It's so much fun to see things coming to life! And yes, please keep us updated on which did well for you, as that will give me some ideas of what will work for me too. I lost Star of the Republic this winter.

Are those your photos of Bright and Shiny on hmf? It's lovely!

Ashley aw that's sad! Sorry to hear that!!

Magpie yes that's me! I don't think many other people are growing it yet, it was a new release in 2020. I hope it takes off, it's a really impressive rose for health and vigor and floriferousness.

Yes that would be great! I didn’t know Olympiad was a hardy rose! According to Edmund’s website it’s a z6, but other websites it’s listed as hardy to z4? And according to garden.org its only z7 hardy! It irritates me that so many roses have vastly different hardiness listed-blue girl is one I was just looking at today with the same variations depending on where you go.

Madison I have found that snow cover makes all the difference to survival. I live on a mountain with really deep snow so I have quite a few roses that are listed as zone 6. You can also do what Carol (RoseCanadian on here) does and overwinter pots in the garage. I think I had about 15 in pots this year and put them up against the house, surrounded by potting soil sacks and a huge tarped firewood pile, and a large Christmas tree piled on top as an extra wind break from December onward, so they were sheltered from the wind, and they look great. In cold zones it is often the icy winds on the exposed canes that causes the damage, and if you can bury them somehow you can get away with a lot more zone pushing than if they are out exposed to all the elements. I'm looking at Blue Girl myself for here, but I will take extra steps to winter-protect her if I do decide to get her.

One thing you can do is look up the rose on HelpMeFind and then go to the 'Gardens' tab. If you see a rose being grown in quite a few zone 4-5 gardens it is probably hardier than the description tab gives it credit for. If there is one zone 6 garden and the rest are all 9's and 10's, it's probably best to start looking for an alternative.

Thanks both of you! I figured that big companies selling bareroots at big-box stores are really pushing the hardiness they list in order to sell more-which frustrates me and gives many people even more of an impression that roses are impossible to grow when they buy one and it ends up dying over winter.

And yes, I have heard that snow is fantastic for insulation! Just another reason to love the snow-it looks pretty AND is incredibly beneficial for the environment :)

I haven‘t really looked on Help Me Find before, so that is SUPER helpful info! Hopefully that will help me make some wiser plant choices along with all the knowledge I’ve found in Houzz:)

Also, is your Olympiad own root then? Or are you still able to grow grafted and have it not cane hardy but still grow up as OlympiAd and not whatever species it’s grafted to

I guess that would be helpful information to include in future!! My Olympiad is grafted, as are about a quarter of my roses. I bury the grafts deep, about 4-6 inches if I can. If I have the choice I will look for own root rather than grafted but I don't hesitate to buy roses locally just because they are grafted, and my husband doesn't know the difference so quite a few that he gave me as gifts are grafted. So far I haven't had any go back to rootstock yet but I am not so cocky as to think it can't happen to me lol.

Thanks that is very helpful! I’ve read a lot of People say that grafted roses tend to be a bit more vigorous since they have a more vigorous rootstock versus own root, but assume that would vary incredibly between rose varieties depending on their root vigor characteristics. All the roses I currently have are grafted, so it made me a bit nervous, but hopefully they’ll do fine if I bury the union and cover them really well with mulch.

I noticed that High Country Roses sells own roots if I am correct, and my future online orders will probably be mostly through them since I’ve heard pretty good things of them so far. I’m planning on doing a lot of grafting in the future (on ones no longer in patent) as well as growing from seed, so it will be interesting to see how the same varieties compare grafted vs own-root in my future area! (I have 4 roses I grew from seed I collected at the local rose garden last fall-whoohoo! They are a mystery in what they are since I collected from lots of bushes and didn’t really label, so it will just add to the excitement if I get them to survive long enough to bloom lol! Plus I figured there was a lot of cross-pollination happening so probably will be a strange hybrid anyways!)

Sorry for taking over your thread a bit by asking a bunch of questions; I hope you don’t mind and I appreciate the advice and info SO much!

That's fine!! That's why I post, so that hopefully the information is helpful and can make someone else's rose growing journey easier.

