dinosaur1, It's hard to see the canes because they mix in with the background of your soil/mulch. Some of those canes look dead to me, but, hard to tell from the the pics. Do you know anyone in your area that grows roses, that could take a look at them and maybe share there expertise with you on pruning, etc. ?

Your parterre sounds so lovely! I have a suggestion for the roses that you can find in Europe but not so well here any more. They are the Poulsen groundcover series that was called Towne & Country roses. I have grown two of them for years (Pebble Beach and Natchez), and they are very special groundcovers, imho. You can definitely cut them shorter and they will still bloom profusely. The foliage is miniature and perfect! They bloom in a ton of shade for anyone who needs that, which I do. The flowers aren't as big as the ones you are considering, though. They are very charming and just great roses, so I thought I'd mention them. The effect is like a miniature version of The Fairy. The names used vary, so check them out on Help Me Find. I'd probably check for Poulsen groundcover roses at any nursery you are considering and look them up to see if they are part of this series, because the marketing on these seems all over the map. More in the series whose names I remember: http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.3840.4 http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.24749.3 They spread sideways but no so much up. Groundcovers like to get very tall here, so the low growth is nice. They are just the best roses! Here is a link that might be useful: Pebble Beach (Poulen Towne & Country series)

Well, I hated the one I bought which is the single red and went back today to buy Angel Face which I should have bought in the first place. They were out of every single rose except the Flower Carpet roses! I was not a happy girl. Anyhow, I came home with a white semidouble Flower Carpet rose, which actually looks quite pretty, to replace the dreaded red. Strangely enough, the white flowers are much larger than the red ones, and I imagine the breeding must be completely different. Anyhow, it will be an experiment for me, especially since I don't normally love modern roses. One plus is that these roses are supposed to be drought-resistant, a definite plus in our brave new parched world. Ingrid

I have mine in a drafty basement window without a heat mat. It is growing now. The plant seems to have a summer dormancy. I've rarely if ever fertilized my plant. If you have a fast draining mix and don't over-pot the plant then I expect you won't have problems with rot. Mine seems to thrive on benign neglect. I'm surprised you ordered plants at this time of the year. Your zone has below freezing temperatures. Edit: Fair warning.. my experience with the plant might be atypical. By doing a Google search I found a couple other threads with some different advice.