When it comes to bare-roots, that April chill and damp is a good thing. I'd sort them out and put the ones with big root systems right in the ground and hill them up with soil (you can cover the dirt mound w/leaves or mulch to slow it from drying out). The wimpy looking ones or where they cut the roots real short can go in a 2 to 5 gallon pot, whatever the root system needs. The president of our local ARS puts his new bare-roots in pots, mostly while he decides if they're keepers-- (he shows a lot). He mixes garden dirt, finely shredded pinebark, and perlite as he's retired and it's waaaay too expensive to purchase potting soil for the roses he starts every year. He gave me a couple he started this way and they've very heavy to lift cuz of the dirt but the roses look fabulous.

Hi Kassieb, Wow.. Haven't seen this thread for a long time!! Congratulations on your treasures that you picked up in Hawaii! I am Sure you had a wonderful time. Just love the islands.... I would always put slits In the bottom of your container that you root in.. I like the clear solo cups or cups from Starbucks.. I used to use bottles.. But I like clear cups better.. ( a friend started me when he sent a cutting rooted in a red solo cup). ;-). I take a pair of scissors and make four slits on the bottom edge of the cup.. Water once and then let them sit on heat and let them work their magic.. It can take up to 8 weeks or so to root, so make sure you are patient when rooting. Have fun!!! Hi Ed!! Those were some beautiful cuttings.. Many thanks to friends!!! BBB is Brads Buds and Blooms.. They are In Florida Laura

Since you plan to plant out your roses after starting them in pots, would think the type of soil you'll have in your garden at the new house is a key consideration. Will you establish beds at your new place with a blend of topsoil & compost or amend the native soil in some way to provide favorable growing conditions? In my experience, matching the container blend closely to the garden soil in which a plant will later grow is important, since a mismatch between the two can prove problematic down the line. Commercial "potting soil" substitutes peat moss as the growing medium for soil & is considered soilless. Plants growing in that can have a hard time expanding their roots into garden soil once transplanted & the original potting soil can continue to stay wetter or drier than surrounding soil for a good while until worms & soil organisms knit it into the whole. With your bare root roses, you'll mainly see anchor roots, as the finer network of feeder roots that grow from these are mostly lost in harvest & storage. Once planted, new feeder roots will develop from the anchors to multiply moisture & nutrient delivery. In a transitional pot intended for garden transplant, I like a slightly lighter version of the target site the plant will later occupy - a bit fluffier than the garden soil to maximize feeder root development & retard compaction of the planting mixture that can occur in a pot, but composed mainly of the same elements & textures of the final planting location, so a custom mix. When utilizing potting soil, I look for one with no fertilizer added or at most a slow release, but then I like to control what type of fertilizer & schedule, and generally give none to bare roots until they leaf out & in liquid organic form at that time to sidestep burning new feeder roots. Mixed thoroughly with quality topsoil & finished compost in equal parts, makes a good potting soil that can be further tweaked. Agree with nikthegreek about container size. Better to later pot up to a larger size if necessary when new roots have filled the pot than to have soil & roots fall away when you go to plant in the garden. Nursery pots are shaped to allow for easy transplant, can have the bottoms cut away, be supported beneath & placed in the planting hole & then have the pot sides cut way for minimal root disturbance. If using dark pots, slip them into light colored containers to keep them cool. Dark pots heat up quickly & can cook the roots. Potting bare roots this late, out of season, need to be careful the canes don't sunburn before leaf out, so the morning sun on your East facing porch should help until the foliage grows. If the humidity doesn't keep up, may want to mist the canes & new leaves with the mist setting of a watering wand to mimic moister air, or set the pots on large saucers filled with gravel & standing water below the top of the gravel which can evaporate moisture to the roses above. Have the impression your area is relatively low humidity usually? Turn the pots for leaf development as you would houseplants on a windowsill for even growth. Once they've leafed out, you may want to gradually give them more sun exposure till they get the same as where you plan to plant them. Most of the Austins here get morning sun from sunrise till 1-3 pm & do fine. If you find the growth stretching toward the sun even with turning the pots, that usually means they're wanting more of it. What an adventure for you - new roses, new home, new garden! Congratulations & enjoy the ride. (Just for the record, I'm in Nik's camp on rose potting for nourishment & endurance.)

Dingo, I have studied the Edmunds and Austin catalogs, but the own root, bare root rose availability, though seen by me, did not register. I believe the deep rooted assumption, since I have been growing roses for just short of 50 years, that bare root roses are always grafted roses, kicked in. Own root container grown roses are still a wonder to me, yet alone own root, bare root roses! Thank you for reinforcing a new concept to me. Rifis, thank you for bringing this to my attention, I did read that and thought it was possibly a misprint. Since the bareroots are primarily grafted on vigorous rootstocks, I thought own root roses were not husky enough to take the fall harvesting, cleaning, and winter cold storage as a, say multiflora rootstock rose can, and be sold as bare root roses, just like grafted roses. Now my question is, "Do they perform as well as container grown roses?"