High Country Roses is awesome!! Matt is extremely helpful and all the roses I have had from them have been great. I hope you'll keep us all posted on what you get and the crosses you make!!!!

Going through the gardens and pot collection today and a few more are starting to come alive!

Firefighter: (own root) lots of broken canes unfortunately, but everything below the breaks is green and growing. I would rate it as cane hardy.

New Zealand (grafted): lost the top 4 inches of cane but considering it was on the corner of the pot collection in the most exposed location I'm really happy with it.

Let Freedom Ring(own root): this HT impressed me, it is budding out to the tips, even though it was tall enough that it wasn't completely covered by snow. There is some damage to prune off, so it will get a bit of a trim, but overall really good survival.

Ferdinand Pichard (own root): tip hardy.

Wollerton Old Hall (own root): cane hardy, lost about two inches off the tips.

Lavender Jewel (own root): had a very hard summer and died back to about an inch above the crown.

Love (grafted): died back to about 3 inches above the crown. It was well buried in snow.

I sure will!

Joey I am very interested in Ferdinand Pichard. Do you have any pictures of how it did in your garden? Would love to see full bush pictures. Thanks!

I'm sorry I don't have bush pictures, it was a baby band from HCR that I got mid-summer so it didn't have much time to grow. It did however develop an excellent root system so I am expecting great things from it this year. It was on the outer edge of the pot collection so more exposed but did very well in its 5gal pot. I'll keep you posted as it grows.

Could you expand on your pot collection and how you stored them and what size pots they were in? Those I kept inside did remarkably well but those that I put in my cold storage cat fungus gnats and are struggling. I lost quite a few. I know they were just cutting that I struck myself but I babied them through the summer and was hoping to plant them soon or share.😉😣

Aww I'm really sorry to hear that!! It sucks to lose cuttings after you've gone to all the trouble of getting them to root!

I put everything in at least 5 gallon sized pots or buckets that had holes drilled in the bottom. Some were bigger but my minimum size was the 5gal. They were stacked on my patio in a corner created by a firewood pile on one side and the house wall on another side, the ones I have listed as more exposed were the ones furtherest from the house and the firewood. I had bags of potting soil on that corner (the no house/no wood part) and then several sections of hog wire fencing to keep the deer from digging the snow away and eating them down. The fence also helped to bank snow inside to give more protection. After the first big burst of cold which was in December/early January, we took our Christmas tree down and I took it plus the offcuts which we had trimmed to make it fit in our living room and I gently laid it over the snowdrift of pots to cover the exposed rose canes which were too tall to be covered by what snow we had at the time. As it continued to snow it packed in around the pine branches and kept everything very safe from the wind. I suspect that what damage did occur, happened in that first cold snap in the minus twenties F before I put the pines on top.

More roses budding out in this lovely warm weather...

Jean Kenneally, Heritage (both own root): green and budding at the tips.

Queen Nefertiti (own root): lost 4 inches or so at the tips, surviving cane above the snow line looks green and healthy.

Just Joey, Passionate Kisses (own root): died back to a couple of inches above the crown. Both were risky zone pushing experiments so I'm just happy and a bit surprised that they are alive at all.

Ring of Fire (grafted): really surprised to find this one budding out to a couple of inches from the tip!! It was a scraggly, wilted, rootbound clearance from Walmart in July and I saved the receipt because I was sure it wouldn't make it but lo and behold!

That is all fantastic news! It always astounds me what is tip hardy and what dies back. This year I also have my friend's garden whose roses I ordered to observe. I was most surprised that Lemon Zen lost a lot of its growth in a fairly warm winter without any negative temps. We had hoped to grow it up a gate trellis, but will have to find another rose for that and put LZ in front. What a chore! LOL!!!.

Happy with what I'm seeing today...

Hula Hoop, Ebb Tide, and Amiga Mia: all leafing out to the tips. Amiga Mia was the only one who stayed completely buried all winter, the others all had some cane above the snow and still stayed green and healthy. (Maybe worth mentioning that my mother in law also gardens in zone 4 and she has a lovely Ebb Tide.) They were all planted last summer so this was their first winter.

Sexy Rexy and Champagne Arches: leafing out to the tips. This was their third winter so getting to be a more mature plants now.

