My Koko Loko survived my zone 5 winters reasonably well, though it wasn't cane hardy. You shouldn't have any trouble in zone 7 LI. As for color, mine are still second year plants and haven't approached the stunning color range of Seil's picture (wowza!). As with most roses in the lavender/russet range, their colors will be deeper in cooler temperatures and/or with some afternoon shade. Don't be disappointed if it looks a bit washed out in 90 degree and higher temperatures - this rose has a changeable nature. Cynthia

HI Coryla Welcome to GW, and you have a nice collection of unusual colored roses to get you well and truly hooked. At least half of my 700 roses are ones that are not "supposed" to grow in my zone, so like everyone else is saying, don't presume the worst because of their ratings. At the same time, I've also killed (and repeatedly killed) about as many roses as have survived, so there's no way of telling which roses will like your conditions until you give them a try. For cold zone survival, you've already gotten some good advice. Odds are the roses you got are grafted, so if you didn't bury the graft well below soil level when you planted, you can either gently settle the plant lower in the soil now while it's still fresh and/or mound up some soil around the base of the plant to cover the graft (the knobby bit where the good canes sprout for the rose you want). Most of us in cold zones will do some of what ratdogheads talks about to aid the roses in winter survival, adding several inches of some organic material (hay, mulch, oak leaves) to the base of the rose to protect the lower cane. If you have consistent snow cover in SD, that helps winter survival too. Presumably you have the same fluctuating temperatures and high winds we do over the winter, and keeping some sort of NATURAL cover secure at the base of the rose once the ground is frozen will help reduce the effects of both of those factors. You might rethink the styrofoam rose covers as a first choice as winter coverage for a couple of reasons. First, natural materials breathe better, and don't retain unnatural moisture (snow and other natural materials are fine). More roses die in my yard over the winter from canker associated with trapped moisture and fungus than from the cold itself. Also, make sure not to do any winter protection at all, whatever the method, before the weather is good and truly cold and the ground frozen. Otherwise, you build a haven for mice and other critters to gnaw off your rose all winter, or for humidity to do the same in less obvious fashion. I wait till the day temperatures average in the high 20's for at least a week. Roses can handle some cold, even the hybrid teas, and actually need some of that cold to go into their winter semi-dormancy. Lastly, the really unfortunate thing about those rose cones is that to fit them on a mature rose you'd have to cut off several feet of perfectly healthy cane in early winter to fit them on the rose. In cold zones, you want to keep as much healthy cane as feasible going into the winter, so there's still some good rose cane left in spring after you prune off winter damage. It's your choice - I'm sure some folks have used the cones as well as any other protection method without problem, but your odds are much better with the more natural materials. Cynthia

Oh my!!!! Love the dark centers. So lovely. You've taken some awesome pictures. What a beautiful rose!!!!! It's funny, but apples and spices are what you'd think that rose would smell like. :) Carol

Gorgeous. I bought a Koko Look after pining for it most of last year after it was sold out everywhere. My first one was from Chamblees, and it's been a tiny, skinny own root that's been plagued with black spot and can hardly hold 2-3 sets of leaves at once despite being treated with Bayers. That's my last purchase from Chamblees. So I bought a second one from K&M grafted on fortuniana, and it is a robust small shrub that leafed out awesomely in just 1-2 weeks. Looks much healthier and has several buds already. Either way the rose is gorgeous. I hope they both make it.