I used to buy roses from S&W, who clearly tell you they only ship in February and aren't suited for colder climates. Being a zone pusher, I went ahead and tried it, using the technique that Mad Gallica talked about with putting the roses in a bag that stays slightly moist in the refrigerator. They all survived that method long enough to plant them out, but don't do this in a fridge that contains apples, because apples can interfere with some kinds of germination in seeds and I wouldn't risk it with roses. The two things I found I had to watch for with this method was: a) mold/mildew in the bag before they're ready to be planted out - if this happens, you need to reduce the moisture and clear away the mold, and perhaps move them outside earlier, and b) a clear tendency to canker or otherwise fail to thrive in their first summer. They might leaf out fine and start growing, but gradually have the canes die back from canker or verticullum wilt, and they wouldn't last the summer. A possible way to avoid this is a fungicide spray when planted, and/or my new method I'm trying to see if I can avoid wilt in bareroots - plant them with gypsum or epsom salts. You definitely want to get them outside as soon as the temperatures are back up into the 20's and not likely to go below zero any more. For me, this is the beginning of March, even before the ground fully thaws. My best strategy was to pull the bareroots out of the fridge after 2-3 weeks and plonk them in a large garden tub full of water, with the canes open above the water. Even when the water would freeze, it only did so in the first inch or so, and the remaining "pond" would stay liquid below the surface. This would provide some level of protection for those roots (and grafts) below the water, like the kind of protection the frozen ground provides below the frozen parts. Then you plant them out as soon as you can dig the hole - don't wait for your normal rose planting season. If you can't get the hole dug and the bareroots are starting to sprout, build yourself a temporary mound or pot somewhere outside with potting soil, so they can acclimate to the temperature and wake up when it's normal to wake up with the rest of your roses. Obviously, record cold temperatures and below zero is not the time to start outside acclimation, but 20's have worked fine for me. The other obvious point is that you need a full refund and replacement from this rose company. They goofed big time and they owe you full credit, even if the roses survive. Be firm and insist in every way you can, including denying the credit charges from your card if you have to go that route. Sympathies - but this can be survivable for the roses. Cynthia

If (?) this is the zip code (42223) the roses are planted in it's coming up zone 7a on two different hardiness maps. I'm in zone 5b-6a right on the line so conditions are different here. You could contact a Rose Society in your area and ask them how deep to plant the bud union in your exact area. I can only guess... This post was edited by jim1961 on Sun, Apr 7, 13 at 20:49

Update: most of my roses are here and ready to go in (hopefully next week). I ended up with: MAC ZD (for porch front and side) GT (for the side of the house, next to ZD) JtheO Comtes de Champagne Peace Sharifa Asma Stanwell Perpetual New Dawn (to train into a tree in the yard) Anne Hathaway Paul Shirville Apothecary's Rose and Alba Semiplena for the herb garden I'm still waiting to find Bolero, which sounds very promising, and Evelyn, which I might keep in a pot to see how it does. Most of the others will be planted in a circle around a small fountain at the front of the house. I'm planning to put MAC at the back; my vision is to have it growing fairly tall to screen our bay window, and to fan out on the sides (assuming i can convince it to do so) to achieve the look of an arching fountain of blooms. Here's my question: I ordered two MACs. Would I be crazy to plant them next to each other to get a more "fountainy" look? I don't know if they will achieve the monstrous proportions here in NJ that I see in pics from CA. Am I better off putting the second one on the other side of the tree with New Dawn, or somewhere else altogether?

VJ, Here's what works for me. We are essentially growing roses under identical conditions. Get paper leaf bags at Home Depot or Lowe's. They come 5 bags to a bundle, 30 gallon capacity each bag, and a bundle of 5 is $2.12 at Lowe's here, cheap! Each bag is 36" tall and, when open is 18" in diameter. From each bag you can get 3 winteization collars. Measure down every 12", and cut across the bag. Just cut the bottom off of the bag. Each bundle makes 15 collars. Although the bags are paper, they are double thick and will easily last all winter. The 18" diameter of the collar can be a bit wide, so to make a less wide collar fold over the side. My average size hybrid tea collar is 12" high and 14" in diameter. To get this size fold over a collar 7" , crease it, and staple the folded part in several places. The staples will hold all winter long. The collar will now be 14" in diameter. That diameter is usually sufficient. Huge, mature hybrid teas that need winterization may need the original 18" unaltered collar size. Put the collars on your roses after a few light frosts. 17°F. or lower kills most hybrid tea canes. I usually winterize my roses in November, before Thanksgiving. Just watch your weather pattern every fall. Early frosts mean winterize sooner. Do not winterize too early, let the roses get some light frosts. The best winterization material I have found is fine pine bark mulch, but not too fine. Postage stamp sized to Wheat Thins or Cheez•Its sized pine bark mulch is the best size that I have found. Pine bark mulch does not get soggy. Soggy mulch is the kiss of death, and is worse than no mulch at all. Soggy mulch rots the canes. Soggy mulch to avoid: garden soil (especially clay type soil), hardwood mulch, sawdust, vemiculite, most leaves (even oak leaves), grass clippings, manure, compost, straw, i.e. anything that holds water when wet will induce cane rot. Try hard not to prune any canes at the season's end. Let them be, all the way to their tips. Gather the canes together and tie them with soft ripped rag strips if you cannot easily get a collar on a rose. Those tips are your roses' thermometers that report to the bush the weather conditions. Cut them off, and the bush can make premature dormancy breaks, much to the bush's detriment. Place your mulch into the collar slowly, wiggling the collar so the mulch settles in properly. Fill up to the top. You will use an amazing amount of pine bark mulch. This same winterization mulch will be your rose bed covering mulch next year. Next spring in mid-March just wiggle off the collars only. Leave the mulch in place. it will spill away a bit, but now looks like a beaver lodge. Over the next couple weeks, slowly, every few days, tease the mulch away from the crown of the rose. A little more every time. Watch the weather carefully. Spring frosts reported? Hold off removing more mulch for a while. Soon all the mulch will be spread evenly throughout the bed, dressing it up beautifully. When you get closer to the rose's center/crown, be careful removing the mulch so that you do not break emerging shoots. A gentle water spray will help move the mulch away easier when close in to the crown. You can prune your roses just after the forsythia and large daffodils have reached their peak of bloom. What to do if after the mulch is removed and there is a late spring, killing frost? Put 5 gallon buckets over the big roses, over night or as long as the temp. Is 32° F. or lower. Use 2 gallon buckets, or bottom cut out gallon bottles: milk, iced tea, distilled water, etc., over the smaller roses. Remove all those covers as soon as possible when the frost is over, especially if the sun is shining, or the new shoots can cook! Moses