Fragrant Lavender Simplicity (grafted): lost 4-5 inches of cane but did not die all the way back to the snow line. This is its second winter for me and I'm happy with it.

Do you have any full bush pictures of bright and shiny? Also what it looks like this spring?

Here's Bright & Shiny crammed in between two tomato pots last year (with Love sneaking in at the bottom.) This was during the heat of summer too. It's not the best picture, I am going to try to get some more here when I get my pot collection moved around.

Thanks! I really like the colors. You reported it cane hardy even though it is zone 5 so I am impressed.

I'm really impressed with the hardiness, I think it had one of the worst locations as far as exposure and yet it is leafing out well above where the snow came up to on the canes. And such a lavish bloomer!! I know I've shared this picture before but I love it

Gorgeous colors ! How do your Buck roses survive winter? Thanks.

Thank you Straw! I love the colors too!

My Bucks do very well for me. This is Amiga Mia's first year so I don't have good pictures yet but she is leafing out in full force with no die back at all. I won't have to prune a thing. Mountain Music is a gorgeous rose with complete cane hardiness for me and it put on an amazing show last spring and summer after being planted as a tiny 4-inch tall band, right before snowfall in the previous fall. I am looking forward to this year's display as it is leafing out fast now. The fragrance is also particularly noteworthy, nice and rich and spicy, not too sweet, and powerful for such a young plant. Photos are from last spring.

I love that bi-color in Mountain Music. Thanks for the info. on scent. Queen Nefertiti bought last year survived my winter well, but I would like some tips as to what's the best soil and fertilizer for that thorny bush. It didn't like soaking wet clay like the low-thorn Austin roses. Thank you.

Very pretty photos of Mountain Music. I didn't like the photo on High Country Roses but I like the photos of yours. Also appreciate the info on the scent. Thanks!

I think that rose sellers should use pictures of their roses from some of our stellar photographers . They have much better representations of how beautiful the roses actually are.

Joey, your Bight and Shiny and Mountain. Music are so beautiful. I always love the pink and yellow combination .

The challenges that you face in growing in such a cold zone must be daunting at times but look what great success that you have by finding the right roses and proper winter protection.

Well done, on your beautiful roses Joey. I am pretty amazed

Kristine thank you so much for your very kind words, you are so sweet! I'm thankful for all the rose forum folks who share their experiences and their wisdom.

Kristine,

I agree on the photos. I would love to see real world bush and flower photos on the seller's listings.

StrawChicago I'm really sorry I only just saw your question about Queen Nefertiti. I have mine planted on the edge of a small raised bed with a dry-stacked rock wall, so the drainage is really good. I used mostly 3-year-old straight horse manure to fill the bed, so it had decomposed down beautifully and there was no stall bedding material mixed in, and in the center of the bed about 2 feet from where she's planted there is a huge pine stump which is slowly decomposing. She gets watered with alfalfa tea once a month or so, and I usually dump the leftover alfalfa meal into that garden after it has soaked to make the tea. Companion plants nearby are russian sage, columbines and oregano, if that helps at all. The dandelions are prolific in that bed so I believe that indicates very acidic soil and she seems to love it. I did a granular NPK fertilizer last spring but haven't decided if I'll do it again as it was very slow to dissolve and I could still see where I'd placed the granules in fall.

Absolutely gorgeous !! Thank you, Joey, for the info. about Queen Nefertiti. I did spent 2 hours last summer to dig deep for drainage for QN. It likes alfalfa meal here too. We have lots of dandelions here in our rock hard clay. There's an article on what weeds one has and the amount of nutrients, and dandelion is indicative of high-potassium soil. So I focus on giving QN nitrogen instead.

I have the same experience of MG-granules NPK 10-5-15 (with some organic fertilizers) can't even dissolve when soaked in a bucket of acidic rain-water for 2 days.

Updating with how the roses are doing now that we are further into the summer...

Mountain Music takes the prize for sheer floriferousness, and another prize for amazing wafting scent. It's not very big, putting all its vigor into blooms, but it's been going nonstop and I love it.

Queen Nefertiti is big, tidy, blooming like mad, and as a bonus is great in the vase for me this year. This is the first year I have really cut much for the house and all my bouquets have included her, plus still making a showing in the garden that the neighbors comment on.

