I recently borrowed this book from the library when Jeri mentioned it on this forum and very much enjoyed reading it. Rose de Rescht is not mentioned because the trip described in this book was in the 1930s and I believe she brought this rose from her second trip to Persia, right after WWII. The book was written by Alice Fullerton who was Nancy L.'s traveling companion. I was amazed how courageous these two ladies must have been to go alone on such trip to distant lands and not shying away from very remote areas. They did have a number of contacts in different places which helped, but still... Even today, with cell phones and modern technology, it would be quite adventurous to say the least. The book ends with Fullerton's description of many plants they brought back with them and only R. berberifolia and R. hemispherica (their friend calling it the 'Flower of Persia') were mentioned among the returned roses (and "two enchanting garden roses" but she didn't identify them). Rose de Rescht and other roses were collected on Nancy L.'s later trip.

If these are already pretty well grown out and established in the pots I'd go for the ground. Just be really careful not to disturb the root balls in the process of transplanting them and mulch/protect them well for winter.

This IS the season for rust. I removed RdR from my Newhall garden many years ago because of its proclivity to rust. Many of the Portland, Damask Perpetual, etc. class can more easily rust, so where that's an issue, be forewarned. Rust is a geriatric disease, attacking old foliage. What you have on your plant is very likely the foliage left over from last summer, so it's "geriatric". If you remove the old foliage, very likely new, healthy foliage will replace it and should remain as healthy as you found it to be most of last year. Something I've observed with roses prone to rust is water stress can force them to rust. I would check to see if the pot might need more soil and perhaps repotting into a large pot. Many roses I've had rust issues with improved when I paid better attention to how much water they received to make sure they got enough and making sure they weren't too root bound, which can easily lead to water stress. If you have the energy and time, spraying with the hort oil/soap after removing the rusty leaves should also help to smother the spores and any insect eggs waiting for "spring" growth.

Sara, my garden was totally neglected for a many years. Rose de Rescht was one of the first roses I ever got, (for its noted fragrance) and it is one of the few roses that survived this neglect. It was not in special place either and it was covered with weeds and ratty when I found it this spring. But it was alive. When I had gotten it I knew zero about roses, except that I wanted fragrance in my garden. I am only learning now about how to care for roses. Who knows why roses die? I bought 9 tiny bands this summer. I treated them all the same and all but one are thriving. One just crumpled up and died. It looked completely out of my control and just went away. Rose de Rescht does get this remarkable spotting on its leaves. I cut mine down to 8 inches or less and sprayed it two times and the spotting went away completely. With some care it has taken off. It bloomed continuously all season and is blooming still, big glowing dark pink fragrant flowers. The leaves and stems are thicker and bigger than I have ever seen them. I will try to get a picture. Its not my favorite rose but thats not because there is something wrong with it, its just me. I think its a pretty reliable rose and does bloom very well. If you can handle the spotting by some kind of spraying then its worth getting. Maybe it wont spot for you?