I don't grow it but according to this site JFK is a 7b or warmer rose

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.1935

You won't be able to say if the rose is alive or dead until at least the end of May in your zone, as it's possible that parts of the rose may be dead and parts may come back to grow later in the season. Obviously having a rose bud out this early in the season is a good sign for winter survival, but not budding out yet doesn't necessarily mean anything.

It might be that the canes above the ground are indeed dead but the rose will grow back from the original graft, since it sounds like all of your rose places you purchased from would be grafted roses rather than own root roses. That means that there is a different root stock at the base of the rose (usually Dr. Huey in the places you mention) and the JFK rose is grafted onto that base. You'll see a knobby bit that is the place where the JFK rose starts. Don't prune below that knobby place because if you do, all that will ever grow back will be the rootstock. If you see new growth from below the graft, this will probably also be the rootstock. If you find your white JFK has "mysteriously" turned red, what happened is the top part died off and all is left is the rootstock.
I grow JFK in my zone 5 and it survives OK for me, but without any real live canes left after a normal winter. Another time when you plant roses that are grafted, be sure to plant the graft well below the soil like (2-4 inches below the soil) to give it a better chance for the grafted knob to survive and regrow the desired rose from underground rather than having it exposed to the winter's worst above ground. If the canes you see are indeed black or very dark brown, they're probably dead canes but it doesn't mean the entire rose is dead necessarily. You need to watch for new growth from the graft or above the graft, and then prune out dead wood above that new growth. You can prune out wood that is obviously dead before you see new growth, but in your zone it's a little early to do too much serious assuming of dead cane unless you're used to judging if a cane is alive. There are some healthy roses whose canes get brown with age and that can be a good thing, though dark brown is rarely a live cane.

Bottom line is not to give up on it, as some roses are indeed late starters or some roses need to come back from farther back after winterkill experiences, so they can bud out at different times. Keep an eye on it and if you see the dark brown/black start to extend downwards toward the base go ahead and prune it off since you don't want it affecting any good cane if you have some left if it starts spreading. Likely what you're seeing are winter killed canes which happens for probably 80% of all my roses of that type (hybrid teas), but there's no telling if there is live growth to come from below those dead canes till later in the season.
Cynthia

Do you have a photo of your JFK? I have a JFK too, a 3 gal rose planted last year. I will check on mine tomorrow. I am in zone 6a. Did you cover the grafted parts before the winter?

Thanks for the information. Sounds like there still might be some hope.

I will try and get a picture for you rose experts this evening, since it is still dark out now. I did go look through my box of plant tags, and the jfk was from weeks roses, sounds like it is a graft, as I remember seeing it on some of these. It also sounds like I may not have buried it deep enough at planting time. Also I did not cover the graft or do any "winterizing" of the roses.

A couple other questions not related to the jfk. Should I use a different fertilizer this year, then the viagro rose food from home depot?

I didnt prune the roses at end of season, I figured spring is better,leave all that growth to help them through winter?

One last thing I ordered 4 climbers from david austin roses this year I assume these will be better quality own root stock roses then what I purchased before.

Thanks Matt

Hi Matt - You're exactly right that you don't prune roses down in the fall but leave as much possible to survive the winter, so if it loses a foot of cane to the winter it'll still have some cane left. There's not necessarily any need to winterize roses even in our cold zones, since ultimately if a rose wants to die over the winter there's only so much you can do about it. I do put filled leaf bags down as a wind break around my beds of roses, since I find the leaves handy in the spring, but as long as you have the soil covered to avoid weeds in the spring there's not that much to need to do in the winter if you don't feel like it. Covering the graft will help with future rose plantings including those David Austin roses, but these are experiments for you to see how different ways of treating roses work for you in your yard.

I don't really think the type of fertilizer matters all that much, and the first priority is to make sure you "feed your soil". That means to put organic material like leaves or compost or manure or mulch on top of the soil so the worms mix it in and make your soil healthier over time, and you can work in some things like compost into your soil before planting if you like. Beyond that, I don't fertilize my roses most years, though roses appreciate some alfalfa hay thrown around the edges of the branch lines to help them put out new canes. The fancy-dancy rose fertilizers like Rose Tone include the alfalfa for you, but I find it easier and cheaper to do generic 10-10-10 fertilizer when I feel like putting it down and add the alfalfa and compose myself.

Cynthia

Ok thanks. I think I am on the right track.

Here is a picture of the JFK. I pruned and thinned it out just a few weeks ago.

Sorry Matt, yours is gone with the wind. Mine has all the green canes, it's near a south facing wall.

Matt, I agree that all the canes you can see are dead, so you can go ahead and prune them back. The rose still might come back from the graft (the place where you can see all the canes starting from about an inch off the ground) so don't cut off that part of the rose. If you get past May and see no sign of life, then pull the whole thing back out of the ground and give another try with a different plant or spot. Just don't give up on roses!

Cynthia

Thanks so much Cynthia and everyone else. I wont give up, dont worry..lol.

Everyone hates losing a plant, Im not giving up on the roses, I will prune this one back some more and see what happens, but sounds like Ill be replacing it.

We did a complete redo on the sparce landscaping of our house when we bought it.

Had to chop down an old silver maple from 1963 Im guessing when the house was built, half dead. Also had lots of Ash trees that had to go, due to the emerald ash borror, and pole barn we put in.

The previous owners had a 8x8x8' "berry hut" back by the shed that hadnt been attended to in some time. IT was secured to keep the birds and rodents out. Last weekend I tore it all down and keep the posts and made a trellis for the climber roses, should be fun!