Ruth, I grow Eden, Leonardo da Vinci, Johann Strauss, Peter Mayle, and Fredric Mistral. They all do well in my zone 5 garden. For those that are grafted, I planted the graft 3" deep. The ownroots I planted a little deeper than the soil level in their original pots. I winterized them very carefully the first year - now I just throw a few shovels of mulch over the crown of each one. Some have been in my garden for 5 years and are still doing well.

Thanks for the fast response, Karen. Do they die back to the ground in winter or do you have healthy cane above the snowline?

Ruth

It depends on the winter. Most of the cane above the snowline has to be pruned back, but some winters the snow is quite deep, which leaves quite a bit of good cane. Eden grows as a shrub, not a climber, for that reason. Fredric Mistral puts on a lot of height every summer, even when I have to prune him way back. Leonardo is probably the most cane hardy of my Romanticas, although I find that he has better bloom when I prune him more heavily. I often wonder if the canes might suffer some winter damage that isn't visible, since the new canes do so much better when I really cut back.

Interesting about Leonardo. I was planning on Eden as a shrub, anyway.

Ruth

Frederic Mistral has survived a few winters without protection. Peter Mayle died the first winter. With the latest batch I mounded some topsoil on them around Christmas time. We'll see how many survive. I really like Comtesse de Province (aka Liv Tyler) and I hope she survives.

Predfern, do you mean that you do nothing to protect Frederic Mistral (no mulch, etc.)? I assume the bud union is buried. If that is all the winterizing it gets, it must be pretty tough.

Ruth