I am in 9a with hot, hot, summers. Our bare roots, ideally, are planted beginning in late December, and no later than President's Day. This ending date was recommended because it is important to give roses time to get off to a good start before warm and then hot temperatures arrive. I would contact the local rose society or maybe someone who gardens in Central TX 8b will chime in to give you a specific date range.

We do not bury the bud union, but are advised to leave about two inches for mulch, which is almost mandatory in my hot summer climate.

Are your planning to soak the roses after they arrive? I generally soak mine for at least 24 hours prior to planting. Some folks add bleach, others add B12. I've done both in the past but now it is hit or miss.

Good luck! I currently grow Black Magic and have grown Veteran's Honor. Both are beauties.

Lynn

I always start mine of in pots before putting them in the ground, but that's because we can have 84 degree days even in the middle of winter. I find I can control their environment better in the pots and I move them around to keep them cool. I dont even bother putting them in sun until the leaves are fully developed and even then I like to give them some afternoon shade until they get well established.

Hi Jellycat, I'm also in zone 8b. I do as Lynn and SoFl - soak the bareroot plants, plant them in pots to control the climate (if we get our typical late freezing temps I can move or cover the pot easily) and the bud union is above the soil like Lynn. I use B12 and this year I'm trying mycorrhizal fungi dusted on the roots. I did this with two Intrigues last year and they were lovely. Good luck and have fun.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful suggestions and advice! I received the roses one day early and soaked them overnight. To make it easier on my husband, I decided to go ahead and have them planted in the ground.. I guess we shall see what happens. We've been getting temps that are all over the place..one week in the 50's (daytime), the next in the 70's-80's. Fingers crossed that they will be successful! I'll update with pics once I start to get some blooms. I really appreciate all your input!

Oh, and in my haste to figure out planting locations (I was trying to be quicker about it because husband was all ready to plant.if I'm left to take my sweet time, it seriously takes me an hour..lol), I ended up planting Black magic only about 38 inches away from Firefighter. Will that become a problem? I can ask him to move it tomorrow. I'm newer to hybrid teas, so it's hard for me to judge how large they will get.

I am looking for Black Magic barefoot. May I ask where you purchased from? I am having a hard time finding it. Thanks

Hi Lee Ann,

the only place I could find it at the time was Jackson and Perkins online. I contacted them to see when they'd get them back in stock..then I stalked the site until I was able to buy it. I think I had to wait a good year or so until I was able to buy it. I'd recommend contacting them. Good luck!!

Good luck to you and your new roses! I think you're going to love veterans honor. Keep us updated please, we'd like to hear how it goes.

Thank you, frnchcuffs! I've now had them for about a year..and they're both doing well. Here are my thoughts...

veterans honor - I love! I think this and firefighter are my favorite red roses. I love the bloom size, the longevity of the blooms when cut, the subtle raspberry fragrance, and how the red doesn't blue with age (like mr.lincoln). Pretty long rest time between flushes.

black magic - is almost constantly in bloom, the color is nice..a bit darker than usual, but the blooms are really small. I had heard this about black magic before..so it is true..tiny blooms! Still pretty, but no fragrance.

im excited to see how well they do in their second season.

Did you leave them 38 inches apart, jellycat, or did you move one further away?

From Jackson and Perkins? Good Luck! You should review scoop on garden watchdog first before purchasing

http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/33/#b

Or make sure your credit card company save your money you spent at J&P.

VH can buy most of online retailers and nursery. BM will be reintroduced from certified roses in future, in case the roses you purchased were not working out.

Hi Sheila, I left them 38 inches apart..but I staggered them so one was closer to the edge of the bed and the other toward the back. Still 38 inches apart though. It hasn't been a problem since there wasn't a tremendous amount of growth this first season. Black magic stayed fairly small and veterans honor grew a bit..I can see how it could be a problem in the future though. I'm hoping I can prune them to keep them away from each other.

Thank you, Matthew! Luckily, they were both pretty healthy and they've survived the first year so far. If I could've bought them elsewhere, I totally would have, but they were the only retailer where I could find them at the time.. licensing, perhaps?

Yeah no doubt that everyone want J&P roses. I always went to Southern California in fall, finding J&P roses in growing ground where most roses grow. Last 4 years ago I ordered 3 roses from J&P, all are brown and die, never leaves out. I still want sweetness from their website but still thinking

Oh bummer, sorry you got bunk roses from them, Matt.. :(

so far I've had two that didn't make it..one was a tiny band from heirloom and the other was a rough looking one from hd that I shouldn't have bought in the first place.

I'm also having issue with Heirloom roses on later purchased as well. Their roses are eventually die within a month.

I have an Heirloom Abe Darby and Evelyn that arrived early December 2016. They are starting to leaf out now and are looking good. I have never had an Heirloom rose die except in Alaska I had one tiny one inch size RdLa Hay die during the next winter, after planting it in July. That was probably too close to freezing early September. I realize Heirloom sends out much bigger plants now than the original owners did. Even so the Clement's plants usually did great too.