Don't forget folks that she is in zone 7a. Although the difference between zones 7a & 7b is slight, it could make a difference in regards to this most tender of the Tea-Noisettes. Ronda, You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want MN, then you've got to take a risk. Trust me, I understand how you feel. It IS a gorgeous rose with intoxicating fragrance and has more mystique than an X-Man movie. I lusted after it for years until I finally faced the fact that I could not have it. I even gave up on putting it in my Mom's zone 7b garden because it is too high maintenance of a rose. Patrick

Linnea: I don't know anything about peonies but it sounds like you got some sage advice above. But let me tell you about my rose 'Mary Rose' that we moved a couple weeks back. This rose did great last year and really dragged this year. Mainly due to a lack of sunlight. So I think two weekends back we decided to move it into a pot and then we plan to sink the pot until next spring when it can be re planted. To that end my husband who can be a bit impatient at times went out to the where the rose was planted, shoved the shovel in the ground about ten inches from the base all around the perimeter of the plant, and then kind of unceremoniously pulled it out of the ground. I could only stand there speechless! Rough treatment for sure. We then put the poor baby in a very large pot filled with potting soil, a handful of steer manure and some bonemeal and left her in shade for over a week (well watered). At that time I also cut back the canes to about 14 inches tall leaving whatever foliage looked decent. Last week I brought the pot out to where it could get half day sun and then on Saturday up to where other roses in the yard are, nearly all day sunny conditions. This morning I noticed she is getting lots of new growth and has purple foliage coming on in several places. Go figure! I thought after what my husband did to her she was a goner for sure. Roses can be remarkably tenacious. Having blathered on about all that let me ask you this. Were the roses healthy before? Can we see a picture? Do you want to plant them in pots? The ground? What's your plan for doing with these if they make it? I know this is considered to be the wrong time to cut back roses, especially in your zone. So you might just want to focus on getting your transplants stabilized and then if they are still kicking in the spring you can cut back dead/leggy canes at that time. Hope this helps. Kate

Here is my experience with your list of roses: Livin' Easy -not resistant w/o spraying here, will defoliate Easy Going-not resistant w/o spraying here, will defoliate Petticoat Fairy Tale - didn't grow this one. Sunsprite -not resistant w/o spraying here, will defoliate Tamora (Austin) - not resistant w/o spraying here, will defoliate Crocus Rose (Austin)- not resistant w/o spraying here, will defoliate Crown Princess Margareta (Austin) - not resistant w/o spraying here, will defoliate Maigold (Kordes) - for climbing - don't know this one Prairie Sunrise (Buck) -not resistant w/o spraying here, will defoliate Winter Sunset (Buck) - better resistance, will keep 30-50% its leaves Prairie Harvest (Buck) -better resistance, will keep 30-50% its leaves Good yellow here is Carefree Sunshine (some BS, but not too much) Crepuscule didn't survive in my garden due to winter dieback Arethusa (china ) is apricot colored, quite resistant and has very little dieback in my garden Quadra is very resistant red climber Aloha Hawaii climber has very decent resistance around here Olga

I've been obsessing over Arctic Blue since I got the catalogue. I thought the comparison to Palatine's Le Petite Prince was curious, checked it out, and Le Petite Prince is Arctic Ice. So maybe there is hope that Arctic Blue will be a z5 survivor :) I am especially hopeful since I see Blue for You in its parentage. Blue for You has been a rock star for me in terms of hardiness, vigor, and black spot resistance. I see a lot of magenta in the photos of Celestial Night. Everything is much pinker for me than advertised. Might be my soil. Ebb tide was pink for me. Lovely, but never purple. So I'm betting that CN's "mystical shade of deep plum purple" will be, alas, sorta dark pink. Life's Little Pleasure's is calling me too! Even though I realize their statement "Those on the West Coast may get the most enjoyment out of Life's Little Pleasures" translates to: "Will blackspot and completely defoliate in New England, even with spray." Still, I'm a glutton for punishment when it comes to mauve.