I love Alba roses, and prefer own-root rosebushes by far over those on rootstock.
vintagegardens.com sells several hundred types of Old Rose cultivars on their own-roots.
Today (Jan 22, 2010) they are selling;
'Felicite Parmentier' my favorite pink Alba.
'Great Maidens Blush' which many gardeners adore.

The Antique Rose Emporium also sells own-root Old Garden Roses and presently are selling
'Mme. Plantier' which is a climber, and a magnificent white Alba rose.
Roses Unlimited also sells own-root Old Roses.

Luxrosa

Thanks Luxrosa. What about bare root roses? Do these nurseries sell bare root roses, which are typically larger roses, but own root? I'm still pretty new to roses and don't know if that's done or not.

Oh yes. I was thinking of getting Semi Plena and Great Maidens Blush as part of an informal hedge/screen and wanted to start out as big as possible but still have them on their own roots.

I don't know of any nurseries that will bare root an own-root for shipping. I have seen vendors partially remove some of the soil on a larger rose to reduce the shipping weight. It is a gamble to do this, as there is a chance the plant will go into shock and die. Bare root is typically reserved for grafted roses on vigorous rootstock.

Nowadays with shipping costs like they are, I buy own root as bands in the spring, plant them into gallons, stepping them up as the root system populates. At the end of the summer, I typically have a well developed 2-gallon plant, ready to plant into the garden. This works well for z7, I don't know how it would work for z5. It is really better to plant in the spring in z6 and below, so the plant have a chance to get established before winter.

The only advantage to spring planting is that a fall-planted bare-rooted plant might die or die back during the winter. Fall planting is always preferable whenever winter damage is not a concern.

You'll have difficulty finding bareroot own-root antique roses. The only supplier I'm aware of is Jackson & Perkins, but their (always very limited) selection of antique roses is continuously in a state of flux, & those that they do offer in any given season may, or may not, be on their own roots. This season, they're offering a few OGRs, but it appears that the only own-root one is 'Mermaid' -- a variety that probably won't interest you unless you're seeking a house-eater with lots of vicious prickles.

Thanks everyone for the information. I was afraid that might be the case. I'm trying to overwinter about 30 roses in pots in our tiny attached garage. I may loose a few since the temps got into the low 20's for days and everything froze. Would it be ok to plant bands in the spring and then protect them with mounds of leaves or other materials for the winter?

I planted bands from spring 09, potted into gallons and about twice their arrival size, into the garden on July 8, and in late November I protected them with a pile of wood shavings under a little teepee of hemlock branches, cut up into 18" fans. We had a snowfall that stayed right after that, so they have been undercover all winter. I will let you all know how they make it!

Rogue Valley sells some bareroot ownroot roses. They are the band and Gallons grown up. I have purchased some from them and they are really nice. I dont know if they will have the particular ones you want though. It is more expensive than bareroots usually are since they require alot of handling and repotting over the time it takes them to grow but I find them to be well grown and a good value.

patricia

Thanks for the responses. I'll check out RVR to see what they have. sunnysideuphill - hope your little ones make through the winter.

Hikerman, I wouldn't worry too much about the "frozen" roses in pots in your garage. Last month for a couple of weeks, we had very low temps that dipped into the teens at night and with highs in the twenties. My bands and rooted cuttings in 9 oz. cups froze up hard like ice cubes in my unheated barn. I expected to have some causalities, but after several weeks, I haven't lost a one.

Thanks greybird. Maybe my little ones will make it yet.