YIKES, You are in a MUCH colder zone than me but you are on the right track so far. In your zone the rose will most certainly not be growing much at all until next spring. Keep the bush well watered and I think that whatever you normally do to protect the bush for the cold weather coming in the next few weeks. The roots will grow SOME new feeders before the ground gets colder and then the bush will sleep until next spring. With the smaller root mass you will probably end up cutting back the canes a little more than usual in the spring. Unless your rose is only semi hardy in your zone this should not affect it too bad.

I pulled out a rose and left it on the compost pile (full sun) for a couple of weeks then relented and replanted it. Years later it is still out there in the garden growing and blooming. But as papa said, your zone 5 could be difficult.

I think as a backup I'd call the utility company and complain and ask for a credit for a new plant. You just need to find the right person to talk to there...if they said they were going to be careful and they were not, you've got a legitimate claim.

This post was edited by hoovb on Sat, Oct 19, 13 at 16:12

I hate to say it but in your zone the prognosis for that rose to make it through winter is slim...but it could surprise you. Roses are survivors after all. I'm just worried that it won't have enough time to recoup before things freeze completely.

Keep it watered until the ground freezes completely to give it the best chance of growing some new roots before winter. Just don't drown the thing though because it's going to be struggling enough as it is.

As for cutting it back, that's a tough call. On the one hand you don't want to have more top growth than those chopped off roots can handle. On the other hand there's energy stored in those canes too that the rose can draw on if necessary. For now I'd leave it alone. If you see tremendous wilt back remaining after a week or so you might want to take that off. But try to leave as much as you can. Leaves help feed and hydrate the rose.

Yes, take out a worker with my blessings. Justifiable homicide if I ever heard it, lol! I really shouldn't say that because my gas company did an amazing job when they had to take out one of my HUGE hydrangeas to fix a leak a few years ago. Took an enormous root ball and replanted it perfectly when they were done. It never missed a beat.

Some great info here on saving traumatized roses...but maybe I shouldnt admit this...this summer I bought some VERY hardy field grown mature Hybrid T's (Sugar Moon, Yves St Laurent, Barbara Streisand, Grand Dame) climbers (Angel Face, Colette, Eden, Raspberry Cream Twirl, Cloud 10) and a couple nice Grandis and florabundas (Easy Does It, Poseidon aka Neptune, Polka, Fragrant Plum).

Each had thick well-branched canes with tops cut back for mailing and arrived with substantial root mass well packed in soil, wrapped in wet paper and encased in plastic..with plenty of new top growth.
A few of them (Sugar Moon, Easy Does It, Poseidon, Barbara S) even bloomed within a couple of weeks and were quite lovely even just growing in perforated plastic bags!

But a series of chronic ugly calamities all summer...choke...distracted me from potting them up like I planned. (please don't chastise..I'm already drowning in misery!)

I did keep them in partial shade and well watered every morning and they were staying quite happy, strong and green with lots of new growth until just a couple of weeks ago when we had our last heat wave here in NJ. I wasnt here to attend to them and needless to say, 8 of the 13 are horribly wilted and going brown fast although the main stems and root canes are still green.

I soaked the roots for a day and have them ready for 3 gal pots but I'm thinking I should cut all the brown dead material back hard and bury the green canes and shoots and hope there's still some life somewhere. (One previous comment left me hopeful about the "life left in the canes"!!)Then I'll put them in my little greenhouse for the winter where they'll be protected from the harsh weather. What do you think????? I'm so so sorry because they were such great healthy happy plants when they arrived!! I've learned my lesson, now I just want to save them.

eco, what do you have to lose? Hopefully they'll make it.

Did you buy those bare root roses from an online supplier? Which one? I'm looking for Raspberry Cream Twirl & want to buy it from a nursery that will send me a decent plant. I've been disappointed in the past when buying online but can't find it locally & have no choice.

Hi View1NY, well, I cut them back hard today and buried them in a pot with a good mix of potting soil and my own organic compost. We'll see who comes back!!

Yes, I bought them on ebay from a seller named Rio0776 out of California and I was extremely impressed with the size and health of the plants when they arrived and how long they lasted during my negligence!! :(

He's out of roses for this season but I've got him saved as a favorite seller and really don't want to buy from anyone else. The rootballs were substantial and full of good soil, and the rootstock is so fat and green on his plants and the shoots had new growth right away. I'll buy again and again from him no worries.
Eco~

eco, thanks for the info. I saved that ebay seller so that I'll have it handy when I make my spring order.

Have you ever ordered an own root rose from that seller? I'm in Brooklyn NY & my climate is pretty similar to yours. The roses I have are all grafted onto Dr. Huey & was thinking about trying an own-root rose next time. I'm curious about how it would do but really don't have the patience to wait years to see a decent-sized plant. Any info would be appreciated.