Oh! thank you so much all. Hosenemesis, regarding our kitty, he is in fact very romantic himself-i.e moody and prone to posing near roses he thinks compliment his coloring. thank you for all your gracious comments. Jeannie..this kind of appreciation makes it all worthwhile! I especially love that so many of you are from the glorious west coast and especially northern west coast. Some of the most incredible gardens I've ever seen have been in these places. Where is your garden Le Jardin? It sounds right up my alley. I have always had various fairytales, children's stories in my minds eye when dreaming of and making my gardens. Monarda, both my 21 year old son and my best friend live in Brooklyn! umm, I mean, not together..thank goodness!...anyway, I love love love brooklyn gardens and yours sounds so lovely. Thanks to all.

I have my next to last orders planted in pots and in partial shade - the next order to come will be the very last one - what a sad day that will be! I am planning a very larger parterre bed with birdbath in the middle to house these roses once they get ready to plant in the ground, along with all the others I have ordered the last couple of years. Will call it my Vintage Memorial Garden......it wont compensate for the huge loss of Vintage, but will be a place where I can enjoy them all together.....planning to have a vintage looking garden shed/grandchildren playhouse constructed, a hanging swing......Wish they would find some extras and have just one more release......still cant believe they are closing. Judith

Do they show some growth? Leaves? Green cane? If so, then I don't think I would disturb them again. They are probably just building roots instead of top growth. That is good. If you lift them now, especially if you only "lift" them and do not replant, you will disturb the roots again and possibly introduce air pockets around some of the roots. Not good. If by fall you do not see growth, then next spring I would dig them up and replant. I have never had a problem with planting too deep.

I quite like my Hope for Humanity, and being a Canadian explorer it should be a good choice for your zone. Mine is about 4-5 feet tall in zone 5 in its fourth year, without much dieback in my zone (and it's tucked into a zone 4 pocket in my yard). You're right that the ultimate height relates to how much you have to chop off from winter kill to some extent, but a well-established rose will grow by the end of the season to the height it wants to be if it's suited to your zone. In other words, even if you have to trim it to almost the ground in early spring, it'll shoot back up in the spring and summer if it's happy (and you don't cut it below the graft, obviously). Don't judge its ultimate height in the first few years as it's getting settled, since the plant is liable to spend more time putting down roots than building height at first. I don't grow Blanc Double de Coubert, but if you know someone in your area that grows it, then that's a likely option for your yard. I had it at a previous house but it didn't like my alkaline soil and faded pretty quickly to rather scruffy used blooms that you have to deadhead frequently to keep the bush looking nice. Peace is a lovely rose, but being a Hybrid Tea it's pretty unlikely to be hardy in zone 3-4 unless you grow it in a pot and bring it into a protected unheated space for the winter. I can get away with leaving my hybrid teas in the ground in zone 5, but much colder than me it isn't really a viable option unless you have a particularly hardy hybrid tea or a protected zone pocket with consistent snow cover. Always worth a try if you're a gambler, but that one's a long shot compared to the others (including Rambling Red) that are more sure bets in your zone. Cynthia