After the first hard freeze. Won't hurt to wrap it as long as the wrap is removed early enough in late winter/early spring. Water when the soil appears to be dry or toss a shovel full of snow on the soil ocassionally. If the soil freezes, that's OK. Keep away from any outside light source. Place in a wagon or on rollers so it can be easily moved in and out when it warms up in late winter or spring. In spring, move out on days above freezing and in at night unless no frost is expected.

Kuzariprincess - I just LOVE L.D. Braithwaite. What sumptuous roses!! Divine!! My 4 year old plant is about 2 feet X 2 feet and will grow taller. There are lots of buds on it! Souvenir de la Malmaison overwintered in your garden? Great!! I bought it this year. Really weird that it survived and your Morden didn't! Shazam - 50 buds!!! Wow!! I bought Bonica my first year growing roses and it died overwinter. I'm reluctant to try it again. Although it SHOULD survive winter here. Maybe I just didn't know what I was doing that first year. Janet - I wish we were at the "just enjoy it stage." We still have SOOOO much work to do. Oh well, it's fun! Well - BLANC DOUBLE de COUBERT won my first rose race!!!! Followed the next day by J.P. Connell!!! They both have around 50 buds each. Roses rule!! Carol

Either way it should be fine. I just wouldn't leave it as is. If you decide to leave it in its current spot, then dig it up, remove the pot, wash off the planting mix, spread out the roots and replant it. If you decide to bring it into your garage, dig it up, wash off the current mix and then repot it in a slightly larger pot with new mix. In either case don't add fertilizer. Do this as soon as it's cool enough (i.e. not 90 degrees). If you pot it up then make sure it stays in the shade until frost. Keep it well watered until it goes dormant. Steve

What are they? Hardy once bloomers don't like missing their sleep. If you have an attached, unheated garage, they can be stored there. You have to watch the watering carefully because the small pots dry out fast when the roses are coming out of dormancy. Repeat bloomers don't really need to go dormant, so can spend the winter in a cool damp place like a basement under lights. The most important thing to remember is that roses aren't human, and find conditions to their liking that we would find intolerable. You have to think like they do to find good winter quarters.