormant', but that does not mean they are not using resources...stored nutrients and water. It's at a significantly reduced rate, but their cells continue processing those nutrients to remain alive. The best storage is as close to, but above freezing, as possible with high humidity to prevent the plants from either being triggered into growth or drying out. Compare that to sitting on a store's shelf in body bags of drying out saw dust, under bright lights; or, as I have seen many times, sitting on tables under shade cloth in warm sun; warm, dry wind, being handled, scraped and bumped until either dumped or "rescued". By that time, many have leafed out and some even attempted to flower. Once they are exposed to warmer temps and bright light, the auxins and hormones begin to form, stimulating them to increase their cellular activity, grow leaves, use resources faster, trying to grow. I'm sure many of us have experienced cuttings exploding into growth, leaves and even flowering, only to collapse because they have no roots. The same thing happens to bare roots very easily. Warm and bright generates leaves and flowers. Cool, damp and dark stimulates root growth. I'm more surprised as many bare roots are planted the way many are and they GROW, instead of dying back or outright failing. Heeling them in or giving them a good soak to replace the water they have used, or lost from being held in too dry conditions is obviously the best procedure to follow. Mounding the canes after planting to reduce the amount of green canes exposed to warm, dry air and bright, hot sun until there are leaves being pushed; keeping the bud union damp, dark and cool until the plant is actively growing, produces some of the finest results. Now, add those which hate being dried out such as Peace, Angel Face, Sterling Silver and many others with strong Foetida back grounds. Is there much wonder why so many of those types are such rotten plants? Kim

Lol, I can already feel the addiction coming! The sad thing is, I won't be at this house for no longer than 3 years max because I just can't handle winters anymore so I'm trying to fill in areas with flowers, bushes, trees etc to disguise the awful chain link fence so when possible buyers come to see the house it will be the most flowered colorful house on the street! I am a novice at best but I'm trying lol..this is the corner I planted this weekend for under $60! Mulch included. My fence is so old and rusty plus I have awful picture windows where the entire neighborhood can see right in! So trying to plant certain things in areas to possibly double as a screen for my window lol Please don't laugh at my attemp at landscaping lol I'm trying to do on a budget ;)

Got to agree with ken. Unless you have bad vole problems, scratch a trench with a hoe, line them up and throw the used potting soil on the roots. A wetlands remediator said one of the first things that made me think I might be able to garden. He said it's not rocket science, the roots go down, the green part goes up. Of course I still planted my first batch of astilbe upside down. Kathy

I have some permanently in pots, 10 years now for some. As long as the pots are large enough and the rose does not get root bound they should be fine. For climbers they should be large enough to put a stand alone trellis in for supporting the rose. If the rose does get root bound you can do a root pruning. Cut the rose back some, slip out the root ball and shave the sides and bottom and refill the pot and replant the rose. But it should take a few years at least for that to happen. You don't say how small the other pots are. Do you have pictures? At any rate as bare roots they should be fine for the first season at least. I had a situation where I had to use ordinary dollar store buckets for a season and they did just fine. Eek! Garden soil is never a good choice for potting anything. It is too dense and heavy and will not drain properly. If you can, mix it with what ever you can find to lighten it up, sand, peat, perlite, whatever. Otherwise you'll have to watch very carefully to make sure your pots don't get water logged. Drainage is the key to roses in pots.