I don't have an answer for you ratdog. I have in the past sunk a pot with a very small rose in the ground and it lived. Our winters are so unpredictable. We can all have lots of snow, rain or no moisture. It can be nearly -30 degrees or not get into the single digits. Thats what makes an answer so impossible to give.

If I had a rose that I really wanted I would not experiment with it. I've done a lot of new for me things this fall and it shall be interesting. Yet nothing can actually be learned when no two winters are identical. I know for me later moves usually sets the roses back a bit. For a new bareroot my uneducated guess is that it will be fine if the canes don't dry out. They store the bare roots refrigerated not frozen. That may be the big difference for us I don't know. Maybe it makes no difference at all.

How do you kill that extremely annoying spider at the top. Enough already!

I take that back our canes freeze all the time anyway. Since it would be new bury deeper to protect the crown. That is perhaps the most important part as the crown does not have a chance to develop as it would if planted in spring. Once again thou I'm guessing obviously.

If you check with nurseries, they refuse to send potted (own-root) roses in the spring until well after the last hard frost date for your reason. Planting before that date can be fatal to your rose.

Based on that, I would say that planting a potted (own-root) rose in Nov/Dec would be even worse. At least in my region, Jan-early Feb temps are usually the coldest of the entire winter.

But that is just my guess. I've never planted a potted (own-root) rose before April 20, my regions last hard frost date, so I don't really know for sure.

There is no kind of small shed-like structure you can construct for it? I know some people keep their potted plants in their unattached garages for the winter.

Kate

Define hardy. Are we talking hardy as in if you hold your mouth right, walk around it three times in a counterclockwise manner, and sacrifice oatmeal in hope that it will survive, hardy as in it will probably survive but you aren't sure, or hardy as in dead hardy, couldn't kill it if you tried. It is a word so often abused here, that I honestly don't know what it is supposed to mean anymore.

If the rose is real world tip hardy, then just plant it and walk away. The walking away is very important. Many people fail to do that and mess things up. I've done November planting with things like John Cabot and gallica suckers without any problems. The John Cabot was very small and arrived very late, but it is John Cabot, one of the poster children of hardy roses. It is currently much bigger.

Agreed, mad, there are degrees of hardiness. What rose is it?

Corn Hill Nursery stores it's roses in a walk in freezer.

Hi, the rose in question is Bonica. I'm also simply interested in learning from other gardeners experiences, since it's something I haven't tried before.

Well, I've done some ridiculous and some serious experimenting this year. Most likely had to much spare time. I moved a very hardy rose up by the house. It is tip hardy here. Needed to cut it back for the move. I stuck some of the cuttings in the ground by the mother plant. They all rooted even thou it was a hot week in Sept, The squirrels dug most of them out. There are 3 left they are very small. When it gets really cold I'm dumping some dry bagged soil on them. Just some fun too see what will happen. Don't want two of these roses it's too big.

I did some very late moves for here. I've marked the roses so I don't forget which ones were moved the latest. Shall see in spring if they all made it and if growth was set back by the late move. Most were doubles were one was moved and the other was not.

I do need to place a barrier of some kind in my rooting area. Between the squirrels and their nuts and raccoons digging for worms they have pretty much dug up all the young cuttings over there.

Bonica behaves like a hardy shrub down to about -13F. Since I doubt you've been that cold in years, I'd definitely plant it. I'd plant it here. It has about 4 to 6 weeks for root development, which is what matters.

BTW, now is the time to move established shrubs. You want them far enough along in dormancy that they will not wake up before spring, and the soil is warm enough that they will grow roots for a while.

mariannese, Thank you for sharing that information.

Since I find so few own roots locally, the conditions in which the rose was grown & how it ships become factors for me. I'd hesitate to order a greenhouse grown rose for delivery this time of year, or too early in Spring. Greenhouse plants need to be hardened off to acclimate to outdoor life before being left outside. Add that time to the typical rule of thumb for Fall planting that allows at least 2 months before the ground freezes. That window is closing around here & you're a couple zones North. On the other hand, roses shipping in from vendors who've grown them outside in climates similar to mine typically do well for me, since the ground doesn't usually freeze to a depth of more than a couple inches till January & mulch moderates surface temps. For a custom root rose ready last November, grown outside in Florida (different clime), decided to wait till Spring for delivery.

In my book, roses in active growth shipped when it's below freezing along the way need to come by USPS, the only shipper I know that heats their trucks & depots.

I've planted grafted roses in November and they've survived our harsh winters with no problem. I do build a little cage around them with chicken wire and cover the base heavily with mulch.

Good information, thanks.

Mad, we actually hit -13 two years ago, I saved a picture of the thermometer. I hate winter.