Other impressive roses include Hula Hoop, Jeanne Lajoie and Ebb Tide, all of whom were baby bands last year and are cranking out the blooms this year, having not lost any cane to speak of over winter.

Iceberg, Champagne Arches and Lambert Closse are all trustworthy bloom machines, hardy and healthy and not needing any attention.

Oregold is a new addition this spring and is just starting to bloom now (late planted body bag from Walmart), but has the most amazing foliage with huge glossy leaves that cover half of my palm. I'd grow it even if it never bloomed just because the bush looks so pretty in the garden.

Sweet Mademoiselle is another new addition who is a really beautiful bush, and lovely blooms too. I'm glad I finally got her.

Rose de Rescht is a gorgeous bush with lavish amounts of blooms that perfume the entire yard. I've heard lots about how she gets nasty leaves after bloom flushes but I've yet to see it. She's just pretty and healthy and cane hardy and vigorous. What's not to like?

Not so thrilled with Double Delight, we probably get too much rain to keep her happy and she hasn't bloomed yet, being eaten up with mildew. Snow Pavement is a healthy-leafed plant who is not growing overly fast and not blooming at all, this is her second year and I've yet to see her flower. Oh well the bush looks nice. Ferdinand Pichard is supposed to be vigorous in zone 4 but I've yet to see him bloom either, even though he didn't lose any cane from winter and he looked like he was leafing out. In all fairness I did plant him out from his pot to the garden so he might just be establishing his roots first, so I'll give him a while longer before I decide he's a dud. He's definitely slow to mature though. Passionate Kisses never made it past budding out stage and finally up and died completely. I kind of expected that. But I scoffed when I saw Home Depot selling it in our zone as a grafted standard/tree rose. Yeah right that isn't going to do well here.

Joey,

Can you take some full bush pictures of everything?

Thanks!

I would be very interested in seeing photos of your Champagne Arches.

Joey: Thanks for the report on the wafting scent of Mountain Music. Love those pics. of MM and QN.

I want to try Lambert Closse. Good to hear it does well.

I have a Passionate Kisses I bought from Wal Mart for ten bucks. It almost died, but seems to be snapping out of it after a month and a half.

Joey I appreciate you listing the roses that made it through your winter in pots. This will be my first year trialing over wintering roses in pots. We dont get the cold you get, but like you said the snow cover helps and we dont get much of that either.

It really is to bad Passionate kisses didnt make it. That rose is a serious blooming machine im my zone and laughs at the heat.

@Lala Idaho Zone 7a I loved it last year, but I think it put so much effort into its lavish blooming and didn't develop enough root system to make it. Oh well.

@L Clark (zone 4 WY) Lambert Closse is rated to zone 2b on HMF so it should be fine for you. At our last house it was planted right beside a leaky pipe and lived in constant standing water all summer long and it still managed to survive and bloom!

@Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b) I'm really sorry but I didn't get a chance to take pictures earlier and when I came home from town this afternoon the deer had stripped every bloom off Champagne Arches. It's now a foot shorter and a foot narrower :(

@mmmm12COzone5 here's Iceberg after I picked a bouquet for inside

Queen Nefertiti after picking four bouquets to share with neighbors

Oh, no! Those pesky deer, I'm sorry.

Thanks Joey!

Queen Nefertiti is impressive. Did you find it cane hardy over the winter?

@Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b) thanks, this is a long running feud and I am looking forward to tender, rose-fed venison on my plate this fall.

@mmmm12COzone5 yes QN is hardy for me, I pruned very little off this spring, and she's survived some awful winters with minimal snow too. She's at the top of my list of 'roses I would take if I moved', having good hardiness, lavish bloom production, and delicious strong fragrance. But I know StrawChicago had trouble with her in very heavy clay soil so location might be significant for this rose.

Well I have been wondering about QN...I know our zones are very different, but you have me sold on her!!!

Ann I hope she does well for you! She has so many different looks depending on weather and time of year, I think she's a fun rose! These were taken two weeks apart this summer, the first picture is in 100F heat and the second picture is last week when daytime temps dropped to mid-70s.