Look for Canadian Explorer roses. It is a series from AgCanada, and the 'rules' were that they weren't going to release anything that isn't hardy to at least zone 3.

Don't apologise - I fail to understand the terrible apathy towards KO which are healthy, repeating, mannerly and pretty. I don't care how ubiquitous a plant is - if it fits the bill, then it can go in my garden.
I would be inclined to put the rose back outside with some protection around the pot such as hessian or burlap, just to protect the root zone. I think roses can and do die back, practically to the ground....but if the roots are OK, the plant will rejuvenate.....although there can be issues with surviving rootstock and failure of the scion rose. If you get sufficient snow cover, all should be well.

Hay, I have no problems with K.O.'s at all. I have two (Regular red & pink). I treat them just like the rest of my garden. They're in my florabunda/shrub section of the garden. As far as you're K.O. goes, I would try to get it outside on sunny days where it is protected from freezing winds. A good breath of fresh air and some direct sunlight will help keep it healthy during the winter months. This way it should be ready to do it's thing this coming spring.

If it's doing OK inside don't mess with it. Most roses just up and die in the house so you must be doing something right. But...as soon as you possibly can, get it back outside in the spring. I would say when the nights are consistently in the 30s. Next fall instead of house sitting it put inside a garage or shed for the winter and let it just go completely dormant. You can water it occasionally through the winter to keep it from dehydrating but that's all you'll need to do.

Thanks for the replies.
Mad Gallica- thanks for the reminder about the Canadien roses. I did once have a Morden Blush that did ok for two years.I got ill that year and everything went to weed plus I had a guy mowing that mowed it down once too often.It was a pretty rose though. Do you know if the Explorer series sucker a lot because of the rugosa background?The old wild rugosa I have at the top of the drive I wouldn't want near the house. It ticks me off that most of the roses up here that are being sold are for zone 5 or higher.
Campanula- It's been a weird winter here.So far less then a foot of snow but frigid temps and ice and now its warmer and raining so snow is gone and think temps.are suppose to drop again in a few days.
Ken-n- Good idea for the fresh air if the temp stays above freezing.
Seil- Think I asked this on the post you made about people remembering to occ. put snow on their container plants but will ask here too.How low can the temp go in a shed or garage and would they need light at all if dormant-I would guess not.

I can give you some info on one Explorer rose--Lambert Closse (hope I spelled that right). I grew it for 3-4 years and it never suckered at all. Grew just like any other rose shrub.

If you are interested, it had a nice pink color but the blooms became so shapeless after several days of blooming that I finally replaced it with an Earth Song --which doesn't have the most shapely blooms itself after a day or so, but at least doesn't have the messy look of aging LC blooms. LC was very disease-resistant.

By the way, while praises of KOs will be far and few between, I'd bet most of the gardeners on this forum have at least one KO. Myself, I have two Double KOs--reliable rose giving bright color, but nothing to write home about when a climber like the gorgeous Eden or David Austin shrubs are in the same bed--that's all. : )

Kate

None of the Explorer roses I grow have suckered at all - including the rugosa ones. William Baffin has a reputation for being aggressive. A shame because it seems to be the one that is easiest to find.

I know what you mean about the local nurseries not selling roses that are at all suited to the local conditions. Most of them around here have pretty much given up on roses because people are no longer buying them as annuals.

I'm not an expert on anything that cold but inside my shed the temps are about 10 degrees warmer than the outside. That would probably get you at least one zone higher. Inside an attached garage they will be even warmer because there will be some heat from the house too. That' may get you two zones higher. Either way they're also protected from the drying winds which helps a lot. You do not want them to get light at all if possible. You do want to give them some water occasionally.

Here is a picture of the KO rose I planted last June. I am not a gardener -- so I am so excited for spring to come to really see this thing grow!!

It was my understanding that these do not need winter protection -- hope that's right!

That deep blanket of snow is the best insulation that rose can have so it should be fine. As a matter of fact, when you shovel go ahead and pile some on top of the roses. It's been an abnormally cold winter here this year so I'm sure you'll lose cane but the plant it's self should come back in the spring.

I, too, don't see any reason to caveat affection for KO roses. These roses can fill up a really difficult spot, and not everybody has the time, money, gardeners, and inclination to fuss over the roses that some of us do. There is a nursing home near my place that set out of KO roses, and I rolled my eyes...until I saw how beautifully the KO roses were doing with no spray and little fuss and how much the old dears enjoyed sitting in the front with the blooms instead of the bare dirt and scruffy grass that been there between them and the traffic. Some of us, like Vita Sackville-West, only like flowers that are "brown and difficult to grow." :-).

This post was edited by DrPekeMom on Fri, Jan 17, 14 at 17:46