I am 70 mi south of kc and had no problem last year and i planted bands. i've got more bands coming that will be going in the ground and 4 what gallon size from are, that will be going in the ground. and they will all be new.

In my experience it isn't cold, but spells of warm weather that kill baby roses in winter. They start growing, then get hit by freeze, get canker and die. So only roses that go fully dormat and can't be tricked into growing by warm spells are safe to plant in fall at my place. Southern roses (teas, chinas,etc), HTs, Fls, polyanthas, majority of modern shrubs suffer a lot and mostly die in spring (at my place). However, hardy OGRs (gallicas, albas, mosses, damasks), rugosas species or near species are all happy when planted in fall. They need more then few days of warm weather to initiate their growth. Probably it is not temperature, but light (day length) that initiate them in spring. I really don't know, but they are safe to plant in winter here, even if they are tiny.
Olga

My experience is pretty much as Olga's. I'm in Roanoke and plant bands up thru Sept, but I've lost a few less cold-hardy types when they are that small. Anything 1 gal+ I'll plant as long as I can dig the ground. That goes for everything else as well as roses. Basically, if it has a good/hardened off root system and it is below the freezing depth of the soil with put 2" of mulch around, it should be fine. My soil doesn't freeze much below 4" without mulch, and usually not even that deep.

Not much to add, except if its a choice outside in a pot vs in the ground, they will have a better chance in the ground. The safest is to keep them in a protected spot, e.g. garage, until spring, then plant. Agree with the exceptions as noted by Olga.

Thanks everybody! I guess I'll hold off on fall delivery and wait til April like I always do. As for my pot ghetto, I'll try to get them in as soon as the temperatures cool off a bit and we get some reliable rains. It's still in the mid 90s and humid here.

I guess I'm just itching to buy new roses with people talking about their new ones. I've got lots of projects I want to tackle, like a species walk along the wood's edge and climbers on a new privacy trellis. That's a good sign, it means the doldrums of high summer are almost over and I look forward to fall, winter, and spring - the finest seasons here in my opinion - and getting out into the gardens again, planting, mulching, soil improvement, preparing new beds and renovating old ones, building new hardscaping like stone walls and paths.

Yesterday I started planning for a new water garden. We laid the shape out with hoses and have started searching for the supplies we need. If my DH does all the digging by hand it will take from now until next spring to complete. It's exciting though. Maybe we'll get our neighbor's Kubota to help us out though after the first couple of hours of backbreaking work!

Olga, where would Hybrid perpetuals fall under that category? The tender one, or the hardy one?

I planted some in fall and it was fine, but I suspect they can be a mixed bag.
Olga

I hope linrose doesn't mind me piggy-backing off her post. I am new to this forum - indeed this is my first one here ever. I have long been a member on the GW and have largely been on the various house remodeling fora - kitchens, baths, appliances, windows ... .

Anyhow, I'm new to roses and purchased a Souvenir de la Malmaison at the end of July. It is doing quite nicely but is still in the pot because the bed that I had thought I would make into a rose-hedge proved to be a bad place to plant anything with roots - found that out after I started to dig the hole so abandoned that attempt. (I'll put something else shallow rooted there). Anyhow, I have another place I could plant it but it is now September. I am in Mass, just outside of boston - I think we are a 6a here. Linrose says that she is also a zone-6 in Kentucky! which amazes me, but I thought I'd try my luck on her thread.

So, my question to you is really more of the same - is it indeed too late to plant my rose in say about 1 weeks time? I didn't quite understand some of the responses - my SdlM would be a bourbon and is not a baby (I don't think). It is about 1.5 feet tall, has several (8 or 10) branches from just above its graft bud and has had about a dozen roses in the past nearly 6 weeks that I've had it.

I don't understand the references to "bands" that I've seen mentioned a lot up-thread.

So, given what I've outlined, do you think it is "safe" for me to plant this in September in MA or is it risky? If the latter, could you suggest how I should winter my rose?

I really love this rose - beautiful pink-white rose with loads of petals and quite divinely aromatic.

Thanks so much in advance for any guidance.