This is how I handled my Rugosa seeds this past year. First I soaked them in 3% hydrogen peroxide for a minute or two to kill any pathogens and rinsed them off. I then wrapped them in moist paper towels and place them in sandwich bags. I kept them at room temp for 60 days, checking them every week or two for mold or signs of germination. If they had mold, I soaked them in HP again and put them in new paper towels. If any were germinating, (only a very small percentage germinated here) I planted them in a good seed starting mix. After 60 days I took the seeds that hadnÂt germinated and placed them in the fridge. I would check these every week or two also for signs of germination and plant the ones that were. After 90 days in the fridge most of the seeds that were going to germinate did, so I discarded the rest, but you could plant them, as there might still be some left that might yet. Good luck

Leave the wax alone. By "2 things" do you mean new growth? Pale in color and not green? That means that they broke dormancy in an enclosed space (probably in transit). You can snap that off. Take the plant out of the bag, rinse off the packing stuff around the roots and soak the roots for a minimum of 24 hours. Then treat it like a bareroot. The wax is there to keep the canes from dehydrating.

Hi misslisamham: Since you are in zone 10, CA, without much rain ... I WOULD NOT MOVE it. Even in my heavy rain Chicagoland, moving an established rose is very stressful ... my Knockouts became bare, zero leaves for many months after moving. When the roots are deep, like Austin Mary Rose, it's still alive even with 1 month of no-watering, but it won't bloom. The best way is to pile fertile, organic stuff on top: leaves are OK, but the nutrients are low. My best result is to pile alfalfa hay on top. It's sold for $8 for a HUGE bundle at the feed store. Why? Alfalfa hay has NPK of 2.5-1-2, plus very good moisture retention, and ZERO SALT. Alfalfa hay works as a mulch to retain moisture, plus much more: 1) As it breaks down, it releases nitrogen for leaf growth, and potassium for root-growth 2) As it breaks down, it neutralizes alkaline tap water (CA tap water is alkaline, I have 3 sisters both in northern & southern CA). If you want it to bloom then heavy prune it, mulch with alfalfa hay. Make a well around the root to retain water, then water it DEEPLY once at week (5 gallons). I would put in 1 used lemon rind for vitamin C, 1/2 used lemon is enough to bring 2 gallon alkaline tap water (over 7.5) to that of rain water (pH 5.6). Vitamin C is known to stimulate plant growth. I won't use fertilizer with salt, if not enough rain. Alfalfa hay (zero salt) plus water will supply the nutrients needed for blooming. I have very deep root Radio Times rose right next to a tree. I never water it, but it's still alive and bloom twice a year when we got rain. If you don't want to commit to regular watering & blooming, then I would prune it very lightly. Prune only if there is enough water to regenerate new growth (it takes lots of water just to grow a few inches). Austin roses can take shade well, if there's enough water. It's very gloomy in my zone 5a, late fall. We get just a few hours of sunshine, and Austin roses still bloom, if given plenty of rain water.

Hi Patty! There’s lots of experts who will weigh in here, but I just wanted to say that it may be a good idea, especially your first time, to stay away from homemade and go towards light, pre-formulated horticultural oil. I would also dilute it to half the strength (of the recommendations in the directions) so you can see how your roses react. The last thing you want to do is damage your roses by adding too much of one ingredient in a homemade mixture. The preformulated oils have impurities and compounds removed. Impurities and compounds like sulfur or nitrogen with the oil can cause plant damage. This is a good link from the Colorado Ext garden service: http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/insect-control-horticultural-oils-5-569/ I would go with something simple at first. A simple type of horticultural oil with no extra additions, and very dilute, so you can see what happens with just that. Also, just a note, my Teas and China’s didn’t seem to like it. I may need to be better about keeping the oil away from them this year.