In late February finding a bareroot or potted rose of any variety and especially a variety you want will be extremely difficult if not impossible in your area.
Mail order suppliers won't even ship to cold winter growing zones until well into March and local nurseries don't sell rose bushes, bare root or potted, until well into March or April in your area.
I think your best bet would be to get him a gift certificate for a bush or two of his choice. They can be ordered on-line from the better suppliers. Try Palentine Roses, Regan Nursery, Edmunds Roses, or Pickering to name just a few.

Good idea from Karl.
May I suggest any of the small own root nurseries. They could all use the business and if he's a gardener he won't have any trouble dealing with bands of own root plants.
Here in Z7/8 we don't see bare roots or potted Roses for sale until early February (except for some body baggers).
I usually request early March delivery so I know it's too cold where you are.
Good luck.

Try Palentine Roses, Regan Nursery, Edmunds Roses, or Pickering

As none of these companies wish to disclose disease and virus informaton in there discriptions of all there roses I can not even concider a gift certificate.(See also my new customer demand in the RMV thread)
I am willing to compromise on the time frame, am willing to take the drive..I won't be needing directions thats not what I am asking
Thank you for your information for now but reconcider the question.

PS Home Depot does not cut the wood. Wall Mart does not sew any pair of pants, Neither of them grow roses either I think it is somewhat rude of some to point a finger at the middle man while trying to direct me in the other direction

L. L., you received more than reasonable responses to your question, especially from Karl, one of the most knowledgeable rosarians in the country, and someone in a similar zone.

If you have a greenhouse available, then you could try to have own root rose delivered in the time you would like, but you'll have to keep it in the greenhouse and won't be able to plant it outside until May. As for potted plants, they don't arrive in garden centers here (coastal central NJ) until April. You can order from bareroot vendors, but February is probably too early to plant. I order bareroot plants now for delivery and planting in mid-March).

If you have questions on RMV, please call or e-mail any of the vendors Karl listed. I know that Palatine and Pickering are extremely responsive.

Though you may be willing to drive, you'll have to drive way South to find anyplace selling bare root or potted roses in Late February. Upon returning from Florida each year at the end of February, I find bagged bare roots only as far north as Georgia and potted roses in Florida. The selection is minimal so recommended varieties would be almost impossible to find.
I stopped last year at a friends home just south of Atlanta around March 1. All his roses were still dormant and two locations near his home only had Knock Outs as potted roses with very few bare roots available.
A number of large greenhouse operations do start potted bare roots in February for sale as bud and bloom bushes in April and May but you'd have to locate them and try to get an OK to buy from their inventory. I doubt you'd get any sort of guarantee that early and chances are they'd be very unaware of RMV in their stock.
Local nurseries and garden centers have no way of knowing if their plants are RMV free. You have just as much chance of getting an infected plant from them as you would from any of the mail order suppliers mentioned above.
While they may grow some of the stock they sell, most comes from outside sources. Like many suppliers they are resellers, buying most of their stock from the major growers. Anymore, that's the nature of the beast.

Oddly from me, my request has gotten just a bit to complex there are far better things to be chasing besides a simple answer.
Enjoy your roses
L.L.

Your request for a location within 100 miles of your home in central Mass. to buy roses for a February 26th birthday is far from simple. There is no simple answer in late February except to purchase a gift certificate on-line or drive 1000 miles south to Florida and get what you can get.
Except for RMV, you'd have similar problems with any type of plant you might want.

Somehow I missed the rude part.
Go figure.

A gift certificate is a good idea. Gardeners (secretly) prefer to pick their own plants. Palatine and Pickering graft onto seed-grown multiflora to avoid RMV infections. They have excellent plants and many cold-hardy choices.

So did I CB, so did I...

Might be too small, but David Austin is now offering potted roses.

Your concern VIRUS FREE
I don't know what the results will be at the end, but the ambulance is on it's way to the house and they dont know how to write percriptions. DO you trust my intuition? if so read on.

Bad news : you are not going to get a rose on the table in the time frame allowed
Good news : you can place a certificate on the table on something he can pick up on his own and proberly just loose the daymm thing OR you can print a recipt of the exact rose you wish to get himand let them ship it later I am sure he knows what it will mean.
These are your only options as:

NO ROSE SELLER IN THERE RIGHT MIND IS GOING TO SEND A ROSE OUT AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR

Where is it:
It's a phone call away at ASHDOWN ROSES you could always try but depending on what you pick you may have to wait for up to a year or longer to get that rose AND you will have to use the INTERNET to contact them by phone and as well to puchase the rose in question. They are by far one of the most helpfull group people you will speak to, but rest assured they will drop you faster than a stone if you talk to them in overdemanding manners. Concider them to be very well spoken doctors ( how is my intuition now ?)

YOU want to drive and see some roses no problem but wait untill summer and also use there information to have a list so long of roses you will only wish you never even asked your question this is deffinatly TRIED AND TRUE
Best Gardens
1) QUEEN ELIZABETH GARDEN location CT. they also have a webb sight you may even want to email to talk to the best person regarding OLD GARDEN ROSES in your area they even have a email adress for you to make contact to several very very AWSUM rossarians if you should change the course.
I am sure you are a nice person but I want to remind you to NOT GET frustrated it won't get you that rose

YOU have got to go to this garden in summer you will think you have died and gone to ROSE heaven 5000 plus and a test growing sight, more flowers than you can imagine public free worth the drive not alot of space for some kids of youger ages but your going to LOVE IT

Your next stop is over in RI at R&W park and zoo the same folks here are in the same CIRCLE as the other catch BEES WITH HONEY not flies with vinager.... GOT IT? bring some kids spend the day enjoy the smells

( HMMM my intuition is pretty good your still reading arnt you.)

Ohh your near Cape thats an easy one, Do you know the train in Carver ? next to Bourne ? Ederville or something like that ?
There real nice people lots of charm and character they wouldor may send you to the circle I mentioned but he knows a thing or two as well

your most likly interested in a OLD GARDEN ROSE of type but that has to be broken down or something of this age the color is up to you the fragerance is always on target

Forum use :

you can browse this rose galley you can look at some in there seceral have lots to see in pictures and most include the names the Atique forum is a information part but try to type it like this
SUBJECT: Growing information request
Does anyone grow the following roses in (your zone)
Rose name a
Rose name b
ect ect ect
they will be glad to help you narrow a long list down
Dodge the DA growers same but different ok ?
Stay away from subjects that seem to strike your cords designate some one to check on you allow them tell you to not type ALL your views

Enjoy your chase the site information posted thus far I would use as well and you can always print the exact recipt at least thats what I would think but let them hold it for you for best time shiping.

YES stay away from HORTICO dont even try them there just to mixed up right now there is a whole subject on that idea it doesn't sound to good for them

P.S. ONE AND ALL none of the folks where rude just a slight snag in understanding, does this sound fair?

Ashdown no longer sells retail.