Not necessarily. Being frozen solid after that much rain is a lot better than being frozen solid without being watered. Hopefully, they remain the way they are until they can gradually defrost, instead of yo-yoing up and down until spring. Good luck! Don't despair until you see how the remainder of winter plays out. Often, they'll surprise you! Kim

Always thought the yoyo frost warm cycles were deleterious to growth spurts of branches as in false starts, possible late spring storm freezing new growth, , zapping stored energy etc. was always under Impression that frozen ( really solid ) meant a probably dead plant. Thought ground provided protection From freezing.

What kind of temperatures are we talking about? Rain and freezing are sort of mutually incompatible objects in my experience. It can happen, but usually the cloud cover acts as a blanket, and it doesn't get really cold.

Really cold, in this instance, is under 20.

If it didn't get really cold, the roses are probably fine, but you do need to make sure they don't get really cold. That's why they tend to be overwintered near a source of heat, like a house. In your climate, the south side of a house is probably the best place, but I'd listen to locals.

BTW, freeze-thaw is only a problem if it does get warm enough for the plants to start growing. Most plants know better, and work off of different cues for spring. If they didn't, Philadelphia would be a desert.

Move them to a protected spot and leave them alone. Let them thaw out gradually on their own and they should be fine. Any roses in the ground have also been soaked and frozen as well and your not worried about those so don't worry about the pots either. As Kim said, they're surprising survivors!

Rose cane can withstand temps down to around 28 degrees without any or very little noticeable damage. From there to about 15 to 20 degrees there will be some damage to the tissue. Below 15 and the cane will begin to die back. Below zero and it's pretty much toast.

Like Mad explained most cold hardy perennials and bulbs take their cue for regrowth by the lengthening daylight and the soil temperature instead of the ambient air temps so they don't have the same problem that roses have with the yo-yo freeze and thaw. Roses will start to wake up and put out new growth at between 40 & 50 degrees. Around here we can and do get several day stretches of those temps as early as mid-January (our usual January thaw) and then again in late February and early March only to be plunged back into well below freezing temps for several more weeks. If we get several of these over the spring you can lose roses that have tried to bud out during each of those warm spells and have depleted their energy stores to the point that when it really is finally spring they don't have the resources left to come back. And winter protection is actually meant to keep the roses frozen and dormant during those warm spells so that they don't use up that stored energy on false starts. Not to keep them from freezing like so many people seem to think. You want them to freeze, go dormant and STAY dormant until it really is spring.

Yes, we know winter protection is to reduce the freeze thaw cycle of late winter, early spring. Frozen Roots? Different . Frozen vs. cold? Also, very different. Where do u live because I am in Chicago and we have had very few frozen nights.

Thanks everyone. I'm in Nashville. We've not gone below 28 yet but it's possible. I have mine in the Southwest side of my yard. I need to bring them closer to the house.
Seil and others, I am sorry to hear about your bunny issue. I've successfully used that invisible fence spray but it is not for the faint hearted as the smell can literally make one gag. However, if you can stick with the regimen for a few weeks the rabbits will go elsewhere.
Perhaps put out alfalfa hay far from your roses as a lure? If they get used to eating there they would avoid this stinky stuff. I imagine the bowels of Hell cannot smell worse.
Susan

Susan, they'll avoid anything stinky, period. Their only real defense mechanism is their sense of smell. Anything strongly scented jams their radar, filling their olfactories with its stench, preventing them from being able to tell if there are any predators around. The same goes for deer. Putting out alfalfa for them to lure them away from the roses is sure to bring more vermin into the area. Pests such as these swell to make use of the resources. Alfalfa is ADORED by any herbivore because of it is rich in nutrients. I allow the Petty Spurge weed to flourish around my roses because it is a Euphorbia, hence poisonous. The vermin won't eat it and it seems to mask the tender new growth basals of the roses. As long as the Petty Spurge is tall and lush, the new growth of the roses is safe. Now, to figure out how to eliminate the bloody moles! Kim

Susan4952, my root balls don't just get cold, They freeze every year when the ground freezes down to at least a good 6 or 8 inches.

At 28 degrees your roses shouldn't have sustained much if any damage. We've been below freezing consistently (day and night) for several weeks now and down to single digits several times here on the lake just north of Detroit and have about 8 inches of snow on the ground. The snow is a good thing and welcome as it's the best protector there is and in the past several years we haven't had much. But we're predicted to go into the 40s and maybe as high as 50 by the end of this week. That's when problems can start because you KNOW we ain't gonna stay that warm, lol!

Kim, I tried the Irish Spring soap on a rope thing last winter and didn't see any positive results. Anyone know of a stinkier soap? Best defense is still a good sturdy small gauge fence!

Odd, because we often get a serious January thaw also. A week of temperatures always above freezing happens even during the middle of a cold winter. The roses know it isn't spring yet, and just sit there. The extreme warm spells in March can be much more damaging, but even those are usually harmless. The type of roses doesn't seem to matter, as long as they aren't true warm weather types like chinas.

I like the insulation of the snow, also. A few years ago we has snow up to the eaves, lasting for weeks. Best rose season in a long time....except mrs. Dudley Cross.( zone 7?) bit the dust.

Yes Kim, you are right. Putting out food would be another one of my dumb solutions. LOL. I actually thought I could have free range bunnies AND a garden. Sometimes I wonder where my intelligence has gone (and where I might find it).
I actually had a wild bunny find it's way into my fence and hang out with my domestics so that he could enjoy the pellets.
That garlic spray really did work though.
Susan